[tbdeinc]

...and the opening shots, middle shots and ending are at a comicbook store...

I then discovered if any comicbook is clearly made out in any of the shots, I would have to get permission from the publisher and/or pay a license fee...

Then I gots to thinking... (it happens sometime)...

What if I download some of the wonderful selection of comics**, clean up the covers, print them out and make dummy books out of them, and finally populate the comicbook store with the vintage covers...

Do any or all of you have any thoughts or suggestions on this that would help me succeed or avoid legal problems?

Some storyboard samples of the production: http://www.theblackdiamondeffect.com/index4.shtml

Sincerely,

George Peter Gatsis


** alot of the covers then, make the cover artists now look childish... Alex Ross is the only one that even comes close to the quality of yesteryear...

[narfstar]

I would recommend that you use two resources. This site is great for seeing what is public domain and available. We do not however have a cover gallery. You can browse through what books are PD then go to www.comics.org and look up the title and pull up the cover gallery to pick the books you are interested in. I looked at your site and would think that you would at least need an issue of Planet Comics for the scifi. Your character looks something like Black Venus who appeared in Contact comics. No cover feature but you might want to redo a splash.

[tbdeinc]

I've just been downloading all the first issues and picking the best covers off of this site...

Planet Comics is definately on the list of covers...

G

[John C]

First, yes, the books are wholly public domain (though certainly double-check on your own, since our word isn't legally useful), so you don't need to worry about licenses, no matter what you do with them.  I assume, by the way, that you've read through this:

http://www.law.duke.edu/cspd/comics/

It's primarily about documentaries (and isn't particularly compelling), but is handy and a decent overview of what people should probably know.

As for the books themselves, depending on how you're shooting, I also agree that you might want to make your own covers from interior art, as long as you're going to that trouble and have an artistic bend.  It'll keep the more OCD among us from grumping that your comic shop hasn't rotated its stock in more than half a century...

[tbdeinc]

Thanks for the additional knowledge...

G