Unless you were on Internet silence this weekend, you undoubtedly know that late Friday news broke that Jerry Siegel’s heirs have reclaimed half the copyright to the Superman material in Action Comics #1.
Should Judge Stephen Larson’s ruling survive appeal, this isn’t just the comics story of the week; it’s the story of the year. Hell, probably several years. Another trial, or else an out-of-court agreement, will determine how much Time Warner owes Joanne Siegel and Laura Siegel Larson for its use of the character since 1999 — the date their ownership was determined to have been restored.
As anyone who waded into the comments section of my initial post can attest, the ruling sparked a frenzy among a segment of fandom on a level not seen since, I don’t know, the Crash of ‘29. Actually, remember the bonfire scene from The Lord of the Flies? It was a lot like that. (C’mon, guys, nobody’s “destroying” Superman. If he can survive the Mullet Years, Red/Blue and the final season of Lois & Clark, he can survive a legal battle. In all likelihood you’ll continue to get your weekly dose of Superman uninterrupted.)
I updated the initial post with worthwhile links, such as The New York Times’ report, Jeff Trexler’s continuing coverage (including a terrific FAQ), and Tom Bondurant’s analysis for Newsarama. Since then, there has been some more notable coverage:
• At Comics Should Be Good, Brian Cronin assembles a Superman copyright FAQ that serves as a good companion to Trexler’s.
• Comics commentator Abhay Khosla looks at the decision, and the original deal between Siegel, Shuster and Detective Comics.
• At Comic Book Resources, intellectual-property attorney Brendan McFeely discusses the finer points of the ruling.
• At Journalista, Dirk Deppey “poke[s] a finger in DC Comics’ glorious misfortune,” and then settles in for a dissection of Larson’s 72-page decision.
• Variety’s coverage focuses on Siegel attorney Marc Toberoff, whom it calls “Kryptonite to studios.”
More links as they appear.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:54 am
I read deppey’s thing and I “love” the language. I don’t doubt that the guys Siegel and Shuster work for were crooks, but that type of deal that the made back in the day was pretty standard. This isn’t any great sin. I imagine that there were several deals like this that soured for the guys who bought characters that didn’t make it. The only difference here is Superman blew up.
I think one thing that bugs me the most about the posters on Newsarama is the idea that contracts are forever. They aren’t. Copyright law at that time was a period of 28 + 28 renewable. The rules guarding the contract they signed had changed so the law now gave them the opportunity to renegotiate. I wish people got this into their head.
I don’t think this is about making things right. This is all about making things fair for both parties.
I still don’t understand how this effects anything for anyone who isn’t directly involved in the case.
I’m happy things look like they will work out for the siegels.
March 31st, 2008 at 12:27 pm
The reaction by fandom are more interesting than the actual case. The DC haters vs. the Siegel haters and so on…it’s sorta funny.
I will note that the one thing that bears watching from this is what happens with Captain America. The Siegels and the Shuster estate have no intent to become comic book writers or publishers. But Joe Simon, in trying to claim Captain America under the same law, might have his own ideas and plans vis a vis Marvel and Cap. For hm it might not be about fairness, or money, or justice. It might be about the character and how he’s been portrayed. And I could see him, despite having been out of the field for ages, taking Cap away from Marvel if he doesn’t like the way Cap is portrayed.
March 31st, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Simon settled his dispute with Marvel in 2003, and assigned his copyright in Captain America to the company.
March 31st, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I just wish people would tell the fans what the creators had to go through while their character was making millions.
I keep seeing “the Siegels are greedy money grabbers” followed by “wow. you must be stupid if you think that.”
I don’t think a lot of people know the Siegels lived in poverty or all the legal mumbo-jumbo. Educate them instead of trading insults.
March 31st, 2008 at 1:29 pm
That CBR article featured atty Brendan McFeely, who works for Kane Kessler.
March 31st, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Wow, A LOT has been made clearer with those FAQ’s. Thanks for posting them.
I think a lot of the reason that the fans went crazy against the Siegel’s was b/c they just didn’t know all the fact, or understand them. Honestly, this legal talk means crap to a lot of people. Folks thought that they’d get Superman taken away, and that Siegel and Shuster signed their copyright away fairly, and etc etc. The REAL facts of what happened weren’t being circulated too well.
I do agree with this statement, too: “I still don’t understand how this effects anything for anyone who isn’t directly involved in the case.”
Pointing the finger at the misfortune of DC comics would be nicer if this was the same DC comics that swindled the two Superman creators. I’m not calling this group angels, no way. I know they’re a corporation, and that most likely means…well, not so goood things. But just like it’s amazing how people are condeming the Siegel’s, it’s funny to see how people are laughing at DC right now.
It’s a nice ruling and all, but the people who actually needed to be punished aren’t there anymore, and now you have folks there being laughed at for “getting what was coming to them”.
In the end, though, we all know that this is somehow Dan DiDio’s fault…
March 31st, 2008 at 2:59 pm
The final season of Lois & Clark was the best one! It featured Tim Minear’s first pro work.
It was the *third* season that stank. Remember the frog-eating clone Lois that Clark married? And Shelly Long? And Mac Davis? And David Leisure’s bodyless head? That was all season three. Tim Minear’s work in that last run was class, Kevin.
March 31st, 2008 at 3:12 pm
How did I forget that Simon settled? I guess I wanted to see something more interesting happen than just a lawsuit.