Holyoke was a small comic book publisher in the 1940s. Even though they were a small line, some of their books are most sought after by collectors. www.patreon.com/user?u=25055366 PayPal.Me/FizzFop
Same here. In fact, I keep hoping Marvel and AC will collaborate on a special edition of WHAT IF...? that could be entitled: "What If Spider-Man Had Joined The _Other_ FF?" Lol!
If it's one thing I've learned from studying comics, it's that each one represents the hard work of its creators. Even the obscure ones must have taken great effort to make, and should not be forgotten. Miss Victory was kicking butt with Wonder Woman back then. She's a part of the graphic novel I've been working on (or at least her granddaughter), along with an assortment of other golden agers. Once again, I much appreciate the time you've taken to remind us about all the great heroes we don't celebrate anymore, and why we still should.
Hi James! Keep me up to date on your graphic novel. I'm working on a couple of scripts myself. Also, I'm trying to get my drawing skills up to a respectable level. One of the things I want to do is network with others who are doing this. I'm sure there's a lot of pitfalls I need to look out for.
@Skye Dragon7 Nobody has the rights to characters that are public domain. AC Comics created spin-offs of some golden age heroes but they don't own the originals. Blue Beetle, on the other hand, is trademarked and copyright of DC Comics. The original Golden Age Blue Beetle comics AND the Charlton/Dan Garrett issues may not be protected by copyright. Blue Beetle is in a quasi-PD state; note that I'm referring to the Dan Garret(t) version of The Blue Beetle, not Ted Kord or Jaime Reyes who are still under copyright protection. AC Comics reprinted some Charlton material including unpublished comics prior to DC Comics acquiring the Charlton heroes (The Question, Ted Kord/Blue Beetle, and Captain Atom). The big "DC debut" for these characters and their supporting cast was in the Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series. I never heard of Holyoke Publishing. Blue Beetle to my understanding was published by Fox Comics before the character ended up at Charlton Comics in the 1950s. There are tons of comics Marvel and DC don't want you to know are public domain; they've trademarked and copyrighted the likenesses of a bunch of Golden Age characters (most notably the original Marvel Family who I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to call the Shazam Family!) but the original comics themselves were not copyright renewed in the 1960s and 1970s when they came up for renewal. They'd love to be able to resell those comics but A) half of them at least need restoration work, even if it's half-assed; and B) they're competing against 25+ years of the world wide web where aware fans were posting public domain/rights-lapsed comics already! There are companies like AC Comics and PS Art Books that have done reprints of public domain golden age comic books but in the case of one character (Phantom Lady) PS Art Books did NOT do their reprint volumes (2 for her; I own them) before contacting DC Comics. DC owns that character but it's a courtesy to contact the owner before you do reprints. They do allow reprints under certain situations but the ownership of the character has to be acknowledged even if the reprint stories are public domain!
@Skye Dragon7 The laws are murky. It's been made worse by corporations petitioning Congress to extend the copyrights on their existing characters. Mickey Mouse should be public domain but isn't. Superman technically technically doesn't fall under lapse because Siegel & SHuster haven't been dead 30 years and the Siegel family lawsuit against DC in the late 20th century (shortly after Jerry died) muddies the waters more. The sad reality is these corporations can petition (re: bribe) Congress again and get yet another extension on their IP copyrights. Most of these other characters should NOT be under copyright. The sad reality is that the characters are recognized as "corporate creations." The only reason why half the creators is because fans did the research and fans (many of who worked within the industry in the past) asked these questions.
It's more of a passion project. I've been having so much fun reimagining these characters, and plotting their stories into one. I've bought one of those do-it-yourself comic books from Target, and have begun syncing the script with the panels. I'll start with the illustrations once I got the script finished. It's a long process, but one I'm happy to take my time on. I'm glad to hear you all are doing the same. Good luck, everyone!
@@AvengerII Actually all of Charlton's characters are in the Public Domain. Charlton did not do a good job at putting the copyright notice in. DC owns the trademarks, but the actual stories are Public Domain. That's the real reason DC killed off Ted Kord and the Question.
Ok, if the Bible says: As it is on Earth, so shall it be in Heaven. If I want to have kinky perverted sex with another consenting adult on Earth, why do these self righteous Bible thumpers think I cant do it in Heaven? That is not Heaven to me!
Hi SpideyRules1962! This "work at home" situation agrees with me. I live 13 miles from work...and during rush hour, it takes me over an hour to drive home. I feel exhausted after that. Before I know it, it's time for bed. I have so much more time to work on things now.
I feel like "Red Cross" really ought to be adopted as a mascot by the actual Red Cross. Pep up their blood drives no end to have a superhero connected to them.
Another great video. I've never dug deep into the history of Blue Beetle pre-Charlton following the early years, so now I have a chunk to go check out.
Thank you very much for making these videos. I love learning more about the history of comics! It's nice knowing pre-established characters like these are in the public domain. I could drop them into a story just to establish a larger world.
Your channel and content are absolutely some of the the best stuff out there... just my opinion. Thanks for your hard work in producing it... greatly appreciated. Cheers.
Miss Victory, Catman and Kitten, Black Venus are being used by AC Comics, DC has been using Ragman for years, at least in name, Marvel revived Strongmsn, Volton, Phantom Eagle and Golden Archer, the first two as villains in their Invaders series.
Thank you Fizzfop1! This was definitely one of your 'must watch twice' videos (the first time to hit pause every few secs & study the artwork); God these are the best covers ever!
Hey Douglas, I find these books on comic book plus and digital comics museum websites. I go there and get lost for days looking at the art. You should check it out.
Thank you for another infomative video about forgotten characters. I knew of the name Holyoke, and that they were a publishing company fom the Goldena Age, but since I don't have the budget to collect that era very much, knew nothing of thir contents. So thank you!
Hey Rangersly! If you want to read Holyoke and other golden age books that have fallen in public domain-check out comic book plus or digital comics museum. Both places have websites. The entire Holyoke line is there to read.
Glad to see your channel slowly building up a larger fanbase. Loved your stuff for awhile now, and I remember being bummed that you didn't have more views.
Thanks toonbat! Yeah, I can't put out videos fast enough to hit RU-vid's algorithm. I put out four videos this month with the Wally Wood series...but I still can't tap into it. Oh well, having fewer viewers allows me to talk with people.
A few of those characters were listed in The Invaders as their WW1 predecessors, I think, unless I'm mistaken. As always, great content, excellent research
@@FizzFop1 it was a one panel reference with a memory image sort of thing in the first issue with Union Jack. Funny the things that stick out in your head huh
Love these behind the scenes stories! And they really refute the idea that women weren't a part of comics in the earlier days. Either in the magazines, or behind the scenes. (tried looking up that editor 'Raye Herman' ? but had too many similar names to sift through). I'm sure there's an interesting story there too.
Hi you2099! During World War II, most of the male population (age 18-40) was drafted into the military. There were a lot of women working in comics. One of my favorite stories is that of Lilly Renee. She created Werewolf Hunter for Fiction House. She was an Austrian refugee who fled when the Germans took over.
Yes, but you the problem of having Daddy Warnerbucks . . . 'errrm, excuse me, Time/Warner, dropping a ton of lawyers on you if you try. Now, if you have a billion bucks in the bank, there's a good trademark/copyright lawyer I can recommend . . .
SmithNorthwest The Golden Age Blue Beetle was a drug using policeman...the DC one is based on the Charlton version who was an archeologist...what’s weird is that he and Ted Kord are kinda in the public domain too.
Cat-Man in the early days was a hero when he moved to Dc Comics he probably still retained his heroic title for a while then had a reboot and became a villain(1970s) but what is interesting is his powers from a tiger in the old story but I think he was transformed in a cat like creature along the way his powers are that of every cat and he has other powers as well or he did? Tiger Man was another character in comics to than there's Bronze Tiger and Black Panther and back to Cat Man what happened to his original sidekick Kitten i have a strange loop here for her she is Batman's mother or possibly Robins? But it is strange that she has never be see since in comics or did she become someone else either way there's no tale about lost sidekicks or them related to other hero's? The Cat(Bat} Man story are so similar but both are friends originally in the stories later to become ememies and that's characters in common with shared history or similar origin stories?
DC’s Catman has no connection to Cat-Man except name and costume colors…they took on the abandoned name and design but created a different, better backstory, and built him into a good antihero
another fun and informative episode. Heard of most of these guys, but encountered them in other places than their comics. Like most guys in there 80s, I remember Miss Victory from Femforce. Loved that series and AC in general. And while I've listened to a bunch of Blue Beetle radio episodes, I don't think I've read any of his stories. Gonna end up spending a lot of time at the digital comics museum site.
@@FizzFop1 AC was THE source for info on GA heroes for quite awhile. Them bringing back heroes as well as reprints were part of what got me hooked on older heroes. Their western line was a lot of fun too.
have you thought of doing a section dedicated solely on the early work of great/notable creators or doing a segment of lesser-known golden age creators?
It's crossed my mind to do Dr. Occult. I have a script for The Green Turtle. I have a couple of other sad stories about creators--I'm looking for a happy one to move up the list.
Crazy, i just went to a thrift store a month or so back and found issue 11 of Golden Age Men of Mystery from Paragon Publishing featuring Cat-Man and Kitty on the cover. In fact, the picture of them at 0:58 is the cover of issue 11. I Didnt realize he had a much larger run in comics. Very interesting
Whenever I'm perusing GA comics, Catman always stands out as a great design and character who would hold up even today (and in fact does). Senorita Rio (as drawn by Lily Renee), Lady Satan, and Black Cat (Lee Elias' version) do as well.
Even though Holyoke has been forgotten, the design and concept of their Cat-Man character has bizarrely lived on in cartoons and parodies of the Adam West Batman series..?
Holyoke Comics are available to read online at Digital Comics Museum and Comic Books Plus. Irwin Hasen, co-creator of Catman, also created the Fox for MLJ (now Archie Comics) and Wildcat for DC. Links for DCM: digitalcomicmuseum.com/index.php and CB+: comicbookplus.com/?cid=1507
Hi Skot! Thanks for watching! Yeah, DC made their own version of Catman. I have to check up when they created him, but I think it was long after Holyoke went under. There's a couple of other versions of Catman out there...currently Dynamite uses him in their Project Superpowers books. There was an indie publisher in the 70s with a Catman character. AC Comics published him in the 80s and 90s. There was an Australian version in the 1960s. So, when it comes to this character-it's a free for all.
@@FizzFop1 there's a Catboy in PJMasks, but the colors are so exactly the same. If i were to make a DIFFERENT Catman, i'd chose different colors. I have a feeling that somehow DC got this directly from them somehow. same artist? same creator hired at DC? just a nod of a fan? I was reading Star Wars 2015-2019 comics, and there is a character that is partially lizard, and if you kill him, he just resurrects in a robotic chamber elsewhere, and his name was CYLO IV (obviously visual nod to CYLON from BSG)
Hi Stefan--or you can look through the Holyoke books online for free at digital comics museum or at comic book plus. Both websites have years worth of reading on them.
Nice! I suppose also worth mentioning is that although DC is publishing Blue Beetle comics, they don’t own the original version of the Blue Beetle due to Mystery Men Comics not being renewed in time, so that Dan Garret version is in public domain, though it has to be ensured no fan puts the name Blue Beetle on any of their covers due to DC owning the trademark.
I wonder how many of these were used (and needed to be adjusted a bit) when Dynamite Comics did a couple of mini-series "bringing back" all the Public Domain characters. I think it was called Project Superpowers.
I wouldn't mind a omnibus collecting all the Holyoke Catman issues. 👍 Oh yeah, DCs Catman is a completely different guy from Holyokes Catman. There seems to be some confusion on that. I hope this video clears that up.
Hi John, I remember AC Comics printing ashcans and collections of Catman, but I don't think anyone has done a complete omnibus. If you want to read his adventures, check out the "comic book plus" or "digital comic museum" websites.
Do it. I encourage everyone to give it a try. Find something you like and just put it out there. I'm working on a couple of other things in addition to this channel.
@@livclark8154 If your interested in reading any of the Holyoke titles...you can find them at comicbookplus.com or digitalcomicsmuseum.com. Almost their entire print run is there. Weeks of reading!
I think they used a version of Catman in the Fairly Odd Parents cartoon where Adam West (RIP) plays a parody version of himself. Very similar color palette, at least (orange cowl, yellow jumpsuit)
Hi Frank, thanks for watching. Dynamite has series going on now with a bunch of these characters. Back in the 80s and 90s, AC Comics ran with these characters.
@@FizzFop1 will do it may take awhile though got to get some more research into it before I start though it is kinda hard to find much on the comics not unless you have a particular source you can point me to
Hi Michael! Thanks for watching! You can go to comicbookplus website or the digitalcomicsmuseum website. The entire Holyoke line and several other lines are available to read.
Ok was the famous cover of superman holding dead supergirl ripped off from friggin catman????wtf. Also i have always liked the look of the first mss victory costume. It feels right for the character and the time. Almost like a super powerd prep squad cheerleader. And as much as i like the sexy a.c. version the original is just a classic costume. Keep up the good work and stay safe.
I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT ONE OF THE COMIC-BOOK STORIES BY HOLYOKE THAT IS CATMAN: Now my thoughts on the ComicBook stories about the hero (CATMAN) that was created by HOLYOKE; An so anyway I can imagine him as either a hero who exists within a completely separate dimensional realm. Or the crime-fighter hero CATMAN might be a hero who exists on a planet that is very similar to that of planet: EARTH, that the known crime-fighting hero BATMAN is from, and I can imagine that CatMan’s true identity self might of been fascinated with that of cats that exists on his home planet unlike that of Batman, and so that is the reason why he decided to give himself the hero title of (CATMAN).
Thanks to you I gave one of the comics "Miss Victory" a shot and I can safely say that I liked it! Well until the Nazi speaking ape with a bomb issue. After that the story switch to being on the war front so I lost interest, but I still like Miss Victory! And it gave me a couple of good chuckles!
What exactly is the situation with Catman's copyright? I mean ive seen the character or versions thereof appear in several different projects owned by different companies.
Hi metalmonkey00. He's in public domain. I don't know all the legalities of public domain. Publishers have used the character or a version of the character for years.
