Characters Fables can't use

[The Nuke]

I just jumped on the Fables band wagon, love it so far, but I was just wondering what Fables Willingham can't use?

IGN had Pan and Hook as unusable though they did appear in flashback form.What about the Lord of the Rings and King Arthur characters? Granted I've only read Volume 1,2, 5, and 1001 nights. I'me just interested in who's available and who isn't.

[Schornforce]

The only ones unavailable as far as I know are anyone still owned by copyrights (i.e. Peter Pan, Narnia characters (although Aslan made an appearance, he was not named), etc.) or simply anyone who doesn't fit in with the vision/universe Willingham wants (i.e. DCU characters, other Vertigo characters, etc.)

[Rob on the Job]

I just jumped on the Fables band wagon, love it so far, but I was just wondering what Fables Willingham can't use? ...

I think Bill Willingham has stated previously that a character must in the public domain -- and that means the public domain in every place "Fables" is sold.

For instance, Peter Pan is in the public domain in the US but not in Britain [its rights were bequeathed by James Barrie to a hospital], so that leaves Pan out of the running for the nonce.

[jerrymcl89]

Tolkien's characters are definitely not in the public domain, and thus unavailable. Obviously, Arthurian characters, being many centuries old, are fair game.

I don't know what the exact cutoff for public domain is, but anything that goes back to the nineteenth century or earlier would be available.

[twilight]

I think Bill Willingham has stated previously that a character must in the public domain -- and that means the public domain in every place "Fables" is sold.

For instance, Peter Pan is in the public domain in the US but not in Britain [its rights were bequeathed by James Barrie to a hospital], so that leaves Pan out of the running for the nonce.

Pan's lapsing into the public domain this year so Willingham could use him soon if he wanted to.

[Blake Petit]

Tolkien's characters are definitely not in the public domain, and thus unavailable. Obviously, Arthurian characters, being many centuries old, are fair game.

I don't know what the exact cutoff for public domain is, but anything that goes back to the nineteenth century or earlier would be available.

It's different in different countries. In the U.S. (unless they changed it again while I wasn't looking) the law states that copyrights expire 75 years after the death of the creator.

[Matt Linton]

It'd be interesting to see the Endless pop up.

[dancj]

The only ones unavailable as far as I know are anyone still owned by copyrights (i.e. Peter Pan, Narnia characters (although Aslan made an appearance, he was not named), etc.) or simply anyone who doesn't fit in with the vision/universe Willingham wants (i.e. DCU characters, other Vertigo characters, etc.)

Wasn't the Snow Queen a Narnia character?

[Pennyghost]

There was also a Snow Queen in the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales, so it's not like Narnia invented her. (besides I wouldn't be surprised if there are even older Snow Queen stories)

[Dr. Killbydeath]

Isn't the Narnia character the Snow Witch?

[Schornforce]

No. The White Witch was from Narnia. The character Mr. Willingham is using is from the same fairy tale as Kay.

[filthysize]

I'm looking forward for Willingham to tap into more obscure third world country fables. There are some great African, Indian or Indonesian fairy tale characters out there.

[flapjaxx]

Tolkien's characters are definitely not in the public domain, and thus unavailable. Obviously, Arthurian characters, being many centuries old, are fair game.

I don't know what the exact cutoff for public domain is, but anything that goes back to the nineteenth century or earlier would be available.

Fables could go on for 300 more years, and I doubt would never be able to use LOTR characters or Mickey Mouse. Not in America anyway. The politicians keep getting bought off, if not literally than figuratively: they keep buying the sob-stories of already-wealthy-enough-for-doing-nothing descendants. If characters are very profitable for an evil multi-national corporation like Disney (...) then they will see to it that the cutoff date keeps getting pushed back indefinitely. (Thanks, Sonny Bono.) They have already extended it repeatedly.

If anyone's interested in this there's a great book called "The Copywrights: Intellectual Property and the Literary Imagination" done by Paul Saint-Amour.

And don't forget that Disney's scientists are still working tirelessly to reincarnate Walt. Once he wakes all the counting-down clocks get reset.

[dancj]

No. The White Witch was from Narnia. The character Mr. Willingham is using is from the same fairy tale as Kay.

Ah - Okay

I'm looking forward for Willingham to tap into more obscure third world country fables. There are some great African, Indian or Indonesian fairy tale characters out there.

In the Homelands tpb (which I read last week) there was some comment that the European Fable worlds had been conquered and the Middle Eastern ones were being started on, and that the Chinese ones might be reached in a 100 or so years (or something along those lines) so I think we're mainly just going to be seeing European and Middle Eastern ones.

[Kirayoshi]

Pan's lapsing into the public domain this year so Willingham could use him soon if he wanted to.

I thought the hospital Barrie had willed the rights to had commissioned a sequel called "Peter Pan in Scarlet" so they could retain the rights to Pan.