David and John "Transformers Hall-of-Famer" Barber are joined by regular guest, Chase Marotz, for a deep dive into the wild and wonderful frontier of public domain. This is where expired copyrights mean anything goes (kind of)!

They wade through the murky rules of public domain reuse, highlight some exciting new and upcoming properties, and uncover David’s master plan to rejuvenate century-old comic book properties. Chase weighs in with wisdom derived from his extensive beer collection, and they all mourn the shrinking world of comic bookstores, one back issue bin at a time.

Timestamp Segments

• [01:21] David toots John’s horn.
• [04:08] Chase and the Tutu.
• [06:38] Stardust the 4th Most Super Wizard.
• [08:29] Public domain properties.
• [10:08] What is available now?
• [11:16] The next 10 years in comics.
• [12:50] The public domain rules.
• [19:25] Different renditions of properties.
• [26:44] The DC loophole.
• [27:48] How to make public domain properties interesting.
• [34:33] Chase’s current reading.
• [36:34] David reads pictureless comics.
• [38:08] Where to buy comics.

Notable Quotes

• “When we speak, it’s from a place of love and expertise.”
• “The level of fanfic that’s going to happen once this stuff is available is going to be insane.”
• “I suggest everybody just wait 95 years and then listen to this somewhere else.”

Books Mentioned

• Action Comics.
• All-Star Superman, by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Jamie Grant, Neal Adams, & Travis Lanham.
• The Bat-Man: First Knight, The Bat-Man: Second Knight, by Dan Jurgens and Mike Perkins.
• Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment, by Roger Stern, Mike Mignola, & Mark Badger.
• Dracula, by Bram Stoker.
• Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman.
• Dungeons & Dragons.
• Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley.
• Ginseng Roots, by Craig Thompson.
• I Shall Destroy All The Civilized Planets!, by Fletcher Hanks & Paul Karasik.
• Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, by Chris Ware.
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, by Alan Moore & Kevin O’Neill.
• The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett.

John and David put on their reading glasses and get into Jack Kirby’s Galactic Bounty Hunters, Steve Ditko’s Art, The Conan Revolution, The Return of Bill Schanes, and the Uncertain Future of the Will Eisner Library.

Timestamp Segments

• [00:33] John can see clearly now.
• [02:21] It IS possible to collect all of G.I. Joe.
• [05:01] Jack Kirby: Galactic Bounty Hunters.
• [13:29] How to get through Invincible.
• [18:59] Steve Ditko: The Commerce of Art.
• [22:50] The Conan Revolution.
• [25:26] Gabe Rodriguez makes his mark.
• [29:00] The Will Eisner Library.
• [31:08] The thing about The Spirit.
• [33:37] Who will buy it?
• [36:13] Bud Plant: The Return of Bill Schanes.
• [40:48] The best company for the Eisner Library.
• [44:18] The Public Domain.
• [45:25] This is just for David.

Notable Quotes

• “Congratulations, and welcome to getting old.”
• “Remember, we live in a world where Steve Ditko did Indiana Jones comics.”
• “You’ve just been Corner Boxed.”

Books Mentioned

• A Contract with God, by Will Eisner, Dave Gibbons, Denis Kitchen, & John Lind.
• Adventures of Superman (2013-2014).
• Amazing Fantasy, by Stan Lee & Steve Ditko.
• Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers, by Jack Kirby.
• Conan the Barbarian.
• Cosmochasm, by Alejandro Jodorowsky & Gabriel Rodríguez.
• Cyber Force, by Marc Silvestri.
• The Dreamer, Invisible People, by Will Eisner.
• Galactic Bounty Hunters (2006-2007), by Jack Kirby, Michael Thibodeaux, & Karl Kesel.
• G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.
• Groo the Wonderer, by Sergio Aragones.
• Guardians of the Galaxy (2008-2010).
• Hack/Slash.
• Indiana Jones: The Further Adventures.
• Invincible, by Robert Kirkman, John Rauch, & Ryan Ottley.
• Last of the Viking Heroes, by Jack Kirby & Michael Thibodeaux.
• Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland, by Eric Shanower, Gabriel Rodriguez, & Nelson Daniel.
• Locke & Key, by Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez.

Our Best of 2025 continues! We find out which comics and artists made it on to the comics industry’s most prestigious (and accurate!) awards list: The Corner Box Best of 2025! This week's awards include Best Original Graphic Novel, Best Collection and Archival Collection, Best New Series, Favorite Comeback, Favorite Artist and Cover Artist, and Best Continuing Series.

Timestamp Segments

• [00:54] The Best Best Of List.
• [01:56] Recap of last week’s Bests.
• [01:58] Best Original Graphic Novel.
• [02:17] Best Collection.
• [02:32] Best New Series.
• [02:51] Favorite Artist.
• [04:39] Best Archival Collection.
• [08:53] The self-publishing movement.
• [13:46] John’s first publication.
• [14:27] David’s comics manifesto.
• [18:40] David’s 2024/25 Best Archival Collection.
• [22:47] Favorite Cover Artist.
• [28:30] Favorite Comeback.
• [39:39] Where does John buy his comics?
• [42:32] Best Continuing Series.
• [49:46] Honorable Mentions.

Notable Quotes

• “This is the only true, valid list of Best of 2025 that’s out there.”
• “This is what we wanted. As fans of comic books, people have been screaming for this, for a while.”
• “Fletcher Hanks froze to death on a bench.”

Books Mentioned

• Absolute Batman, by Scott Snyder & Nick Dragotta.
• Absolute Batman 2025 Annual.
• Absolute Wonder Woman, by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, & Jordie Bellaire.
• Aquaman, by Jeremy Adams & John Timms.
• Assorted Crisis Events.
• Bacchus, by Eddie Campbell.
• Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, by Frank Miller.
• Batman: Hush 2, by Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, & Alex Sinclair.
• Batman: The Long Halloween, by Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale.
• Batman: Year 100, by Paul Pope & Jose Villarrubia.
• Blueberry, by Jean-Michel Charlier & Moebius.
• Bone, by Jeff Smith.
• Captain Marvel (2019-2023).
• Cerebus, by Dave Sim.
• Complete Megaton Man Universe Volume 1: The 1980s, by Don Simpson & Bill Morrison.
• Cornelius: The Merry Life of a