Until very recently, the 1940s and '50s adventures of the original Captain Marvel (aka young Billy Batson, who shouts out the magic word "SHAZAM!" to be transformed into The World's Mightiest Mortal) have been considered by most to be in the public domain. Although DC Comics licensed the character and all related tchotchkes from former rival Fawcett Comics in the '70s (before eventually purchasing all things Shazam! at a later date), the earlier comics material published by Fawcett was long since presumed to have lapsed its copyright protection.
DC Comics disagrees, and the company has sought to re-assert its legal ownership of much of this original Golden Age material. This move comes in the wake of the successful Shazam! movie, and in the midst of DC adding thousands of digital comics to it online DC Universe paid archive and streaming service.
The popular public-domain comics resources Digital Comics Museum and Comic Book Plus have already complied with DC's wishes in this matter. DCM published a notice on its forum, detailing the specific issues that DC has reclaimed from the public domain:
Captain Marvel Adventures # 3-6, 46-129, 131-141, 143-150
Captain Marvel Junior # 29-34, 36-106, 108-117, 119
Captain Marvel Story Book # 1-2
Fawcett's Funny Animals # 31-79
Hoppy The Marvel Bunny # 1-15
The Marvel Family # 1-3, 5-80, 82-89
Mary Marvel # 1-28
Master Comics # 61-126, 128-132
Whiz Comics # 3-6, 64-98, 105-118, 130-153, 155
Wow Comics # 36-69
Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do) has previously posted some material from these now-protected properties. Although I am way too small-potatoes to draw the wrath of DC Comics Inc., I am also complying with the new copyright assertion. All of the relevant blog posts have been edited to reflect fair use only, with representative sample pages rather than complete stories. This practice will remain in effect for all future editions of my series 100-Page FAKES! and any other comics posts on Boppin'.
I have no issue whatsoever with DC asserting its copyright; as a creator myself (at however low a profile), I firmly believe copyrights should be respected. Intellectual property is not free, and we don't have a right to it just because we think we oughtta have that right.
I do hope this move is an indication that DC intends to actually do something with the Golden Age adventures of Captain Marvel and The Marvel Family. A previously-announced book collection of the lengthy 1940s Captain Marvel Adventures serial The Monster Society Of Evil was cancelled, presumably due to the unfortunate racial stereotypes running rampant throughout the serial. (Interesting to note that serial's final chapter, from CMA # 26, is the only part of the serial for which DC is currently asserting ownership.) It would be a shame for this treasure trove of comics to disappear entirely from the public eye.
But I suspect it may do just that. The Shazam! movie was a success, a sequel has been ordered, and it would not surprise me to learn that DC doesn't want to risk alienating the new audience of kids discovering this new-to-them hero by stirring up the controversy of the vicious Japanese and shuffling African-American caricatures that were part and parcel of the era that gave us Captain Marvel. Hell, I understand the historical context, but I still don't want to propagate that offensive nonsense. Can't really blame DC for preferring not to deal with it.
(Tangent: I did not enjoy the Shazam! film anywhere near as much as I wished I would. I went in with appropriate expectations, knowing it wasn't my Captain Marvel, and that he couldn't even be called "Captain Marvel" in the film's marketing, and therefore wouldn't be called "Captain Marvel" in the film itself; that name belongs to Marvel Comics now, and it's been applied to a series of newer heroes by that name. No matter what character came first, neither DC nor Marvel is interested in sharing the name. I knew before buying my ticket that Shazam! was a superhero version of Big, a little too silly for my taste, but I rolled with it and liked it well enough until a particularly violent scene took me out of the moment; the unexpected brutality of that scene didn't jibe with the goofy vibe the film had seemed to embrace up to that point, and I was unable to reconnect with it after that.)
(Irrelevant second tangent: I enjoyed Marvel's recent Captain Marvel with actress Brie Larson a lot more than I enjoyed Shazam! Can't wait to see her return to help The Avengers save the universe in Endgame.)
I support the idea of the hero I knew as Captain Marvel finding a new audience, finding a place in today's pop culture. I still read DC's current Shazam! comic book. I get that times change. I still hope we'll have some kind of access to the classic interpretation, too.
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While DC can claim SOME of the old Fawcett stories, THE CHARACTERS ARE STILL PUBLIC DOMAIN AND THEY CAN'T CLAIM OTHERWISE. I've done the research, both with copyrights and trademarks, so I know I'm correct.
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