Chapter 53: Piracy Issues

Chapter 53: Piracy Issues

Not all news related to "Messenger Comics" is good news. As "Messenger Comics" gained popularity, Jack discovered instances of comic book piracy in certain neighborhoods. Meanwhile, Harry found even more traces of piracy in some "Hooverville" areas.

These pirated versions of "Messenger Comics" have rougher print quality compared to the original version. Some pirates even revert the original colored "Messenger Comics" back to black and white printing in order to save costs. Such pirated prints have significantly reduced the production costs of the comics, allowing readers who couldn't afford or were hesitant to purchase the colored version of "Messenger Comics" to have a new option.

"Can't we catch them?" John asked, looking at the rough black and white pirated "Messenger Comics" in front of him within the Messenger News office.

"It's difficult," Harry shook his head. As a publisher, he clearly understood the intricacies behind this situation. "The publishers they choose to work with are mostly small factories. As long as they are paid, they'll print anything. The factories don't care about the consequences of what they print..."

Harry spoke from personal experience. After all, the publishing house he managed used to produce similar types of publications not too long ago.

"What about reporting to the police?"

"The police won't bother with this," Harry replied, displaying a somewhat dismissive expression. "Unless you give them money to help deal with it, these greedy bloodsuckers won't pay any attention to your pleas for help. Even if you're being robbed right in front of them, they would just sit in their cars and watch the event unfold. They might even take advantage of the situation and benefit from the robbery."

"On the other hand, lawyers are more than happy to engage in legal battles against the pirates. But even if we win in the end, they won't be able to pay the compensation. Instead, we'll end up paying them for their legal fees."

In a time like the Great Depression, where technology is underdeveloped, catching these pirates is clearly not a simple task. It's time-consuming and laborious, with no guarantee of satisfying results.

"So, is there nothing else we can do?" John appeared disappointed after hearing Harry's response.

"Looking at it from a different perspective, the existence of piracy actually proves the popularity of 'Messenger Comics,'" Colin remarked, diverting his gaze from the word "Faith" in the screen. He seemed less discouraged than John and the others.

At least, based on the numbers in the "Faith" column, the sales of "Messenger Comics" have not been affected by the piracy incident. Colin even speculated that a small portion of the "Faith" he obtained might come from pirated copies of "Messenger Comics."

Although the black and white pirated copies of "Messenger Comics" caused some financial loss to the newspaper, at least in terms of "Faith," he still gained something. It wasn't a complete loss of resources.

Silently comforting himself as he looked at the continuously growing "Faith" value, Colin reassured himself.

...

"Perhaps you should take a look at this..."

Alternate World, Manhattan, 890 Fifth Avenue.

Inside the Dark Avengers' secret base, accompanied by Tony's somewhat arrogant voice, a segment of surveillance footage began playing on Howard's control panel.

"...32nd experiment...commencing...target's physical characteristics stable, initiating injection of 'Combustion'..."

In the footage, a figure wearing a white sterile suit stood in front of an operating table, reporting to the surveillance camera. The individual picked up a syringe and injected the man's arm on the operating table. Shortly after, the man on the table let out a painful roar as his whole body ignited in flames.

"The 62nd experiment, target..."

Several similar surveillance footage segments played in succession.

Tony played them one after another, waiting for the final segment to finish playing.

Only after the last segment of surveillance footage had finished playing did Tony continue speaking within the frozen frame of the experiment. "This is information I recovered from the Hydra Biological Research Laboratory in Dietrich Castle during a previous mission. Most of the data was destroyed, and I was only able to salvage a small portion, which revealed that Hydra had conducted secret human experiments."

"Can you confirm the purpose of these experiments?"

Howard withdrew his gaze from the burning subject in the video footage and inquired of Tony.

"At the moment, it's still unknown..."

"But in the recovered data, I discovered an interesting name—Phineas Horton."

"Phineas Horton?"

As Howard heard this name, his mechanical eye twitched slightly, showing signs of familiarity.

"Dr. Phineas Horton had remarkable achievements in the field of biochemistry and was responsible for creating the world's first humanoid android during World War II—the Human Torch. Whenever he came into contact with oxygen, his whole body would ignite, generating intense flames."

As Tony spoke, Howard's gaze shifted slightly, indicating recognition of the term "android" mentioned by Tony.

"At the time, Dr. Phineas Horton's creation of the android caused fear among the public, who believed he was blaspheming God's authority. The panic only intensified when the Human Torch demonstrated his ability to ignite. Faced with social pressure, Dr. Phineas Horton had to take action regarding the Human Torch. He claimed to have buried the android in cement. However, he secretly handed it over to the military for protection. Later, as World War II broke out, the Human Torch was selected by the military and became an active member of the Invaders, fighting alongside Captain America on the battlefield..."

As Tony described, an old photograph from a bygone era appeared on the screen in front of the control panel.

In the photo, the deceased Captain America, Steve Rogers, stood holding a shield, accompanied by a group of Invaders, posing for a picture.

Standing to the left of Captain America was a figure dressed in a red skintight suit, looking serious.

Clearly, this was the humanoid android created by Dr. Phineas Horton, the Human Torch.

As Howard stood before the control panel, his gaze scanned over the familiar yet unfamiliar faces in the photo. Eventually, his eyes settled on a blurred face behind Captain America, frozen in a mechanical expression.

After a moment, he composed his emotions and continued to ask Tony in a hoarse voice.

"What happened afterwards? I need to know the information about Dr. Phineas Horton after he created the android, the Human Torch."

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