9 minute read
Culture
35
[FAIR USE]
A New Precedent
Granite City tattoo artist wins suit over work for WWE superstar Randy Orton
Written by RYAN KRULL
Late last month, a Granite City tattoo artist who inked professional wrestler Randy Orton won her yearslong lawsuit against a video game company over its use of her creative work in three video games.
On September 30, a jury in federal court in southern Illinois awarded artist Catherine Alexander $3,750 after ruling in her favor in her lawsuit against TakeTwo Interactive Software, 2K Games and World Wrestling Entertainment. The sum may seem small, but according to numerous art industry publications, the case sets a “fascinating precedent.”
According to her suit, Alexander created an “upper back tribal tattoo” on Orton in 2003 and, in 2008, inked a sleeve of “a Bible verse design, a dove, a rose, and skulls” on the professional wrestler.
Orton, 42, got his start in professional wrestling in the St. Louis area in 2000 and eventually went on to become one of the most popular individuals affiliated with the billion-dollar World Wrestling Entertainment media company.
One of the sport’s most popular figures, his likeness — including his tattoos — appeared in numerous video games, such as WWE 2K16, WWE 2K17 and WWE 2K18.
Alexander says in her lawsuit that the WWE offered her $450 for her to allow the tattoos to be used in the video games, but she declined.
She filed her lawsuit in 2018, and for years it meandered its way through the courts, its progress slowed in part by the pandemic.
The defendants in the case argued that the digital replication of Alexander’s work fell under fair use, an aspect of copyright law that allows for the unauthorized use of otherwise protected intellectual property under specific circumstances.
But ultimately the jury disagreed.
Many in the tattoo industry were watching the case with interest because the jury’s ruling would set a precedent one way or another. A ruling against Alexander could make it harder for artists who felt their work had been wrongfully recreated in video games to sue for compensation. A ruling for Catherine would have the opposite effect.
According to Video Games Chronicle, “Although the final amount may be considered relatively small, it does set a potential precedent for other tattoo artists to make similar claims if their designs are replicated on athletes in video games.” n
WWE superstar Randy Orton’s tattoos were at the heart of the suit. | VIA SANDWICH/FLICKR
[ADULTING]
Coloring Karens
Really Big Coloring Books’ new storefront brings divisive o erings — and more — to a retail space
Written by JESSICA ROGEN
Asometimes divisive coloring-book operation has opened a retail storefront in St. Louis.
Last month, Really Big Coloring Books (9261 Dielman Industrial Drive, coloringbook.com) opened an approximately 2,000-square-foot retail space within its warehouse. Within the new storefront, the St. Louis-based company sells about 200 titles, primarily children’s coloring books, as well as coloring utensils, notebooks and sketchpads.
Some of its coloring books are ones you just won’t find anywhere else. The company has made its name publishing almost any coloring book you could dream up.
“We’re very inclusive, which means we’ll publish a book for anyone,” says Wayne Bell, publisher, founder and CEO of Really Big Coloring Books. “With the exception of narrow-minded hate groups.”
If that seems like an odd disclaimer for a coloring-book company, once you get eyeballs on its catalog, it makes a little more sense. Among its more, um, surprising offerings are Woke, President Obama, We Shall Never Forget 9/11, The Tea Party Coloring and Activity Book for Kids and Ted Cruz to the Future - Saves America.
Some of the more wild books are commissions, with individuals or companies paying Really Big Coloring Books to make them. Bell says he always asks if the resulting product can also be purchased by the public. Some say no, but most say yes.
Though Really Big Coloring Books has drawn some attention — including previous articles from the RFT — for its merch, Bell says it’s all part of a company ethos that focuses on diversity in content and in staffing, pointing to a Spanish-language division and the 23 languages in which the company publishes.
“A lot of people, they like to throw darts, if you know what I mean,” he says. “But one of the things that makes us successful is the very accepting attitude that we’ve had throughout the history of this company.”
Recently, the company published a book of banned books and music.
“We do not accept censorship or banning of books,” Bell told Newswires.
Not all of the company’s off-the-beaten-path offerings are political. Bell points to adult coloring books featuring mandalas, Ronnie Milsap, John Denver’s estate and even a Karen-themed coloring book with Karens calling 911, a Godzilla-like Karen shooting a laser out of her mouth and another one crouching, as if poised to ask for a manager.
“That’s a really funny book,” he says, breaking into chuckles. “That’s what we call an adult coloring book, and the staff had a great time making that one.”
Bell, who hails from the area close to New Madrid, Missouri, comes from a family in the printing business. He began producing coloring books in the early 1980s out of waste paper and realized it was a good business.
Things really got cracking with the birth of the internet as Bell registered multiple domain names — he says the company now owns 1,600 in countries around the world. He also claims to sell “millions and millions” of books yearly.
“That’s a real clean-cut nutshell how I got started making coloring books,” he says. “They kind of found me, if you will.” n
e retail store will also carry some unique o erings. | REALLY BIG COLORING BOOKS
Really Big Coloring Books’ retail space is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with intermittent hours on Saturdays.
History Afoot
Joseph DeGregorio takes you on a self-guided tour of St. Louis’ Italian neighborhood in e Hill: A Walk rough History
Written by KASEY NOSS
Want to get to know the Hill better but don’t feel like taking a guided tour?
Look no further than The Hill: A Walk Through History, a self-guided walking tour of St. Louis’ Italian neighborhood by Hill resident and veteran tour guide Joseph DeGregorio.
The book, which celebrated its official launch last week at Oliva on The Hill (4915 Daggett Avenue, 314-899-6271), takes readers on a five-part tour of the historic neighborhood. Each stop is accompanied by a photograph and brief history told from DeGregorio’s unique perspective as both neighborhood historian and lifelong resident. Fun facts, maps and additional photographs are interspersed throughout the book. ach of the book’s five tours is around 1 1/2 miles long. They include the Inner Loop, Outer Loop, Foodie Phase One, Foodie Phase Two and Personalities. Each section covers a different aspect of one of St. Louis’ most visited neighborhoods, from historic locales like St. Ambrose Catholic Church and the Italia-America Bocce Club to popular eateries such as Favazza’s on the Hill and Marconi Bakery.
“The concept is to provide the reader with a self-guided walking tour of the neighborhood,” DeGregorio says. “I’m speaking out as myself in the book, not just writing rote, historical facts, and so I do have some unique things in there.”
Among those unique things are local anecdotes about baseball legend and Hill native Yogi Berra and asides featuring DeGregorio’s own family history on the Hill. For example, his aunt, Jo Signorino, was the first baby to be baptized at St. Ambrose after its completion in 1926.
Though The Hill: A Walk Through History is DeGregorio’s first solo venture he has been featured in many other histories of the neighborhood, including
Joseph DeGregorio has been leading tours on the Hill for 17 years | KASEY NOSS
e book of walking tours launched last week. | COURTESY PHOTO
the coffee table book The Hill: St. Louis’s Italian American Neighborhood and the award-winning documentary America’s Last Little Italy: The Hill.
His father, Roland DeGregorio, was a mailman, first-generation Italian American and active member of the Hill community. He was also, as a friend of his put it, “the town gossip columnist” — he had developed the illegal habit of reading residents’ mail. Upon retiring, Roland became the neighborhood’s de facto tour guide, fielding impromptu uestions from passersby. Soon after, he began leading official tours, which he continued to do for 25 years before his son took over.
“It’s been 17 years now, and I’ve been loving it ever since,” Joseph DeGregorio says. “I branched out from my father — I do culinary tours now, sports-only tours, specialty tours, Prohibition-era tours. He told me the stories, and I’ve picked up a lot of stories from other people I’ve interviewed over the years, and I went through some archives that we have as well. I just kept building and building it and just loving it.”
The book comes at a time of significant demographic change for the Hill. The neighborhood has attracted many young families due to its charm and safety. As the older population dies out, an increasingly greater proportion of Hill residents are non-Italian, posing what some view as a threat to the heart of the neighborhood. DeGregorio has a different view.
“What we have today [on the Hill] is a lot of reconstruction going on, a lot of new homes you would see in wealthy suburbs popping up, a lot of remodeling,” he says.
“We are [less] homogenized, and it will continue to work that way, but we still have and will continue to have the Italian culture,” DeGregorio says. “We are in a renaissance here in this neighborhood, and it’s getting better and better and better. It’s the beginning of a new chapter for the Hill.”
The book is dedicated to DeGregorio’s 10-year-old grandson, Henry, who he says is his inspiration to continue his tours and other Hill-related projects. DeGregorio, who was diagnosed with a rare, stage 4 intestinal cancer a little over six years ago, views this book as his legacy — not just to his only grandchild, but to his beloved community.
“I’ll be around for a few more years,” he says, “but I tell people without hesitation: It’s my legacy.” n
