Following the announcement by DC licensee VeVe of a new series of Batman Black and White digital statues linked to NFT (Non Fungible Token) authentication, Darwyn Cooke’s widow asked DC not to create images created by her late husband is, to be used as a basis for NFT crypto-art. . NFT crypto-art has been a recent topic of controversy due to the large environmental costs of manufacturing NFTs.
Marsha Cooke, who manages Cooke’s estate, previously said on Twitter that she does not approve of the use of her husband’s art for NFT crypto-art, with reference to the environmental costs involved.
“Come back shortly to note that I’m not going to participate in NFT crypto art, it’s an environmental disaster and you should not participate in it either,” Cooke posted on her previously dormant Twitter account.
“Please note this legal notice that no Darwyn Cooke artwork over which I have control will be presented as NFTs and any that appear are with the objection of his estate,” her Twitter thread continues. “I will reconsider it at a point where the environmental issues have been addressed.”
Newsarama reached out to Cooke over the VeVe NFT statue based on Darwyn’s Batman design her response to Newsarama’s report on VE-VE’s use of Darwyn’s art. Cooke states that she asked DC to remove her husband’s name and job from the project.
“I do not support the use of Darwyn’s work in the NFT system because of the environmental impact this type of transaction has on the planet,” Cooke told Newsarama. “If the NFT system is sustainable, it will be in the future. I called DC and am waiting for a return call to discuss how we can remove Darwyn from this project until the environmental issues are addressed. I have always had a good relationship with DC, so I expect them to respect my decision. ‘
Meanwhile, artist Gary Frank, whose Batman: Earth One design forms the basis of another of VE-VE’s most recent NFT art, has expressed his ‘surprise’ at using his design for an NFT digital statue .
“I will echo what Marsha said,” Frank told Newsarama when reached for comment. “This is the first I have heard of it. I have no interest – financially or really – in NFTs as to what people are persuaded to pay for.”
The line of four statues (with the remaining two based on the art of DC publisher / creative director Jim Lee and artist Jae Lee) is not the first line of the NFT crypto-digital Batman black-and-white statues which VeVe did not issue. This is the fourth wave of the crypto-curator Batman Black and White NFT statues, but the first to gain notoriety due to the recent controversy surrounding the environmental costs of NFTs and the high prices art collectors pay for crypto-artworks.
VeVe has also produced a series of four Harley Quinn digital NFT images based on the art of Guillem March, Babs Tarr, Terry Dodson and Steve Pugh.
NFTs are essentially non-reproducible digital certificates of ownership that indicate the holder of the NFT as the ‘owner’ of a piece of digital art by linking it to Bitcoin blockchains that provide verifiable coding for the digital art linked to the NFT. Although an NFT does not prevent the reproduction of digital work, it does indicate one version of the digital art as the ‘original’ owned by the holder of the NFT.
Like bitcoin mining, the production of NFTs requires significant electricity consumption to power the computers that create the NFT. This has led to widespread criticism of the idea of creating NFT art, which drastically increases the environmental impact of individual digital artists.
With the announcement, DC has not yet responded to Newsarama’s request to comment on it.
VeVe is a subsidiary of Singapore-based crypto company Ecomi. No VeVenor Ecomi could be reached for comment. Ecomi’s website describes the company as the owners of a ‘one-stop-shop’ for digital collectibles through the VeVe app that brings pop culture and entertainment into the 21st century. Ecomi views digital collectibles as a new asset class that gives intellectual property owners the opportunity to drive new revenue streams in the digital landscape. “
Darwyn Cooke, Gary Frank, Jae Lee and Jim Lee all signed Batmans. Newsarama looks at the creators who most impact on the Caped Crusader over eight decades.