Episode 157 - Public Domain Superheroes

Book Club for Masochists: a Readers’ Advisory Podcast

You asked for it, so in this special bonus episode we’re talking about Public Domain Superheroes! We discuss the Golden Age of Comics, masked adventurers, copyright, crossovers, and more! Plus: Time Eggs!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Matthew Murray | Carol Borden

Things We Read (or tried to…)

• Project Superpowers (Wikipedia) by Jim Krueger, Alex Ross, Doug Klauba, Stephen Sadowsk, and Carlos Paul
• Masks, vol. 1 by Chris Roberson, Alex Ross (Artist), Dennis Calero (Artist) Jae lee
  • See all the covers
• Miss Fury: The Minor Key by Corinna Sara Bechko and Jonathan Lau
• Swords of Sorrow (Women in Comics Wiki) by Gail Simone and so many others

Superheroes and Masked Adventurers (all links are to Wikipedia)

• Plastic Man
• Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
• Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics)
• The Shadow
• The Spider
• Miss Fury
  • Miss Fury and Miss Mills (article by Carol Borden on the Cultural Gutter)
  • Miss Fury Cut Outs
• Miss Masque/Masquerade
• Kato
• Green Hornet
• Red Sonja
• Thor (Marvel Comics)
• Thor in comics - DC Comics
• Hercules (DC Comics)
• Hercules (Marvel Comics)
• Zeus (DC Comics)
• Zeus (Marvel Comics)
• Beowulf (DC Comics)
• Beowulf (Earth-616) (Marvel Fandom Wiki)
• Bucky Barnes
• Black Terror (and Tim!)
• Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications) (The Death Defying 'Devil)
• Jonah Hex
• The Invaders
• All-Star Squadron
• The Twelve
• Airboy
• Fighting Yank
• Dynamic Man
• Ghost (Public Domain Super Heroes Wiki)
• Cat-Man and Kitten
• Irene Adler
• Dejah Thoris
• Green Lama
• Zorro
• Black Bat
• Purgatori
• Chastity
• Lady Zorro (ComicVine)
• Vampirella
• Jane Porter/ Lady Greystoke
• Pantha (ComicVine)
• Eva, Daughter of Dracula (ComicVine)

Other Media We Mentioned

• Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
• Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard (Wikipedia)
• Night of the Living Dead (Wikipedia)
• Superman (1940s animated film series) (Wikipedia)
• The Great Comic Book Heroes by Jules Feiffer
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
• Spicy Library Stories
• Sherlock Holmes & Kolchak the Night Stalker: Cry of Thunder by Joe Gentile, Andy Bennett, and Carlos Magno
• The Incredible Hercules (Wikipedia)
• Aliens vs. Predator (comics) (Wikipedia)
• Freddy vs. Jason (Wikipedia)
• X-Men 2099 (Wikipedia)
• Justice League Unlimited (Wikipedia)
• Justice League Action - Jonah Hex’s Space Rodeo! (YouTube)
• Archie vs. Predator (Wikipedia)
• FemForce (Wikipedia)
• Tom Strong (Wikipedia)
  • Public domain characters show up staring in issue #11, there’s also some Terra Obscura miniseries that focus on these characters.
• Savage Dragon (Wikipedia)
• Next Issue Project (Wikipedia)
• Miss Fury: Sensational Sundays by Tarpe Mills
• Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game) (Wikipedia)
• Achtung! Cthulhu (Role-Playing Game) (H.P. Lovecraft Wiki)

Links, Articles, and Things

• The Cultural Gutter
• Monstrous Industry
• Fox Spirit Books
• Episode 155 - Literary Fan Fiction
• Public Domain (Wikipedia)
• Public Domain Day 2022
• Public Domain Comic Books (TVTropes)
• Public Domain Super Heroes Wiki
• Creative Commons (Wikipedia)
• 5 Great Public Domain Superheroes (& 5 Worst)
• Superman (ice cream flavor) (Wikipedia)
• National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc.
• Golden Age of Comic Books
• Canadian Whites (Wikipedia) (Canadian WWII-era comics)
  • The Canadian Captain Marvel Comics #10
• Fox Feature Syndicate (Wikipedia)
• Crestwood Publications (Wikipedia)
• Standard Comics (Wikipedia (Nedor Publishing)
• Quality Comics (Wikipedia)
• Fawcett Comics (Wikipedia)
• Charlton Comics (Wikipedia)
• WildStorm (Wikipedia)
• The 10 Best Crossovers in Archie Comics
• From KISS to 'The Addams Family': The Best 'Scooby-Doo!' Crossovers You Just Have to See
• 12 Strangest Scooby-Doo Crossovers, Ranked
• Eclipse Comics (Wikipedia)
• America’s Best Comics (Wikipedia)
• Dynamite Entertainment (Wikipedia)
• Alex Ross (Wikipedia)
  • Afraid Of Cock
  • The printed cover to Justice Society of America #7
• ‘Zorro’ Licensor, in Role Reversal, Faces Trial for Copyright Infringement
• Black Legion (political movement) (Wikipedia)
• Chaos! Comics (Wikipedia)

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Join us again on Tuesday, September 6th we’ll be discussing the format of Audio Book Fiction! (This episode will probably become “What is a book? Part 2”

Then on Tuesday, September 20th we’ll be discussing the winner of our “we all read the same book” poll and discussing Hurts So Good: The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose by Leigh Cowart!