Created in 1934

1934 was a seismic year for adventure fiction. Flash Gordon rocketed onto the scene, Mandrake the Magician brought stagecraft to superheroics, Lothar broke ground as one of the earliest Black action heroes, and Robert E. Howard unveiled the swashbuckling Red Sonya of Rogatino. This page lists the 1934 creations entering the U.S. public domain in 2030 — and any already there.

Entering the Public Domain in 2030 (Created in 1934)

Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon, created by Alex Raymond, debuted on January 7, 1934. will enter the public domain on January 1, 2030.
Image: Panel from "On the Planet Mongo" by Alex Raymond, January 1934.

Mandrake the Magician
Mandrake the Magician was created by Lee Falk and was first published in June, 1934. Mandrake the Magician will enter the public domain on January 1, 2030.
Image: Mandrake from his comic strip, June 1934. Artist Lee Falk.

Lothar
Lothar, created by Lee Falk was the first major Black character in comic strips or comic books. He debuted in the Mandrake the Magician comic strip in 1934. Lothar will enter the House of Crom on January 1, 2030.
Image: Lother, unknown panel from Mandrake the Magician comic strip. Date and artist unknown, but the style would indicate Lee Falk in the 1930s.

Already in the Public Domain (Created in 1934)

Red SonYa
Red SonYa of Rogatino debuted in Magic Carpet Magazine in 1934 in the Robert E. Howard story, The Shadow of the Vulture. Red SonYa of Rogatino stalks the House of Crom.
Image: Cover of "Red SonYa of Rogatino The Shadow of Tanaghaara" by James L. Richardson 2025

1934: Context & Fun Facts

• Flash Gordon was designed to dethrone Buck Rogers.
  King Features wanted a bigger, glossier space saga — and Flash delivered. Within a year he was not just competition… he was the new gold standard.
• Mandrake & Lothar pioneered the “hero/partner” dynamic.
  Long before Batman and Robin, you had the world’s first comic-strip magician and his powerhouse companion beating villains with brains, brawn, and style.
• Red Sonya wasn’t a fantasy barbarian (yet).
  Howard’s original creation was a 16th-century Eastern European pistol-packing duelist — fierce, brilliant, and utterly human. The chainmail-bikini version came from Marvel Comics, not Robert E. Howard. Sonja with a J came much later and shared only the red hair with the original Red SonYa.