> From: "fiawol_at_aol.com [SkunkworksAMA]" <SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com>
> "Art is eternal", so they say, so Jim's art will always be out there long after we're gone, preserved on some online site, physical copies of comics and portfolios stored in boxes, etc.
>
That's an interesting theory - the paper copies may outlast the digital ones. If there is no controlled location, who is taking responsibility for the data's well-being. Who hasn't just 'deleted old pictures', or thrown away an old floppy disk, hard drive or CD without making totally sure there wasn't something that may be useful on it? Part the reason to have the art here - who says the torrents won't lose fashion or something then just disappear - so many web sites are no more; can't guarantee the group neither, using the same theory.
>What will be interesting to see is what happens to the characters. If (as has just been posted to the group), Desiree Lee was just another pseudonym for Jim, there isn't anyone else with a
co-copyright status on the characters, so they'll probably just vanish to history.
>
I am by no means an expert on copyright, but providing you are not using the character for commercial purposes (ie selling them), you are unlikely to ever have any issue with creating works with Jim's characters for unless someone has claimed the copyright (through Jim's Will or similar), then no one is every likely to be able to 'call you on it' with any legal standing.
> Maybe he made his wishes known to his family...
>
Not one I have any knowledge of unfortunately. I never met Jim nor Pauline (his mother, who attended many fur-cons with Jim; therefore knew what he drew), so unless someone is going to act on Jim's directions, I guess that no more works are likely to come to light.
I will think on this and see what I can come up with. If anyone knows Pauline, it may be worth calling her to ask what is to happen with Jim's artworks- if the answer is nothing at the moment, that is fine, but to try and ensure that don't all end up doing a Guy Fawkes impersonation in the back yard, unless that was Jim's (doubtful) wish. I know it may be a painful time, but I also know that if you do not 'strike while the iron is hot', many things can disappear before you realise. It could also give her hope that people _are_ interested in keeping a legacy of her son alive.
Every time I post here, I write as though Jim is still reading every post (as he always did) and that my decisions will come under the same moderation and judgement, so I always try to do what I believe Jim would want.
Scrapper, Black Dragon, if it is truly important, you will find a way.
Received on Thu Sep 11 2014 - 15:32:42 CDT