This page highlights the stories, heroes and characters already in the public domain that we use or may use, followed by a year-by-year roadmap of major characters entering the U.S. public domain starting in 2026. We're sticking to a "publication + 95 years” assessment of public domain status, except in cases where copyright was not properly renewed — such as with the Fawcett Comics characters. The public domain club expands a bit in the next 10 years and then 2034 through 2037 will see us needing to build a whole new club house to fit everybody in.

Captain Nemo – Jules Verne (*Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas*, 1870)

Sherlock Holmes – Beeton’s Christmas Annual (1887)

Allan Quatermain – Cassell (1885)

The Time Machine – H.G. Wells (1895)

The Island of Dr. Moreau – H.G. Wells (1896)

The Invisible Man – H.G. Wells (1897)

The War of the Worlds – H.G. Wells (1898)

The First Men in the Moon – H.G. Wells (1901)

Tarzan (John Clayton) – All-Story Magazine (1912)

John Carter – All-Story Magazine (1912)

Zorro (Don Diego de la Vega) – All-Story Weekly (1919)

Solomon Kane – Weird Tales (1928)

Buck Rogers (Anthony Rogers) – Amazing Stories (1928)

Kull (Kull of Atlantis) – Weird Tales (1929)

The Spider (Richard Wentworth) – Popular Publications (1933)

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle – Fiction House (1937)

Captain Marvel (Billy Batson) – Fawcett (1939)

Blue Beetle (Dan Garret) – Fox Feature (1939)

Hop Harrigan – All-American (1939)

The Masked Marvel – Centaur (1939)

Daredevil (Bart Hill) – Lev Gleason (1940)

The Spirit (Denny Colt) – Register and Tribune Syndicate (1940)

Kaänga – Fiction House (1940)

Dr. Sivana – Fawcett (1940)

Spy Smasher (Alan Armstrong) – Fawcett (1940)

Ibis the Invincible – Fawcett (1940)

Bulletman – Fawcett (1940)

Captain Marvel Jr. (Freddy Freeman) – Fawcett (1941)

Minute-Man (Jack Weston) – Fawcett (1941)

Captain Midnight (Jim "Red" Albright) – Fawcett (1941)

Phantom Lady (Sandra Knight) – Quality Comics, Police Comics #1 (1941)

Mary Marvel – Fawcett (1942)

Nyoka the Jungle Girl – Fawcett (1945)

Black Adam (Teth-Adam) – Fawcett (1945)

Bran Mak Morn – Weird Tales (1930)

The Shadow (Kent Allard/Lamont Cranston) – Street & Smith (1931)

Dick Tracy – Chicago Tribune Syndicate (1931)

Conan the Cimmerian – Weird Tales (1932)

Doc Savage (Clark Savage Jr.) – Street & Smith (1933)

Flash Gordon (Flash Gordon) – King Features (1934)

Mandrake the Magician – King Features (1934)

The Phantom – King Features (1936)

Crash Corrigan – Republic Pictures (1936)

Superman (Clark Kent) – DC/National (1938)

Batman (Bruce Wayne) – DC/National (1939)

Sub-Mariner (Namor) – Timely (Marvel) (1939)

The Angel (Thomas Halloway) – Timely (1939)

Human Torch (Android) – Timely (1939)

Sandman (Wesley Dodds) – DC (1939)

Green Lantern (Alan Scott) – DC (1940)

The Flash (Jay Garrick) – DC (1940)

Hawkman (Carter Hall) – DC (1940)

The Spectre (Jim Corrigan) – DC (1940)

Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson) – DC (1940)

The Vision (Aarkus) – Timely (1940)

Wonder Woman (Diana) – DC (1941)

Captain America (Steve Rogers) – Timely (1941)

Plastic Man (Eel O'Brian) – Quality Comics (1941)

Blackhawk – Quality Comics (1941)

Airboy – Hillman Periodicals (1942)

Miss America (Madeline Joyce) – Timely (1944)