Update: September 15, 2023:
DC have responded with a statement saying, “The ‘Fables’ comic books and graphic novels published by DC, and the storylines, characters, and elements therein, are owned by DC and protected under the copyright laws of the United States and throughout the world in accordance with applicable law and are not in the public domain. DC reserves all rights and will take such action as DC deems necessary or appropriate to protect its intellectual property rights.”
The Beat have shared a comment from former Vertigo editor Stuart Moore, who says, “I helped review those Vertigo contracts in the early 90s, and I can tell you they’re COMPLICATED.” He also added, “I’m reliably informed there’s another whole side to this story that isn’t currently being commented on.”
Original story after the jump:
Via his Substack newsletter, “Fables” writer and owner Bill Willingham has announced that he is releasing the series into the public domain. Willingham made the decision in response to several alleged issues, including unpaid royalties, with publisher DC Comics, which has been the home of the series since it began in 2002. Instead of spending time and money suing DC over these, the 67-year old has, in his own words, chosen “to give it away to everyone. If I couldn’t prevent ‘Fables’ from falling into bad hands, at least this is a way I can arrange that it also falls into many good hands.”
Willingham clarifies that while “Fables” was creator-owned, his “contracts with DC Comics are still in force,” meaning “I still can’t publish ‘Fables’ comics through anyone but them. I still can’t authorize a ‘Fables’ movie through anyone but them. Nor can I license ‘Fables’ toys nor lunchboxes, nor anything else. And they still have to pay me for the books they publish.” Regardless, he claims you can now create your own “Fables” comics or media, although he prefaces this by saying this is based on his own understanding of copyright law, which is “a mess; purposely vague and murky, and no two lawyers – not even those specializing in copyright and trademark law – agree on anything.”
“Fables,” which originally ran for 150 issues from 2002 to 2015, coincidentally imagines a world where numerous public domain characters — particularly those from fairy tales and The Wizard of Oz — live in exile in New York. Drawn by Mark Buckingham, and inked by Steve Leialoha, the comic has received numerous awards, and multiple spin-offs, including Telltale’s prequel video game The Wolf Among Us. Willingham particularly highlights having problems with the game, claiming it’s among the projects he hasn’t received 50 percent of the royalties he’s owed from.
Cover by Qistina Khalidah
Willingham states that while he has always had a contentious relationship with DC, it became worse when the series was revived for a 12-issue story last year. He says, “During the contract negotiations for the new issues, their legal negotiators tried to make it a condition of the deal that the work be done as work for hire, effectively throwing the property irrevocably into the hands of DC. When that didn’t work their excuse was, ‘Sorry, we didn’t read your contract going into these negotiations. We thought we owned it.'”
He continues, stating DC’s legal officers were under the impression the property was theirs, and that they didn’t owe him money for licensing it out. “When they capitulated on some of the points in a later conference call, promising on the phone to pay me back monies owed for licensing ‘Fables’ to Telltale Games, for example, in the execution of the new agreement, they reneged on their word and offered the promised amount instead as a ‘consulting fee,’ which avoided the precedent of admitting this was money owed, and included a non-disclosure agreement that would prevent me from saying anything but nice things about Telltale or the license.” He felt goaded into suing them over the terms of their arrangement, leading to his “asymmetric” decision with the rights.
DC have yet to comment at the time of writing. The 161st issue of “Fables” (of 162) is due for release on November 14, while a sequel to The Wolf Among Us is set to be released next year. Willingham has actually tried to do this before with his 1980s Comico series “Elementals,” in 2022, although the comic presumably remains property of publisher Andrew Rev, who he sold the rights to in the 1990s. Regardless, this is an unprecedented decision, which we’ll keep you updated on with any further developments. One thing’s for sure: Willingham, Brian Level, and Jay Leisten’s 2021-22 crossover miniseries “Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham” will be one “Fables” series that won’t be considered public domain anytime soon.
