The Marvel Mars comic covers look wack.

Dynamite uses classic Barsoom styled painted covers, as well as doing some good cheese cake ones for the Deja Thoris spin-off.

Probably Disney doesn't want their film to be associated with the more racy Dynamite series and maybe that's part of why the ERB estate is suing.

ERB's lawsuit against Dynamite is detailed pretty well over at The Beat http://www.comicsbeat.com/2012/02/17/erb-inc-sues-dynamite-and-company-over-tarzan-and-john-carter/

They claim trademark infringement, unfair competition, and as you surmised, object to something they call Risque Nudes. I only read a couple John Carter books many years ago, but I think most martians, including the 'incomparable Dejah Thoris' are nekkid in the books. It must be the risque part they are objecting to.

But isn't that part of the whole Public Domain thing? It's part of the original source material. The wholesome Disney versions of Tarzan and Barsoom, are relatively new and are not part of the original works, they are unique to other media and just interpretations, and I would imagine still under copyright protection.

Doesn't Dynamite have to try be as close to the PD versions, while still creating their own interpretation? So being nekkid should work in their favor shouldn't it?

mmmmmmm nekkid

Intellectual property law in licensed works is a weird thing. Red Sonja in the comics is basically 90% a Roy Thomas creation with very minor connections to the work of REH. If she'd been called Black Sally and debuted in something other than a Conan comic, she'd be a 100% owned Marvel character.

BUT...Red Sonja isn't actually owned by the REH folks either. There's an independent company that owns Red Sonja that is separate from the people who hold the rights to Conan, Kull, etc.

BUT...that independent company licenses the rights to use Hyboria as a setting for Red Sonja stories from the REH people.

Mike

Right, lack of and skimpy clothing in Dynamite's ' Mars books ' should actually bring it more in accordance with the original PD material. If ERB's objection is that the treatment of it is more risque, it might be I don't know. I'm not that familiar with either property, but it becomes an obscenity thing, very hard to define and in the eye of the beholder.

I have a feeling the ERB lawyers will rely more on the trademark infringement and unfair competition attack, but being lawyers, they'll throw everything against the wall to see what sticks too. Also as MBunge alludes to, ERB will say they still own parts of the John Carter universe: visualizations, phrases, names besides the later books that aren't in PD. There's such a wealth of material in or coming to PD, I'm interested to see how this plays out!

So they can only use the characters if they're doing comic adaptations of the public domain novels, but nothing past that?

So anyone hear anything about Mr. Cage making a new Ghost Rider film?

It's not just the covers. I took at look at one of the Marvel Mars books while I was at the shop this Wednesday and the art was hideous. It was like that Aeon Flux cartoon that used to be on MTV.

Mike

It doesn't have to be good, it just has to be Marvel.