PKJ Action Comics Discussion and Spoilers

[garazza]

Just because a character enters the public domain doesn't mean DC can't keep publishing stories about them. But in the eyes of corporations, any encroachment into their exclusive monopoly on profits produced by a given character is something they wish would not come to pass. It's backwards, but what are capitalists if not backwards? /anti-capitalist musing

[Yoda]

They are going to lose the character eventually, so it makes sense for them to replace him. They might kill him for good when that day comes.

Trademarks don't expire and they own the trademark in the \S/ along with all the tradedress. The idea that someone could just start selling a new "Superman" book or have a Superman show once the copyright in Action Comics #1 expires is fantasy. They could basically start - because the copyright expiration would be rolling with the publication date of the issues - a generic book staring Clark Kent & Lois Lane at the Daily Star without the costume and no trade dress identifying it. It's not like once Action Comics #1 enters the public domain it's a free for all.

We'll all be long dead before Superman is completely in the public domain like Sherlock Holmes.

[Airtrap]

There is nothing to worry about Superman going public domain. Only the earliest stuff from 1938 will be free to use in 2033 and then every year another year gets added. It will take decades before any meaningful stuff is public domain. Also the Trademark will never lapse as long as DC is using it and they almost certainly have anything Superman-related under look, for example Superman, Action Comics, Man of Steel, Superboy and others will be exclusively used by DC, that's a fact.

The only thing they have to worry about is the fact that anybody can sell 1938 Action Comics and DC can't stop them. The best thing would be to just put the first 10 years or so of Superman for free on their website. That would kill any market for reprints. There is almost no money in it for other companies for a long time.

Honestly the fact that Superman will be a public domain character like Sherlock Holmes will probably be great in the long run. In the future your favorite Superman book might not be from DC and might not even be a Superhero book. Everyone of us could write a book starring Clark Kent and sell it, that's something to celebrate but DC will never lose him.

[thwhtGuardian]

To be clear, I'm very much a proponent of the public domain but I'm also a realist so I just don't see Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman or Mickey Mouse and his buddies becoming public domain in the near future.

[Airtrap]

To be clear, I'm very much a proponent of the public domain but I'm also a realist so I just don't see Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman or Mickey Mouse and his buddies becoming public domain in the near future.

Disney isn't in the fight anymore, the Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilms buying spree was pretty much safeguarding them. It's not like black and white Mickey stuff is generating any revenue nowadays. Similar for the DC the loss of Golden Age comics is insignificant really.

There is a good arstechnica article about the dwindling copyright fight https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...xtension-push/

[Hypo]

Action Comics #1034 Preview
Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Christian Duce
Backup Writers: Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad
Backup Artist: Michael Avon Oeming

[Vordan]

Duce is pretty good but I’m already missing Sampere oh well

[oneveryfineday]

Duce is pretty good but I’m already missing Sampere oh well

I wish Sampere was the one to carry out all of PKJ’s epic cosmic ideas. The brief glimpse of Necropolis was brilliant, and Sampere’s rendering of an alien world on FS Aquaman was breathtaking.



I’ll forever be let down by what could’ve been.

[Vordan]

I just finally sat down and read The Last God and now I can’t wait to see what PKJ does with Warworld! Really nicely done worldbuilding and storytelling showcased within that book.

[Vordan]

Damn this was cool. With Thao betraying the Els I wonder what her status quo is going to end up being? I had thought she would side with them and then be the one to guide Clark on Warworld, we’ll see if that happens. At the very least, assuming she survives, Jon is going to hate her. Curious how the fight between the two will play out next issue.

[Quinlan58]

Thoughts while re-reading:
- We're already seeing variation on Warzoon's traditions, since last time Thao-La claimed it was the chains they gained by killing their enemies what made them strong and now the Warzoon leader says that's irrelevant, the true giver of strength is Mongul. Guess this is a hint of how the new Mongul is different from his predecessors, as well as the consequence of a cultural system that values totalitarian domination becoming even more totalitarian.
- More of that blue energy mutating a living being, though in this case the Warzoon remains himself and is much less mutated.
- Damn, I wanted those two to survive so that at least one Phaelosian could go back to Warworld.
- Thao-La kills the Warzoons in retribution with an overpowered eye blast. Now that I'm reminded that she did show in the previous issue that she could use her eye beams at will, I'm bugged she didn't use them in this fight until the end.
- Confirmation that the other Phaelosians were also superpowered, since their corpses remain intact.
- "What's it saying?" Some dehumanization.
- So we finally see Superman lose his cool in this run. It's great stuff.
- I like the look fo shock on Kara's and Jon's faces. It's less "what a great feat of power" (since we know they can easily replicate that) and more "I didn't even think of doing that. Also, are you alright?"
- Aquaman with trident in his domain saying he can't stop Superman, when we know he probably could since Clark is depowered. Good way to showcase his reputation. And also, he looks lowkey scary in that page.
- Like that it's Kara the one to question Clark's actions here. Both because it puts her on more of a peer position relative to Clark and because Jon questioning this would look weird in light of the thesis of his solo book.
- Even more Clark losing his cool. After his entire show of dominance in the previous issue, and the stoic acceptance of his loss of powers before that, this is pretty great to see.
- Thao-La also refers to the Phaelosians as "strays". Guess that's just how non-Warzoons in Warworld are called.
- Also, confirmation that Byla (the storyteller guy from the Annual) is alive.
- Thao-La fighting Jon, in the culmination of their tensions. Also, her not killing Lois and directly going to fight 3 Kryptonians. Yeah, this is a suicide attempt. Or maybe she expects the "Orphan Box" to empower her enough to survive this?

Good issue, as always, though not quite as good as some before that.

[Vordan]

It isn’t Sampere it’s Duce! The colorist is the same though and I think that’s throwing people off, Lucas is a fantastic colorist. Duce is a pretty great artist himself though, I don’t mind him at all as a replacement for Sampere.

Given what Arthur told Clark and Kara telling him she thinks he messed up, I think we just saw the incident that gets Clark kicked off the League and forces him to build the Authority team as a replacement option. I’m also making a prediction: given the nature of Thao’s radiation beams, I think she is going to be the one who causes Clark’s hair to gray and his powers to decline by using her beams on him.

[Quinlan58]

It isn’t Sampere it’s Duce! The colorist is the same though and I think that’s throwing people off, Lucas is a fantastic colorist. Duce is a pretty great artist himself though, I don’t mind him at all as a replacement for Sampere.

Given what Arthur told Clark and Kara telling him she thinks he messed up, I think we just saw the incident that gets Clark kicked off the League and forces him to build the Authority team as a replacement option. I’m also making a prediction: given the nature of Thao’s radiation beams, I think she is going to be the one who causes Clark’s hair to gray and his powers to decline by using her beams on him.

Edited. Yeah, Lucas is pretty great.

Indeed, there is no way this isn't the incident that throws Supes out of the League. Arthur already warned him, and I can't see Black Adam being happy with such an action either. Thao-La being responsible for his aging sounds reasonable, but his powers are already declining, so I can't see them tying his loss of powers to the Genesis power source since he was already undergoing it... unless the Genesis fragment and the enemies from the first issues are related.

[Yoda]

I did not notice it wasn't Sampere until I finished my first read. Looking back through it the faces give it away, but for a fill in its a solid one because it keeps the overall look of the book.

This was a solid action issue, though it felt a little light on the story compared to the rest of the books. The scenes in the standoff were excellent as were the Fortress scenes. I'm almost certain they'll talk Thao-La down, probably after her and Jon beat each other up, but it's possible she doesn't given the "dead refugees" referenced in the solicits don't seem to make room for her going back with Clark.

As an aside, I wish they would space the Superman books out a little better throughout the month, there's so many now (Action, SoKE, S&B, '78, and S&L all dropped today, with Supergirl, R&B, and S&TA last week) we could have a little hit of Superman each week instead of all at once.

[sifighter]

I mean I know he ticked off Aquaman, Atlantis, and the entire US government but it’s not as if he was wrong. It’s a weird alien artifact that no one has any idea how it works or what it’s capable of that people are willing to kill over. Taking it off the board is probably the smartest thing.

But I do like Clark just getting fed up, that’s a nice scene and it shows that even Superman can get annoyed with people.