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DC: Infantino Sues for Flash/Batgirl
#1
Posted June 4, 2004
Source Newsday

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.

This is the third known case of creators (or their survivors) have sought to regain the rights to properties created for DC: Joanne Siegel, widow of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel sought 50% of the rights to the character (reportedly, despite ongoing negotiations, no settlement has been reached); Green Lantern creator Marty Nodell sought the rights to that character (and reportedly reached a settlement with DC); and now Infantino.
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#2
"By 1956 The Flash, 26, was slowing down"

Don't you just love when the press, the respectable mainstream press does nil research and gets facts wrong?

Hello? Hey Newsday, the Flash was dead in the water as of 1951 - not slowing down. His books were cancelled and he no longer appeared in any form. He was for all extensive purposes gone and forgotten. And what is up with "26," they're not trying to imply an age on the character, are they? The Flash (the original, Golden Age version, at least) was created by Gardner Fox and Harry Lambert in 1940, making him 16 in 1956.

I'm not asking for hours of research... how about half a minute on frigging Google?

Glenn Walker

P.S. If DC is treating Carmine Infantino anything at all like all their other old guard creators - he deserves every single penny he's asking for!
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#3
Looks to me like a settlement has been reached out of court on this one..

As reported by Newsarama:

[Image: Flash2.jpg]According to papers filed electronically with the New York Southern District Court, the complaint by Carmine Infantino against DC Comics which sought $4,000,000 in damages has been dismissed as of September 20th.

The dismissal came not through a decision by the judge, but rather pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(ii), which allows the plaintiff to dismiss an action without order of the court by filing a stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties who have appeared in the action.

That is, the plaintiff, in this instance, Infantino, has opted to dismiss, and the court has agreed. According to the filing, the dismissal is made without prejudice, that is, Infantino could revise his complaint and refile if he so chooses.

As of the filing for dismissal, DC had not responded to Infantino's complaint.

Infantino’s complaint alleged that he was owed damages by DC due to continued copyright infringement by the publisher, as Infantino claims that he created the Silver Age Flash, Batgirl, and a host of other DC characters as a freelancer, and therefore owns them.

As Newsarama reported earlier:

The core of Infantino’s complaint centers on The (Silver Age) Flash, the Rogues Gallery, and Black Canary, which, the complaint states, were created between 1943 and 1959. The Flash and the Rogues Gallery, as the complaint states, were based on Infantino’s creations, Captain Whiz and the Colors of Evil, respectively. According to the complaint, Infantino’s source characters were created years before he was assigned to redesign the Flash and create a collection of villains for the hero, whole cloth.

Neither DC nor Infantino’s lawyer chose to comment when asked by Newsarama.
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#4
Who were Captain Whiz and the Colors of Evil?

I've been pondering this one since you posted this, Local. The only references I can find to them are in the articles about the lawsuit. So far as my research goes they was no such animal. Was this a concept Mr. Infantino tried to sell and failed to? Anyone here know anything more?

Glenn Walker
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#5
GlennWalker Wrote:Who were Captain Whiz and the Colors of Evil?

I've been pondering this one since you posted this, Local. The only references I can find to them are in the articles about the lawsuit. So far as my research goes they was no such animal. Was this a concept Mr. Infantino tried to sell and failed to? Anyone here know anything more?
I have since found the answers. It was a property Infantino had designed for another publisher but not sold. Writers Broome and Fox adapted Infantino's concepts for the Colors of Evil into the original Rogues Gallery.

Glenn Walker
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