A couple of days ago, I put out this short story on both my Ko-Fi and Itch page.

"An article from the Daily Oculus website detailing the confounding and mysterious case of a burnt body found in Rendlesham Forest in the 70s. Theories are discussed ranging from occult involvement to a possible connection with the Caper known as Lady Satan."

Lady Satan being one of the many Golden Age Superheroes that has ended up in the public domain for the common folk to toy with.

The story is loosely connected to my series "The Journal of Dr. Daniel Garret", but that series isn't required reading.

Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/s/559604d68e

Itch: https://moppington.itch.io/the-rendlesham-forest-woman

Not everyone has family histories they can brag about. According to my mum, my great-uncle is someone who was involved with the Great Train Robbery in some way... not quite sure if I believe that, honestly. Dumas Poe has some serious bragging rights however since his ancestor (a Tibetan Monk named Kattak Po) invented guns.

Unfortunately, like Frankenstein, Kattak grew to regret his invention. How could he know that inventing guns would cause a sharp spike in people using guns to harm people? Because of this, all of his descendants are tasked with using their supernatural gun skills to end gun violence once and for all.

Now, I'll be honest... I don't think personally attacking people who do gun violence on an individual level is going to end gun violence. However, the alternative is a very dry, very boring comic series about Dumas trying to change gun laws which likely wouldn't sell many issues.

[As a brief note, I'm open to suggestions! If anyone has any public domain superheroes you want me to talk about, please leave a comment below and I'll at the very least consider them]

Sometimes even characters with a very impressive careers can fade into total obscurity.

Betty Bates was a Prosecutor, which I assume was a very atypical career choice for a woman in the 1940s. If that wasn't, then the fact that she took to the streets to beat up gangsters certainly was. Sometimes she used classing brawling techniques, sometimes she used martial arts, and sometimes she used... a gun.

Unlike most public domain superheroes, Betty Bates had a long career, appearing in 61 issues! To put that into context, her first story (featured in Hit Comics #4) was published in 1940. Her last story (Hit Comics #65) was published in 1950! Most public domain superheroes just last, like, two years at most.

You never really hear about Mascots becoming public domain, do you?

Captain Tootsie was a hero designed with one purpose: To advertise Tootsie Rolls. No first name, possibly a last name (assuming "Tootsie" even is his real name), no known origin. He was birthed from the aether, a perfect corporate entity that would ensare kids in a life of confectionary brand worship.

These children were called the Secret Legion. As far as we know, there were only three children in there - a kid in a suit named "Fisty" (unfortunate), an overweight kid called "Fatso" (mean), and a kid dressed exactly like Captain Tootsie named "Rollo" (creepy). Together, they would help Captain Tootsie achieve his goals and become more marketable in the process.

I can't really fit this into anywhere, but at one point he teaches these kids how to use a rifle and kill a bear.

Part of why I selected him is that he has weirdly taken on a life of his own in a way you wouldn't expect from a corporate mascot who happened to fall into the public domain - I mean, you don't really see anyone using Pepsi the Pepsi-Cola Cop anywhere, but people seem more than eager to utilise Captain Tootsie. Perhaps his most notable appearance is the one he made in the comic "Savage Dragon", where he was subsequently treated with a little bit too much reverence for a mascot.