Comic Book Resources

More to the point, are there enough dinguses who are willing to support a Fall Out Boy comic to begin with?

I realize I just asked a question I don’t want to hear the answer to.

Isn’t the band named after the Simpsons character? They must be, right? Didn’t they set themselves up for something like this?

Not only did they take their name from The Simpsons, they licensed themselves for comics… that’s a band with some integrity!

I’d say the Dabels are just annoyed at the money they’ve already spent, and if they could even get one issue out they can tell other people they want licenses from ‘We also did a Fall Out Boy comic’, because honestly, how would you even market the comic to anyone interested if you can’t have the bands name on it?
How would you let people know what it’s about?

Slightly off topic?

I feel less comfortable ridiculing projects like this sight unseen, as I’m inclined to do here, after what Gerard Way pulled off with ‘The Umbrella Academy’ (as I’m certainly no My Chemical Romance fan and figured it would be a lame vanity project). I’d be interested in seeing a list of comics written by musicians — has such a thing been compiled? I can’t imagine it would be a long list.

Dabel Bros. Business Director Rich Young: “Surely they would understand that the comic we were working on would be by and about the members of the band and would have nothing to do with ‘The Simpsons’ or any of the characters from the show?”

How does someone with so little apparent understanding of trademark law become Business Director for a publishing company?

Rich: Not that I’m big on unsolicited promotion, but since you asked about the topic, I wrote an article about music/comics crossover projects in Billboard a few months ago, where I tried to get at what does or does not give them traction (and might give some insight into the difference in potential between this Fall Out Boy thing and Umbrella Academy):

http://oovy.net/Comics_page.htm

And Douglas Wolk wrote a update and history of music/comics crossovers in Spin in January:

http://www.spin.com/articles/panel-surfers

Well, a few minor modifications to the title (like removing “all” and the “t” and putting a comma before Boy).

That might raise a few more eyebrows, and might sell a few more copies.

Explained Hurley, “I don’t know what happened. All I know is there was a press release about it and then all of a sudden I get some emails from some of our people saying, ‘Hey, so you want to help write it?’ And I was like, ‘If it’s a comic about our band, it’s the lamest thing ever.’ I mean, I’m not going to read it, so why would I help write it?

I thought being in an emo band was the lamest thing ever.

Anyway, my sympathy depends on the terms of the “agreement.” If it was just a preliminary agreement that fell apart due to typical trademark issues, well, that is not exactly an unknown thing when it comes to comic books. As I recall, when Valiant was producing comic books based on WWF wrestlers they could not use the company’s top star, Hulk Hogan. That’s because Marvel owns the trademark to a character you might have heard of before.

If the Dabel Bros. had a full-fledged contract, then they are certainly entitled to better treatment. But I’m not sure that is the case here.

@ Rich - “I feel less comfortable ridiculing projects like this sight unseen, as I’m inclined to do here, after what Gerard Way pulled off with ‘The Umbrella Academy’”

You shouldn’t, really. There’s a huge difference between a comic written by someone who happens to be in a lame band, and a comic specifically ABOUT a lame band.

@Apodaca: Exactly, that’s a lot of what my article above says–musicians involved with comics can mean many things, and they are certainly not equivalent.

“How does someone with so little apparent understanding of trademark law become Business Director for a publishing company?”

Isn’t the whole thing just the Dabels and their friends?

I didn’t realize the comic was *about* the band. Eek.

Couldn’t they just call it “The Power of Shazam?”

Oh, wait, sorry, wrong trademark dispute.

Jobs fall through. It happens. Especially when dealing with flaky clients, as rock musicians often are.

I sympathize with the Dabels, but they should try to shake it off and go on to the next thing. Sometimes the stuff can be re-worked — Cap’n Quick and a Foozle started as a Superman/Creeper issue of DC Presents, after all.

. Sometimes the stuff can be re-worked — Cap’n Quick and a Foozle started as a Superman/Creeper issue of DC Presents, after all.

That’s even assuming that the Dabel Bros. really did any sort of work on the series. As far as I can tell, per the trademark issues it seems that they never really got far into the creative process (I could be wrong, though). If that’s the case… this isn’t much of a story. As Greg Hatcher pointed out, it is just another job that fell through.

“How well would a comic about Fall Out Boy, without the support OF Fall Out Boy and not even CALLED Fall Out Boy sell?”

Probably a bit less or at least as well as a comic by the guy from My Chemical Romance with a name that is not the bands name but something like “The Umbrella Academy”?

Totally different projects, for a few reasons. The most important of which is already detailed above.

That’s the door closing.

The urban legend I’ve heard about how the band Fall Out Boy got their name is that they held a contest and let a fan pick the new name. They agreed to use Fall Out Boy without realizing that the name even referred to a Simpsons characters until long after the fact, at which point they were suitably annoyed to be stuck with it. This is all funnier in light of the comic book’s problems with the Simpsons legal team…

Well, okay, but while I certainly feel for the Dabel Bros. here - who exactly is interested in reading a Fall Out Boy comic where you can’t use the name Fall Out Boy in the comic book?

Why would someone be interested in a Fall Out Boy comic WITH the name Fall Out Boy in the comic book either? If people are interested in that, who knows what else they’ll be douchey enough to be interested in.

On a related matter, does anyone know why the Simpsons use of the name Radioactive Man has not caused a simular dispute with Marvel?

I just read the article and it seems kinda like a douchey thing for Fall Out Boy to do. Let me guess, My Chemical Romance started picking on them for copying Way, so they’re ignoring the Dabel Bros and denying any involvement?

Joe: It’s really a much different situation–Way created Umbrella Academy as a comics fan and aspiring creator and storyteller, and it has nothing to do with the band and it got a decent response as a comic on its own. The Fall Out Boy project was more of a licensing thing, with the Dabels wanting to base a comic on a known “brand” with familiar youth culture characters, etc. It sounds like they would have been happy to have Hurley, Wentz et al. be part of the creative process, but it was more about getting the go ahead. And I think Hurley’s quotes indicate that if he were to be involved in a comic, this wasn’t his preferred scenario, and any crap FOB might get from comics enthusiasts (or My Chemical Romance fans or whoever) might be deserved.

I say they just cut their losses and make a comic about PIPBoy from the game Fallout instead.

Dan: Same reason that Marvel and DC both have a Captain Marvel. Character name doesn’t equal trademark. As Bongo does put out Radiocative Man comics, I assume that they, not Marvel, have the trademark on the name. (or there could be a licensing deal if Marvel does).

Scavenger
Dan: Same reason that Marvel and DC both have a Captain Marvel. Character name doesn’t equal trademark. As Bongo does put out Radiocative Man comics, I assume that they, not Marvel, have the
trademark on the name. (or there could be a licensing deal if Marvel does).

They used too

Fall out boy comic!? WHY?

I don’t understand the reference. I don’t watch the Simpsons, so I did a few Google and Wiki searches. I couldn’t find “Fall Out Boy” listed as a character.

Regardless of which, just being a character in a show does not grant trademark in that character’s name. I can name a character Captain Jack Sparrow and so long as it doesn’t infringe on the copyright (as in, the character is suitably different so as not to create confusion) there is no legal issue because the term isn’t trademarked.

Fall Out Boy, the band, tops the Google searches. It is a recognizable element from the Bilboard charts. It is music played in public places like Target and on VH1. It really has a legal arguement as to who owns the trademark. Did Simpsons ever, before this point, send a Cease and Desist letter to the band? I suspect that they didn’t.

This sounds to me like a case of, “I have more money than you, so you have to do what I say” rather than a case of trademark infringement. But, I don’t know all the facts. Primarilly because of how obscure the Simpsons character must be to not even show up on the official website.

It is just like the band Toad the Wet Sproket. They are named after a Monty Python sketch. But, it isn’t a term that Monty Python trademarked.

Theno

Fall Out Boy is the name of Radioactive Man’s sidekick.

Thenodrin -

Try searching on “Fallout Boy Simpsons” or “Fall Out Boy Simpsons.” You’ll get to the Wikipedia link on the character - whom I note is spelled with “Fallout” as a single word, different from the band. Wonder if that makes a difference with respect to trademark?

Who has intrest in a comic about “Fall Out Boy” anyway?….what is their claim to fame or gimmick that would make a cool book?

Come on comic creators, you’re supposed to be creative folks, just give the band a fictional name! Invent an alter ego for them, how hard can it be? Or make it a self-parody… See also: Spinal Tap, The Rutles, Metalocalypse, Velvet Goldmine, Chris Gaines, Wicked Scepter, Cat’s Laughing, et cetera, ad infinitum.

@Threnodin: But there has been a “Radioactive Man” comic book (which is who Fallout Boy is the sidekick of, not to be confused with the Thor villain) so I would guess that it’s entering an arena where there is potential for confusion. So maybe they didn’t previously send a “cease and desist” because they’re trying not to be jerks about it, dealing heavily in the land of satire themselves. If it were a case of “I have more money than you”, I would think they would have already done something prior to this.

I would probably buy a comic book about the Simpsons character. The band, probably not.

For one thing, the major problem here is less with the Simpsons TV show than with the Simpsons Radioactive Man comics from Bongo Comics; THAT’s where The Simpsons beat Dabel to the trademark, since Fallout Boy made cover appearances and the like, the sorts Of things that DO establish trademark and can be used to make a case for trademark infringement. More to the point, the band members have been quite explicit that they took the name from the Simpsons character, which makes for a legitimate case on FOX’s or Bongo’s part that a comic-book tie-in could create an impression that The Simpsons or FOX are involved in or endorsing said comic.

This was, in large part, the argument used by Marvel regarding the trademark to “Captain Marvel:” the word “Marvel” in connection with comic books had a primary association with the comp[any Marvel Comics, and thus Marvel had first say in all comics trademark uses of the word “Marvel.” The Simpsons folks and Bongo Comics can surely claim that “Fallout Boy” and “comic book” bring to mind their character, who is, after all, an actual comic book character and not a licensed tie-in to a real person or people. No one’s going to associate the band Fall Out Boy primarily with their comic book; plenty of people would associate Fallout Boy entirely with comic books, since he’;s a comic book character even in the context of his cross-media origin. In effect, if the band had been more circumspect about declaiming the origin of their name, their comic might not have been

As to the Marvel Radioactive Man, I’d guess that’s more a question of a) Marvel not being in a financial position to take on FOX’s legal team and b) not being terribly worried that a coincidence of naming with a rather minor Marvel villain would cause trademark confusion. By the time Fabian Nicieza and Warren Ellis increased Marvel’s RM, I’d wager Marvel might not have even remembered they had such a character. It also helps that Bongo and the Simpsons staff don’t seem to have taken the name directly from Marvel and, you know, told everyone they’d done so in interview upon interview for two years running.

Actually, I’ve long sort of wondered, was Cat’s Laughing a reference to something? (I’m presuming this is the one from Excalibur.)

They probably would have to go with either the FOB acronym or an album title if they still wanted to go through with the project at this point, which, judging from the article, they don’t. Something I’m sure will come as a great disappointment to those desperately seeking to fill the gap left by Todd McFarlane’s KISS comic, Harvey’s New Kids on the Block comic, Hammerman, and the Jackson Five cartoon.

There’s an idea for a top five in here somewhere.

AFAIK, the chance from “Fallout Boy” in the Simpsons to “Fall Out Boy” for the band’s name was a result of wanting to avoid any legal trouble.

[…] Dabel Bros in another kerfuffle, this time with Fall Out Boy […]

Todd McFarlane’s KISS comic, Harvey’s New Kids on the Block comic, Hammerman, and the Jackson Five cartoon.

There’s an idea for a top five in here somewhere.

Pretty sure Neil Gaiman’s Alice Cooper takes number one.

So did anyone else here the voice of the dick lawyer from Simpsons when you read the lawyer quote?
I feel sorry for the Dabel Brothers. This is the contract they got that gave them the monetary confidence to split from Marvel. I hope they can pull through, or at least go back to Marvel.

Cats Laughing was a real band, including SF/Fantasy authors Emma Bull (War For The Oaks, Territory), Steven Brust (the Taltos series), and Adam Stemple (who spent a while in the band Boiled in Lead), among others.

Claremont’s a friend/fan of theirs, who delighted in dropping Cats Laughing references in his comics.

There’s a decent wikipedia article on them.

It’s funny, the Alice Cooper comic I remember is Marvel Premiere #50, from way back in 1979. I forgot that Gaiman did one, too.

Clearly the solution is for the band Fall Out Boy to make a guest appearance in Thunderbolts, following Radioactive Man around.

I’ve read all the “this isn’t the same as Umbrella Academy” arguments, and I tend to disagree. Sure, “Umbrella Academy” and even “Amory Wars” sell to comic fans because they’re NOT about My Chemical Romance and Coheed & Cambria respectively… BUT how many sales do those books pick up because of their musical ties?

If you look at C&C’s website, there are Amory Wars signings in nearly every city on their concert tours, advertised prominently (at least there were a few months ago, when my store almost hosted one). I can’t speak for MCR plugging Umbrella Academy or not, but I presume there’s some of that going on.

So, name the friggin’ comic “The Adventures of Pete Wentz and Friends,” and go for the guest appearance by Ashlee Simpson. Thanks to the marketing juggernaut that keeps Wentz in magazine articles and interviews, there would be no lost sales by not naming the comic “Fall Out Boy”.