Against the Grain

Volume 27 | Issue 4 Article 46

2015 Decoder Ring--The Digital Comic Museum Jerry Spiller Art Institute of Charleston, [email protected]

Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/atg Part of the Library and Information Science Commons

Recommended Citation Spiller, Jerry (2015) "Decoder Ring--The Digital Comic Museum," Against the Grain: Vol. 27: Iss. 4, Article 46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7771/2380-176X.7164

This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. Decoder Ring — The Digital Comic Museum Column Editor: Jerry Spiller (Art Institute of Charleston)

want to introduce you to a dangerously won- name and ownership appeared first in 1940 derful thing: the Digital Comic Museum changes, mergers, in a serially published I (DCM) at http://digitalcomicmuseum.com.1 and closings. The novel in Double De- It’s clearly wonderful, because it’s full of scans interests of the pe- tective Magazine, of old comics from yesteryear that are in the riod, when superhe- later reprinted by Al- public domain. Dangerous? Because someone ro comics were just tus Press. Although had to do the painstaking research to ensure that in their ascendancy, the original publish- these works really are in the public domain. mean there is repre- er of these stories, The archivists know what I’m talking about. sentation for genres the Frank Munsey DCM is a pretty grassroots effort. The like war, romance, Company, went bel- header on every page of the site proclaims “We Westerns, and detec- ly up, Crossen kept are the best site for downloading FREE public tive books from pub- the copyrights when domain Golden Age Comics. All files here lishers like Charlton, they did. Whether have been researched by our staff and users to Dell, Hillman Peri- Crossen simply re- make sure they are copyright free and in the odicals, St. John, and tained ownership all public domain.” DCM’s FAQ explains2 that Ziff-Davis. along or had signed they make careful checks using UPenn’s Cat- Publications of the rights over to alog of Copyright Entries3 before publishing the U.S. government Munsey with an entries for user submitted scans. are, of course, in the agreement that they DCM also lists in its FAQ titles and pub- public domain. DCM would return to him lications that are not acceptable for upload has some good scans I’m unclear. as they are not in the public domain.4 These in this category as The Green include obvious choices such as DC, including well, including many comics put out by its absorbed rival All American Comics, as well issues of the now leg- Prize Comics in as Marvel, including its previous incarnations endary Army rag PS 1940-1943 and as Timely and Atlas. Similarly, and just as Magazine: Preven- Sparks Publications obviously off limits, are mainstays like Archie tative Maintenance Figure 2: Cover to Green Lama No. 2, in 1944-1946 were Comics, Mad Magazine, and anything owned Monthly, created in Feb 1945, art by . derivative works that by King Features or Universal Features. Also 1951 and for many Image: Public domain via DCM.7 were authorized at the not to be plumbed are the many classic horror years by the legend- time; in fact, Crossen stories of EC Comics, some of whose titles ary Will Eisner. Sadly, the uploads for this himself wrote them. The copyrights to the like Tales from the Crypt and Weird Fantasy title start with issue 85 from 1960. 1951-1959 comics were not renewed. Marketing new are currently available in reprints from Dark issues are not currently represented, nor is the derivative works based on those stories would Horse under the “EC Archives” moniker (a few magazine’s predecessor Army Motors. More violate the original copyright. Those rights are different publishers have had a crack at the EC complete runs of PS Magazine, from 1951 to still held by Crossen’s daughter Kendra Cros- vaults over the years, 1971, are available sen Burroughs, herself an author whose works with varying levels of from VCU Libraries include an annotated edition of the Bhagavad quality in scans and Digital Collections.6 Gita (along with translator Shri Purohit Swa- recoloring work). You have to ap- mi) as well continuations of the adventures What you will preciate the time and of another of her father’s pulp detective cre- find onDCM is more gumption put in by ations, Manning Draco. The Green Lama is than enough to hold the DCM staff to trademarked by Argosy Communications in your interest. This clear these pieces of agreement with the Crossen estate. There have is a treasure trove for history for upload. been authorized and unauthorized publications researchers and fans Here’s just one legal featuring the Green Lama in pulps and comics alike. Some of the quagmire I wouldn’t over the years. But the 1940s comics do appear DCM archives are want to step into. to be in the public domain. DCM is not mar- strips of pre-1923 or- And since I am not keting anything new in offering up the original igin like Little Nemo a lawyer, the follow- scans of the comics, so it would not seem to in Slumberland and ing is a quick gloss be in violation of Crossen’s copyright here. Gasoline Alley. The of the rights to one Needless to say, society benefits from a bulk of the material very interesting pulp robust public domain. Without it the Green is from the Golden hero, crime-fight- Lama and friends would not have been able to Age of the late 1930s ing Buddhist “The take on Frankenstein’s Monster in 1943. through the 1950s, Green Lama,” as I You must register to be able to both upload however, and seems understand them. to and download from DCM. The registration to land in the public The character was process features no fewer than three bot checks. domain via lack of created by pulp writ- Comics available for download are compressed copyright renewal. er Kendell Foster into CBR, CBZ, or CBT formats (variations This isn’t surprising Crossen, writing at on RAR, ZIP, and TAR files, respectively), so given the frenzied the time under the pen readers will need a digital comics reader like pace of creation in name Richard Fos- Comix or CBViewer to read the files.8 what was then a very Figure I: ’s horror comic ter (he had a lot of Readers can donate to help DCM cover ephemeral medium, featured stunning cover art by pseudonyms). This their server costs and other operating expenses. and the subsequent Maurice Whitman. green-cowled “man This reader plans to do so. Image: Public domain via DCM.5 chaos of publisher who defeats death” endnotes on page 85

84 Against the Grain / September 2015