Who really created Wolverine and why didn't he make any money from it? Answers within:

[The Straight Story]

Talking To Andy Olson – The Original Creator Of Marvel’s Wolverine?

A couple of weeks ago, Bleeding Cool ran an article looking at an entry to Marvel’s FOOM Magazine’s create-a-superhero contest, the results of which ran in 1973. One of the runners up was Andy Olsen and his creation “The Wolverine”.

Six months later, Incredible Hulk #180 with the first appearance of Wolverine, was published by Marvel. The rest is history.

Bleeding Cool managed to track down Andy Olson and asked him what he remembered of that time.

He didn’t hold back.

Funny how some things stick with you.

So I think in 1973 or 4 Stan Lee announced a magazine catering to his fan base called FOOM (Friends Of Marvel – what the Os stood for eludes me..Obnoxious? Oligarch?..Opportunist? ..Oh well..) I happily subscribed. As I recall it was a cheaply printed 2 or 3 colored mag supposedly under direction of The Man himself.

At that time I was mediocre scholastically but not too bad in art class with dreams of becoming an artist, perhaps a comic book artist. I was a sketching fiend drawing incessantly anything that struck my fancy.

Sometime during the short production of FOOM Stan ( I really don’t know if it was him personally but his name was all over it so I’ll refer it all to him. Yes I know it was never a one man show there. ) announced a fan contest.

Hey kids! Design your own superhero! or villain! – send in your idea, sketch to us and Stan himself will pick the winner! The winner will become a Marvel comic book hero! WOW!!

...

Excited, I mentioned this to my uncle who was an established commercial artist on Madison Avenue (that’s in NYC for those who don’t know) who replied: “You did WHAT?? You idiot! Don’t you know what these guys did? They pulled ideas from you kids, make money off it and payed you NOTHING!!” Probably using other colorful words. But that’s the best I could remember. Feel free to insert your own.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/01/01/talking-to-andy-olson-the-original-creator-of-marvels-wolverine-comics/

[iemitsu]

1. Interesting article about business and "contests" that encourage

public participation in generating new ideas for products.
A good lesson for us all in this story.

[The Straight Story]

3. Reminds me of posting online at times

And how others seem to profit from it

[iemitsu]

5. Yep, disgusting isn't it?

[BowlLikeAChicken]

2. F.O.O.M.

Friends of ol' Marvel, I have the theme song on a cassette tape.

[Bjorn Against]

4. Interesting, but to be honest I don't think his drawing looks anything like Wolverine

The only thing I see in the drawing similar to the X-Men character is the name, the costume is totally different and the super powers the drawing suggests do not look the same as Wolverine's powers. It is possible that Marvel did steal the name from him but the changes are so major that he would have a tough time making a legal case that it was his character based on that drawing.

[el_bryanto]

6. Everybody who created anything for Marvel got screwed - and that includes Stan Lee

DC's record is about the same. It was the business model of the time though; nobody really believed those characters would have much of a shelf life.

Bryant