| Posted: 18 Mar 2010 03:34 |
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You guys gotta check out this web site!!!
http://www.htmlcomics.com/
Free Comics!
Over three hundred thousand free comics to read!
Just click the link and scroll down to the bottom of the page.
WOWOWOWOWOW!!!
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| Posted: 18 Mar 2010 05:03 |
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Cool! I haven't read their legal page but good luck with that. I have to think, with comic companies just now starting to ramp up their digital online divisions that they might try to shut this down.
Still, looks like their Golden Age Cap collection is fairly extensive so I suggest everyone check it out. You can get some Golden Age Cap (that hasn't been reprinted yet) via a Bit Torrent but even that isn't complete.
They also have some Italian Cap books if people are curious.
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| Posted: 18 Mar 2010 05:19 |
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I just found out about this web site, but it says it's been up since 12/19/08.
Also there is a link on the page "claiming" that they do not infringe on copyrights.....
http://www.librarylaws.com/
Still I agree with Atomic that the big 2 comic companies may throw their weight around and attempt to shut down the site.
Enjoy it while you can!
They have Secret Invation, and a ton of other things I haven't read yet. Woohoo!! 
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| Posted: 18 Mar 2010 05:31 |
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!!!AMAZING!!! THANK YOU!
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| Posted: 18 Mar 2010 05:42 |
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Yeah, don't get me wrong. I love a resource like this and think it serves a valuable service. And, in fact, I'm working on my own Captain America site (no interior pages though) so I hope I don't get hassled by Marvel and Disney.
I just read their legal page. Many people think they can scoot the copyright laws because they "aren't making any money from it" or think "but I'm providing free publicity for them". That isn't how it works.
This site presents a different angle comparing it to a Library. I like the idea. Libraries are great and I'm quite proud of my little library that I've built here at home. But while it sounds good, I think where the Big Two can get him is NOT in the definition of "Library" but in the word "Copyright".
Copyright. The Right to Copy. Doesn't matter if it is for profit or not. Even if they are controlling the distribution (and hate it because I want to fill in some of that Golden Age Cap I don't have), they are still SCANNING the comic book and distributing it via their site. As is written into most legal disclaimers on copyright in books, electronically scanning a book is still violating the right to copy.
But I'm no lawyer. And we all know any corporation with deep pockets can hire a legal team to get a better decision in their favor. So I wish them luck. Noble cause but Disney is known for being very litigious.
Tim, if your are reading this, have you ever been hassled about using Cap images here? I always wonder about that with fan sites. You don't see as many as there use to be back in the 1990s as corporations have cracked down and yet I wonder if they look the other way in some instances? Like the unwritten policy for comic companies to look the other way with Artists Alley sketches of their characters, although people are now worried since Disney bought Marvel and they still crack down on eBay art.
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| Posted: 18 Mar 2010 15:38 |
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Well unless Disney's different policies make me a target I haven't had any issues in the past knock on wood. Of course the main focus of this site is the discussion boards. I could always remove the other Cap content if I had to. I don't think they could fuss about people just talking about Captain America.
I could be wrong.
Also at least up to this point I actually get rewarded for having comic book sites by getting the occasional free superhero DVD to promote or write a review about. Usually those go on my Superherouniverse.com site.
I think there is a big difference too in the fact I'm not doing anything that could hurt potential profit for Marvel or DC like posting every comic book story that they might want to charge someone for reading, or posting TV shows or movies that they want to sell DVDs for. My sites are more or less like one big ad that makes people want to buy Marvel and DC products with discussions and news about upcoming movies and such. If they killed sites like that they'd lose all kinds of money.
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| Posted: 18 Mar 2010 17:37 |
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Pretty dang cool! Thanks!
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| Posted: 21 Mar 2010 02:36 |
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Thank you, just flicking through Captain America #1... I understand why comics have become more sophisticated today.
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| Posted: 21 Mar 2010 03:00 |
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Eeek, they have comics up to the present day. Things like Avengers Initiative. That will go down like a lead balloon. Let's keep this on the down low guys.
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| Posted: 22 Mar 2010 09:09 |
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They have CANCELLED COMICS CAVALCADE issues 1 & 2.
Those are super rare. Basically, during DC Comics implosion of the late 1970s, they cancelled a bunch of their lesser selling titles. But some stories were already in the pipeline but never printed....except for these xeroxed bootleg issues.
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| Posted: 22 Mar 2010 10:12 |
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They have Eternal Warrior too.
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| Posted: 22 Mar 2010 11:57 |
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I hate to sound like a complete nerd, but I wish I could take a vacation away from everyone and just read comics from this site for a week or so, LOL!
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| Posted: 23 Mar 2010 00:52 |
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Sam this website is ruining my life. I have not slept in two days and iv'e already been yelled at by my fiancee! Well done sir and thanks! If this site ever gets shut down i'm going to cry.
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| Posted: 23 Mar 2010 01:34 |
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I even discovered some Italian Cap comics I never knew about with this site. Now THAT is impressive!! lol
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| Posted: 25 Mar 2010 02:14 |
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Holy crap, just had a "Fred Sanford" heart attack here.
For about an hour, the Free Comics web site went down. 
It's back now though.... thank god!
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| Posted: 02 May 2010 18:48 |
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Seems this site was taken down......can't open it anymore.
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| Posted: 02 May 2010 19:50 |
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Awwww...crap!
I hope it's down for repairs & opens up again.
Damn..........
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| Posted: 02 May 2010 21:14 |
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The "Library" is CLOSED!!
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| Posted: 02 May 2010 22:10 |
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Man! If I'd known it was at risk of being closed down I'd have gone through and saved a bunch of those off-line. Very sad....
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| Posted: 03 May 2010 01:41 |
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This sucks. I really liked that site. Lately all I've been reading is old Thor comics. The last issue ended with a cliffhanger so it better be back up soon!
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| Posted: 04 May 2010 04:00 |
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Am I too late for the party?
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| Posted: 04 May 2010 05:51 |
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Too late to the party?
Let me put it to you this way: We're out of beer, the keg is dry, and all the cute girls have already gone home. 
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| Posted: 04 May 2010 10:10 |
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Man, everytime I come here to the Cap boards and see this thread alive.....I have hope that there is a post here saying the web site is BACK!
Alas, it is all just a tease for me once again.
Yes Pole, you missed 300,000 FREE comics that were posted on a web site since 12/2008.
It was there I tell you, it was there....
It's like I had a taste of heaven, and now it's all gone...
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| Posted: 13 May 2010 11:04 Last Edited By: PS Schmucker |
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Awwww man.....
I don't know how legit this post is, but it claims the "FBI SHUTS DOWN HTML COMICS"
http://comicsworthreading.com/2010/05/05/fbi-shuts-down-html-comics/
http://www.majorspoilers.com/archives/42311.htm/
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| Posted: 13 May 2010 15:06 Last Edited By: stitches75 |
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Well, at least i read just about every cap comic on this site before they shut it down so  FBI!
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| Posted: 13 May 2010 21:55 |
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Wow! Did you all see the info Colleen Doran posted about this guy's history? The guy had a few nuts loose......
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/19/Tampabay/An_arrest__then_onlin.shtml
The guy got busted for too many tickets so he promptly launches a cyber attack on the police officer to smear his name. While I liked to see those older golden age comics, it is probably just as well this guy gets carted away.
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| Posted: 14 May 2010 00:20 |
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If only I had discovered this site sooner. Man this sucks.
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| Posted: 15 May 2010 06:55 |
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What happens to all those old issues that have gone out of print? Comic companies are least interested in getting them out, unless it helps them cash in on some new launch. Even then, we're more likely to see another new comic line launched, than reprints or DVD compilations of the old comics. They don't seem to generate too much (almost no) sales for these companies, so it doesn't seem viable to retail them these days. That would make serious-but-short-of-cash fans turn toward the rapidshare/torrent/P2P gangs, but we know how unreliable they can get, with intrusive ads or worse. I thought this was a good venture for people to catch up with comics long gone with no hope of return, only to be shut down by the Government and the person running the site to be, as that article said, a criminal nut, possibly worse than those gangs. There are those who mail the free comic compile DVDs (any Thor/Iron Man compiles floating around?), while the official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have Vol 1 up for free reading, but then, one can hope that with one gone, another may come up.
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| Posted: 15 May 2010 19:19 |
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For out of print comics, some of the public domain stuff gets repackaged and sold. Marvel and DC DO reprint some of their out of print works like their Golden age Archives and Masterworks but it is a long expensive process to buy the issues, scan them, clean them up, and recolor them. And they don't sell that great. Masterworks tend to have runs under 1,200. They have experimented with quicker cheaper methods with little color retouching but fans tend to not like those experiments.
I don't know if there are any legal hassles and royalties to hash out since the original work was never intended for digital let alone Masterwork reprints. If not, it seems like plopping non-cleaned up scans of the Timely stuff onto Marvel's new digital format would be a nice enticement. But then, how many people are interested in it? It does seem to be a niche.
In many ways, this is similar to the music industry ten years ago with free Napster. Computer savvy people can get their comics, new and old, for free via torrent sites so why not try to recoup some of the money and offer an official legit way to get it? Makes sense. I rather buy a clean professional version of a song off of iTunes for a buck rather than a lesser quality free one from Napster 10 years ago.
One can also argue that, for some of us, we much more prefer to read our comics in a physical book format and that a digital site could help sell us on buying the book.
I think it needs to be pointed out that the Government did shut him down but from the prodding of Big and Small business (in case anyone out there starts feeling any anti-government thoughts). The Big Two had problems with him but so did small fish like Colleen Doran, whom would feel the impact of pirating much more.
BTW, if you look, the Iron Man DVD is on some Torrent sites. I much more prefer to buy things the legal way but these DVDs are now out of print and way too costly. If doesn't cost that much to replicate them and keep them "in print", so to speak. They are great reference tools. I'm on the look out for the Avengers one myself.
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| Posted: 18 May 2010 21:57 |
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Another link confirming it, this time from the lawyers taking it down.....
http://www.kattenlaw.com/pirate-website-wwwhtmlcomicscom-shut-dow ...
There are so many ways to look at this.
In a way, yeah I can see it's pirating and illegal.
Then again, when I look at it another way it sometimes doesn't seem that.
I mean.....
People go to the site and read comics for free.
They can't download and KEEP the comic.
They only read it, and leave. They don't get to keep it.
What's the difference with people that sit down at Barnes & Nobles, Borders, etc... and read comics for free?
Is that also illegal?
They allow people to sit in there and read whatever, they even provide the furniture and free Internet to make you comfortable.
What's the difference of reading a comic for free at the HTML site or Borders?
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