OK. That HAS to have been sanctioned by DC.
Years ago there used to be a wholesale vegetable market in my city which had a very big sign advertising their company, and from what I remember it used this Curt Swan drawing from one of the old annuals:
It was "Super-Vege Man" or some such nonsense, and there was something in place of the "S" symbol. But it was THAT drawing they had ripped off almost exactly as it appears here. It's amazing what people get away with, but I suppose DC wouldn't even be aware of infringements Downunder, or maybe they don't care -- or it's not worth it in a financial sense to pursue the matter.
The
Superstaff example I gave at the start of the thread came off a job vacancy newsletter I received this week. It's small fry material I know, but it is still using someone else's idea and property without permission.
There's another side to it, I suppose, in that Superman is so big and so famous, people just think the concept is public property. Most people in the Western world would recognise Clark Kent, but they'd be hard-pressed to name his creators or the comics company that owns him.
Which reminds me... A week or two ago, my wife was using my computer to show her Dad something, and they came across a still of George Reeves as Clark Kent, and my father-in-law, who has never read a comic and probably has never seen the old Superman show, said, "That's Clark Kent" when my wife asked him if he knew who the person was.
I have said it before, and I'll say it again... No one can underestimate how famous or how popular Superman is. The proof is all around us. He is a part of the public consciousness and popular culture like few other entities are. To me, that seems amazing.
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