Artist Paolo Rivera announced on his blog that he will be parting ways with the creative team of Daredevil, though the split doesn’t seem to be an acrimonious one as Rivera also said he isn’t looking to completely sever ties with Marvel. Rivera will continue to contribute cover artwork as he’s done for the past several years. 

The artist, who began working for Marvel a decade ago, took to his personal blog yesterday to explain the reasons for his departure: “So why am I leaving? The short answer: ownership. With the exception of just a few published pieces of art (which belong to other companies), Marvel owns the copyrights to my entire professional portfolio. And why shouldn’t they? I was, of course, compensated fairly for it, and for that I’m grateful — but the sum total of that work is not enough to support me in the distant future. My page rate is essentially the same as when I started at 21, so I’ve decided to invest in myself.”

Rivera also said that he’ll be looking to Kickstarter for funding for new work and that he will focus on an “ambitious, creator-owned project: an original story, sci-fi in nature, with primal themes and a compact cast of characters. It’s far too early to give any details, but it’s something that’s been trickling into my mind (mostly in the shower) for the last 5 years.”

Ownership has been a hot topic in the past few weeks, with fiery debate surrounding the contract ethics of DC’s Before Watchmen and creator-driven attempts to expand upon the current publishing model, like Image Comics’ Creator-Own Heroes. Rivera isn’t the only person to have left Daredevil over concerns about ownership. A few months ago, artist Marcos Martin left the series after issue #6. Rivera’s last issue will be #10.

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