Created between 1920 and 1929

The 1920s mark the moment adventure fiction explodes into fully formed genre icons. Science-fiction, sword-and-sorcery, and supernatural horror all take massive evolutionary leaps — and the prototypes for the modern superhero finally walk onto the stage. These characters are the DNA of everything that follows. This page lists the creations from 1920 to 1929 that are in the U.S. public domain.

Already in the Public Domain (Created between 1920 and 1929)

Solomon Kane
Solomon Kane, created by Robert E. Howard first appeared in the short story Red Shadows in 1928. Solomon Kane is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Cover of "Red SonYa The Shadow of Tanaghaara" which includes the Solomon Kane short story, "The Gauntlet of Nabu," by James L. Richardson, 2025.

Buck Rogers
Buck Rogers, created by Philip Francis Nowlan first appeared in the novella Armageddon-2149 A.D. in 1928. Buck Rogers is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Cover of "The Metropolis of Mongo" by James L. Richardson, 2025.

Kull of Atlantis
Kull of Atlantis, created by Robert E. Howard first appeared in the short story The Shadow Kingdom in 1929 in Weird Tales. Kull of Atlantis is firmly in the public domain.
Image: Cover of "Swords In The House Of Horus" by James L. Richardson, 2025.

1920 to 1929: Context & Fun Facts

• Weird Tales becomes the crucible.
  Weird Tales (founded 1923) provides the cauldron where Robert E. Howard creates Solomon Kane (1928) and Kull (1929), laying the foundation for all sword-and-sorcery fiction that follows.
• Buck Rogers kickstarts American sci-fi.
  Debuting in Amazing Stories (1928), Buck Rogers becomes the first American hero to popularize space travel, ray guns, and future war — influencing Flash Gordon, Star Wars, and the entire House of Entropy lineage.
• Three genres crystallize at once.
  Dark supernatural horror, cosmic science fiction, and mythic ancient-world adventuring all take major leaps in this decade, establishing pillars that later heroes and universes would build upon.