An ashcan comic is a comic book created solely for legal or promotional reasons. Primarily, these were made to establish trademarks on potential titles. This practice was common in the early days of the comic book industry, during the 1930s and 1940s. Publishers would submit these quickly-produced comics to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

Changes in trademark law in 1946 made ashcans less necessary, but the term was revived in the 1980s. Bob Burden used the term for prototypes of his self-published comic. Later, in the 1990s, the term evolved to describe promotional materials. These were often produced in larger print runs and made available to a wider audience, especially at comic conventions.

Today, ashcan comics are highly sought after by collectors, with some fetching high prices at auction. The term has also found its way into film and television, where it refers to low-quality material created to preserve rights to licensed properties. The ashcan is a fascinating artifact of the comic book industry's history.

This practice highlights the lengths publishers went to protect their intellectual property. The evolution of the ashcan reflects shifts in the industry's business practices and the value placed on early comic book artifacts. It serves as a reminder of the industry's early days and how it protected its intellectual property.