Dan DiDio commented on the idea at New York Comic Con…
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Ever since the announcement of the Batman ‘66 comic five or so years ago, fans have clamored for a title set in the universe of George Reeves’ Superman. (Or Christopher Reeve’s Superman, for that matter.)
And naturally, interest intensified when DC published Wonder Woman ‘77.
So, on Thursday at New York Comic Con, a fan asked about the possibility of Superman ‘55 during the company’s Meet the Publishers panel.
Unfortunately — and thoroughly unsurprisingly — the response was not encouraging. Though Co-Publisher Dan DiDio appeared enthusiastic about the idea and called it “something worth looking into” — indicating a one-shot had been bandied about — it was obvious there were significant obstacles to making it happen.
He addressed the matter only briefly but it was clear that, even though Reeves didn’t appear to have an estate to speak of, likeness-rights concerns remain a sticking point.
Which is too bad, though it’s certainly understandable. The last thing any publisher would want would be for a long-lost relative to come forward and claim ownership of Reeves’ likeness.
But, hey, there’s still an awesome fan-produced project out there. (Click here.)
October 4, 2018
I’ve never seen the George Reeves “Superman” show in its entirety, but a “Superman ’55” comic would’ve been really fascinating.
October 4, 2018
Seriously Warner Bros is a big Company with a legal dept. I’m sure they could get someone to research and clarify the likeness rights.
October 5, 2018
This is so a cop out by DC. They could make this happen. The friendlier tone stories and characters from a bygone time are a perfect tribute to the people that produced those stories, from the actors to writers etc. I wouldn’t care if they just made comics of the existing episodes already shot. They must own the rights to those, right? Come on DC, if they can make a movie about George Reeves life surely they can reproduce his best work.