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[BobS]

Does anyone here have any Big Shot Comics scanned -- with the Face and Skyman?
Or better yet, full issues of The Face and Skyman.
Ogden Whitney, probably best known for Herbie, did Skyman.
Ray(?) Bailey did The Face.
Both Bailey & Whitney were pretty good artists.

[Aratak]

Gotta love Ogden Whitney. I own every Herbie except for #18 in paper. Whoever scanned those did a beautiful job.

Sadly, I haven't seen any original Skyman... I think someone scanned the "Return of Skyman" reprint book, though...

[larrytalbot]

Hi bobS.  copied a Face story that was posted on a web site a while ago.  doesn't list source (Face Comics or Tony Trent). 

[BobS]

Hi, Larry!
I copied probably the same Face story online somewhere.
Face (later Tony Trent) appeared mostly in Big Shot Comics.
There were maybe 3 or 4 issues of The Face as a 'solo' comic.

Bob

[BountyHunter]

Sorry for digging up such an old post, but I was wondering if anybody has found ANY issues of Skyman.
I'm bringing the character back in my upcoming book, Bounty Hunter, and really need some info on the character.

Any help would be great.

[Yoc]

There are some Skyman on the site BH.
http://goldenagecomics.co.uk//index.php?cid=150

[BountyHunter]

So there are.  Duh.

lol  Thanks.  I've downloaded all of them and am reading them now.  Hopefully I'll do the character justice.

Anyone know any good info sites on the character, or a history site or anything.

And this character is 100% in the public domain, right?  I found a site by the guy who did the Return of Skyman reprint and he had Skyman trademarked and copyrighted under his name on the site.  But the site was 8 years old.

[BountyHunter]

I e-mailed Ron frantz and he says he does indeed own this character now?

Anyway I can double check this?

[boox909]

I e-mailed Ron frantz and he says he does indeed own this character now?

Anyway I can double check this?

A place to start...

http://goldenagecomics.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,110.0.html

B.

[John C]

I'm not a lawyer, but I've done my share of reading on topics like this.  As I understand things (and as we've discussed a few times around here in different contexts), a "character" has a few parts:

First, you have history, which comes from the character's stories.  Those may once have been copyrighted, and that copyright was up for renewal (before the law changed massively).  If there wasn't any copyright, or if the copyright wasn't renewed, then the story is in the public domain, which means you may use any or all of the original document in any way you choose.

However, there's a second part, which is more important in some cases:  Trademark.  You know those Fleischer-produced Superman serials?  They're public domain.  Does that mean you can adapt them into a Superman comic without DC's permission?  No, because DC (Warner Brothers) owns the trademark to Superman, his costume, and his supporting cast.  Basically, you can't use as your "mark of trade" (an identifying feature of your work) something that somebody else is using; the courts feel that's unfair, since a customer can't easily determine which product came from which creator.

In almost every case, that means you can use the character, but you can't make the character prominent on the packaging, advertising, or similar trade appearance details.

There may also be patent issues (especially design patents for costumes), but that seems to be extremely rare, and the protection doesn't last long enough to worry about.

So, check the copyrights and renewals on the stories, to ensure what you're using is in the public domain (and never take anybody else's word for it, in case you are sued).  Search the Patent and Trademark Office for active trademarks related to the character.

Frantz probably owns an active trademark, if I had to guess, which blocks other people from announcing that a new comic stars Skyman, or using the name in the title (though the Patent and Trademark Office website is going to have a more accurate definition).

[BountyHunter]

I checked on the Patent Office site and got nothing, just Skymen, which I believe was an old line of action figures.

hmmm

I really want to use Skyman, but if anyone knows of any other character who is really cool, and is for sure Public domain, let me know.

[phabox]

DC Comics also had their own 'Skyman' for a short time in the 1980's, in reality a revamped Star-Spangled Kid so they may also have a claim on the name now  .


-Nigel

[narfstar]

Centaur's Airman should be available

[John C]

I checked on the Patent Office site and got nothing, just Skymen, which I believe was an old line of action figures.
hmmm
I really want to use Skyman, but if anyone knows of any other character who is really cool, and is for sure Public domain, let me know.

Actually, I zoned out, because you can also probably sue on an unregistered trademark.  By that, I mean that if I run a magazine called "Heroes of the 1940s," and you later start a similarly themed magazine named "Heroes of the 1950s," then (even if I didn't register a trademark) I can argue that you're trying to use the goodwill I created, effectively stealing my business.

(But I doubt that's what Frantz means--have you considered asking him how it's covered?  If you suggest it's so you can protect whatever project you end up working on, I'm sure he wouldn't get defensive, and it'll turn up what he thinks he's done.)

That said, the Skyman character--as he appears in his copyright-lapsed adventures--is absolutely public domain.  As long as your covers and advertising don't prominently draw attention to your use of the character (and you don't use any ideas that are covered under copyright), there can't be grounds for infringement.

If you want a different character, though, I'd recommend randomly selecting an issue or two of any Centaur, Fox, Rural, or Chesler book.  You're guaranteed to find some wild stuff, at least something of which has to fit your definition of "really cool," whatever that may be.

[Aussie500]

I e-mailed Ron frantz and he says he does indeed own this character now?

Anyway I can double check this?

l believe he brought the rights to the character from the original owner Vincent Sullivan
http://www.ditko.comics.org/ditko/artist/arskyfra.html

We on the site deal with public domain comics, the copyright records are all we are interested in, since that is what we have on the site, the original comic. Just because the comic is public domain does not mean the character is l would have no idea what sort of legal hoops you would have to go through to get permission to use a character created by someone else, let alone one that was published.  You could perhaps ask the original copyright owner about the matter, he might not have given or intended Ron Frantz to have exclusive rights to the character. You could ask a lawyer about any possible impediments to you using the character, since the only copyright records l could find were for some skyman artwork from the 80's and there seems to be no trademark records. l have no idea as to how the intellectual property law would apply in a legal dispute, but the online copyright records do not show new copyright registrations, only renewals Ace comics published a one shot Return of the Skyman in 1987 which Ron Frantz owns the copyright of, so l would think you would have to pay to use the character, but l would suggest seeking legal advice.

[BountyHunter]

I haven't had a chance to read over these comics yet.  Do any of them contain stories with the Vulture Men?

[BountyHunter]

I'm closing in on my very own copy of Skyman #2.  I'll TRY and scan it if I get the thing.  Never scanned a comic before.

[Yoc]

Sounds great BH!  Looking forward to seeing it.
There are some other threads on the board talking about scanning techniques you can read.

Good luck!
-Yoc

[BountyHunter]

OKay so I won the Skyman #2 for 110 bucks.  I'll let you guys know when it shows up.

[rez]

Bounty, what grade was the Skyman#2 you won?

OKay so I won the Skyman #2 for 110 bucks.  I'll let you guys know when it shows up.

[BountyHunter]

It was graded at 4.5 VG+.

I talked the guy down from 250 dollars, so I'm happy regardless.  I just want the stories, and 4.5 grading is good enough for me.

[rez]

A vg+ is still a pretty tight book for it's age. Congratulations.

It was graded at 4.5 VG+.

I talked the guy down from 250 dollars, so I'm happy regardless.  I just want the stories, and 4.5 grading is good enough for me.

[narfstar]

Sparky Watts 4 is from narfstar and contains an extra bonus partial unknown bigshot.

[BountyHunter]

Cool. I'm gonna go check that out right now.

[BountyHunter]

Well, my copy of the Skyman #2 finally showed up today.  Unfortunately, my scanner is all packed away at the moment.

I'll try and get some scans up as soon as I'm in my new place.