I was wondering why marvel never sets anything in the hyborian age anymore and found out they sold the rights to Conan.
Can someone explain how you manage to sell the rights of public domain work? and for that matter, can't anyone adapt the first Conan story (since it should fall under public domain)?
>>84232137
Conan isn't public domain in the United States. It's a long and complicated story... basically there's some dispute as to whether the original Robert E. Howard Conan stories—which use first date of publication as their de facto copyright notice—have met the requirements to enter the public domain in the US and other countries (depending on their laws on copyright).
Also, Marvel didn't "sell" the rights to the property, because they never owned the rights to Conan. Marvel originally licensed the comics publication rights from Conan Properties, Inc. (a company co-founded by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter—writers who worked on the post-Howard Conan stories).
The current copyright holder for Conan is Paradox Entertainment (the company acquired Conan Properties, Inc. sometime in the early 2000s) and the current Conan comics publishing license is held by Dark Horse Comics (which has published reprints of the old Marvel stuff and continues to publish new Conan comics).
>>84233888
can they publish a comic with Conan in it or would they get sued?
>>84233928
Who's "they"? Marvel? Yeah, they wouldn't have a legal leg to stand on if they decide to publish a Conan comic. Dark Horse holds the comics license for now, end of story. It could all change if someone decides to mount a challenge to Paradox Entertainment's claim on the Conan property, though.
Anyway, if you want to read the original Marvel stuff, Dark Horse has reprinted most of them—the final volume collecting the last several issues of Savage Sword of Conan was released last month, I believe (and I personally think Savage Sword of Conan is superior to the Conan the Barbarian comic) and their collection of the Conan the Barbarian and King Conan stories are nearing completion as well.
The current Conan comics Dark Horse is publishing aren't half-bad, either. In fact, I consider the earlier Kurt Busiek/Cary Nord Conan comics and Tim Truman and Tomas Giorello's King Conan miniseries to be at least on the same level as the best Savage Sword of Conan stuff.
>>84232137
Conan isn't even close to public domain.
>>84233928
Marvel can't reprint ANYTHING related to Conan. They had to skip the Conan centric issues of What If V1 and more to the point, when they reprinted Atlantis Attacks, they had to hack up the Punisher Annual that was part of the storyline, to reduce the part with Conan in it, as a text piece being spoken to the audience by the Watcher.
>>84234077
The Dark Horse Conan trades are hit or miss. They didn't even fucking TRY and include the covers for the first 10-11 volumes (roughly the first 110 issues of the Conan comics PLUS could not reprint ANY Conan comics featuring Red Sonja (who is considered a completely separate license you have to pay for, as far as Conan's license not including her).
And they recolored the Conan books for the TPB, which a lot of fans don't like
Conan is like ROM and the Transformers. His stuff is technically in continuity, they just can't use the things they didn't personally create anymore.
>>84232137
>Can someone explain how you manage to sell the rights of public domain work? and for that matter, can't anyone adapt the first Conan story (since it should fall under public domain)?
As said, due to US copyright law being a shit, Conan rights in the US are held by a Swedish company, paradox.
>>84236370
The Transformers are counted as an AU.
But yeah, Conan, ROM, Godzilla, etc. are still regarded as canon, they simply can't really be brought up anymore.
>>84236451
>>84236370
Micronauts are half owned by Marvel, but the toy characters are currently with IDW. marvel can still use Bug, Mari and Arcturus (even tho Arcturus was based on Time Traveler, he looks nothing like him most of the time)
>>84233928
>>84236302
I recall they had Skarr reading an old issue of Savage Sword a few years back.
>>84236451
I'm pretty sure Godzilla's part of the same AU as Transformers, continuity-wise
>>84236831
no, he fought the FF, the Avengers, shield, Devil dinosaur, and others in damned near every issue
>>84236338
>could not reprint ANY Conan comics featuring Red Sonja
This is also an iffy area. Dark horse can, and has, republished some of the Conan issues with Red Sonja in them(her first appearance and a few subsequent ones), while others they haven't (the three-way crossover with Conan, Sonja and Kull).
In general, Dark Horse has just been really inconsistent when it comes to what they can and can't publish with her. Some obvious cases (first appearance, appearances in the middle of story arcs) were published with permission by Dynamite, but other ones haven't been allowed, and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to which ones.
Any of her solo books, however, can only be published by Dynamite.
>>84236831
>>84236862
And he was brought back (in the most trademark-skimming way possible) and killed off in an X-Men story a few years ago.
>>84237459
that thing looks ABSOLUTELY retarded
>>84237896
A scientist captured him and experimented on him until he was conveniently barely recognizable.
>>84238096
he fucked up his chromosomes too huh?
That thing looks like it needs to be coloring with crayons with a middle aged woman watching over him.
