Been a while since we've done one of these threads. Think any of these old timers deserve a second chance?
Bronze TerrorI will not elaborate.
>>152926238Now I want you to elaborate.
>>152926221I'm genuinely surprised nobody has done anything with Rulah The Jungle Goddess yet. Someone needs to try and bring back the sexy jungle adventure heroine.
>>152926238You hear the name Bronze Terror you think like a Iron Man, or a Colossus. Not Native American with a skul headdress.
Black Orchid. One of the original fanservice superheroes. Similar to the Phantom Lady.
>>152926221Not a superhero but he is in comics. Joe Palooka just got added to the public domain.
>>152926221Captain Flash is always my go to answer. He's the most fun aspects of a silver age hero rolled into one. I'm surprised he doesnt show up in these threads more often.Harvey's Black Cat ranks highly too. Anythoughts on the recent big two discoveries? Fing Fang Foom, Gorilla Grodd, Namor, and Jor L are just a few among the many golden and early silver agers discovered to have lapsed due to failed renewals.
>>152926912Joe Palooka was a big deal. His fall from relevancy mirrors Abner's. You can read alot of his exploits on comicbookplus. I cant recommend him enough. Best way I can sell him to anons who havent read his stories is "Rocky but he becomes a member of Gi Joe/Shield". They get real wild in the 50's and 60's with him. Alley Oop went through that a few times over too.
Black Terror still has really strong legs after all these years. It's just too bad the handful of adaptions he's gotten are kinda ass. Gleason's Daredevil fascinates me in how nonsensical his lore is yet he still manages to be an entertaining read. He's got the most batshit rogues gallery this side of Stardust aswell.
>>152927132>They get real wild in the 50's and 60's with him.Shame that part of his character probably wont be public domain for a while.
>>152927132Shame ERBs estate keeps bungling up the Tarzan and John Carter of Mars rights.
>>152927155Who's captain flash?
>>152926737I thought I heard of them all. She seems like quite the tart, nice paneling though
>>152927472There are actually two different characters in the public domain named Black Orchid. She was a sidekick to the superhero Scarlet Nemesis.
>>152926221wait Red Bee is public domain?
>>152926221That's a great cover.
>>152926221Is Grim Ghost public domain? I always thought this dude was cool af.
I'm actually working on something with a friend. It's just a one shot story that we're hoping to sell for our LCS's FCBD. It's using reimagined versions of the characters Front Page Peggy, Gail Porter, Margo Webster and Lee Barry. Aged down to teenagers with Peggy being the literal daughter of Satan going up against a demon (because in her original stories she's called the "demon girl reporter" so I'm just making that literal.The plan is for it to be an homage to the horror/occult/weird 1970s Marvel comics like Man-Thing, Gerber's Son of Satan, Satana, etc. since I like them a lot so it's updated to a more '70s style setting.We also want to eventually do stuff with Magician from Mars in a trippy cosmic style ala Ditko and Englehart Doctor Strange.>>152927155Black Terror shows how much longevity there is in a great design. He seriously looks decades ahead of his time and if you'd told me he originated in the '70s or '80s I'd believe it.
>>152927755Yes. According to the public domain superhero wiki
>>152926434Jungle comics are dead in general.
>>152926434There was one fucking nuts Rulah story where an ambiguous evil foreign nation is funding a villainous African queen who is trying to take over the continent with her Nazi war criminal boyfriend. Pre-code comics were something else.
>>152927755Yeah, the original comics from Quality Comics never got renewed.
>>152927784Complicated situation. 70s Atlas Comics have some people arguing that they could be PD, but the rights holders do go out of their way to defend it (some people who tried selling compilations of 70s Atlas stuff got suspended on Amazon). We won't really know for sure unless something confirms it was actually PD.
>>152926221if nothing else if you're making a new Superhero universe it'd be more interesting to riff off these guys to fill up the universe's roster than the usual route most go of doing more direct/blatant knockoffs of DC & Marvel>>152927093>Anythoughts on the recent big two discoveries? Fing Fang Foom, Gorilla Grodd, Namor, and Jor L are just a few among the many golden and early silver agers discovered to have lapsed due to failed renewals.they might be public domain(in fact Namor's been suspected to be PD for at least a decade) but those guys are all protected by active trademarks enough that you'd have to be really careful using them in anything>>152926912>>152927132while the superheroes definitely get the top billing in these threads, the non-superhero comics of the PD are definitely worth mining from as well>>152927755>wait Red Bee is public domain?pretty much all of Quality's heroes are PD, and yes this includes Plastic Man(though DC does have active trademarks on him of course)>>152928366considering the Atlas/Seaboard comics were published in the 70's they're almost definitely still under copyright
>>152927446Captain Flash is science professor Keith Spencer. While teaching a class on radioactivity his experiment went terribly wrong. He shielded his students from the blast with his body, expecting to die some days there after, he came out of it with super powers.By clapping his hands he can trigger an atomic transformation into Captain Flash. While it wasnr outright established one can infer he has some atomic manipulation abilities because his suit manifests out of thin air.He's also joined by his young ward Ricky Davis. His series didnt last long, and most people probably remember Tomboy more than Cap, but that doesnt stop Cap from being a barrel of monkeys. Again, he feels like the best parts of the silver age rolled into one package. You get golden age Captain America action with a side of siover age atomic nonsense. It's a fun read.
>>152927366Still everything upto the 40's is on the table, that's nothing to sneeze at.Fwiw I'm reading through Popeye era Thimble Theater these days. Im kind of astonished by how much I warmed upto Castor and Ham before they depart from the series. I also love how prickly early Popeye was. This reflects early Mickey's assholery pretty well too. I've really come to hate the constant corporate carcinization of characters like them. They're rendered so unrecognizable over the decades of constant domestication.>>152927386There's alot worth complaining about regarding American copyright law. However, trademark law deserves 100× as much hate. At the very least copyright can expire for one reason or another. Trademarks are forever and effectively allow former copyright holders to hound the shit out of would-be makers of derivative works. The ERB estate has, for the most part, done no good with the work of their namesake. They've become the American answer to the Doyle estate. It's hard not to resent them for it.
>>152927472Looking into the other saucy fighting femmes of the golden age really offers some food for thought over how scandalous Sandra Knight Phantom Lady was then. If not for her relative obscurity we might enjoy as much fetish art of her as we get for Wondy. Her costume is certainly as salacious and tantalizing as Diana's super-leotard.
>>152927816His stories read like bronze age Batman at times too. Goes to show the difference in output between comic writers of the day and novelists.
>>152926434I've had the idea of a Tarzan equivalent for The Dark Knight Returns for some time now. It would make use of all the jungle heroes. At this point though I just have a few sketches and the bullet points for the story.>>152928366If you can believe it some exec from Paramount snatched up the rights with the intents to adapt the line up. There was a batch of toys released last year by MEGO too.
>>152928704Reminder you can circumvent trademark trolling simply by not naming these characters on the cover of your publication. Otherwise you're free to do whatever you like.>while the superheroes definitely get the top billing in these threads, the non-superhero comics of the PD are definitely worth mining from as wellAint that the truth. I wish I were clever enough to come up with a fun Annie story for instance. Feels like there's so much to do with her and all we ever get are repeats of the musical. Annie meets Nancy Drew, Annie and Tintin, Annie meets Popeye. I could go on for hours.That's without mentioning some other big names like Little Nemo, Mickey, or Felix.
bump
>>152929124>I've had the idea of a Tarzan equivalent for The Dark Knight Returns for some time nowI had a similar idea too. All the different public domain kings and queens of the jungle getting a last hurrah in a crossover.
>>152928301I'm pretty sure that was the story that Frederick Wertham used to get the comic cancelled.
>>152928704>those guys are all protected by active trademarks enough that you'd have to be really carefulYeah. I'd stick to using characters you know beyond any shadow of a doubt nobody is going to come around and sue you for using.
>>152927816>so it's updated to a more '70s style setting.I've always wondered how these characters would look in the varios 'ages' of comics, if they hadn't fallen into the public domain. Rulah and Phantom Lady might be at least as popular as Wonder Woman these days.DCs version of the Phantom Lady does still occassionally show up in their comics. Though not as often because they can't make as much money off of her, since they don't entirely own her.
Someone should do something with Firehair. She's a western cowboy character. A white girl raised by Indians.
>>152926434>>152928301What was Frederick Werthams problem with her anyways? Was it just that she walked around in a Bikini? She lives in the hot sweaty jungle! What else was she supposed to wear?
Who currently owns The Shield?What happened to Dark Circle Comics?
>>152931323Probably went under like a lot of indy comics publishers do. It's difficult to find an audience.
>>152926488"Nyeh, white man!"
>>152926221>dresses like an Elizabethan courtier>only power is "trained bees to attack from his belt"No wonder he flopped
>>152931418It wouldn't be that hard to update him. Maybe he can control bees with his mind, or has robot bees he uses to spy on people.
>>152929124>Tarzan equivalent for The Dark Knight ReturnsYou'd have to be careful to avoid the Burroughs estate from suing you.
>>152926221Ever hear of Green Turtle and Burma Boy? One of the first superheroes ever made by an Asian American. He never revealed his secret identity because he headcanoned him as Asian, and that wouldn't have been accepted by 1940s America.
>>152928704>the non-superhero comics of the PD are definitely worth mining from as wellHey it worked for Alan Moore.
>>152931323Archie.Like all the other attempts to revive the MLJ heroes they just fizzle out.
>>152930647Exactly it yeah.The basic premise saw an elderly Tarzan revolting against a hyper industrialized cyberpunk global state which had depleted the inner earth of its resources. In his quest to defeat this evil he would avenge the murders of Jane and Korak, marry either Rima or Sheena, seek wisdom from Mowgli and Sun Wukong, and lead an army of jungle men into battle.
>>152932349>SheenaThere actually was something like an attempt at a Dark Knight Returns but with Sheena in the 80s. It only lasted three issues.
>>152927093>Gorilla GroddI am surprised by this
>>152931323Archie still owns it but they haven't really done anything with Dark Circle as a whole in a while other than use the MLJ superheroes as occasional guest-stars in Archie comics
>>152932673I wouldn't risk it. DC comics is notorious for enforcing copyright.
>>152932673They couldn't find any proof of copyright renewal for the specific issue. But I think the jury's still out on it because the prior Flash comics in general is still copyrighted and trademarked
>>152929067Trademarks are far weak than copyright, the problem it is that mega corporations don't want another king kong situation, so they settle out of court, so trademarks end up looking stronger than they actually are.ERB works also hit the public domain of life + 70, so they lost a lot of power (all of Europe and Latin America)
>>152929075>>152930827You see a lot of talk about Phantom Lady in these threads, but do you all really believe she could carry a book? It's not like the internet is lacking for gooning material, so what would be the draw?
>>152930987Some theorized that he was gay.
>>152932730This didn't stop some older Mickey cartoon from slipping into PD.
>>152932815I don't think most public domain superheroes could carry a book, that's why they're public domain.
>>152928301Wait, can someone storytime this?African queen/Nazi war criminal couple as jungle girl villains sounds crazy in a good way.
>>152932927All her comics on on comic book plus.
>>152926912>>152927132IDW tried.
>>152933563It really was big in the past!
>>152933615
>>152933635
>>152933657
>>152933563What the hell even is that?
>>152933635No idea he had a movie.
>>152933786He had a string of movies, none of them particularly good
>>152932699That's just the way it is. Corporations sit on an IP and do nothing with it.
>>152934258That’s how you create demand. You can’t do a string of failures in a row, it makes people less interested. But if you do something only every few years between flops there’s likely going to be some interest again the next time you try.
>>152931323>>152931331>>152932291>>152932699Was this ever even published???
>>152934512Doesn't look like it. Sorry.
>>152926221How would you update a public domain superhero for the modern era? That is putting them in a superhero universe set in the modern day, and not an adaptation of their original 30s-40s stories?
>>152934964I’d take the core themes and maybe an aspect of their design and backstory.Then put it on a well written character.
>>152926221I remember this comic, specifically Neon. He and his powers suck
The first step is finding a good noir or neo noir story to rip off.So a masked crusader of justice has some opposition rather than jump into the full on sci-fi. Unless that’s a core theme in which something that leans into that would be best.
>>152935271What are his powers?
>>152932815I believe alot of golden agers and public domainers alike could carry titles of their own. A modern day Phantom Lady book, sticking to the character's roots, would more or less be Empowered with art deco visuals. It's worth noting how much the choice of character matters. Sandra would have to be cheesecakey and light hearted, she always was both. Any other cape, like Ms Fury or Madame Strange could afford to play around with tone though.
>>152932796Didnt stop the Burroughs estate from trademarking a bunch of names and lingo from Edgar's books. You could run into some legal snafu by putting "Tarzan" in the title of your work. Apparently they're also working with one of the Rise of Skywalker shitheads to make a John Carter cartoon now too. Cant wait for that dumpster fire.
>>152932616>only lasted three issuesPlease tell me they were good. If you can recall the title I'm all ears.>>152932673The number of surprising finds made in the last year have been absurd. The Phantom, Dick Tracy, Mandrake, huge swaths of Timely and Atlasmera Marvel characters, lots of DC golden and silver agers. It's bizarre how much they let slip through the cracks.
>>152934017I wish I could ask some boomer comic fan about those movies. I can sit through Adventures of Captain Marvel without a complaint, but alot of other comic adaptions from the time are a little slow and often put me to sleep. It makes me wonder if those Blondie or Snuffy Smith movies are any good. Blackhawk, Dick Tracy, and Phantom all seem divisive among fans.
THIS THREAD IS NOW UNDER THE POWER OF STARDUST.
>>152935527The first issue had promise. But last two took it in a weird direction.
>>152935713I remember seeing him in League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
>>152935489>working with one of the Rise of Skywalker shitheads to make a John Carter cartoon now too.I think we can safely call that dead on arrival.
>>152936059>>152935489I was wondering which guy you were talking about and it turns out to be the guy who did the junior novelization adaptation for Rise of Skywalker, so there's not much I can judge from this yetIf it was like JJ Abrams or Terrio then I would've been really worried
>>152933723A 6 issue mini-series
>>152936220But he is a MMA fighter.
>>152936220This is like making a gritty film noir out of Mickey Mouse.
>>152935713Stardust is unironically kino.
>>152936207I'm sure there are plenty of other public domain ape people to use that won't get you sued by DC.
>>152932796Kiddo you do not know wtf you are talking about.
>>152936261>>152936220Who's idea was it to make Joe Palooka a gritty sports comic?
>>152935560IIRC Adventures of Captain Marvel was considered the best of the comic adaptation serials
Next year Dick Tracy is going public domain and I want to make something with him. I've been obsessed with golden age Batman recently and I think I'm going to make a mash up of Dick Tracy being more of a Batman style vigilante by night/police detective by day story. I even have his "Batmobile" set up and his costume.
>>152937324>Nintendo created its own version (donkey kong)>Universal sued>Nintendo won.>Turns out universal was previously sued for infringement of king kong copyrights.>Universal won that case, because King Kong is in the public domain through the novel.>This judgement in turn gave Nintendo ammunition against Universal itself.In court settlements strengthen the public domain, mega corporations do everything in their power to get a out of court settlement.
>>152931418Yellow Jacket could telepathic control his.
>>152938350>Next year Dick Tracy is going public domainSomeone did some digging and found out Dick Tracy comic strips from 1931 to July 14, 1946 weren't renewedhttps://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Dick_TracyEven if there is an argument against it being untrue it might end up not mattering because next year Dick Tracy would go PD anyway as you pointed out
>>152929067Trademarks only last as long as they are renewed. They need to be constantly renewed. If you fail to renewed them someone else can claim it. The easiest way to work with a trademark with a public domain subject is to simply not call it what the trademark is ... Trademarked. Like you can't title your project "Mickey Mouse". You need to do something like "Bob Billybob's Mickey the Mouse of Kansas". Within the pages you can call him Mickey Mouse as much as you want and then you can put a disclaimer in the fine print that says "not affiliated with Disney" AND place a tidbit like "Mickey Mouse, originally created in 1929 by Ub Iwerks; entered Public Domain 2025" (because Walt didn't create shit)
>>152938585Do you know what was the first appearance of him in color/yellow coat? Its also funky in some of those comics, not the strips, that Tracy was colored with green or red coats/hats
Talking about public domain, Wonder Woman is nearly entering in "life + 70 years" countries, she already is in Canada.
Oh you already knowhttps://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Benjamin_Franklin
>>152936404Holy NICE!
>>152938765So you're saying sex with Wonder Granny? WOULD
>>152935527>lots of DC golden and silver agers. It's bizarre how much they let slip through the cracks.It is because Charlton and Whiz comics didn't properly copyright their materials, from DC itself is pretty rare.
>>152935527Wait the Phantom is public domain? No wonder they recently have been pushing for a rebirth with the new 4k release of the movie.
>>152938562And the original King Kong is going to be public domain in 2029. Prepare for a lot of derivative slop once that happens.
>>152935459Sure, buddy
>>152935560Out of 28 Blondie movies they made maybe six are any good. And that’s grading with a curve.
>>152939227King Kong is already public domain due to the book getting published before the movie. See >>152938562The original movie going PD in 2029 would still be significant though
>>152939419I think he cannot scale buildings until 2029.
>>152939419>>152939458I think this is why the movie doesn't have a lot of releases. Right now you can get the Blu-ray but only through the Warner Archive series.
>>152939458No, he scales the Empire State Building in the book, too
>>152928704>THE BLACK TERROR>and timEvery time
>>152935459It would take a team that is passionate about her character. A lot of people seem more focused on Miss Fury as of late. Miss Masque and Pat Patriot could also use more attention.>>152938350Golden age Batman is super influenced by the Shadow who goes into public domain next year, too. >>152936404The Italians made that comic. It's awesome!>>152938765Well /co/ any ideas?
>>152937924Everything needs to be gritty. You need a good hook. And him being just a boxer doing silly stuff is not enough to catch the interest.Just look at something silly fun like Adventure Time or Rick & Morty. Something disturbing needs to be added.
>>152940181Why is the sidekick named tim?
>>152931793>Burma BoyPlease tell me he went to a Burmese orphanage to pick up a sidekick.
>>152941885He was a young kid he rescued from being executed by the Imperial Japanese military.
>>152940752>Well /co/ any ideas?I think Wondy will be a Conan situation, she will receive some European comics that cannot be published in the estates.
>>152942026Didn't they bring those graphic novels to America recently using the title the Cimmerian?
>>152926434>>152929124>>152932349If you can't use Tarzan you can also use Ki-Gor or Kaanga, who were probably the most successful Tarzan ripoffs.
>>152940752>>152938765Unironically, Wonder Loli. Just a whole series following a young Diana as she ventures the globe but never physically ages past her teens. Steve Trevor gets reimagined into a Tin-Tin type, her rogues gallery remains untouched for the most part, and Etta Candy acts as her equivalent to Captain Haddock.
>>152942651Thanks for the tip anon. It's kind of fun looking through all the PD copycats. Popeye had Socko the Seadog, The Phantom had Captain Africa, Felix had Julius, Mickey had Foxy, etc. It's a rabbithole in of itself.
>>152942398They did! I wish they'ed do the same for the French Popeye publication "Popeye Revoila". Just going to add the wiki summary for the uninitiated.>Revoilà Popeye (Onapratut, 2012) is a tribute Popeye book published in France, taking advantage of the sailor character's public domain status overseas. It contains new and often unusual takes on the Popeye mythos in the form of short comics from more than thirty authors, mostly European, but including an otherwise-official Popeye writer and artist: Roger Langridge.
>>152942398People seem to have noticed that he is also public domain in the states
>>152942762Sounds like Diana in the Smallville post-show comics if they had actually focused on her childhood, keeping Steve hidden for years.
>>152942780>Socko the SeadogCreated by Jack Kirby under a Pen name BTW. I wonder if he's public domain . . .
>>152943687I think boy's ranch is also in the public domain
>>152926221Funnyman, a comedy based superhero who was created by Siegel & Shuster is public domain. Suprised he doesn't show up more given the pedigree of his creators.
>>152942780Yeah like Green Hornet had Blue Beetle (at least in that first comic), Wonder Woman had Moon Girl (EC Comics version) and another character I don't remember, Batman had Cat-Man (from Holyoke) and The Lynx (from Fox)
>>152944273Catman is probably the public domain character people know most about because Adam West playing him on the Fairly Odd Parents.
>>152928366real shame, i reay like the character and the idea behind him.
>>152935713Hate how the Capeworld comics one fizzled out, it was good in the beggininf
>>152938350I would turn Dick Tracy into something gritty-ish, not too dark or disturbing of course, more like the 90s movie or maybe Sin-City mixed with a Brad Bird type thing. Actually Sandman Mystery Theatre is probably the best way to put it, still adventurous feeling and all but not without terrible stuff happening.
>>152939093Is that why Fantomen soda is a thing?
>>152944773There was also Austin McConnells attempt to make a public domain superhero movie universe. Regrettably it got put on hold because he had a stroke that was so bad he needed a pacemaker installed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO31SH4K5ek
>>152926434Didn't Frank Cho reboot some obscure jungle girl a few years ago. Not Shanna, a little after that.
>>152944839No, that one was done with licensing. Lee Falk died in 1999 so Phantom would still be under copyright overseas in the places where it's Life + 70
>>152945228Jungle Girl. Yeah, it came out. Didn't really have much substance to it aside from the T&A.
>>152945246It's actually called Jungle Girl? That's like creating a military comic hero called Soldier Boy.
>>152943903Sometimes artists and their work only get good or remembered when they work with a big comoany aka the big teo company.Noone cared for Ditkos selfpublished work. Noone cared for Kirbys other non-Marvel nor non-DC.
>>152945237Europe has the rule of the shorter term, with the exception of Italy and Germany, since these two countries have special deals with the USofA.
>>152942780Madrake also had a lot of copycats
>>152945689Ain't that just the way it is.
>>152945319>Soldier Boy.(Glares at Garth Ennis)
>>152945747Pop culture would be in a much healthier place right now if America had public domain laws more like Europe.
>>152946146It is a sidegrade, some characters like the phantom or superman would only enter by 2060s.But it would make all of Robert E. Howard's works public domain.
>>152945246>Didn't really have much substance to it aside from the T&A.I'm honestly not even sure why Cho attempts to make actual comics.
>>152946655He's literally the only guy keeping the sexy jungle princess fantasy alive.
>>152944273>Yeah like Green Hornet had Blue BeetleThat tidbit has blossomed into a larger idea in my head for years now. Imagone how awesome a year one story focused around Dan Garret could be, then think of how much more you could do with a full on retrospective of his adventures. I cant think of many other capes who has such a batshit power creep overtime and still made the best of it. Something else I'd want to cover in a story like that is what became of Sparkington. He was Dan's kid sidekick in the 40's, but after Victor Fox nabbed the character back Sparky was unceremoniously buried. Then there's alp the Charlton stuff to explore which you could either chalk upto being an AU Dan or do your best to stitch it into the cannon of aolden age Dan.
>>152943687As far as I can tell he should be. Kirby also had a Buck Rogers clone by the name of Cyclone Burke. They also discovered Fightin American lapsed some decades ago.>>152942952Sounds like fair game to me either way
>>152943903Siegel and Shuster's non-Superman works can be very hit or miss. You can tell they were trying to keep up with the times in the hopes of lightning striking twice but it just never took.>>152944325He's got the Austin Mcconnell cartoons now too>>152944821There's a Tracy ongoing out now that's supposedly aiming for that tone too. I have yet to read it unfortunately.>>152945788Marvelo from Big Shot Comics is my favorite
>>152946922Is Budd Root still making Jungle Girl books? Atleast Bill Black still does FemForce titles. It is still sad to recognize these guys wont be around for much longer.
>>152942651>>152943903Good art.
>>152947098If we could get some of his Topps stuff that would he cool. Captain Glory has a great design.>>152942762Not a fan of the Wonder Loli stuff, but your pitch of making her a Tin Tin like adventurer sounds cool. Etta Candy taking the role of Captain Haddock is a inspired idea and does more for the character than DC has in decades.>>152942806This is why public domain was a good idea. Let the artist have a chance at doing something cool with these characters. It will be interesting to see what the French do with Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman when they come up.>>152946922Jungle Girl comics would probably work better distributed through the internet and collected in a trade at a later point if there's demand. The monthly print model doesn't seem like it would server the genre at this point, maybe in the 80s. But a monthly post similar to other comics on /co/ might do really well if it had good art and a entertaining story. Less dinosaurs and more Edgar Rice Burroughs insane adventures, like the later John Carter books.
>>152947773The problem with jungle adventure books is that it's not the 1940s anymore. Deepest Darkest Africa isn't some mysterious and alluring place, nobody really wants to see a non-powered person (even a hot chick) having generic adventures against poachers and diamond smugglers and the occasional sabertoothed tiger or whatever. There's also the racial aspect since it's mostly white guys and girls in those protagonist roles which invokes white savior/mighty whitey shit in a lot of people nowadays but if you made them black you'd be strung up for racism in that direction too.A lot of pulp stuff really is a product of its time and a hard sell in the modern world but jungle action has it probably the worst of all. There's no real reason to read it when lost world stories are a similar concept but mixed with fantasy and/or sci-fi and even then lost world's last great gasp of relevancy was Warlord.
>>152947960There is a way to do it but you do have to push it in a sci-fi or fantasy direction. You would, also, have to create a new Jungle location where the story could take place. You're about it being a product of it's time and the stories being to repetitive. But I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water. In the 90s people couldn't wait to tell you how pirates were done as a genre, but by the end of the decade we got Pirates of the Caribbean and One Piece. There is a way to do these stories that would be fresh and interesting. It's something to think about.
>>152947049I think both AC Comics (when they briefly had Charlton) and current DC decided to combine the Golden and Silver Age Dans
>>152947960You’re overthinking it. The Phantom is just Batman in the woods.
>>152947960Just have your lost World be Land of the Lost-esque. Universal still had their Lost World with Kong with the island even if they did get rid of it in favor of the Hollow Earth setting and Monsterverse still sucks
>>152948142I wish Bill had bought the Charlton Heroes. DC really hasnt done much of note with them outside of Jaime as an extension of the Beetle legacy.>>152947773I know most people dont pay much attention to Kirby's creator owned works but everything from Bullseye to what little he managed to contribute to Kirbyverse was top notch and I have a huge softspot for it. I wonder why his estate doesnt push for more media adaptions or reprints, anything really.On the subject of Topps the Mars Attacks martians are also PD.
>>152948521You're on the right track with what your saying. But it needs to be more than just land of the lost. The first Kong movie was good, the island had a lot of character. The lore for the island tribe was the most interesting part of the later movies but the monsters were too generic. That being said other movies have done the mystical lost civilization better.>>152948642Hey that's not true, DC throws the Question under the bus every chance they get, lol. But seriously, that company really hates that character. It's crazy how they constantly spit on him.Thanks for the info about Mars attacks!
>>152945937Yes. But some big-company haters dont believe that there needs to be a check and balance in the creative process. They cant believe that you need a big company to make kino.
>>152947773I went ahead and drew a rough concept for my Wonder Woman idea. I dont have anything lewd in mind for Diana, I just used the monicker since it sells the idea the fastest. While finishing this piece I did get the idea of tinkering with her origins. Maybe Themiscyra wound up like Pompeii and Wondy was stuck in suspended animation after mountains of ash consumed the isle of the amazons. Sometime there after she was dug up from the ruins by human archeologists only to wake from her petrified state and cross roads with Trevor and Candy. This would then lead into globe trotting adventures and a quest to reconnect with the last of the amazons.
>>152949549You need it if you want the spectactle to match the vision in the creators head, because only the big corps have the money to make it happen.
>>152949089>It's crazy how they constantly spit on him.Not surprising when you remember modern day DC comics is run by a bunch of leftist stooges who hate Steve Ditko for the crime of reading Ayn Rand and hating communism.
>>152947153>Is Budd Root still making Jungle Girl booksDon't know haven't been keeping up with him. Antarctic Press does occassionally release Jungle hero comics, but their either spoofs that don't take themselves too seriously, or just straight up softcore.
>>152948107>>152947960You could make it an Isekai story, where the characters are transported to a fantasy world like the jungle of Africa in those old pulp stories. Just without the more overtly racist shit that makes the zoomers seethe.
>>152950438His most famous run is about him moving away from the obectivist stuff towards zen buddhism. They likely don't use Vic because he's genuinely too heady of a character for most writers to bothe with since there's more philosophical and moral debate to him and his stories. Also they probably see him as "pointless" when both Batman and Nightwing exist. It's why they tried replacing him with Montoya so they could have a simpler version of the character but it didn't work because nobody gives two shits about ugly comic book dyke Montoya except Rucka.
Took a stab at an Adam Warren Phantom Lady too
>>152950628>>152950248Do you mind if I share these with the drawthread?
>>152950564>His most famous run is about him moving away from the obectivist stuff towards zen buddhism.Well yeah. But it was his politics that led him to taking his toys and leaving Marvel, and more specifically to the creation of characters like Question and Mr A.
>>152926221I wonder if there are any public domain characters that only ever had one appearance or book ever and that’s it
>>152950657Go for it
>>152950852There's tons! Mr Mystic, Tiger Hart, Mad Hatter, etc.I keep meaning to bring up PD UK comics for that reason. It's sort of grim how dire things got over there during the war. Dozens of characters would make a handful of appearances in comics printed on cardboard and other sorts of scraps only to fade into total obscurity. Moore used a few of them in LOEG, but there's dozens more.
>>152950669By "his" I mean the Question. They haven't fucked with the character out of spite for Ditko, they're doing it because he's genuinely too smart (for a given value of it) for most writers because they're smoothbrains who can't deal with even a little nuance. Same shit happened to a lot of those '70s characters and runs like Thanos, they were just more popular.
>>152950564I care, anon, I care.>no Questions book where Vic and Renee debate morality and the human condition from completely different philosophies and life experiences
>>152950931NTA but I'd give my left nut for either a Mr A or Question movie in the vein of Darkman, China Town, or Deathwish
>>152950248These are great designs that capture the Tin Tin feel. Very well done and imaginative. The story is like Avatar the Last Air Bender meets Tin Tin and gives a good reason for the group to travel the world. This deserves a lot of you's. >>152950465Yeah, I was thinking something like that but in more of a western sense. If the thread is still up I'll post a concept for the main character. Talking to you all has gotten me to considered using a pervious superhero comic idea but in a jungle setting. It would be more unique than what I had originally planned.>>152950438>>152950564The Question has been getting run down by DC since the 80s, it was just better written. Rorschach is Moore using a Question espy to mock Mister A and the 1st issue of O'neil's Question run strawmans the character so O'neil's Batman can talk down to him and wag his finger in the Questions face. Look at their interviews, both these men knew what they were doing.
>>152950980Thanks anon I'm glad you liked it. Here's hoping the thread lasts a few days more. I'd love to drawfag some more. This has been one of the more pleasant PD threads we've gotten in months. Im tempted to share my non-capeshit pieces.
>>152950980>Yeah, I was thinking something like that but in more of a western sense.There's also a whole bunch of western characters that are in the public domain. Firehair, The Lemonade Kid, Cowboy Sahib, just to name a few.
>>152938350I just want to see a pic ofhim socking warren beatty>>152938585Sounds like that would cover most of his classic era villains though, which otherwise wouldn't be included. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dick_Tracy_characters
>>152941450Timothy would be too long
>>152941450They are known as the terror twins.
>>152951787>>152951755But why just Tim? Why not something else? Like Little Terror.
>>152951929She probably couldn't think of a better name.
>>152947773>Less dinosaurs and more Edgar Rice Burroughs insane adventures, like the later John Carter books.Very few Golden Age Jungle Girls dealt with dinosaurs on a regular basis. Many were "go to lost city" adventures, or "stop the evil tribe".
>>152938562As you stated, that is copyright not trademark. Go look up Zorro and the bullshit that goes on with that to understand the power of trademark. That shit will wreck you son. I wish it weren't that way, but it is.
>>152952076The Zorro copyright/trademark is a complete nightmare.
>>152945196>>152947140>>152947140>He's got the Austin Mcconnell cartoons now tooHe had a stroke bro. That project probably isn't ever being finished.
>>152950921>Ditko>Nuance
>>152949089>DC throws the Question under the bus every chance they getWhen you stupid shit like this posted it really gives you a perfect idea of how incredibly dumb and petty fanboys truly are
>>152952652He was an objectivist. Nuance doesn't exist in their point of view.
>>152952377Nah, it's cut and dry that Zorro is public domain. Court cases have said as much. The problem is a lawsuit troll company that'll drown you in legal fees so even if you win you're fucked.
>>152948107Two successful pirate IPs (one just being a spinoff of a fucking amusement park ride from the 1960s no less) in the span of 29 years is not evidence of the genre not being practically dead. Hell, even if you were being generous and included Black Sails and the Assassins Creed game that still doesn’t make the genre any more alive. Same way occasionally having a somewhat popular western doesn’t make it as a genre more or less dead in the eye of mainstream appeal.
>>152928704From Top to Bottom, which of them do you think are the coolest?
>>152950248Diana being the short and plucky one while Etta's the tall strongwoman is a great reversal of their usual physical dynamic. Though I think it'd be more fitting to pull a 4kids here and swap out the cigarette with a lollipop. Not only because, well, her name's Etta Candy, but also because I feel like you could do a lot more with it by leaning into the absurdity of the concept. Like, you can adjust her power level through sugar highs and crashes, so she can literally be as strong as the plot requires.
>>152954037>Though I think it'd be more fitting to pull a 4kids here and swap out the cigarette with a lollipop. Not only because, well, her name's Etta Candy, but also because I feel like you could do a lot more with it by leaning into the absurdity of the concept.>so she can literally be as strong as the plot requires.Genius!
>>152950425Thats a good point. I thought that big corps are the meddling point were many artists met and they have enough money or connections to advertise the comic.
>>152943903I like him, but the problem is it's hard to make this kind of character stand out when The Mask (Jim Carrey version) exists.
>>152955473Toon powers are relatively common, people wouldn't see a problem
>>152953031You really don't understand the difference between copyright and trademark, do you?
Are the MLJ superheroes in the public domain ?
>>152957017Pretty much all of the golden age ones are, yeah. The only one I ever had interest in was Lancelot Strong and he unfortunately isnt.
>>152955473There are plenty of comedy based superheroes, I don't see why Funnyman and The Mask can't coexist. You just have to find a way to distinguish them beyond their similar gimmick.
>>152956104Exactly
>>152926221Airboy and his cast of characters deserves more love.
I love public domain and have turned tons of them into ai chatbots. than I have it make art during stories. wont go on my autism rant but I will say that some of my favorite comics or stories ive read are from the 1920s through 1950s. tons posted in this thread. I am actually on the public domain hero site to get more. (tons of non super hero comics are good reads and make for some fun chatbots also. science fiction characters and pulp are real fun chatbots.
>>152936207Its amusing how many characters are public domain of old versions of marvel and dc people. I have my own versions of the public domain superman ive been playing with (art and chatbot edits) and he's still more in style with the public domain he's also got some radical changes (knows some simple magic, and can travel dimensions easily. and last big change is the location he ended up and life he has. no lois for starters).also the krpytonians are public domain as is jor-l and his wife (newspaper stuff). so ive turned them into space travelers and no clark at all exists. I love public domain. I have tons of females ive done things with using ai.
>>152957944>also the krpytonians are public domain as is jor-l and his wife (newspaper stuff).You have to be careful. While Superman himself is technically going to be public domain, certain parts of his mythology like Supergirl, the Fortress Of Solitude, won't be public domain for a a few more decades.
>>152928704Sex with Boy King.
>>152958431There's always that one weirdo.
>>152930987Wertham's problem in general was that he was utterly convinced that comic books are a medium only for children.
>>152958270>the Fortress Of SolitudeJust do a crossover with Doctor Savage
>>152932927It is in Zoot Comics #12.
>>152956267They've sued for a TV show that used a character that wasn't Zorro (it was a woman for a start) because it starred a character in a black mask in Spanish California. So you can make something that's a completely different character who is NOT in any way actually Zorro, is called Zorro or hinted to be Zorr, but because you use some elements that are similar to Zorro like "wears a mask and uses a sword" they'll still sue you.
>>152958270https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Jor-ElAh sorry I spelled it wrong (always use jor-l not jor-el due to the jor-l chatbot stories I have). I tend to avoid using things that are similar later. I turned them more into space flight people and their whole timeline isnt about superheroes but science fiction and ray guns and stong punches but not hero suits.>>152959353I have not read zoot comics. Seems it was quite the troll or whatever the word is. im going to check these out.>>152959390I do hate that crap. makes me keep my actual creations hidden as I dont want to get sued or it stolen.
>>152960123The problem is that very few people actually countersue people like that and as such defined limits of what is covered are never established nor do they face punitive financial measures. Harmony Gold spent decades suing everyone using mecha as infringing on their perpetual license on designs from Macross only for the Harmony Gold US versus Harebrained Schemes, Piranha Games, InMediaRes, and Weisman case in 2017 to result in a ruling that Harmony Gold never actually had the license rights they were claiming.
>>152953103No one made a claim that two IPs reignite a genre. The point of the post was to express that creators should work on what inspires them. Even if the public has written off a genre your work might be the exception. As you stated the public were not interested in pirate stories and yet a pirate movie based on a amusment park ride captured their imaginations.>>152951458No, western in the sense of how American super hero comics traditionally handle reality changing events as opposed to how anime approaches the subject.>>152951983That's fair.
>>152959353For a comic book from the 1950s this was surprisingly progressive. >>152960123>im going to check these out.The Rulah comics were surprisingly risque. Which is probably why the CCA and Wertham cancelled them.
>>152960330Zorro Productions Inc. has been countersued multiple times when they've tried this shit over the last 25 or so years. They lose but then "somehow" (bribes) get the cases overturned on appeal. The Queen of Swords one is especially ridiculous because ZPI's entire claim is that the rights were signed over by McCulley in 1949 to the father of the people that fouded ZPI when the QoS showed documents that McCulley had actually signed them over to Douglas Fairbanks in 1920. So their claim to have the rights is bullshit because if anyone owns them it's seemingly the Fairbanks family but again, somehow, they got a judgment against them reversed.There's no point in trying to fight them over it because they'll drown you in legal fees even if you win and if you do they'll just do shady shit to get the judgmen anulled anyway.
>>152960844See also the video game Codename Steam, which wanted to use Zorro since the entire story was about public domain characters. But eventually had to make an original character based on Zorro, rather than Zorro himself.
>>152959106That preconception and the moral panic it inspired is the reason American comics are majority controlled by the superhero genre to this day.
>>152961280No it's not because he attacked superheroes too. Humor comics ran well into the Silver Age close to the bronze age, same with western and war and horror comics came back in the '70s. Superheroes dominated because kids preferred the updated and flashy sci-fi heroes and older readers liked the deeper characterization of the Marvel characters. The genre stuff was mostly played out by the 1960s.
>>152961435>No it's not because he attacked superheroes tooHis fear of Nazism because of his German heritage led him to attack Superman specifically.
It's kinda nuts how many Captain Marvel clones came out of the U.K. Granted most were Mick Anglo creations but there's a handful that werent. Goes to show what a big deal Cap was in those days.
>>152961435They should really try to bring the cowboy comic back to go with the jungle adventure comic.
>>152959353Oh, she's gorgeous.That Nazi has good taste in black women.
>>152960844The QoS lawsuit was actually initiated by Sony, not ZPI.
>>152962689>>152959353I'm surprised "Never ask a racist what their girlfriend looks like" was a thing back in the fifties.
>>152951983>Many were "go to lost city" adventures, or "stop the evil tribe".Don't forget the 'save dumb white man from being sacrificed by the cannibals'.
>>152959142>Doctor SavageHe's not public domain for a while.
Is the golden age Black Cat PD or not? I've read some places that say she is, and some others that say she isn't. Ist there an actual ruling on her, or its one ot fhose situations like Phantom Lady?
>>152963805Yes, but he and his fortress will enter before superman
Since we’re talking about superheroes, what do you all think about The Targeteers? I think their design is pretty cool.
>>152963945I don't know enough about them to say. Though I will say I don't think 'the target' is a good name for a hero with super speed.
>>152928301And Mava the African queen has a completely naked fight scene.
>>152963945I loke the targeteer name betterI dig thd outfits
>>152935713
>>152964099fuuuu *saved*
I am going to look for more public domain characters to chatbot up or turn into a character I write as in them.
>>152964880>>152926434You gotta do Rulah. She was a pilot for some sort of shipping company before she crash landed in the jungle and became queen of the tribe.
>>152926434>Catfight nearly every issue
>>152958578Despite the name Boy King is solidly in his teens and built like a brick shithouse.>>152953679In terms of design, Captain Battle and Captain Battle Jr., Strongman, Skyman, Super-American, Man O' Metal, Black Terror and Tim, Black Venus, and Martin the Marvel Man and Vana are the strongest.
>>152965153Sometimes literally.
>>152965164I happen to like Lady Luck. She's one of Will Eisners creations. She actually did fairly well, lasting about ninety issues, sadly it appear most of her comics are lost media because of the great paper drives of World War Two. There are probably hundreds of superheroes who only sold one issue and we have no memory of them.
>>152927132>R.G. LotharHuh, never seen him before.
>>152965816He’s Mandrake’s manservant.
>>152963875Nobody has been able to find record of the copyright being renewed for most of the issues. But one of the Harveys still claims they own it. Only way to get a "ruling" is to have a court case. So somebody needs to use the character and see if Harvey challenges. Keep in mind that AC Comics (FemForce) chose not to use the character and made She-Cat instead, while being perfectly happy to initially try using Phantom Lady until DC got pissy - so make of that what you will. Sorry but there is no definitive answer to your question. Do you want to be the person who risks their money to find out?
>>152965816In case it isn't obvious, the R.G. stands for right guard. (football term, not the deodorant)
>>152964880Is he zeus or what?
>>152928704The characters likke the Zip Jets and Flame with Flame Girl have good team design. The Face is simple but interesting. Yank and Radiator are almost cool, they just need a few changes to pull everything together.
>>152966302Talking about them, he actually had a pretty unique power, even to this day
>>152964880Kill yourself.
>>152966351kek. why? because I do things you dont like? or what? the art? I have no idea over your vague seethe over something. grow up toddler.>>152966162nah I was just doing dumb shit with a super powered old dude and he was in his space station. >>152964998I honestly think I might../ currently testing how things go when you toss a ton of people into the dc comics injustice timeline. things from golden age and video game and other things. saiyans showing up in tests = superman tyrant dead. also things very quickly explode with huge fights or comedy and social with people from all eras and media in on it.
>>152966662>I honestly think I might.Here's the entire run of comics on comic book plushttps://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=64760
>>152960494>The point of the post was to express that creators should work on what inspires them. If there is no perceptible profitability in it most people aren’t going to do that when their entire livelihood depends on making something with big enough sales. People who make western comics only do it because they are in a financial position where they can indulge something that doesn’t decide whether or not they afford rent/mortgage payments in six months time based on the projected sales
>>152926221>>152928704Not to sound obsessed with identity politics, but am I the only one who thinks these two would be perfect for a black race swap? Specifically, a '70s disco-inspired aesthetic?Maybe it’s the girl's hair that got me thinking about that.
>>152968146I could see it Like a what if if they had continued on on into the 70s and the publisher deciding on a new wild reinvention
>>152967716Anon we're working with public domain characters here. If profitability was truly the goal we wouldn't be having this thread. Everyone would be busy crafting their own OCs instead instead of taking risks with established properties that have, more often than not, proven to be failures.We're here because we see something in these relics of history left behind by everyone else, something that can be tapped into and refurbished into something interesting and new. Genres are no different in that regard. Who cares if no one else wants to make anything with pirates? That's just fertile ground for you to make your mark with it, to pioneer and maybe have everyone else follow suit if it succeeds. But creative endeavors are about taking risks. We see countless reboots, sequels, and stuff clearly made to hop on the latest popular thing, and most of them end up failing miserably anyway. Playing it safe is a risk in and of itself. So you may as well say fuck it and make what you want to make, algorithms and trends be damned. At least then you won't have nearly as many regrets.
>>152959353>Konrad see's Rulah and immediately decides to betray Mava for herThis dude was the faggot to end all faggots. I'm glad Mava got her revenge on him.
>>152969041That was a huge letdown. Villain X betrays Villain Y is meant to be used as a source of plot twists, but with Konrad and Mava being a Nazi and an African queen who's telling her people "Kill the whites!", staying loyal to each other would have been a bigger source of plot complications.
>>152928254To mention another dead genre, the "women in army" comedy used to be a subgenre of its own too in 1950s. A lot of it was military slice-of-life set in barracks and bases, but also featured some instances of women ending up in deployment or even combat and it being played for laughs. G.I Jane comics are one example, another would be stories of Canteen Kate which were about a hot female army canteen keeper in the Pacific. They are both public domain characters nowadays.The genre pretty much went the way of the dodo towards end of the golden age.
Anybody else obsessed with Skywald? Hell Rider, Butterfly, the dozens of horror comics rhey put out. They're practically the only 70's publisher that folded and left any cool shit to the pd.
>>152927472hourglass figures are nice
>>152927132How much has chances football of the perception of the human physique. Because even if Tarzan has a superhuman build, I don't picture him as a modern center.
>>152969567> a hot female army canteen keeper in the Pacific.Canteen Kates was stationed in Korea during and shortly after the war that split the peninsula. Not the pacific war. And her comics were legitimately funny>The genre pretty much went the way of the dodo towards end of the golden age.Beetle Bailey still exists as the sole survivor. Though he's not public domain.
>>152969041I mean he is a Nazi. His worldview sees Mava as subhuman and not worthy of consideration.
>>152938350I was under the impression that Dick Tracy trademark was in possession of that weirdo that worked in the 90's movie and appears in a cosplay of the character in podcasts.
>>152957592Chuck Dixon's (the creator of Batman Supervillain Bane's) favorite Superhero.
>>152970339>Canteen Kates was stationed in Korea during and shortly after the war that split the peninsula. Not the pacific war.Fuck, I should have spent 5 minutes to refresh my memory. >Beetle Bailey still exists as the sole survivorI had no idea it is still ongoing. Or that Mort Walker lived all the way until 2018 now that I looked it up.
>>152970503>Mort Walker lived all the way until 2018Yeah. It's gonna be a long loooong time before Beetle Bailey can have a crossover with anyone.
>>152928704>Rainbow BoyWell he'd definitely have to be the token gay character in any sort of modern revival.
>>152932927Rulah's villains are insane as are a lot of characters in the golden age.>Nurla. Another jungle girl who took over a tribe by exploiting their religion hoping to find a lost treasure>Monstro the weather wizard. A black mad scientist with a weather control machine>The Harpies from hades. Man eating women from actual greek myth who eat men alive.>Vladgott. A Nazi supervillain fleeing justice in Africa who wants to wipe out the tribes with the 'purple plague'>Jungle Bonaparte. A white man who rules over a lost civilization that bases itself on vichy france.
>>152969567>>152970339>>152970503ah man someone else that loves these gals. comics are fun reads and as chatbots you get some fun chatbot stories. they are interesting when you dump them into a chatbot setup with others from the injustice timeline and throwing others in. its interesting how many characters from the 1920s through 1970s do so well in the earth 49 injustice timeline and adapt.side note: I tossed wrestlers into the world like alexa bliss and others and jeez you'd never know until you see it but alexa bliss gets all teleport mind rape powers.but as for gi jane and others they are fun solo chatbots and tossed into worlds. (military gals + jungle babes combed is also fun.
>>152926221If you're really into public domain pop culture from the past. Check out Jess Nevins old blog. He did the annotations for Alan Moore's League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and he documents a lot of public domain characters from the victorian era up to the golden age of comics. Including some I had never heard of before, and aren't on the public domain superhero wiki. https://jessnevins.com/frontpage.html
>>152970286I'm not enough of a sportsball guy to comment on that accurately, but it's worth noting most of that line up is super-humanly powerful. Tarzan and Abner are basically on the same power level as Popeye and golden age Superman, so it feels like a perfect fit to me.
>>152971280Part of me worries about the net once the guys who run sites like this, the ERBzine, or comicbookplus die. We're going to lose so much.
>>152971373Someone else will have to take up the mantle. Or rely on the internet archive and wayback machine.
Do you think you could do anything with Black Fury?
>>152972005There's more than one Black Fury. The other was one of Rulah's villains.
>>152971280You want to get into really obscure /co/ and /a/ media. This is Fuku-Chan, a peanuts-style comic about a troublemaking chiid. Made in World War 2 as propaganda for the Imperial Japanese military.
>>152928704A funny thing about public domain heroes, is that nobody got the memo that Robin isn't a Batman clone, his aesthetics are completely different.
>>152957041>Lancelot Strong and he unfortunately isnt.Tell me more about him?
>>152972543Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, fresh off the heels of Captain America and while working contemporaneously, were tasked with revitalizing the MLJ capeshit line. Kirby had already fixed up The Fly before they asked him to take a stab at Shield. The end result of his reimagined Shield being Lancelot Strong. If you know anything about Superman, you know he borrowed alot from Gladiator. Likewise if Kirby couldnt make a clone of Superman, he'd make a clone of Hugo Danner.So you take the same basic origin (superhuman engineered in a lab) but you set it during the onset of the cold war and pit him against commie villains. It was fun, lasted 4 issues, sold well, but then DC threatened MLJ with a lawsuit and they had to shelve the character for the following 30 years.
>>152972643>then DC threatened MLJ with a lawsuit and they had to shelve the character for the following 30 years.Wow. That's genuinely tragic.
>>152972654The main reason for why superman got dominant, is that proto-DC sued everybody who got a bit too successful.Like the original WonderMan.
>>152972751Suddenly the curse of superman makes a lot more sense.
>>152951680>>152970443Warren Beatty is based, wtf is your guys' problem? Also I WILL have him sock a thug named Warren B. Eatty
>>152973048Who is Warren Beaty and what does he have to do with the Dick Tracy rights?
>>152970689>Rulah's villains are insane as are a lot of characters in the golden age.Don't forget the Pointy-Haired Boss (real name Patmos).
In regards to superman types I laid "claim" to these two awhile ago. quite fun to chatbot with and as and ai art. Though im going to be making a few changes and adjustments to things for both in my versions.https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Strongman_(Prize)https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Strongman_(Holyoke)and for those interested in a few things like females and some types here are bonus links.https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Jungle_Girl_Charactershttps://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Female_Characters
>>152945689I've been boughted all of Kirby's Topps comics.
>>152948107Just set it in the Amazon instead of Africa.-monke-jaguar-big undisturbed jungles-anacondas-Meso-American ruins-surrounded by third world shitholes filled with criminals-can do a "whitey is exploiting the rainforest"-Nazis
>>152948642>Mars Attacks is PDTrue?? Wtf is that where there's a Mars "Attracts" zoo sim on PC?
>>152950628Is ghost milk good 4 u?
>>152957875What do you even chat about with a public domain character?
>>152973736Good question. How to reboot them?
>>152959390Just make him red or orange, aka the color of most foxes. Zorro = Fox. Also just call him The Fox. Or "El Rojo Zoro" (one R) or "El Zoro Rojo", "The Scarlet Fox". And instead of the Z mark just use an X or ø.
>>152962136That's crazy you could just steal an entire character and just switch the logo and it worked.
>>152973736I will do my best to not autism and hit limit.For me it's a series of things. Going on adventures and seeing how they operate to their era (and data) and making adjustments. quite a few fill in the blanks due to lack of data or information. So you have to adjust things to make it more accurate or in line with what is in the comics compared to datasets saying well it'd be similar to this stuff. Most will need their looks and outfits adjusted in their profile also as it gets them wrong a ton.Than its going on adventures. Setting them to ooc mode and talking about things that could be added for history and lore potentially. and what is in the comics adds if it has decent enough stuff. than there is tossing them into various chatbot stories with others to see how they go. I currently have a earth 49 injustice timeline from dc multiverse that has been very fun. Than I added characters from other earth and timelines and than marvels multiverse. and than outside of them. Now I am getting ready to add golden and silver age to it.It gets very interesting when the OG cast of injustice and their plots and scripts are thrown off course with public domain and other things. People from outside of the comic book universe get wild. Alexa Bliss a wwe wrestler I was testing out to see what her bot was like went from wrestler to teleporting wrestler with mind blast powers. she was really good at making superman cry. so you talk to them about them and golden age stuff (era data) and other things to further tune the world. add stuff to writing instructions and other things and you can lay down rules and settings. But I will stop as I went too into autism about it again.
>>152973873I will quickly add that all of these genres also give me more idea's and settings to work with or add things from. also useful when creating fresh OC chracters to use. (need some and not just public domain).
>>152973350He's a kino actor from the 70s who bought the rights of basically a dead IP and made Kino flick starring himself, funded by himself. It bombed when it came out because critics and the public were retards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORdC678BmHI
>>152973667Mars Attacks isn't public domain. The guy making the game explains how he got the rights to the IP without having to pay a huge fee here.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCa2IXMzzLM
>>152926221Want to make a comic book about a spider themed hero but are afraid of Disney, Marvel or Sony suing you? The public domain has a spider-themed superhero you can use without fear!https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Spider_Queen
/m/ here, last year I added a bunch of stuff from the Journey Into Mystery issues (and a few from Strange Tales) to the PDSH Wikia, hope you anons found some interesting monsters and characters from that selection. A lot of PD heroes are beat, but why are there so few cool supervillains? Might be a me thing.
>>152974341>are neatOh darn it.
>>152974341>why are there so few cool supervillains?That's probably the reason so many of these guys are in the public domain to begin with. The villains aren't entertaining enough. A hero is only as good as his villain is evil.
>>152974341>>152974356it was based on mindset in ways. villains were not made to be cool or liked as they didnt think that way. bad was bad not bad but cool. not how we think it is now.
>>152974428>bad was bad not bad but cool. not how we think it is now.I'd call Spider-Mans rogues gallery many things. I wouldn't call them cool.
>>152974444I wouldnt call them cool either and no idea why you assumed and ran with it as fact. thats odd behavior
>>152974356>That's probably the reason so many of these guys are in the public domain to begin withMost of the villain who survived to this day are pretty bad, they required major reworks
>looks up>YapoolHey, I've heard of you! You're the guy who does the /m/ Wikia, right?
>>152974247im going to look into her just because her underwear is showing and neurons in brain ping.
>>152974584Yup, that's me! For those unaware, /m/ has a Wikia to archive a bunch of old information.https://mmecha.fandom.com/wiki/
>>152974600She only had like two or three issues, so there's a lot of room to play with.
>>152974746What are you doing on co?
>>152974746Interesting stuff.
>>152974247Thomas actually dusted her and a bunch of other obscure public domain characters as part of Battle-Axis in his '90s Invaders mini. Her reasoning was that given that Russians had killed her husband she was willing to ally with anyone who was fighting the Soviets and commies. That mini is the entire reason we have Doctor Nemesis in the X-Men comics too.Thomas had actually wanted to use Timely characters in the Battle-Axis role but got vetoed by Gruenwald who was uncomfortable with the idea of turning old Marvel/Timely heroes into Nazi sympathizers.
>>152975068She deserved better than to be an ally of the Nazis.
What's the status of the "Shazam Family"?>>152973617That change does, at least, provide a different tribal aesthetic to play with. >>152975068Man, that would have been cool to hear the back and forth between Thomas and Gruenwald and their views on these characters.
>>152973617Or a fantasy world based on those old pulp versions of Africa and South America.
>>152974341The idea of supervillains were there, but for the most part the notion that supervillains are the primary enemy of superheroes doesn't formalize until later. You have some fully-fledged supervillains, a lot of what can be described as "transitional" villains who have elements of supervillainy but don't go all the way like your deformed gangsters and grandiose criminals descended from pulp crime fiction, and ordinary gangsters and criminals, but due to the outsized impact of WW2 on the Golden Age of Comics foreign agents and their lackeys largely fill the space that supervillains would take in later years.
>>152974961I browse here sometimes, usually for funny pictures and movie rumors.
>>152975622Hide your power level.
>>152975441Yes, it is noticeable how some big shots like two face barely appeared.Green Arrow had a great run without supervillains
>>152972543>* while working contemporaneously on Fightin' American>>152972654It was a common practice well into the 60's. Had Marvel not agreed to bend the knee to DC's distributor/publisher many of the Marvel heroes wouldnt have seen the light of day. Mort Weisinger had an iron grip on the remnants of the comic industry post-wertham. If you've read Fightin American you get a good taste of where Lancelot would have gone. He'd have essentially been a teenaged Captain America with more sci-fi leanings. If you ask me the bigger loss was not bringing him back sooner. By the 80's the MLJ pantheon was such an after thought they just brought back everyone regardless if they were retools of the same mantle. It was really unsatisfying.
>>152972751It's hard not to resent them for it. National's efforts deprieved us of so much. When you go back and read through alot of contemporary works to Superman you quickly notice how distinct they all were. Unfortunately National was anti-competition, and since comics were looked down on as a social ill, the courts didnt care.I'm a huge Captain Marvel fag and I've virtually read all the PD Fawcett stuff. I mention as much because a big idea I've had for awhile now for a story featuring Cap would be a role reversal of how DC's handled him since they acquired him 50 years back. It'd pit Superman as an anti-social Danner-esque outsider that the wider world views as a dangerous vigilante while Cap is the beloved posterboy of American might. If it sounds interesting I could share some art. Really thought I dont want to take up the thread with all my nonsense work. My hope is to foster others into contributing too.
>>152973048>>152973952I just wish he'd greenlit a BTAS inspired Tracy cartoon while he had the chance. God knows he had the money.
>>152973667>>152974131The original cards were never renewed. The entire series is in effect public domain. Topps still owns the trademarks and copyrights over later works but the card series lapsed in the 1990's. https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Martians_(Mars_Attacks)
>>152973854It was really common in the golden age. Batman and Captain Marvel garnered the most egregious clones. The British crop of Marvel clones is so extensive it's honestly astonishing. I can name about twelve off the top of my head.
>>152976743I guess that explains why they haven't really done anything with the IP in recent years.
>>152974247You could always base a story off the Ben Cooper Spidey costume>>152974341I had a blast with that bit of news. Kirby's monsters are just so fun. Pic related is just a taste of all the wild shit I ended up drawing.
>>152975349The Marvel Family is entirely public domain. All of the 50's villains (Black Adam, Mr Atom, King Kull, etc) are still under copyright however. But for what it's worth a number of alternatives to those characters exist in earlier issues.
>>152976765Maybe the underperformance of the Burton movie left them with cold feet? In anycase I really would love more Mars Attacks fiction/media. I'd even kill for an animated adaption of the cards at this point.
>>152976809>King KullThe original entered the public domain a while ago.
>>152976809>Black AdamThis may explain why he supplanted Billy, this and Johns borne for villains
>>152976820Generally speaking whenever something goes public domain, big hollywood studios are unlikely to use it in their projects. Because if everyone can make their own versioon of a movie, that will take money away from their Wizard of Oz movie. It's the reason Guillermo Del Toro has been trying and failing to get an At The Mounts Of Madness movie made for decades.
>>152976956The original? Are we talking about Wai or somebody else? I've known Kull himself to be offlimits for awhile.
>>152976983Entirely likely, at that point though you'd think they would just make an OC. The few Captain Marvel OCs still around barely get any action either. Look at Superior or Mighty Man.
>>152977292>Generally speaking whenever something goes public domain, big hollywood studios are unlikely to use it in their projects. Because if everyone can make their own versioon of a movie, that will take money away from their Wizard of Oz movie.pretty much my main theory as to why Sony canned the Popeye movie that Genndy was doing for them, they canned it right around the time Popeye went PD in the EU
>>152976743I guess that why there was such a big push for the Mars Attacks comics and movie on the early 90s. Rights owners usually try one last hurrah before it goes public domain.
>>152976820There's-The 4 mini comics from the 80s (I just got them)-The 90s Topps comics (I own them all)-The two novels-Burton Movie (one of my faves)-IDW/Dynamite comics (I have some)-Mars Attacks X spin offs like Mars Attacks Image, Mars Attacks Red Sonja, Mars Attacks Popeye, Mars Attacks Judge Dredd-The table top miniatures game (I want them)-Mars Attracts video gameI would love something like Destroy All Humans but Mars Attacks. And I would especially love a RTS where you play as the Martians or Army, simple 3D graphics with nice effects so you can build a shit ton of units, then make a campaign where humans reverse engineer Martian tech and they attack Mars.
>>152977437As a big Popeye guy the Gendy project just wasn't that good. A Popeye origin story is unecessary and the project would have worked better if it was Popeye Jr or something and they have to save Popeye. The Altman movie got it right, but like the Dick Tracy movie critics and viewers just didn't get it.
>>152976743>>152977505Wait, so all early Mars attack cards and stories written on the back are public domain or is it just the first orginal set?>>152976809Good to know. As long as Sivana and the Monster Society are available that's more than enough great villians to tell stories with.>>152976763Are they public domain?
>>152977373King Kull, the character created by Robert Howard.
>>152977665>Wait, so all early Mars attack cards and stories written on the back are public domain or is it just the first orginal set?The entire original set of cards, story and all, and nothing else.>As long as Sivana and the Monster Society are available that's more than enough great villians to tell stories withDitto! Hell even among the Monster Society there's dozens of characters nobody pays much attention to, like IBAC! There's plenty to tinker with.Also yes, the bulk of the English Captain Marvel clones are public domain. Including>Captain Universe>(the original) Miracle Man>Master Man>Electroman>Captain Miracle>Super Stooge>Mr Apollo>Thunderbolt Jaxon>Lightning>Captain MightHonestly there's likely some I forgot to mention
>>152977792Oh my mistake
>>152977665Probably just the original series and none of the later ones that I wish I got but never knew about. There's a 50th anniversary book with all the old cards. I bought this instead of dropping like $600 for a set of cards. Has the front and back of every card from the original run, so... 55(?) cards.
>>152977535As another Popeye fan I still wanted it. Nobody else is ever going to give the character that sort of honest effort ever again. Genndy was the sailor man's last hope for a future. >>152977437I can see the logic behind your theory but even so they'ed still have been able to merchandise their derivative take on Popeye. He'd have been considerably distinct from his comic and fleischer counterparts by virtue of being both younger and more inexperienced. Likewise he'd have given younger viewers the chance to connect with the character in a way they wouldnt have with the older cartoons.Just look at all the money being made off the back of Wicked. I dont get why corpos are so sheepish around this stuff. Look how drastically Universal's redesigned their classic incarnations of the great literary monsters to curb the coming lapse of the Karloff and Lugosi takes on Frankenstein and Dracula. Totally unnecessary!
>>152977875Interior. There's also a Wacky Packages, Bazooka Joe, Jurassic Park, Garbage Pail Kids, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, and Star Wars books.>>152977894Nah FUCK Gendy. YOU WILL WATCH RHE OFFICIAL KING FEATURES YOUTUBE SHORTS WHERE HES A LITTLE KID WITH SNEAKERS AND A WHISTLE INSTEAD OF A PIPE AND LIKE IT. Seriously, Gendy doesn't get Popeye. That's why they need to hire ME.
>>152977916>seriously arguing the cocomelon tier youtube series is better than the Genndy project
>>152977916Girls being held captive by the monster was a common thing in those old pulp illustrations. We don't see much of it these days.
>>152977846> The entire orginal set of cardsOkay, that's important to know. >there's dozens of characters nobody pays much attention to, like IBAC!Exactly and a lot of these guys are more fun then the later Villians. It makes for a more bombastic adventure.>the bulk of the English Captain Marvel clones are public domain.Wow that's a lot of heroes. All these guys are going to be very useful. Thanks!
>>152977916What, no Crazy Labels?
So about characters like Captain Marvel and Namor being in the public domain, why is it that nobody tries to use them? Is because they might not actually be and nobody actually wants to poke the bear or is it because of trademarks?
>>152978715Probably lack of awareness and international copyright.For example; Conan who is in a similar situation, gets more material over Europe.
>>152978715Yeah I think nobody really wants to do anything with Captain Marvel but would rather use Superman and Batman. But it feels more like nobody cares. Popeye and Mickey Mouse are PD and I was expecting them to have a ton of new material instead of just a shitty cash grab horror flick.
>>152978903Winnie-the-Pooh gained some new books, I think it is the case of people not knowing what to do with them.
>>152977875>Probably just the original series and none of the later ones that I wish I got but never knew about. There's a 50th anniversary book with all the old cards. I bought this instead of dropping like $600 for a set of cards. Has the front and back of every card from the original run, so... 55(?) cards.mind you while yeah the original 1962 run is expensive as hell to collect, Topps has reprinted the line multiple times over the decades(alongside various sequel sets), so most of those are pretty cheap to collect full sets of, same with Dinosaurs Attacks(which isn't PD since that came out in the 90's but worth mentioning anyways)course even if Mars Attacks weren't PD it'd probably be dirt cheap to get the rights to use them from Topps>>152978715trademarks are probably a solid 90% of it since that makes merchandising them awkward at best
>>152978903>>152978934part of that is also that we had a huge 20 year dry period where nothing new entered the public domain in the US due to the most recent extension of copyright terms back in 1998 that only ended in 2019 when works from 1923 finally entered the PDthe public at large just hasn't really realized yet the full potential of the Public Domain because we had effectively a whole generation where the progression of the PD was frozen, main reason the most prominent use of PD material in the last couple of years has been shitty horror movies is precisely because that genre is cheap and quick to make movies for, especially if you're not putting any actual effort in
>>152978715they're not worth shit and no one cares, next question
>>152976703You should post it. Concept sounds interesting
>>152950248Then don’t say wonder loli, say WonderGal
Kinda glad people get the power to do anything they want with comic book characters ngl, corporates don’t got the power to do shit about it lmao.Also hoping to see MiracleMan end up on public domain soon
>>152978934Yeah, people really underestimate this part also being a massive barrier. You have characters like Pooh, Superman, Batman, Popeye, etc. all of which have been chugging along for nearly a century with no real sign of slowing down even after entering Public Domain. It's very hard to come up with new ground for them to tread while still remaining true to the characters, they've practically done it all. If you deviate too far, you may as well just make your own character, like how Superman clones are practically an entire cape genre onto themselves.
