Recently, news came out that one of the first Mickey Mouse cartoons, “Steamboat Willie”, finally entered the public domain in the U.S (in addition to the recent expiry here in Canada, which occurred in 2019) . Finally making it, and any of the characters depicted within, free-to-use for any purpose, including commercial endeavours.
I always had a mind to do something with the character once he became free, and so I would like to offer the opportunity to collaborate on a single comic book, totalling approximately 75-100 pages, which would be crowdfunded on Indiegogo. It would tell an adventurous story and be an endearing tale for all ages, with some mature themes embedded within to teach some valuable lessons to both children and adults alike. Of course, none of the material can be depicted in colour for the time being, so the palette must remain monochrome throughout, but I suppose this would make things that much easier lol. And in the spirit of things, the book and it’s assets would also be made public domain upon it’s release, opening it up to further use by others should they feel inclined. This is an important aspect of the project. The problem as I see it, is that copyright terms last FAR too long, and one of my biggest goals is to undermine such laws by allowing anything I produce to be unrestricted right on release. So no individual has to wait 100 years for the rights to expire (ludicrous!).
If such a project piques your interest, please do let me know!. A rough draft of the script is already pretty far along, and I would be looking to start on the materials for marketing it on Indiegogo. This would involve some character sheets, decorative banners, cover art, and environmental pieces. This is a project that would take inspiration and visual elements from classic Disney animation, while remaining distinct and separate from any modern “Mickey Mouse” material. Especially in the personality of characters, their roles, and the overall tone of the story. Both to avoid any potential legal issues for works that still hold copyright, and to create a more distinct brand.