Ashcan comic

Original use

The modern comic book was created in the 1930s, and grew rapidly in popularity. In the competition to secure trademarks on titles intended to sound thrilling, publishers including All-American Publications and Fawcett Comics developed the ashcan edition, which was the same size as regular comics and usually had a black and white cover. Interior artwork ranged from previously published material in full color Some ashcans were only covers with no interior pages. Not all the titles secured through ashcan editions were actually used for regular publications.

The purpose of the ashcan editions was to fool the US Patent & Trademark Office into believing the book had actually been published. Since the ashcans had no other use, publishers printed as few as two copies; one was sent to the Trademark Office, the other was kept for their files. Occasionally, publishers would send copies to distributors or wholesalers by registered mail to further establish publication dates, but nearly all ashcan comic editions were limited to five copies or fewer.

At the time, garbage cans were commonly called "ash cans" because they were used to hold ashes and soot from wood and coal heating systems.

Later use

In 1984, Golden Age comic book collector and dealer Bob Burden created Flaming Carrot Comics, published by Aardvark-Vanaheim. For each issue, Burden had magazine-sized prototype editions printed and shared them with friends and people who assisted with production. Some were also sent to retailers as advance previews to generate interest in his comic. Fewer than forty copies of each prototype were made, and Burden described them as ashcans.

In 1992, comic creator Rob Liefeld applied the term to two digest-sized prototype versions of Youngblood #1, but this ashcan was created for mass release. Instead of denoting the material as worthless, Liefeld's usage implied rarity and collectability. Typical print run for Image ashcans was between 500 and 5,000. Soon, other publishers began releasing ashcans in a variety of sizes and formats.

Following the collapse of the speculation market in comics in the mid-1990s, the term has been used by publishers to describe booklets promoting upcoming comics. Established publishers such as Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, and DC Comics continue to use ashcan copies as part of their marketing plans for new titles. Aspiring creators also apply the term to hand-stapled photocopied books they use to demonstrate their abilities to hiring editors at comic book conventions or as part of a submissions package.

Film and television

The term has been appropriated by the film and television industries to refer to low-quality material made specifically to preserve rights to a licensed character, which often expire if unused for a set period of time. One of the earliest examples of this practice is the 1967 animated adaptation of The Hobbit. Other prominent examples include the unreleased Fantastic Four film from 1994, the 2004 direct-to-video film My Name is Modesty, the low-budget sequels Porky's Pimpin' Pee Wee (2009) and Hellraiser: Revelations (2011), and a TV pilot adaptation of The Wheel of Time (2015).

References

References

1. Hembeck, Fred. (June 18, 2003). "Johnny Thunder and Shazam!". The Hembeck Files.
2. Ramsey, Taylor. (February 5, 2013). "The History of Comics: Decade by decade".
3. (February 1994). "Evolution of the Ashcan". [[Wizard Entertainment]].
4. Seifert, Mark. (August 1, 2014). "75 Years Ago Today: DC Comics Wins The Race For Flash". [[Avatar Press]].
5. Colabuono, Gary. (September 1999). "Absolutely Amazing DC Ashcans". [[Gemstone Publishing]], Inc.
6. (2001). "Fawcett Companion: The Best of FCA". [[TwoMorrows Publishing]].
7. "Historic DC Ashcan comic books in Heritage Auctions February 22 New York event".
8. Cox, Brian L. (August 13, 2011). "Rare 'ashcan' comic books on display at Chicago Comic Con".
9. Action Comics]]'' #1 sold for US$204,000.[https://bleedingcool.com/comics/action-comics-1-ashcan-sells-for-204000-at-auction/ Action Comics #1 Ashcan Sells For $204,000 At Auction] at [[Bleeding Cool]]. April 19, 2021 by Rich Johnston.
10. . (January 31, 2012). ["Historic DC Ashcan Comic Books in Heritage New York Auction"](https://www.cgccomics.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=2587&historic-dc-ashcan-comic-books-in-heritage-new-york-auction).
11. Dietsch, TJ. (April 12, 2012). "C2E2: Bobby Curnow Unleashes "Battle Beasts" at IDW".
12. Johnston, Rich. (April 20, 2017). "Let's All Read The Dark Matter/Master Class Ashcan From DC Comics". [[Avatar Press]].
13. Johnston, Rich. (March 12, 2015). "Dark Horse Sends Fight Club 2, Rebels And Archie Vs. Predator". [[Avatar Press]].
14. Hart, Christopher. (2014). "Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy". Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale.
15. Wirestone, Clay. (March 13, 2015). "The Weird History of the "Ashcan Copy"".
16. Ito, Robert. (March 2005). "Fantastic Faux!". [[Los Angeles (magazine).
17. Sherman, Dale. (2015). "Quentin Tarantino FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Original Reservoir Dog". Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.