Hey everyone
My name is Dedi, I'm a comic book fan from Israel (hoping stating where I'm from won't get me kicked out of here...). I can't say I'm a big collector, and in recent years, comics have been pushed to the side of my life. However, some changes in my life have brought me and comics back together
Another recent event is my discovery of pre-code comics, especially those in the horror and sci-fi genres from the Golden Age. I found this website pretty much by accident while doing a random Google search, and I must say that I'm really happy I found it because from what little I've seen here so far (and I’ve really seen only a tiny fraction compared to the massive amount here!) there are some real gems.
I live in Israel, Hebrew is my first language, but of course, I also speak and read English. Israel has a relatively short history with comics compared to the longer period comics have existed elsewhere. In the past, the focus of Israeli comics was mainly on the famous and well-known superheroes, translated into Hebrew. Today, it's still largely focused on superheroes and also some Japanese manga (in a relatively niche market). However, when it comes to English-language comics, they are mostly not translated into Hebrew unless there’s a special marketing effort for a new movie or something similar.
Although reading comics in the original language is nothing short of amazing, I’m currently at a stage where I’m fascinated with taking comics I love and adapting them into my native language. Since horror, sci-fi, and crime comics have never been part of Israeli culture, I find it really intriguing to see how such an adaptation would turn out.
I’d like to do this with comics that are in the public domain because, of course, I don’t want to risk doing anything that might infringe on copyright. So I’d really appreciate your help with this and a few other things.
First of all – in relation to the comics on this website and the issue of public domain: how can I tell if something is fully in the public domain versus partially? Are there things that can be partially in the public domain? Is it even allowed to translate these comics if they are in the public domain?
Assuming I find a comic I’d like to translate and it’s okay to do so, how do I know who to credit for the existing material? Should I credit the website itself? Someone specific who uploaded the material to the site? Is there any specific rule or guideline regarding this issue?
By the way, I’m asking these questions because even if I’m making a single issue just for myself, I want to do everything in a proper and fair way that doesn’t harm anyone in any way, whether it's related to copyright, the wonderful website here, or those responsible for scanning specific comics.
And now, the more interesting part of the learning
Could you suggest specific comic books and stories that are great in the genres of horror, sci-fi, and crime? (And of course, all in the public domain) Maybe ones that even have a great cover design that really grabs attention?
I’m really happy to be here and would love your suggestions. Also, if you'd like, I’d be happy to show you what might come out of my thoughts in the end
Thank you so much, and sorry for the long post…
