... Can I use Jimi Hendrix in my comic?

[Rosie]

I thought it would be a really cool idea to do research into various dead musicians, and form a kind of "Super Hero team" out of them.

Well, not really. THey're just a group who sit around a club smoking pipes and weed discussing what King Lir would have been like if Shakespear was Chinese. But still, that's kind of heroic, in a philosphical way.

The DEAD MUSICIANS consist of:

Jimi Hendrix(team leader, and general nature loving Wildchild)
Jim Morrison(with the power to invade people's dreams)
Freddy Mercury(the gay one with the moustache)
John Lennon(tried to imagine there was no heaven, and promptly ended up there)
Ian Curtis(the creepy one)
Kurt Cobain(the Stoner)
Dimebag Darrel(he's the new guy, they let him join to be the muscle)

I think I'll do a team of Classical "Old School" Deceased Composers, consisting of Beethoven, Bach, etc.

Elvis joined but got kicked out because his Ego was too big, and he was too overhyped anyway. He now runs a burger bar under the identity "Alvin Preston".

Anyway, I thought they'd be a pretty fun light-hearted addition to my comic.

What do you think?

Do I have to pay Digitech since they apparently own Jimi's soul now?

EDIT: Shit, wrong forum. Can someone move to community?

[Toreador]

Do I have to pay Digitech since they apparently own Jimi's soul now?

Only if you make money off it. Even dead rock stars still have agents. But you could always parodize the rock stars.

[PatrickG]

If you're doing a nonfiction story, I think you're pretty clear.

If it's fiction, you need to be sure it falls under satire because he probably signed use of his likeness away. If somebody's paid for his likeness, they'll likely fight someone trying to use it for free.

Legally, that would likely mean that his face is trademarked.

You can get by with satire (which really needs to be limited run/use to be justifiable) but a "straight" story would raise a red plag possibly.

I suspect that's why the recent super-hero Elvis story that was a serious tale used a mask even though his likeness is often parodied/stairized in comics.

What would be much easier would be:

A super-hero team that happens to look like these guys but is never explicitly stated to be them.

A super-hero team of reincarnated people who think they were these guys in a past life but don't necessarily look like them.

[PatrickG]

An afterthought:

Basically you need sufficient originality beyond a use of these guys' likenesses to avoid stepping on the rights owner.

My comic pitch includes a parallel universe Wild Bill Hickock type. Now, I'm fairly sure he's public domain anyway but even if he's not, my guy is Wild Bill Yonder who patrols the moon in a futuristic 19th century.

Nobody's gonna confuse my guy with the real guy. Adjusted name. Totally different MO. At best, Hickok is an inspiration.

[Rosie]

I hate that you can "Own" dead people.

What if I only use their first names and likenesses? And replace their last names with Super-Hero names?

I don't want to make it so it's "Johnny Hondrax". I hate when comics do that.

[Adam Crocker]

If it's fiction, you need to be sure it falls under satire because he probably signed use of his likeness away. If somebody's paid for his likeness, they'll likely fight someone trying to use it for free.

Legally, that would likely mean that his face is trademarked.

Yar. I heard that Hendrix's estate is pretty protective of his image. Though from what I know about trademarks it's usually more a problem if someone is trying to make money of them them. What if he/she is not actually making money off the comic?

And now onto to commenting on the team.

The DEAD MUSICIANS consist of:

Jimi Hendrix(team leader, and general nature loving Wildchild)

Contrary to his onstage persona Jimi was a very quiet, introspective, almost shy person offstage. The incident where he trashed his hotel room in Sweden was actually uncharacteristic of him.

(Besides, were I to assemble a superhero team of dead musicians, my choice for a leader would be the Clash's Joe Strummer.)

Jim Morrison(with the power to invade people's dreams)

Jim Morrison with the power to invade people's dreams with his pretentious, drunken rambling? BRRRRRR! And this guy isn't the villain they fight every week...why?

Ian Curtis(the creepy one)

JIMI: "So Ian, what would a comic book be like if Vladimir Nabokov and Aubrey Beardsley teamed up to do it?"

CURTIS: "...Asylums with doors open wide, where people had paid to see inside. For entertainment they watch his body twist. Behind his eyes he says, 'I still exist...'"

JOHN: "Godammit! He's at it again! Are you SURE he got laid back when he was alive?!"


Kurt Cobain(the Stoner)

I'd select Jerry Garcia as the resident stoner of the group myself. If any Cobain's presence is more suited to the brooding, angsty loner/tortured artist worried about living up to his romantic notions of his heroes. But they already have Curtis and Joy Division was a much more interesting band so...

Do I have to pay Digitech since they apparently own Jimi's soul now?

Well them and the Jim Dunlop company.

[Rosie]

Contrary to his onstage persona Jimi was a very quiet, introspective, almost shy person offstage. The incident where he trashed his hotel room in Sweden was actually uncharacteristic of him.

(Besides, were I to assemble a superhero team of dead musicians, my choice for a leader would be the Clash's Joe Strummer.)

I'm somewhat familiar with Jimi's personality and he was certainly introspective, and by "Wild child", I meant Wild in the nature sense rather than the HEAVY METAL sense.

But you're quite right, Joe Strummer deserves a mention too, purely because his last name is funny.

Well them and the Jim Dunlop company.

I actually mentioned that too but editted it out since Dunlop haven't produced any Hendrix "Products" in ages.

[Adam Crocker]

But you're quite right, Joe Strummer deserves a mention too, purely because his last name is funny.

Well in spite of the fact that "Joe Strummer" is among the coolest rock'n'roll alias' ever, the name was pretty much a joke based on his inept guitar technique where he was limted to strumming chords, partly because he was taught to play right-handed, but was left handed.

I actually mentioned that too but editted it out since Dunlop haven't produced any Hendrix "Products" in ages.

According to their website they still manufacture their Hendrix Wah and Fuzz Pedals, as well as the Dallas Arbiter Fuzz-face.

[Paploo the Ewok]

I hate that you can "Own" dead people.

What if I only use their first names and likenesses? And replace their last names with Super-Hero names?

I don't want to make it so it's "Johnny Hondrax". I hate when comics do that.


You can use dead people who've been dead before copuright existed... Public Domain dead, like they did with the Clone High animated series p[though that falls under parody, which is how theycould use JFK]

But there's a good reason. If your dad died would you want some cartoonist using his likeness and history in some comic without your permission? You could do it as an unauthorized biography, but I'm not sure how that'd be done with comics since there's images involved, and again, biography is entirely different in copyright terms then "superhero team".

I'd say you'd be better off creating entirely NEW RockStars who bear similarities to dead ones. That's be analogies to them, or entirely new creations. Even better they'd be YOUR creations, rather then you stomping on the graves of dead people [sorry, that's how some people'ld see this, even if you handle it well, especially family members who may not want this].

[Rosie]

You can use dead people who've been dead before copuright existed... Public Domain dead, like they did with the Clone High animated series p[though that falls under parody, which is how theycould use JFK]

But there's a good reason. If your dad died would you want some cartoonist using his likeness and history in some comic without your permission? You could do it as an unauthorized biography, but I'm not sure how that'd be done with comics since there's images involved, and again, biography is entirely different in copyright terms then "superhero team".

I'd say you'd be better off creating entirely NEW RockStars who bear similarities to dead ones. That's be analogies to them, or entirely new creations. Even better they'd be YOUR creations, rather then you stomping on the graves of dead people [sorry, that's how some people'ld see this, even if you handle it well, especially family members who may not want this].

But the whole point is that they are kind of real people... what if i just used their last names, and changed their image a little?

[icymatt]

Thus are the reasons I stuck to Abraham Lincoln (who I made into a parody/homage of Captain America), Hitler (As three different robots), and Musolini (as a robot that nobody loves). I'm sure they have no copyright.

I have my entire universe planned out. Now, all I have to do is actually write the stories and maybe get them published.

[Paploo the Ewok]

But the whole point is that they are kind of real people... what if i just used their last names, and changed their image a little?

If they are close enough to the people to serve as recognizable analogies to them, they should be able to serve your story in the same way as using the real people would.

[PatrickG]

The issue here is trademark, not copyright.

Copyright expires (or did until Mary Bono pushed through a 20 year freeze on it).

Trademark doesn't expire while in use.

Most people's images aren't trademarked. From Hitler to Abraham Lincoln to George W. Bush, you're pretty much safe with public figures unless their likeness is trademarked for the purpose of selling products.

You still have to worry about libel.

The difference with many entertainers is that their face has a trademark on it because it IS used to sell products. Legally, a face like Michael Jordan's is considered a trademark for selling products just like Uncle Ben, Mickey Mouse's ears, the Windows logo, etc. You need to be parodying such a likeness to use it at all because it is corporately owned and in use as a "brand label" of sorts.

Using Jimi Hendrix is like putting DC or Marvel on the upper left your book. Jimi Hendrix is a brand used to sell products.

You can base a character ON Jimi Hendrix, do a parody featuring Jimi Hendrix or pay to use Hendrix's likeness. The alternative is to do non-fiction and stand by your story as a journalistic account. There really is no getting around this.

In turn, you can use George W. Bush all you want because his likeness is not trademarked. You have to be cautious of libel but that's all.

However, while you can use George W. Bush and call him the president, you can't use the presidential seal which is owned by the federal government and requires permission to use.

Certain things are owned. Certain things are not.

Generally, if somebody (or their estate or their employers) can or is making money off of their likeness, it's best to steer clear or get permission if you don't want to get sued.

You can have characters talk about Jimmy hendrix to an extent and be safe. However, I would note that the producers of "Donnie Darko" even had to get permission to talk about the Smurfs' sex lives (which they were granted permission to do). I would wager that Tarentino got permission from Warner Bros' for his Superman discussion.

[Converge]

If they just guest star in a book then I don't think it will be a problem. Grant Morrison used dead celebrities in the Invisibles. Such as the scene where John Lennon is a psychadelic deity.

But if they are the main characters or even supporting characters then it will probably be a problem.

[PatrickG]

If they just guest star in a book then I don't think it will be a problem. Grant Morrison used dead celebrities in the Invisibles. Such as the scene where John Lennon is a psychadelic deity.

But if they are the main characters or even supporting characters then it will probably be a problem.

Did he refer to Lennon by name?

I recall an issue of SUPREME guest-starring Jack Kirby that never actually refered to him by name. Likewise, the Marvel "What If...?" where Galactus became Elvis never actually used the name "Elvis" if I recall correctly.

The Ultimate line at Marvel has gotten permission for most or all of the celebrities used. (At least, up until Greg Land started doing work there. Virtually every panel he does is lightboxed from a movie. Topher Grace=Reed Richards. Brad Pitt=Magneto.) Sam Jackson, Freddie Prinze Jr. etc. gave permission to Marvel for their names/likenesses to be used.

A lot of people are pretty cool about their likeness. But if somebody's face is how they or their next of kin make money, I can understand wanting control over it.

[Converge]

Did he refer to Lennon by name?


Yes. Paul was also mentioned, in a different scene.

[howyadoin]

Yar. I heard that Hendrix's estate is pretty protective of his image.I wouldn't blame them, personally. It took them a long time to pry the rights away from his scumbag manager.

As for the title question, unless you can do a better job than Bill Sienkiewicz, I don't see the point.

[Adam Crocker]

As for the title question, unless you can do a better job than Bill Sienkiewicz, I don't see the point.

So it's worth getting the comic then?

[howyadoin]

So it's worth getting the comic then?Sienkiewicz's Hendrix bio? Yeah, it's a freakin' masterpiece.