COMIC BOOK SUIT
Copyright war for The Flash
BLOOMBERG NEWS
June 4, 2004
By 1956 The Flash, 26, was slowing down, when an editor at DC Comics commissioned Carmine Infantino to breathe some life into the speedy superhero, a lawsuit
filed in Manhattan federal court says.
Infantino, a 79-year-old New York illustrator, says he revived the declining character, originally created in 1940, and now he wants a federal judge to declare that he,
not DC parent Time Warner Inc., owns the rights to the fastest man alive.
Infantino says in his suit that he's also the creator of Batgirl, and he wants a court to acknowledge that too.
He filed the copyright claim yesterday against Time Warner, the world's largest media company, and DC Comics, where he was once president. Infantino is seeking
monetary damages and a ruling that he owns The Flash, Batgirl and other characters he says he created from 1943 to 1967.
The suit comes as media companies increasingly turn to comic book characters for films and other works. This month, Sony Corp. will release "Spider-Man 2," the
sequel to its $800-million blockbuster."Obviously the characters have much more commercial value these days," said Infantino's lawyer, Nicholas Perrella. "Look at
the Spider-Man movies." A spokesman for DC Comics didn't have an immediate comment.
Shares in Manhattan-based Time Warner fell 12 cents, to close at $17.05.
Infantino, who's won numerous awards for his illustrating, says his most famous character is the second incarnation of The Flash, whose real name is Barry Allen. He
says he developed the character while working as a freelance artist.
The Flash was recreated by Infantino in 1956, when Allen, a police scientist, was splashed with chemicals and struck by lightning, leaving him with super-human
speed, according to the Web site Comic Art & Graffix Gallery.
Infantino also takes credit for reviving the Batman comic in the 1960s, by giving the crime-fighter a new look and creating his fellow superhero, Batgirl. Infantino
subsequently joined DC Comics, becoming president in 1973, the suit says.
Perrella said Infantino gave DC Comics permission to use The Flash in comic books, not in other media.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
― Huk-El (Horace Mann), Monday, 7 June 2004 15:31 (twenty-one years ago)
Gardner Fox created the old Flash. Julie Schwartz asked Robert Kanigher to revive and modernise him, which he did. Everything I know suggests that the first Infantino knew of it was when presented with the script. I love his art, and his Flash is great, and I think his art played a huge part in making it the success it was, which was hugely important in kicking off the 'silver age' of comics, in making superheroes big again. I think he should be rewarded for that, but I think his copyright claim is extremely weak.
― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 7 June 2004 17:25 (twenty-one years ago)