Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2.fluke 9/24/84; site fluke.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxj!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!fluke!moriarty From: moriarty@fluke.UUCP (The Napoleon of Crime) Newsgroups: net.comics Subject: Comics News (legal battles galore...) Message-ID: <192@vax2.fluke.UUCP> Date: Wed, 2-Jan-85 18:41:04 EST Article-I.D.: vax2.192 Posted: Wed Jan 2 18:41:04 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 4-Jan-85 07:59:29 EST Distribution: net Organization: Somewhere in Soho Lines: 66 Some brief comics news from several issues of The Buyers's Guide: 1) Dave Cockrum's "Futurians" series has gone over to Deluxe comics. This is basically interesting, because it is the first time an author has taken their work from a major comics company to one of the independents (The Futurians was a Marvel Graphic Novel). It has not yet been established whether or not they have the right to reprint the Marvel GN. My comment: no biggy... "The Futurians" was one of the most banal things published through the Graphic Novel line (not the worst! :-) ), being a very poorly-written mish- mash of every team book of the last 10 years. Great art, but pictures do not a story make... 2) The people publishing "Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents" is being sued by the persons who published another version. Gee, I'm not going to get into it all... apparently, the gist of it is: a) Long ago, so long ago that I bought these issues almost 10 years later, a company named Tower published a comic called "T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents", which had lots on great peo- ple writing and drawing it, including Wally Wood (jwm: great stuff, very tongue-in-cheek for the time, and being probably the earlist case of killing off a major character I can remember). b) Unfortunately, the mid-60's were not kind to small comics companies, and Tower perished. But before dissolving, the people involved tried to legally make their characters public domain. That's right... you, me, and Uncle Schmoo can publish adventures with Dyanamo, Lightning, NoMan, and others (including Weed, who looks just like you-know- who). c) Somebody else (I believe the name is Joey Carbonaro (a relative of Johnny Dangerously, perhaps?)) apparently bought the licensing rights for the charac- ters, and went on to publish a (jwm: very bad) new edition of "T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents". It folded (jwm: there is justice in the Universe). d) "Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents" is published by Deluxe comics, with Perez & Giffen art, etc. e) Carbonaro sues, asks for Voluntary Legal Assistance, is granted it, and gets the prestigous firm of Mudge, Rose, Guthrie, Alexander, and Ferdon -- who once employed Richard Nixon and John Mitchell (no, I am *NOT* making this up). Of course, this is just one interpertation of the story. What happens next, sports fans? Same bat-time, same bat channel... Also, it contains a neat picture from the Macintosh-created (just like this article) comic, "Shatter". Nice, but it looks like they don't have MacDraw yet, either -- they're sticking to MacPaint at this time, it seems. Also, there is an ad in the Bud Plant catalog for a book written by someone called... Jerry Moriarty? Gee, maybe we merge... Firestorm, the Nuclear Comics Critic! "You'd do it for Randolph Scott." (chorus) "*gasp* RANDOLPH SCOTT!" Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc. UUCP: {cornell,decvax,ihnp4,sdcsvax,tektronix,utcsrgv}!uw-beaver \ {allegra,gatech!sb1,hplabs!lbl-csam,decwrl!sun,ssc-vax} -- !fluke!moriarty ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA