DC Comics

[Christian Beranek]

Christian, I'd love to read an honest, thorough account of what happened to Kingdom Comics. Any chance you could write an article for Bleeding Cool?

I am working with Rich on an article about some other things perhaps we'll be able to tackle some Kingdom stuff.

Just off the cuff, I will say after Disney bought Marvel it really didn't make much sense to have two comic companies tied directly to the studio. We were all set to announce our first project and I woke up the next morning and heard the news same time as everyone else did. Our announcement was put on hold indefinitely.

What happened after that will be tackled eventually, either in a non-fictional account or ala a comic about Hollywood which will include events that may or may not have been inspired by real events.

As far as I know my former partner is still with Disney and has mentioned Kingdom a few times since I left. Haven't spoken with him in over two years so not quite sure what the status may be currently.

[Christian Beranek]

It was a lovely idea and I stand by the business model I helped write. Bob Iger seemed to like it and I was happy to at least get a shot to see if it could work.

[Mark H]

So, did the CBR post inspire this one, or is it just a miracle of timing?

COMIC LEGEND: Bill Finger nearly received credit on the Tim Burton Batman film.

[Brian Cronin]

I'm sure it is a coincidence. Marc e-mailed me about the Burton Batman thing last week, so I'm sure he mentioned it to a lot of people.

It's definitely a cool story!

-Brian

[Thad]

If they weren't giving credit back then, why would they now? DC has stepped up to the plate several times to its credit. This seems to be where they draw the line. I don't see the incentive in them crossing it now when they didn't back then. It's shame because Bill Finger did a of good work for them over several decades.

Where's DC's incentive to pay Finger's granddaughter's way to the DKR premiere? And yet they did! It was very nice of them!

DC has done LOTS of stuff to make amends for the way it treated creators in the past. It's certainly not a perfect company, but I think its behavior clearly shows a more active stance than "Where's the incentive?"

All the information we have is that there is allegedly some language in Bob Kane's contract, the one transferring his rights to DC Comics in perpetuity, that guarantees Bob Kane and no-one else will be recognized as not only the only "de jure" ("in legal terms") creator (which is undisputed) but as the only creator in fact.

Now, that contract is not public, and is not likely ever to be made public, as there are apparently confidentiality clauses attached. So we don't know the specifics of what DC Comics (and Warner Brothers) can or cannot say without being in breach of contract. I find it highly unlikely, given the media upside, especially when they were working with Jerry Robinson on "The Dark Knight", that they wouldn't credit him if they felt they could, contractually.

Given this, and the fact that it has long since become public record that DC Comics is contractually barred in some ways from giving Finger certain types of credit, I can understand perfectly well that they don't want to have this conversation again.

But this isn't about a creator credit. It's specifically about credit for the phrase "The Dark Knight". Which DC HAS effectively given Finger, by giving him a writer credit on reprints of the first story to use it.

[Peter J Poole]

You know what the really sad thing about that response is? That rep, whomever he or she is, is probably an entirely decent person, ordinarily. And yet once people become part of these machines, they must become as soulless as the entities they represent, simply in order to keep their jobs. Anyone who did acknowledge the basic moral point Nobleman was making would probably be summarily fired. It's pretty sickening.

And do you have one single solid substantiated bit of evidence to back any of that up at all?

Or is it just something 'obvious' that 'everyone knows'...?

Cheers

[johncage1000]

All the information we have is that there is allegedly some language in Bob Kane's contract, the one transferring his rights to DC Comics in perpetuity, that guarantees Bob Kane and no-one else will be recognized as not only the only "de jure" ("in legal terms") creator (which is undisputed) but as the only creator in fact.

Couldn't they just say "Based on the DC Comic by Bill Finger and Bob Kane" like all of the Marvel films credit their creators (on the occasions they do)?

Have a good day.
John Cage

[Mark H]

Well, if nothing else, BC has readership at other genre sites--nice recycle right down to the key bit in the headline. At least they give the "via" credit.

DC 'not having this conversation' about guy who really created Batman

[Drew Melbourne]

Couldn't they just say "Based on the DC Comic by Bill Finger and Bob Kane" like all of the Marvel films credit their creators (on the occasions they do)?

I would assume that the Kane contract is pretty explicit about how the credit has to appear. So no, probably not.

As others have pointed out, we're never going to see the contract, so it's probably best to (a) give DC the benefit of the doubt and (b) look for other ways to get Bill Finger's name out there and give him the credit he so obviously deserves.

[Stefan Offenberg]

And do you have one single solid substantiated bit of evidence to back any of that up at all?

Or is it just something 'obvious' that 'everyone knows'...?

Cheers

Evidence of what? The nature of corporations?