An ashcan comic is a type of American comic book originally created solely to establish trademarks on potential titles and not intended for sale. It was developed by publishers including All-American Publications (logo pictured) and Fawcett Comics to gain legal protection for desirable titles. An ashcan comic was the same size as a regular comic book and usually had a black and white cover. The practice became common in the 1930s and 1940s when the comic book industry was in its infancy, but was phased out after updates to US trademark law. The term "ashcan" was revived in the 1980s by Bob Burden, who applied it to prototypes of his self-published comic book. Since the 1990s, the term has been used to describe promotional materials produced in large print runs and made available for mass consumption. In the film and television industries, the term has been adopted for low-grade material created to preserve a claim to licensed property rights.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashcan_comic

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1835:

An earthquake registering approximately 8.2 Ms devastated Concepción, Chile, and triggered a tsunami that destroyed neighbouring Talcahuano. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1835_Concepci%C3%B3n_earthquake

1943:

A fissure opened in a cornfield in the Mexican state of Michoacán and would continue to erupt for nine years, forming the cinder cone volcano Parícutin (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Par%C3%ADcutin

1965:

NASA's Ranger 8 spacecraft transmitted 7,137 photographs of the Moon in the final 23 minutes of its mission before crashing as planned in Mare Tranquillitatis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_8

1992:

Appearing on the talk show Larry King Live, U.S. industrialist Ross Perot announced that he would begin a presidential campaign if "ordinary people" wanted him to run for office. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot_1992_presidential_campaign

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

womannap: (transitive, informal) To abduct or kidnap a woman. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/womannap

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

To be positive at all times is to ignore all that is important, sacred or valuable.  To be negative at all times is to be threatened by ridiculousness and instant discredibility.   --Kurt Cobain https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Cobain