#public domain superheroes

[vo-kopen]

So in case any of y’all were interested in Zippo’s origin from my other post (seen here) here it is. I appreciate that his first appearance has a diagram of his tech, and while his spandex is a bit generic, his harness and wheels make him stand out. It is a bit weird that this PI just randomly has invented a harness, but a future story could explore why a PI is a skilled mechanic and inventor. Maybe he wanted to be an inventor but his tech was too niche or impossible to mass produce, so he was forced to use his eye for detail as a PI. There is potential for future stories here. And as a reminder, Zippo is in the public domain, so he is free to use for anyone for anything.

It’s also interesting that while Zippo is faster than any human, he’s not anywhere near the speed of a proper speedster. The Flash and Quicksilver both are so far out of his weight class it’s hilarious. But that’s not a bad thing, its an unique idea to have a speedster using 1940’s machinery to move fast, I can’t recall any other speedsters like that. The tech also stands out against his uniform; it is far from streamline. There is a sense that it is not the optimal way to move fast, but it still enough to let him foil a villain or two. Almost like a street level speedster. If a writer using him has a more typical speedster in their cast, Zippo could be used to show the limits of technology.

I also appreciate that while Zippo is violent, he did not kill his enemies. This is the Golden Age and before the comic code authority, and as you can see the Pirate is not only willing to kill but I believe he is cleaning blood off his cutlass. Zippo sparing him therefore seems like a point of contrast, the Pirate is willing to even kill his own henchmen, but Zippo does not. You could explore a code of ethics here. And from a practical point of view, this theoretically means the Pirate could show up in future stories.

The story is jingoist, what with the focus on war plants and the USO thing at the end, but this story did come out in 1943. War industry is bad, but at least they are fighting the Nazis. (Though I cannot bring myself to read issue two yet because it’s the forties and while I do not know the plot, if Imperial Japan comes up in a story I expect to be horrified. Captain America comics in the forties were very racist. Zippo seems more based in the states than Cap so it might never come up, but spies and saboteurs are still a possibility, so my anxiety fears)

Other notes, his secretary barely appears but her last name is Smith, so if a writer uses him they could incorporate that name as a play on words. Like, maybe she helps him maintain or build his gear. (again, I have not read issue two yet, she might not stick around or their dynamic might differ. Though there is no reason a retelling would have to treat the original comics as a strict bible) Either way, she is in a position that could easily be a recurring role if not a major supporting character. Shame she is such a blank slate in issue one.

As for Joe’s profession, my gut shouts ACAB, especially his use of threatening violence to get enemies to confess. That said, he is approached by Anderson because he is not a part of the system and they don’t want to cause a panic, so there is potential there for him to be written as outside and contrasted against law enforcement. Is he subtler than the law? Is he less important in the eyes of the public so they would not care as much? Would any of that plus Zippo’s smashing success cause resentment among the cops? These ideas are clearly not in the text, but it could be explored by a modern writer. And I will admit, being a PI gives him a reason to be approached by civilians to help them with their troubles, as well as an excuse to investigate in his civies. Reporter is the classic occupation to justify superhero snooping, but this is not the worst job for a superhero to have. That’s billionaire.

Anyway, tagging @thefingerfuckingfemalefury @akirakan @espanolbot2 @filipfatalattractionrblog @nitpickrider @bear-of-mirrors @geekgirl101 @renaroo @docgold13 @paulsebert @majingojira @strixobscuro and any other comic fan who might be interested in reading a quick little comic about a public domain “speedster.”

[virovac]

So since Spider Queen is in public domain

(Spider-Man writers totally stole webshooters from this,  The web formula was created by her late husband but she created the web shooters)

I’m thinking a more Batman Animated series style redesign and also making her fight almost like a stage magician, filling a place with traps of her webs.

...also thinking making her bi but struggling with feeling disloyal to her husband if she moves on, rather than a dumb romance with the detective who thinks she’s a criminal

[marvelousmop]

I like that Tabu was clearly pitched as “Like Tarzan, but not to the extent that we’ll get sued”, but then Fletcher Hanks just went ahead and made him this weird omnipotent Jungle guy who magically punishes criminals and murderers with his powers (basically a proto-Fantomah, or Stardust the Super Wizard in a loin cloth)

[ninebaalart]

Captain Marvel/Shazam is in the public domain, but everyone and their mother knows it's a complicated legal scenario they're embroiled in that is entirely the work of greedy DC. I opted for renames and a different symbol for my take.

[kevynthedevylman]

THE SENSATIONAL CAT-MAN (Pilot)

[abuddyforeveryseason]

This is the Buddy for April 26th.

You know, Tom Scioli's obsessed with the art of Jack Kirby. I mean, nowadays he's been changing it up a bit more, like in his Stan Lee biography, but at first he wanted to creat really close Kirby pastiches.

And his latest work was Jack Kirby's Starr Warriors - that's a remake (or, as he puts it, a remix) of one of Kirby's earliest comic work, Starr Warriors on Crash Comics. He basically redrew the panels straight from the inked finished product (the originals are lost for good), changed sizes and pacing so the 12 or so pages would fit comfortably in a 36-page one-shot, and colored it in reds and pinks.

Red and pink, just like I do! That's really more of a manga thing. Even back in the forties, using only reds and black for color wasn't a common thing in comics. Some of the other strips in Crash Comics had really simple coloring, but Starr Warriors' was very traditional.

But I love the single-color look, it's really distinctive and gives the book a weird pulpy quality that contrasts wonderfully with the bland photoshop coloring we see in modern comics.

That said, the story itself wasn't really fun. It's a really old comic, and Kirby was still very much a beginner when he was making it. In one of the stories, the title character doesn't really do anything other than get trapped and be rescued by someone else by sheer luck. In another, the bad guy ambushes the hero and goes "hahaha what will you do now?", and the hero just shoots everyone. Not exactly high drama.

Speaking of remixing 40ies comics, I had an idea like that of my own. A few years ago, I read about the Frank Frazetta-inked golden age comic Snowman, and checked it out. It s pretty Frazetta-ish, for a comic about a cute talking snowman. Check it out:

Eaten by crocs. What a way to go.

[skookworks]

02.23.2024

[venusdeservedbetter]

Been looking through some public domain superheroines recently (partly to see Gold/Silver Age female heroes and how well they were handled, partly to see if they could be rebooted), and hit my favorite dumb Golden Age idea.

“Tomboy”. By day, she’s the 50s traditional ideal of femininity, the perfect little angel. But secretly, she actually fights crime... by dressing up in what’s barely different from her normal outfit, but with a mask! How clever!

She’s literally only a tomboy because she fights people, that’s it. It’s so dumb that it’s actually hilarious, I love her.

[strato-viper-raven-blog]

I'd love to see more comic book fans create awesomely crazy headcanons and AUs with Public Domain Superheroes. Heck, I love doing this with Fawcett Comics heroes and love it when people share their own ideas. :)

[makiruz]

Seriously, support this

[jlaclassified]

Even superheroes can fall victim to the dreaded Gay Panic.

[rjalker]

[ID: Two panels from the first Cat-Man Comic. The first panel shows Dr. Gordon, in a yellow, green, and red outfit against a black background, with a man in a fur coat and hat saying, "You see, thousands of years ago, lived a poor Egyptian named Amnis! One day while working in his fields, he uncovered a Black Diamond, buried deep in the earth!!". The second panel has a red background, shows the man from the side, continuing, "Somehow he discovered that with the diamond he could do amazing feats! Its magic power gave him the strength of fifty men!! Then one night while Amnis was sleeping, the Black Sapphire was stolen from around his neck!!" End ID.]

Another public domain superhero.

Read Cat-Man Comics for free here

[anoraktrend]

post necessary to find posts

[marvelousmop]

I think the biggest crime in Golden Age comics is that Master Mystic only appeared in 1 issue and has been slept on ever since... I mean, look at him!

He has a cool costume, he has a cool tower, he has gangly proportions that lend him a slightly unnerving figure when in flight, he has these weird dripping speech bubbles, how did this not catch on!?!

[ninebaalart]

This is my take on Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind, who I altered the names of but didn't really change that much. I love both of these villains but Mr. Mind(ful) is my favorite. He's a little cartoon caterpillar that looks like he should be driving an apple car instead of committing massive amounts of murder and that's genius.

[thesparkwhowalks]

This is what Republicans think is going on in public schools.