Lady Luck: Who currently has the rights to the character?

[MajorHoy]

I'm not sure if anybody may have a definitive answer to this one.

Anyway, if anybody is unfamiliar with the character, she was created back in the early 1940's and (along with Mr. Mystic) was part of what was commonly referred to as the "Spirit Section" comics insert, and I believe Will Eisner was involved in writing some of the early stories.



And, as also happened with The Spirit, her adventures were later printed by Quality Comics.



Some of her stories were later reprinted by various publications in the 1970s and 1980s, including in some of Kitchen Sink's magazine-sized The Spirit issues, which seemed to indicate Eisner still held ownership. But towards the beginning of DC's New 52 (when DC still had licensing rights to The Spirit), it was said that "Lady Luck" would be appearing at some point in Geoff Johns' Justice League. That never happened.

In a DiDio-written issue of The Phantom Stranger, there was a character who appeared dealing cards to some gambling demons and she was referred to as "Lady Luck"

and seemed to have the green hat of the character as well as a green outfit. But she never really did anything more than deal the cards, and when that story was collected in the trade paperback, she was recolored so her hair was no longer blonde and her outfit was no longer green.

Does anybody know / remember if it was said whether Dynamite acquired the licensing to use the character of Lady Luck when they picked up the rights to The Spirit?

[Ishmael]

I thought she was public domain (but I could be wrong about this). I honestly don't know (but she's definitely a great golden age character).

[Tayswift]

I think it was DC, she was announced as a part of JL after flashpoint. But the plans changed, lady luck and green arrow never joined JL.

[MajorHoy]

I think it was DC, she was announced as a part of JL after flashpoint. But the plans changed, lady luck and green arrow never joined JL.

But, again, when DC announced she was going to be in the Justice League, DC still had the rights to Eisner's The Spirit.

The fact that DC no longer has the rights to Eisner's main character, and the fact that the "Lady Luck" that appeared in the issue of Phantom Stranger was totally recolored when they did the tpb collecting that story makes me doubt DC still has the rights to the character unless it would be through public domain.

[Ed Love]

But, again, when DC announced she was going to be in the Justice League, DC still had the rights to Eisner's The Spirit.

The fact that DC no longer has the rights to Eisner's main character, and the fact that the "Lady Luck" that appeared in the issue of Phantom Stranger was totally recolored when they did the tpb collecting that story makes me doubt DC still has the rights to the character unless it would be through public domain.

Technically, she and the other characters of "The Spirit" section should be public domain. While Eisner supposedly had a deal with Busy Arnold in that he retained the rights to the characters, he was still required to renew the copyrights and did not (and Arnold did not renew the rights to the comics that ran Eisner's stories either). While there are probably trademark rights that the Eisner estate holds for the Spirit as the character has pretty much stayed in print via reprints and such every decade, that cannot be said for Lady Luck. Trademarks only cover distinctive likenesses (hard to pull off with the Spirit who is about as generic as they come unless you mimic Eisner's style) and titles and logos. So, the Spirit could be in the Avengers, the Justice League, team up with Lobster Johnson, or Erik Larsen's Freak Force as long as they refrain from using his name on the cover. However, DC's plans on using Lady Luck and if they promoted that in advertising and on covers could be enough to establish a new trademark by DC, or for Eisner's estate if they were feeling generous. But, the clock starts ticking on the character needing to be used and promoted again before falling out of trademark protection again.

[MajorHoy]

Anybody aware of any new Lady Luck appearances since The Phantom Stranger #6 back in 2013?

[Dylan Davison]

DC was going to put her in the Justice League when they first started the new52. Not sure who owns her though. I would believe DC, but I guess it could be in public domain.

I would be interested to see her used in something though.

[scary harpy]

...

In a DiDio-written issue of The Phantom Stranger, there was a character who appeared dealing cards to some gambling demons and she was referred to as "Lady Luck"

and seemed to have the green hat of the character as well as a green outfit. But she never really did anything more than deal the cards, and when that story was collected in the trade paperback, she was recolored so her hair was no longer blonde and her outfit was no longer green.

...

Does anyone have a picture of the recolored Lady Luck from Phantom Stranger trade?

[MajorHoy]

Does anyone have a picture of the recolored Lady Luck from Phantom Stranger trade?

I have the tpb collection, but not a working scanner.

I tried looking for the image online, but everything I've found seems to based on the original published issue.