Missed Monday’s comic. Hey, even monsters and their out-of-work creators need to take a three day weekend now and then. I was camping upstate at a barbecue- no bugs were served, but it was 90% vegetarian! We did almost get killed by lightning. Wish I had video for you.
I think today’s comic makes up for it- tripple big and stuffed with stuff. Character insights, drama, humor, and timely commentary. Copyright controversy has grown with the internet, and lately there’s been much talk of it amongst us cartoony folk, from Sita Sings the Blues creator Nina Paley on one side, and a dis-cussion/rebuttal by my Webcomics Weekly mentors on the other. I’m no expert on the whole kerfuffle, but basically I believe a creator deserves to decide how his creations are distributed & monetized, but copyrights shouldn’t last forever- the original “75 years after the death of the creator” thing was plenty. If nothing ever entered the public domain we wouldn’t have most Shakespeare plays (the originals or the countless movies and performances), Jane Austen zombie mashups, Dracula, or of course Frankenstein.
Choosing to build my cartoon empire around a public domain character, whose name I can’t even copyright (or is it trademark?), may not have been the smartest move. I chose The Creature because I love him, I identify with him in good ways and bad, and I have a lot to say about him, and about myself through him. I could have made up something like Frankenstein, but he’s free to use, he’s who I really wanted, so I chose him. It’s working great so far, let’s see how I feel about it when I get the store working.
Anyway, enjoy the Boops. If she ever completely enters the public domain*, I am eager to have my way with her too. Artistically, I mean.
*Some of her movies seem to have, as well as the original Segar comics of a certain Sailor Man. The characters themselves are still owned by corporations.
Legal: This is a work of parody/free speech-type social commentary. No infringement of the copyrights of the parodied characters is implied. You probably will never see them in this strip again. Don’t bother suing, I’m a cartoonist: I don’t have any money!
What’s so ironic is that the very thing that really got the Mouse going was doing adaptations of *Public Domain* fairytales. Cinderella, Snow White, et. al.
Good points you bring up. Great work, as usual.
“What’s so ironic is that the very thing that really got the Mouse going was doing adaptations of *Public Domain* fairytales. Cinderella, Snow White, et. al.”
That’s a great point! Thank you!
Trademark is for the short things (Titles, characters, symbols), copyright is for the long things. Copyright has a long, set duration. Trademark has a short duration but can be renewed indefinitely. That’s a gross oversimplification, but it’s a place to start.
But also there’s one for the faces (®?), and one for the names(™), right?
IIRC, the R stands for a registered trademark and TM is the mark you can use without registering. It’s sort of like the difference between a registered and unregistered copyright. Putting the mark on gives you certain protections (like making someone stop using your property and pay you for the actual damages you suffered), but registration gives you more (like suing for huge statutory damages, being able to have your legal fees added to the damages, etc.)
Thanks. Lawyer?
After my last comment, I find myself watching to research the monster a bit.
So what exactly IS a Frankenstein’s monster? I always just assumed it was the best parts of dead bodies pieced together and brought to life by the power of electricity… oh, and pure evil or something like that.
John’s monster isn’t a stitched together creature of the dead, here’s the quote from John himself;
“My Creature is not actually a reanimated corpse (or conglomerate of corpses). He’s more a Homunculus, a creation of alchemy. I believe that was the case in Mary Shelley’s book- Victor Frankenstein STUDIED corpses, but I don’t think it ever implies that he used them in the construction of his Creation. One thing I think backs up this theory- he decides to make everything bigger, to make the little parts easier to work with. Did he run out and replace all the corpse-parts he already had with the parts of 7-foot tall men? Read it in context, it becomes clear no corpse-stitching was involved.
My Frank can pop his bits back on himself. If more help is required, he can go to his creator, but he tries to avoid that- like most deadbeat dads, Victor Frankenstein is a major jerk.”
Hope that helps you and hope John doesn’t mind me explaining it for him.
@JaHawk2009 I surely don’t mind you quoting me! I’m honored that somebody’s listening
Good Question!
That’s what it’s come to mean because of the movies etc. but in the original book there is no clear description of the life-giving process, no lightning attracting machines, no triumphant proclamation of “It’s Alive! Oh, in the name of God! Now I know what it feels like to be God!” Victor’s motivation is not evil, nor is it a desire to improve upon man. He was raised to love science, then saw death (his mother’s and almost his lover’s) as the major threat to his happiness. At medical university he turned away from established medicine in favor of alchemy. I think he used that, and some form of galvanism, a very new and exciting science at the time, to create life.
Chapter 5
It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs.
How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun-white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion and straight black lips.
The different accidents of life are not so changeable as the feelings of human nature. I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing my bed-chamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep. At length lassitude succeeded to the tumult I had before endured, and I threw myself on the bed in my clothes, endeavouring to seek a few moments of forgetfulness. But it was in vain; I slept, indeed, but I was disturbed by the wildest dreams. I thought I saw Elizabeth, in the bloom of health, walking in the streets of Ingolstadt. Delighted and surprised, I embraced her, but as I imprinted the first kiss on her lips, they became livid with the hue of death; her features appeared to change, and I thought that I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms; a shroud enveloped her form, and I saw the grave-worms crawling in the folds of the flannel. I started from my sleep with horror; a cold dew covered my forehead, my teeth chattered, and every limb became convulsed; when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch—the miserable monster whom I had created. He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me. His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks. He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs. I took refuge in the courtyard belonging to the house which I inhabited, where I remained during the rest of the night, walking up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal corpse to which I had so miserably given life.
Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance. A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch. I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived.
That sounds to me like something different than just a rotting corpse. It sounds almost alien, or like something he had built to look human, but once it started moving, looked more like a hideous parody of a human.
Long reply, I know. If you want to investigate further, you can read the whole thing over at Project Gutenberg for free!
I’m gonna rent the book and see what’s up, this science talk is getting me all excited.
Why rent when it’s free?
Copyright aside, I love the final panel where they’re all sort of riffing on the notion of “blogger/stripper with unicorn tattoo”, as though it’s tiresome to them. I say that because I’ve encountered quite a number of people who fit that bill, yet they all kinda seem to think they’re terribly unique, and the first one who’s ever done anything of the sort!
Yeah, that’s the kind they’re complaining about- the hipster echo chamber. But I’m guilty of regurgitating memes myself, so I’m not pointing any fingers, even if my characters occasionally do
Popeye sure has fallen on hard times.
Popeye was never afraid of hard work. He’ll be fine.
I have a Betty Boop tattoo, but I got it 24 years ago. And she’s not riding a unicorn. She’s standing there and the Tasmanian Devil is hanging from her ankle and swinging (though he was added about 21 years ago).
All these hipsters are just biting my old school geek style.
I love BB. Unicorns… they’re a fad.
While I would agree with your general position on copyright (own it for a time, then it’s gone), where did you come up with ” but copyrights shouldn’t last forever- the original “75 years after the death of the creator” thing was plenty.”? Now, I’m assuming you live in the USA, so if I’m wrong, forgive me, but the original copyright law here was 14 years, with an extension for any creator that’s still alive for another 14.
Why should someone have a copyright on something 75 years after the guy who made it, and, presumably, profited off it dies? I’d argue the point, but someone else did a much better job in 1841, so I’ll just link the speeches he made here. Eric Flint, the author who posted this for people to read also writes a long but very eloquent series of articles that you might also read, on the same site.
http://baens-universe.com/articles/McCauley_copyright
I think for a long time here in the U.S. it was death+75 years, so that’s what I see as the norm. I’m sure most creators would want their children, and maybe even grandchildren, to profit off their creations after their death. Still, 75 years IS a long time, and it’s in the public interest that copyrights not last too long. Of course, here in the U.S. corporations have the same rights as people, and since they have more money, more lobbyists & lawyers, and they can “live” forever, they have the priority in our legal and financial systems. Most creators sign away their ownership as work-for-hire to these corporations- that’s why even the creators of Superman have to spend their lives trying to get a decent piece of the fortune that their creation has generated.
I don’t know what’s the fairest thing, but the current corporate-friendly system, like most corporate-friendly systems in America (insurance, healthcare, import tarrifs, tax laws) are severely abused and broken. Laws should serve people, not corporations. Copyright laws should serve artists, and that includes letting their works fall into the public domain a reasonable amount of time after their death.
IIRC, it only got changed to Death plus 75 around 1976, so 35 years ago. The entertainment industry (especially Disney) has been a HUGE driver of extending copyright in the last 50-60 years as Hollywood and the recording industry started seeing still-profitable properties approaching public domain status.
Thanks for the info! It’s a subject that really peeves me. More corporate greed trumping art.
I actually also used to have an idea for a Frankenstein style comic, a lot different from this one though lol. However, I’m really loving this series as I’m a fan of old monster movies and the modern humor is nice. I’m sure like many people who will comment today, I came here after seeing your PvP comic, but you’ve got yourself a new fan now.
Different from mine? Then I wish I could see it
Great to have another monster movie friend. More old movie monsters are in the pipe!
I can e-mail you sometime and we can compare notes and ideas then
It’s always nice to talk to other cartoonists, especially fellow frankenstein fans.
Cool!
Hey, came here via PvP, but I will definitely stick around. This strip is great.
Your Creature feels like a real dude. The second panel of this strip totally sold me on him as a character.
There’s a lot of me in Franky, and vise-versa. We’re going through some similar stuff- lots of people are. That’s what makes him “real”.
I don’t get to fight monsters though.
Hope you do stick around! Thank you!
Nice work- I came here from PVP too. I went looking for a deep archive as the work (both art and writing) looked so mature and was surprised to see it was a new project. Gook luck and I’m looking forward to a long run.
Thank you! I worked on the concept for 3-4 years before I got around to launching it. It took getting fired from my day job before I was able to actually finish drawing some strips.
Now I just need to find a new day job so I can pay my rent and concentrate on the comic