Who can save Superman now? KURT BUSIEK!

[Uncle Mxy]

There is no Legion without Superboy! The last fifteen years have proved it.

Naahh...  it wasn't really the End Of An Era until Zero Hour.  

[Kurt Busiek]

For Kurt and others:  

Does the Legion even need Superboy at this point?  

In the '60s, sure, Superboy was what made the thing work as a comic.
But I don't think it's needed today, FWIW.  

I liked the Legion all by itself, as sort of a long-running possible-future Elseworlds.  I never liked it as an entity that interacted with the modern era in great ways.

The Legion doesn't need Superboy to interest me, but the book seems to lose a lot of sales oomph without him around.

I suspect that it's a matter of resonance -- with Superboy around, it's a Super-family title, albeit at some distance, and without him around it's just a series set in the far future, with almost no connection to what DC fans tend to think are the "main" stuff.

I like it fine that way, but I can see why it could be a problem.

kdb

[Super Monkey]

Does DC Comics even own the copyright of the Clark Kent Superboy anymore?

[NotSuper]

Basically, you write comics.  If you want to be a professional at it, you find editors or publishers willing to buy them.  It's generally a freelance gig, not a staff position.

Depending on what part of the question you're most interested in, you might do well to track down a copy of A WRITER'S GUIDE TO THE BUSINESS OF COMICS by Lurene Haines, which goes into the business side in a fair amount of detail.

You've got to be able to write salable stuff.  This requirement means different things to different publishers, mind you, but it's the only one that matters.

Thanks for the information.

[Uncle Mxy]

Does DC Comics even own the copyright of the Clark Kent Superboy anymore?

I don't think there's such a distinction as "Clark Kent Superboy" vs. just plain "Superboy" in the context of literary copyright.  For that matter, I'm not sure if just "copyright" is adequate to sum up the rights that you may or may not be thinking of.  Qualifying this stuff gets really messy really fast.  I think the answer is that DC has the rights, and the Siegel/Shuster heirs are suing, or something along those lines.  

Kurt, does DC provide writers with any legal restrictions regarding the use of Superman or other characters?  e.g.  "Thou Shalt Not Portray Superman With A Yellow Triangle S Banner (even though it's an effective defense against old-school GL) Else The Trademark Powers That Be (under the sublime leadership of General Zod) Will Smite You And Your Heirs!"

[CRISISHATER]

What is obvious to me, is that the fans who spend the money for overpriced Silver age statues, figures, and books have created a market for a classic mythology to return. DC has ignored the cries of the marketplace. They need look no further than Supreme for proof. DC is not Marvel, and I'm tired of their heroes being portrayed with some sort of Peter Parkerish angst or weakness. That's why the great number of us shy away from Byrned-Jurgened Superman. Then they toy with us by R2K, Krypto and now Supergirl.....but I don't believe for a second there will be a significant transformation. There are rumblings that somehow this won't  be the "real" Kara anyway. And I will again be let down.

[Kurt Busiek]

Kurt, does DC provide writers with any legal restrictions regarding the use of Superman or other characters?  e.g.  "Thou Shalt Not Portray Superman With A Yellow Triangle S Banner (even though it's an effective defense against old-school GL) Else The Trademark Powers That Be (under the sublime leadership of General Zod) Will Smite You And Your Heirs!"

Nope.

I mean, the obvious legal restrictions, like, "Do Thou Never Craft a Tale In Which Superman Fighteth Thanos or the Good Doctor Octopus, Yea, Or E'en the Ginger-Haired Archie Andrews, Brief Combat Though It Would Be, Without The Sheltering Umbrella of a Properly-Secured Crossover Deal" kinda go without saying.  And if there are any others, they at least don't provide a list.

I would assume, if there was some legal reason they couldn't show Superman with a "Yellow Triangle S Banner" (whatever that is), they wouldn't bring it up unless someone said, "And then we'll have Superman whip up a new Yellow Triangle S Banner, and..."

I mean, there was a time Jim Lee drew a whole bunch of Batmobiles in a BATMAN story, and DC made him change the shot of the TV Batmobile a little because they don't actually have the rights to it.  But that's not something they're going to pass out on a list -- it's only going to come up if someone starts drawing old Batmobiles.

kdb

[Uncle Mxy]

I mean, the obvious legal restrictions, like, "Do Thou Never Craft a Tale In Which Superman Fighteth Thanos or the Good Doctor Octopus, Yea, Or E'en the Ginger-Haired Archie Andrews, Brief Combat Though It Would Be, Without The Sheltering Umbrella of a Properly-Secured Crossover Deal"

"Mighty Thor: Attorney At Large" premieres this Thursday on NBC.  Be there, or fie upon it!  

kinda go without saying.  And if there are any others, they at least don't provide a list.

I would assume, if there was some legal reason they couldn't show Superman with a "Yellow Triangle S Banner" (whatever that is)

FWIW, I was referring to the "S" logo Superman had in Action Comics #1, which was a 3-side triangle rather than a a 5-sided diamond cut, didn't have any red in it, and for all I know might have some perverse legal encumberance associated with it since I rarely see it used.  I wasn't going to speculate too much on what crazy crap the lawyers may come up with, so I err on the side of farce.  

, they wouldn't bring it up unless someone said, "And then we'll have Superman whip up a new Yellow Triangle S Banner, and..."

I mean, there was a time Jim Lee drew a whole bunch of Batmobiles in a BATMAN story, and DC made him change the shot of the TV Batmobile a little because they don't actually have the rights to it.  But that's not something they're going to pass out on a list -- it's only going to come up if someone starts drawing old Batmobiles.

I was fuzzily thinking that over the decades, enough incidents like this might've happened where it makes sense to have guidelines handed out to  every creator, but this makes sense too.  
Thanks for replying.