Confirming what many fans have speculated about the fate of the three popular pulp heroes, Dan Didio revealed on his Facebook page that DC Comics no longer owns the rights to Doc Savage, The Avenger and, perhaps most significantly, The Spirit. With DC allowing the rights to lapse, it seems all three characters are now available for another publisher to step in and purchase if it wishes.In response to a fan question on his Facebook page about the absence of each character over the past year, Didio said the following:

"Sorry to say but none of these characters are still at DC but here's hoping that another publisher gets them back in print soon."



While this means DC will no longer be publishing new stories starring these three, the publisher will retain the rights to The Spirit Archives "for the foreseeable future," according to Denis Kitchen, agent for the Will Eisner estate. In regards to most of the archives currently being out of print, Kitchen advised fans to "watch for a press release in the not too distant future which might provide a clue."

As to who may pick up the rights, there will almost certainly be some conjecture among fans as to Dynamite Entertainment possibly looking to acquire the characters. With Dynamite currently publishing new monthly adventures starring The Shadow, The Green Hornet, The Spider and others, it would seem, at least on the surface, to be a logical fit.


(Via Newsarama)

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