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Rebellion buys classic comic archive

Started by COMMANDO FORCES, 25 August, 2016, 10:37:41 AM

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COMMANDO FORCES


Robo-K33F

The news breaks at last!

Can't wait to get my hands on Scream, Action, Battle, Buster....

Pyroxian


Prodigal2

I am just coming round after a brief faint.

Is this as good as I imagine? What characters could re-emerge in addition to the ones referred to in the BBC article?


Banners

That is great news! Who do I need to lobby to get a reprint of Durrell's Palace made?

dweezil2

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Prodigal2

I never could quite get my head round all the legal delineation issues regarding IPC/Fleetway etc.

Presumably anyone featured in "Albion" would be excluded?

The Amstor Computer

Quote from: Prodigal2 on 25 August, 2016, 10:56:56 AM
I never could quite get my head round all the legal delineation issues regarding IPC/Fleetway etc.

Presumably anyone featured in "Albion" would be excluded?

If I'm reading the news correctly (and remembering the legal ins-and-outs correctly), you're looking at:

Rebellion now own every IPC character/comic published from 1970 (don't recall the month, but I'm sure there was a cut-off early in the year) to date, with the exclusion of perhaps some creator-owned works and things like the strips that originated in the New Eagle which are, AFAIK, all still owned by the Dan Dare Corporation.

Also excluded are - unless the legal situation has changed since I last checked - a number of specifically-named characters (I think it was 26, including characters like the Leopard of Lime Street) who remain with IPC (now Time Inc. UK/Time, which gives you your link to DC Comics, as DC are a subsidiary of Time now).

Any IPC comics pre-1970 belong to IPC/Time, so something like Valiant or Tiger and their strips would probably be off the table as they launched pre-1970, again unless there's some legal changes in the last few years.

It will give Rebellion access to an ENORMOUS archive of material and is a fantastic move for fans of classic British comics. I must admit to a small pang of jealousy at Robo-Keef's enviable position - what a treasure trove to choose from! - but seeing a big publisher behind this material who is prepared to actually use it is brilliant.


Will Cooling


Obviously retro-content is of most interest to the BBC but does anyone know if Crisis and Revolver counts as part of the 'Fleetway' archive? Because if 2000AD now owns them - that would be great...*starts drooling at Third World War digital collection*
Formerly WIll@The Nexus

IndigoPrime

Oh my. That is brazen, to say the least, and very exciting regarding potential collections. Scream and Action are obvious ones for 2000 AD fans, but even stuff like Oink has plenty of potential. I'd happily buy a digital collection of the entire lot, given the chance. I imagine print opportunities for some of this stuff are fairly limited, but then again I've heard a lot of people say they'd love to get their hands on some of this archive material.

Anyway, a huge thumbs-up to the Kingsleys and Rebellion. Funny to think that people were concerned about a games dev buying 2000 AD all those years ago. (I recall claims they'd mine the comic for games and not really give two hoots about anything more.) As it turns out, this one company has not only saved 2000 AD from extinction but is now about to give a huge chunk of British comics a possible second life. Top stuff, everyone involved!

Fungus

Nice one, Rebellion. Good to know there's a sufficient market for reprints.

Pyroxian

Quote from: The Amstor Computer on 25 August, 2016, 11:20:51 AM
Any IPC comics pre-1970 belong to IPC/Time, so something like Valiant or Tiger and their strips would probably be off the table as they launched pre-1970, again unless there's some legal changes in the last few years.

Drat, so no Look and Learn then (Hoping for a Trigan Empire reprint...)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AP,_Fleetway_and_IPC_Comics_publications

The Amstor Computer

Quote from: Pyroxian on 25 August, 2016, 11:30:50 AM
Quote from: The Amstor Computer on 25 August, 2016, 11:20:51 AM
Any IPC comics pre-1970 belong to IPC/Time, so something like Valiant or Tiger and their strips would probably be off the table as they launched pre-1970, again unless there's some legal changes in the last few years.

Drat, so no Look and Learn then (Hoping for a Trigan Empire reprint...)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AP,_Fleetway_and_IPC_Comics_publications

The legal situation may have changed in the last few years, but that's my understanding. I'm sure Rebellion will clarify which titles are included at some point, but I think sticking to "anything launched post-1970 by IPC" is a reasonably safe assumption for now.

Jim_Campbell

I wonder where Hookjaw sits in this deal, what with Titan having recently licensed the strip for its new upcoming Spurrier/Boyle title...
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Pyroxian

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 25 August, 2016, 11:36:39 AM
I wonder where Hookjaw sits in this deal, what with Titan having recently licensed the strip for its new upcoming Spurrier/Boyle title...

Yeah, wondering how it affects the Titan reprint GNs - maybe I should quickly buy the Charley's war ones I'm still missing...