Inspired by the opening text piece in last week’s Animal Man #1, artist Blair Campbell has designed an ‘Evolve or Die’ t-shirt just in time for next month’s NYCC 2011. Embraced by animal rights activists, underground revolutionaries and collegiate hipsters alike, A-Man is the breakout star of the new DC Universe, though the irony is all fiction.
Now we just need some plucky film students to produce a trailer for “indy -darling Ryan Daranovsky’s edgy drama ‘Tights'” starring Buddy Baker and Marisa Tomei.
Animal Man inspired "Evolve or Die" T-shirt by Blair Campbell
Grab one now in a wide variety of colors and sizes.
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Pffft, I’m making my own out of rubber bands and Kirby’s ashes.
It was just a matter of time… 24$ though, ouch!
Or free with a printer, some transfer paper, an old blue t-shirt and an iron. If looking like a hipster is this expensive, you’re doing it wrong. (Kirby’s ashes optional – I just mix those of my comics-collecting uncle in with the ink, like Mark Gruenwald and the Squadron Supreme trade.)
If you can find a cheaper print on demand shop, let me know.
It’s not that expansive, here in Montréal a Billabong/Volcom t-shirt is 25$. It also depends if the quality of the material is good or not, I once bought a t-shirt like this online and after two washings the printed logo was just gone… 😉
For the same price I can get myself two DC/Marvel t-shirts where my girlfriend works. So I’ll pass… 😉
Completely agree with you there! I’ve been trying to find a good, cheap shirt printer for a while. Sadly, it seems like you either get cheap OR good.
I decided to go with the site I did because they have a really good reputation online with a “If you don’t absolutely love it, we’ll take it back.” policy.
We need a shirt with a stylized Batman holding a GL ring with the tag, “WHAT’S THIS DO?”
Will buy that Tork. Tell me when you’ve made them!
So funny. Those shirts will help stand up against the evil known as “The Hunters”!
LOVE IT.
Nice Job, Blair!
Thanks, man!
this shirt is awesome.
i always enjoy the creative skirting of copyright law. creative “fair use doctrine” seems to be the future of these enterprises. or am i a jerk and there actually is a derivative works copyright licensing going on here with DC that i am ignorantly oblivous to? probably just a jerk either way. good design!
Beat me too it. I’ll have to get one. I thought about making one all weekend. Do you need a license if you don’t use the characters name?
Sorry this is a late post but:
short answer: it’s a bit murky.
long answer and speculation:
DC comics has definitely trademarked the DC and Animal Man logos. They most likely also trademarked them for apparels (such as a shirt) (Or have a direct license with another company) That means statutory damages regardless of actual damages in the case of illegal / unlicensed use.
DC comics has copyrights on all the words and images together printed in their books…such as “Evolve or Die” and Animal Man’s costume…but for statutory damages it must be exact reproduction or similar. (Such as printing a page from the book on a T-Shirt or redrawing a page (or part of) on a T-Shirt)
DC cannot really trademark the words “Evolve or Die” in all contexts. So a T-Shirt just saying the words “Evolve or Die” has limited trademark protection.
The law direclty may be questionably violated in this instance but the “intent” of the law is clearly violated. This is a derivative work. Its made for direct profit and is not commenting on the original use (so no case for “Fair Use Doctrine”). The work would not exist if not for DC publishing Animal Man comic. DC in spirit should receive recognition and profit from its creation.
If this were music and an artist took a song by another individual and covered it, changing some lyrics and the melody, they would still have to pay the publisher and writer/composer/arranger for its use. Not nearly as much as using a clip from the original song and they do not need the creators approval.
That said…nothing will happen because, what are DC’s actual damages? It would cost DC more money to have lawyers draft a “cease and desist” letter than they are loosing in actual T-Shirt sales to this vendor. Also these T-Shirts promote the Animal Man book and help DC somewhat. I haven’t looked at how easy it may or may not be to license DC’s material but I assume it must be very difficult, which is another problem. I’m sure if this were rampant enough, whomever has legitimate licensing agreements with DC for apparel might take action.
As an artist I believe DC should be rewarded for its creative output. If I were to make a T-Shirt, I have two choices, use someone elses material in a new way or invent something of my own. I want to see artists get rewarded for their ideas(as I would like to be rewarded for mine), and if someone slighlty modified this T-Shirt design I would hope this artist were rewarded as well.
Please tell me that you’re not stereotyping all vegans as hipsters. My plant-eating self is so much not a hipster.