The reason, I suspect, that there isn't a comprehensive database for licensed products featuring popular comic book characters is that one of the cardinal organizing principles would be the art credits and there is often no record of who drew what.
It's true that there's an enormous volume of individual pieces to track, but that's also true of comics themselves and there are and have long been checklists and price guides of every comic from a given publisher, big and small, either in print or online. These often include art and/or writing credits, but for some users that might not be necessary if their only interest is in a particular character or genre. With licensed products, however, there is no story, per se, although one might be implied. What you get is a character (or several) in a pose or scenario either lifted from a previously released publication or newly drawn to meet the standards of whoever the publisher's Art Director is at the time. For licensed super-heroes, the thinking for decades was that they were most appropriate for products intended for a market of children. For that reason, fan favorite artists who appealed to those readers who bought and read the largest number of comics, most frequently and consistently, were passed over in favor of artists inclined to give the characters an even softer and friendlier look than they would ordinarily have. Who were these artists? Good question. When the art is reproduced from a print publication it's usually easy (if time consuming) to verify the artist. Original art and exclusive images, which should be more desirable, are ironically more difficult to tie to an artist. License holders don't want to field questions about artists they've never directly employed or even met, so they prefer the work not be signed. So, it becomes a detective game of educated guesses and shots in the dark.
Let's take the Incredible Hulk jigsaw puzzle, whose box lid is pictured above, as a case study. It is clearly a children's product, starting with the fact that it is a 100-piece puzzle [technically 108 pieces]. The same manufacturer, Rainbow Works, also makes 500- and 1000-piece boxed jigsaw puzzles of more conventional landscapes and flower arrangements. Secondly, the normally scowling Hulk merely has a furrowed brow and the kids in the school bus window, far from panicking about being in the grip of a giant green monster, seem happy to see him.
Next, check out the side panel above. There are two copyright dates, 1981 and 1988. The finished product should have the later date, but the earlier date invites two possible explanations. Either this same puzzle was released in 1981 and this is a reissue of the same puzzle in a new package; or the artwork was taken from some other product or book originally published in 1981 and used again to make this jigsaw puzzle in 1988. So we're probably looking for someone Marvel would ask to draw a no frills Hulk picture circa 1981.
For Marvel, 1981 was a freaky little year. In the two years since cancelling roughly two dozen titles at the beginning of 1979 around the time of a price increase (to 40¢), Marvel had ended its relationship with Simon & Schuster, whose Fireside imprint published paperbacks reprinting Marvel comics stories (mostly Silver Age) from 1974 to 1979. However, they also published an exercise book, a cook book, "How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way" and several books of puzzles, all of which licensed images of Marvel characters. The puzzle books must have proved popular enough to justify the new series FUN AND GAMES #1 (09/79)- #13 (09/80), a newsstand comic book filled with similar puzzles using art often credited to Owen McCarron. McCarron was a Canadian cartoonist who was a fixture of Canadian newspapers for decades, but also did sporadic work for Marvel in addition to the FUN AND GAMES series. In light of his familiarity with the characters and the disappearance of outlets for his art like the Fireside trades and the subsequent comic book series, it makes sense that Marvel would turn to McCarron for licensing images in 1981. There are other candidates, of course, many of whom will remain forever anonymous, but this art is very much in his style. His take on the Hulk follows the look that John Romita, Sr. (who was Marvel's Art Director during most if not all of McCarron's projects with Marvel) approved for licensed products in the late 70's.
If we're willing to assume that McCarron is the artist, that still doesn't explain why the image was copyrighted for 1981. It's worth pointing out that the date doesn't refer to the design of the logo, which is itself a form of intellectual property. The "Incredible Hulk" comic book series used a 'stone block' motif for its logo from the time it took over the "Tales To Astonish" title as of #102 (04/68) through #128 (06/70), except for #109 (11/68). #109 had a stylized logo the was later tidied up and used as the regular logo for #129 (07/70)- #313 (11/85) and is the one that appears on the jigsaw puzzle box. I should note that it was only used on the monthly series. The Annuals used the 'stone block' style logo from 1969 to 1994 (with three exceptions I'll explain in a moment) for some reason. It was also used for the single Giant-Size Hulk (1975) and Marvel Treasury Editions #5 (1975) and #17 (1978). His remaining three solo volumes of MTE (#20, 24 and 26) used a "Rampaging Hulk" logo similar to the one often used on the B&W magazine. Even the reprint series "Marvel Super-Heroes" used the 'stone block' logo from #56 (03/76) until its cancellation with #105 (01/82), The only Annuals not using the 'stone block' style were the first (1968), with its unique (and notorious) logo integrated into the art by Jim Steranko, and #14 (1985)- #15 (1986), which had the same logo used on the monthly series for #314 (12/85)- 339 (01/88). Oddly, shortly before the jigsaw puzzle was marketed the monthly series reverted to the 'stone block' logo and kept it for the rest of the run of that incarnation of the title, except for a handful of issues that temporarily adopted the 1962 logo for nostalgia purposes. There's no reason to think that the logo, if it also accompanied the art in 1981, would have been copyrighted for that year specifically after being in continuous use for a decade. I'm also curious as to why they might use that particular logo on the jigsaw puzzle box in 1988 when the comics had not only discontinued its use but had used two other logos since then. It's not actually part of the art used to make the puzzle; it only appears on the packaging.
The next step to finding a possible source for the art was to research other products from the manufacturer. Rainbow Works gave the puzzle a product number: 75913-2. One thing I found about their products is that the '2' that comes after the dash isn't an ordinary UPC suffix. Some of their products have two-digit numbers after the five-digit index. The other thing I found is that products of theirs in the 75900 series of indices have copyrights ranging from 1968 to 1992 but that the numerical order of the indices is unrelated to the chronological order of the products. Also, several indices have more than one suffix, indicating different products. But most importantly, most of those products were framed tray jigsaw puzzles. Those are sold assembled with the outermost edge of the image uncut and glued against a heavy cardboard backing and the interior pieces loose. It wouldn't surprise me if the Hulk image had been used for a framed tray puzzle in 1981 and revived in 1988 for a boxed puzzle to sell it through different channels. I'd rather know for certain. The image may have been made for a Whitman/Western coloring book or some other child-targeted product.
If any readers own or know of an earlier use of the above image, please leave a note to that effect in the comments. Even a later use would be interesting, and possibly provide a lead to earlier licensees.
It's true that there's an enormous volume of individual pieces to track, but that's also true of comics themselves and there are and have long been checklists and price guides of every comic from a given publisher, big and small, either in print or online. These often include art and/or writing credits, but for some users that might not be necessary if their only interest is in a particular character or genre. With licensed products, however, there is no story, per se, although one might be implied. What you get is a character (or several) in a pose or scenario either lifted from a previously released publication or newly drawn to meet the standards of whoever the publisher's Art Director is at the time. For licensed super-heroes, the thinking for decades was that they were most appropriate for products intended for a market of children. For that reason, fan favorite artists who appealed to those readers who bought and read the largest number of comics, most frequently and consistently, were passed over in favor of artists inclined to give the characters an even softer and friendlier look than they would ordinarily have. Who were these artists? Good question. When the art is reproduced from a print publication it's usually easy (if time consuming) to verify the artist. Original art and exclusive images, which should be more desirable, are ironically more difficult to tie to an artist. License holders don't want to field questions about artists they've never directly employed or even met, so they prefer the work not be signed. So, it becomes a detective game of educated guesses and shots in the dark.
Let's take the Incredible Hulk jigsaw puzzle, whose box lid is pictured above, as a case study. It is clearly a children's product, starting with the fact that it is a 100-piece puzzle [technically 108 pieces]. The same manufacturer, Rainbow Works, also makes 500- and 1000-piece boxed jigsaw puzzles of more conventional landscapes and flower arrangements. Secondly, the normally scowling Hulk merely has a furrowed brow and the kids in the school bus window, far from panicking about being in the grip of a giant green monster, seem happy to see him.
Next, check out the side panel above. There are two copyright dates, 1981 and 1988. The finished product should have the later date, but the earlier date invites two possible explanations. Either this same puzzle was released in 1981 and this is a reissue of the same puzzle in a new package; or the artwork was taken from some other product or book originally published in 1981 and used again to make this jigsaw puzzle in 1988. So we're probably looking for someone Marvel would ask to draw a no frills Hulk picture circa 1981.
For Marvel, 1981 was a freaky little year. In the two years since cancelling roughly two dozen titles at the beginning of 1979 around the time of a price increase (to 40¢), Marvel had ended its relationship with Simon & Schuster, whose Fireside imprint published paperbacks reprinting Marvel comics stories (mostly Silver Age) from 1974 to 1979. However, they also published an exercise book, a cook book, "How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way" and several books of puzzles, all of which licensed images of Marvel characters. The puzzle books must have proved popular enough to justify the new series FUN AND GAMES #1 (09/79)- #13 (09/80), a newsstand comic book filled with similar puzzles using art often credited to Owen McCarron. McCarron was a Canadian cartoonist who was a fixture of Canadian newspapers for decades, but also did sporadic work for Marvel in addition to the FUN AND GAMES series. In light of his familiarity with the characters and the disappearance of outlets for his art like the Fireside trades and the subsequent comic book series, it makes sense that Marvel would turn to McCarron for licensing images in 1981. There are other candidates, of course, many of whom will remain forever anonymous, but this art is very much in his style. His take on the Hulk follows the look that John Romita, Sr. (who was Marvel's Art Director during most if not all of McCarron's projects with Marvel) approved for licensed products in the late 70's.
If we're willing to assume that McCarron is the artist, that still doesn't explain why the image was copyrighted for 1981. It's worth pointing out that the date doesn't refer to the design of the logo, which is itself a form of intellectual property. The "Incredible Hulk" comic book series used a 'stone block' motif for its logo from the time it took over the "Tales To Astonish" title as of #102 (04/68) through #128 (06/70), except for #109 (11/68). #109 had a stylized logo the was later tidied up and used as the regular logo for #129 (07/70)- #313 (11/85) and is the one that appears on the jigsaw puzzle box. I should note that it was only used on the monthly series. The Annuals used the 'stone block' style logo from 1969 to 1994 (with three exceptions I'll explain in a moment) for some reason. It was also used for the single Giant-Size Hulk (1975) and Marvel Treasury Editions #5 (1975) and #17 (1978). His remaining three solo volumes of MTE (#20, 24 and 26) used a "Rampaging Hulk" logo similar to the one often used on the B&W magazine. Even the reprint series "Marvel Super-Heroes" used the 'stone block' logo from #56 (03/76) until its cancellation with #105 (01/82), The only Annuals not using the 'stone block' style were the first (1968), with its unique (and notorious) logo integrated into the art by Jim Steranko, and #14 (1985)- #15 (1986), which had the same logo used on the monthly series for #314 (12/85)- 339 (01/88). Oddly, shortly before the jigsaw puzzle was marketed the monthly series reverted to the 'stone block' logo and kept it for the rest of the run of that incarnation of the title, except for a handful of issues that temporarily adopted the 1962 logo for nostalgia purposes. There's no reason to think that the logo, if it also accompanied the art in 1981, would have been copyrighted for that year specifically after being in continuous use for a decade. I'm also curious as to why they might use that particular logo on the jigsaw puzzle box in 1988 when the comics had not only discontinued its use but had used two other logos since then. It's not actually part of the art used to make the puzzle; it only appears on the packaging.
The next step to finding a possible source for the art was to research other products from the manufacturer. Rainbow Works gave the puzzle a product number: 75913-2. One thing I found about their products is that the '2' that comes after the dash isn't an ordinary UPC suffix. Some of their products have two-digit numbers after the five-digit index. The other thing I found is that products of theirs in the 75900 series of indices have copyrights ranging from 1968 to 1992 but that the numerical order of the indices is unrelated to the chronological order of the products. Also, several indices have more than one suffix, indicating different products. But most importantly, most of those products were framed tray jigsaw puzzles. Those are sold assembled with the outermost edge of the image uncut and glued against a heavy cardboard backing and the interior pieces loose. It wouldn't surprise me if the Hulk image had been used for a framed tray puzzle in 1981 and revived in 1988 for a boxed puzzle to sell it through different channels. I'd rather know for certain. The image may have been made for a Whitman/Western coloring book or some other child-targeted product.
If any readers own or know of an earlier use of the above image, please leave a note to that effect in the comments. Even a later use would be interesting, and possibly provide a lead to earlier licensees.
