Dark Horse Announces Return of The MysteryMen! What Does This Mean for Marvel’s Mystery Men?

A couple of d ays ago, Marvel Comics sent out a teaser image for an upcoming series titled Mystery Men. The image was illustrated by Patrick Zircher, and shows a number of 1940s style superheroes. One of the characters appears to be The Fin and another looks like The Thunderer, both of whom appeared in Daring Mystery Comics, which was published in the 1940s by Marvel parent Timely Comics.

This teaser caused a bit of controversy, because it turns out that Marvel may not actually have the rights to publish a series under the title of Mystery Men. This is because the name has already been claimed by Universal Pictures, who produced a Mystery Men movie in 1999, based on characters from Bob Burden‘s Flaming Carrot comic book series. According to Bob Burden, he owns the trademark to the one-word Mysterymen title, and Dark Horse and Universal own to the two word Mystery Men title. (Full story here)

As if things weren’t already interesting enough, Dark Horse Comics have now announced that they are planning to bring back Burden’s MysteryMen series in the pages of the newly relaunched Dark Horse Presents!

It’s not yet clear how this will affect Marvel’s new title, but I imagine that it means that they are going to have to come up with a new name for it. Dark Horse own the trademark on the Mystery Men name, and  I can’t image that will be very happy with Marvel infringing upon their trademark. I expect that Marvel will announce that they have re-titled the series in the next couple of days!

I have to say though, the timing seems more than coincidental. What are the chances of two publishers announcing new titles with the same name, within the space of a few days?

From Dark Horse’s Press release:

In Dark Horse’s twenty-fifth year, we are proud to announce the return of yet another classic Dark Horse property. Bob Burden’s ragtag bunch of lesser superheroes first appeared in the pages of the Dark Horse-published Flaming Carrot Comics. The team, led in the comics by the legendary Flaming Carrot himself and armed with less-than-impressive superpowers, even appeared in a four-issue crossover series with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1993.

Later given their own series and developed into a feature film in 1999, these characters are still widely considered a cult favorite by comics fans of all ages.

“Bob’s misfit superheroes have always been a favorite of mine, and we’ve had great success with them in the past,” said Dark Horse president Mike Richardson. “I can’t wait to have them back in the pages of Dark Horse Presents.”

To celebrate the triumphant return of the beloved misfits, we present this special two-part story. Look for part 2 next week, and more to be continued in the pages of Dark Horse Presents!

Related posts:

1. Marvel’s Mystery Men Title May Need to Rethink its Name
2. Dark Horse Presents Returns to Print in 2011!
3. Kieron Gillen and Doug Braithwaite Return to Asgard with Journey Into Mystery #622
4. Dark Horse Announces Micha Hershman as New Director of Marketing
5. Howard Chaykin Targets Dark Horse Presents #1!