In less than 8 years both Supes & Bats will be public domain 1 1

[Okguy]

On 4/21/2024 at 9:25 AM, Chicago Boy said:

At least versions of them. Any thoughts? 

I think that Superman and Batman should be exclusive to DC.

Other production companies et al will mispresent Superman and Batman and make them ridiculous.

Edited April 24 by Okguy

[AndyFish]

I think DC has done a great job of messing up these characters on their own.   Bring on the freedom of PD.

[royaluglydudes]

The thing I hate about when characters go into public domain is that it seems that everyone's bright idea is to simply create horror movies based around the character. Maybe that will be less so with characters who have had all genre of story written about them including Elseworlds that were often radical departures, but I'd still put my money on the first PD movie being Supes and Bats vs. a slasher.

[Hepcat]

On 4/24/2024 at 12:22 AM, tth2 said:

I'm not aware that Disney has suffered any great harm (or harm at all) as a result of losing its copyright protection over the earliest versions of Mickey Mouse.  

I'm not so much concerned about harm done to Disney. I'm concerned about the potential harm done to the legacy of Mockey Mouse by those with no vested interest in the character. 

On 4/24/2024 at 12:03 PM, AndyFish said:

I think DC has done a great job of messing up these characters on their own. 

Oh, I agree! Since Crisis on Infinite Earths and the multiple reboots of characters, DC has savaged the legacy of characters such as Superman, Superboy, Supergirl, Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Batwoman, etc, etc. But do you really believe the situation would be improved by every johnny-come-lately and his dog publishing Superman and Batman comics? 

Not only continuity but the pre-existing integrity of the character would go completely out the window with multiple publishers. So are you completely disinterested in not only legacy but the concepts of continuity and a unified internally consistent Universe of characters? The latter was what I really liked about what Stan Lee did at Marvel beginning with the introduction of the Fantastic Four in 1961.

Edited April 24 by Hepcat

[AndyFish]

BATMAN vs SUPERMAN was easily one of the worst movies I've ever sat through- and was about the last superhero movie I've bothered with.    Sandy Collora made what might be the best Batman movie of all time with DEAD END-- totally without "help" from DC or Warners-- and totally bootleg-- that kind of creativity is what we need.   Public Domain allows that.  

[AndyFish]

Continuity when you have a company with 8 titles and only 2-4 years of storylines is do-able-- it's not when you've got 80+ years of story.   

Having said that, I'm a huge fan of Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes, read all the books, but when they make a film or TV adaption not only does it usually not fit my idea of the character, I feel no obligation to watch it, so I could care less what they do.    For Batman, I'll always have what I consider the "Correct" version and am A-OK with other versions existing.

[Hepcat]

On 4/24/2024 at 12:55 PM, AndyFish said:

Having said that, I'm a huge fan of Tarzan and Sherlock Holmes, read all the books, but when they make a film or TV adaption not only does it usually not fit my idea of the character, I feel no obligation to watch it, so I could care less what they do.    For Batman, I'll always have what I consider the "Correct" version and am A-OK with other versions existing.

But can you not see how that's precisely what I don't want? Every Tom, Dick and Harry would be trying to put his own unique stamp on Batman to differentiate his effort from that of everybody else and it would result in a nightmare! Granted DC itself has done only a passable job in preserving the integrity of characters such as Batman and Superman but at least they try (sort of). Remember when Jack Kirby couldn't draw Superman right so they had Murphy Anderson redraw his face?

[adamstrange]

On 4/24/2024 at 12:53 PM, Hepcat said:

I'm not so much concerned about harm done to Disney. I'm concerned about the potential harm done to the legacy of Mockey Mouse by those with no vested interest in the character. 

Disney has done very little with the character, mostly out of fear of damaging the brand.  Mickey was an exciting character in the first cartoons.  His newspaper strip adventures were exciting and funny.  If you won't use a character, then release him back to the wild to let others take a swing. 

Bad stuff will be created. Good stuff will be created.  Ignore what you dislike and give attention to what you like.  I'm completely unbothered by the lack of continuity with respect to a great character like Sherlock Holmes.  I'm immune to impact due to stupid adaptions, and I don't see any particular societal breakdown arising from them.

[Hepcat]

"Societal breakdown"? Please. I was positing merely aesthetic annoyance which of course is plenty bad enough. 

The bottom line though is that DC has continued to actively publish Superman and Batman comics. Why should the company be stripped of these characters? (A solid caning for their buffoonery regarding Superman's "death" should suffice in my opinion.)

 

[adamstrange]

On 4/24/2024 at 6:37 PM, Hepcat said:

"Societal breakdown"? Please. I was positing merely aesthetic annoyance which of course is plenty bad enough. 

I exaggerate for humorous effect, but the post I was responding to:

On 4/24/2024 at 3:09 PM, Hepcat said:

Every Tom, Dick and Harry would be trying to put his own unique stamp on Batman to differentiate his effort from that of everybody else and it would result in a nightmare!

 

On 4/24/2024 at 6:37 PM, Hepcat said:

Why should the company be stripped of these characters?

I would not strip them of the characters, just end the monopoly of a soulless corporation whose current staff had zero involvement in their creation.

On 4/24/2024 at 3:09 PM, Hepcat said:

Every Tom, Dick and Harry would be trying to put his own unique stamp on Batman to differentiate his effort from that of everybody else

DC and Marvel have given these characters to dozens of creators, who have created wildly inconsistent versions with barely a thought for continuity.  For the record, I, and most folks, care only a little about continuity.  (This is easily proven by observing how little continuity errors have done to prevent the continued popularity of Batman and Superman across the decades.)

Let all who wish try their hand with these characters.  The best will survive, the worst will be forgotten.

[adamstrange]

A video that helped shape my thinking on how long copyrights should be extended.  Basically, everything is a remix.  If original (i.e. sufficiently well-mixed), then limited duration protection is deserved, after which it should be cast back in the pool for others.

 

Edited April 25 by adamstrange

[tth2]

On 4/25/2024 at 6:37 AM, Hepcat said:

Why should the company be stripped of these characters?

The company won't be stripped of these characters.  They can continue to produce Superman & Batman comics just like they've always done.  And they will also have a huge advantage over others using those characters because DC has superior distribution channels and commands more and better shelf space. 

Just because someone writes their own Batman comic doesn't mean that they'll be able to get comic stores to carry their comic, or imagine trying to sell it directly online and get a Google search result for your Batman comic to appear ahead of all of the search results relating to the DC Batman.  Similarly, just because somebody wants to make a Batman movie doesn't mean that they'll be able to get a studio to do it or to distribute it.

[BS Damutantman]

To join this conversation a little late, I think it will ultimately be for the best. There will undoubtedly be some dumpster fires, especially right away, but in the long run, I believe they will be more than balanced out by innovative and passionate projects. Batman and Superman have earned their place in the pantheon of public domain cultural icons like Dracula and Sherlock Holmes. It will be interesting to see how Marvel/Image/etc. take advantage of this opportunity, if at all.

I'm much more excited about everything else from DC's GA that will join Batman and Superman around the same time. DC seems content to let that material be lost to time; once it's public domain, somebody might actually make a good omnibus/collected set for runs like All-American, Comic Cavalcade, and Adventure.

 

[Hepcat]

On 4/26/2024 at 10:21 AM, BS Damutantman said:

...somebody might actually make a good omnibus/collected set for runs like All-American, Comic Cavalcade, and Adventure.

 

I already have several good hardcover collections of Golden Age DC stories. I have the last two All Star Archives but sadly the Jay Garrick Flash and Alan Scott Green Lantern Archives never got as far as the late 1940's which is the period of greatest interest to me. In addition I have Simon & Kirby's Sandman plus Newsboy Legion. I would however like to see many more of these quality collections!

Edited April 26 by Hepcat

[sfcityduck]

On 4/26/2024 at 7:21 AM, BS Damutantman said:

 

I'm much more excited about everything else from DC's GA that will join Batman and Superman around the same time. DC seems content to let that material be lost to time; once it's public domain, somebody might actually make a good omnibus/collected set for runs like All-American, Comic Cavalcade, and Adventure.

 

I have pretty much all of the DC archives and other high quality GA era comic and newspaper strip offerings. So far, the best collections have come from the original publishers or with their cooperation (EC, Barks Library, Spirit Archives, DC Archives, Prince Valiant, Terry, Rip Kirby, LoAC, etc). The alternative is low quality scanned stuff like the PS scanned offerings, which sometimes are duplicating (and undercutting the market for) higher quality offerings. But Archives are not really what's at issue here. It's the characters and new media offerings.

On that point, I do agree that there's lots of room for creativity when it comes to the lesser characters that have dropped off their rights owner's map.

But here's the thing, Tarzan (1912) has been in the public domain for a long time. The expiration of the copyright in 2007 has not led to a plethora of high quality (or even low quality) Tarzan material. Not sure who is going to take up the flag of DC back-up features.

In any event, we are going to have a good idea how this goes long before we get to Superman and Batman. Next up are Buck Rogers and Popeye (created 1929 and both former movie properties). Other upcoming former adventure/hero media properties that will expire before Superman include: The Shadow (1930), Dick Tracy (1931), Conan (1932), Lone Ranger (1933), Doc Savage (1933), Flash Gordon (1934), Green Hornet (1936), Phantom (1936), and Prince Valiant (1937).

 

 

[Hepcat]

On 4/26/2024 at 1:43 PM, sfcityduck said:

Other upcoming former adventure/hero media properties that will expire before Superman include: The Shadow (1930), Dick Tracy (1931), Conan (1932), Lone Ranger (1933), Doc Savage (1933), Flash Gordon (1934), Green Hornet (1936), Phantom (1936), and Prince Valiant (1937).

I don't believe any of those are still in regular publication. Therefore they'd fit my definition of "abandoned properties".

[vheflin]

On 4/26/2024 at 10:37 PM, Hepcat said:

On 4/26/2024 at 1:43 PM, sfcityduck said:

Other upcoming former adventure/hero media properties that will expire before Superman include: The Shadow (1930), Dick Tracy (1931), Conan (1932), Lone Ranger (1933), Doc Savage (1933), Flash Gordon (1934), Green Hornet (1936), Phantom (1936), and Prince Valiant (1937).

 

 

I don't believe any of those are still in regular publication. Therefore they'd fit my definition of "abandoned properties".

Conan is hardly an "abandoned property", the others mentioned certainly have owners as well.

 

[sfcityduck]

On 4/26/2024 at 7:37 PM, Hepcat said:

I don't believe any of those are still in regular publication. Therefore they'd fit my definition of "abandoned properties".

Phantom, Duck Tracy and Prince Valiant are in constant reprints with PV on-going also.

 

Edited April 27 by sfcityduck

[Hepcat]

On 4/27/2024 at 5:32 AM, vheflin said:

Conan is hardly an "abandoned property", the others mentioned certainly have owners as well.

Conan I overlooked. As for the others, there's a world of difference between having an owner and being in regular publication/use.

On 4/27/2024 at 10:50 AM, sfcityduck said:

Phantom, Duck Tracy and Prince Valiant are in constant reprints with PV on-going also.

Reprints don't count for nearly as much as steady publication of new material. New material is worth perhaps 3x to 5x as much.

Edited April 27 by Hepcat

[october]

On 4/24/2024 at 11:24 AM, royaluglydudes said:

 Supes and Bats vs. a slasher.

Already better than anything Zach Snyder farted out.