‘Wish I Actually Got Paid For These:’ Artist Jen Bartel Explains Why She Doesn’t Get Money for Marvel Snap Art

Marvel Snap is a popular mobile game that lets players build a deck of cards using their favorite characters. What makes things extra exciting is the game is known to use art from the comics to make the experience more immersive. Unfortunately, artists aren’t able to embrace that fact.

Comic artist Jen Bartel took to X to explain that she’s not compensated for the use of her art in Marvel Snap. One of the game’s latest additions, Emporer Hulkling, has a card that uses the art from the cover of the Lords Of Empyre: Emperor Hulkling #1, which Bartel drew. However, a contract she signed early in her career is making it impossible for her to make money off of the card.

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“They don’t legally have [to pay us] bc we the artists don’t own the rights to any official work we’ve done for these companies, but it’d go a long way to extend us some good will considering they promote these ‘rare variants’ explicitly using our names and creator recognizability,” she said in response to a tweet asking whether Marvel Snap has to pay artists.

Bartel didn’t stop there, though, going on to explain how corporations make far more money off of art than artists do. “Imagine if the artists who actually made the art they make millions of dollars off of even got to see a fraction of a percentage of that,” she continued. “A cover I might have been paid $800 for will go on to make them 100x that amount and they will never send me an additional dime.”

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There’s no reason for players to boycott Marvel Snap, as Bartel appreciates people supporting her work. “…I don’t blame end consumers for buying stuff they like and I’m glad my art provides a source of joy/entertainment/etc,” she said. “It’s the companies and contract models that are unethical and exploitative, not the fans.”

Of course, creatives fighting for fair pay is nothing new. Ed Brubaker has been vocal about the fact that he was paid more for making a cameo in Captain America: The Winter Solider than creating Bucky Barnes’ alter-ego, and there are more examples where that came from.

Marvel Snap is available to play now.