According to recent reports, there appears to be an ugly legal battle looming between Fables creator Bill Willingham and publisher DC Comics. Many may be familiar with Willingham’s work through the hit Telltale game The Wolf Among Us.
Read Also: The First Mortal Kombat 1 Patch Has Released – FandomWire
The issues are due to Willingham releasing Fables into the public domain as detailed in a post to his blog These Foolish Games, despite DC claiming it owns the rights to the hit comic book series.
What does this mean for Season 2 of The Wolf Among Us?
Many fans of The Wolf Among Us will be left wondering what this means for the second season of the game. Though it was originally slated for release this year it has been pushed back to 2024 by developers Telltale Games.
As it stands, there is no indication that the issues between Willingham and DC will have an adverse effect on the development of the next season of The Wolf Among Us. Hopefully, we will see the second season released next year, unless, of course, more delays stunt the development of the game.
Bill Willingham has set out the lines in the sand on his blog These Foolish Games in regards to the dispute. His major complaint with DC is that they have been trying to take the Fables IP away from him. He claims that the publisher has been using wilful misinterpretation of the publishing contract he signed to achieve this.
However, in a statement to CBR, the publisher had the following to say on the subject:
“The Fables comic books and graphic novels published by DC, and the storylines, characters, and elements therein, are owned by DC and protected under the copyright laws of the United States and throughout the world in accordance with applicable law and are not in the public domain,”
Read Also: New Titanfall 2 Update Teases Something Bigger – FandomWire
What Will Happen With Fables in the Future?
One thing for sure is that this can be seen as a proverbial David versus Goliath battle. Willingham however made it clear that he wouldn’t be taking DC on in a courtroom but instead he: “decided to take a different approach, and fight them in a different arena, inspired by the principles of asymmetric warfare”.
However, in a Tweet Willingham clarified that his announcement “doesn’t include the right to reprint previously published Fables books and stories,” meaning that titles previously printed by DC are most likely not public domain.
The issue appears to actually be whether or not the Fables characters are now free to use due to the fact many are based on pre-existing fairy tale and book characters who already exist in the public domain.
Read Also: Where is GTA 6? Today Marks GTA 5s 10 Year Anniversary
If the characters are in the public domain, it’s essentially the property of everyone meaning we could see interesting original stories featuring Fable characters.
Who wouldn’t want to have their take on The Wolf Among Us? Willingham has also thanked fans on his blog for the outpouring of positive support he has received over the last few days concerning his issues with DC.
What are your thoughts on the latest news for The Wolf Among Us? Do you agree with Bill Willingham’s stance on his IP? What do you think this means for the second season of the game? Get in touch, drop us a comment, and let us know your thoughts.
Source: These Foolish Games, CBR
Follow us for more entertainment coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
