Public Domain Super Heroes is a collaborative website about public domain characters from comic books, comic strips, films, books, pulps, mythology, television, animation, folk stories, among others.
After Action Comics #1 gave the world Superman in 1938, there was an explosion of costumed heroes in comics. New publishers and characters sprang up everywhere. After World War II, these characters fell out of favor with readers and caused many publishers to go out of business.
Most of the defunct companies never bothered to renew their copyrights. Many were bought out by other companies that also failed to do so. Others were published without a proper copyright notice between 1931 -1977 and entered the public domain immediately upon publication. In addition all comics (and most other media) published before January 1, 1931 are public domain in the US.
Those comics and their stars who have since entered the public domain are now available for anyone to use those characters and classic stories any way they wish. Over the years, many publishers have taken advantage of this and so can you!
This wiki is intended to be an online encyclopedia of these characters, providing pertinent information to fans who want to learn about their history, as well as creators who may want to use them. All images and information are believed to be in the public domain. The information and images presented are intended to give a brief overview of the characters and provide a visual reference.
The wiki format allows any registered user to create any article, so we can all work together to build the site. Right now, we have 9,691 articles!
Please note Open source characters should be added to the Open Source Superheroes Wiki instead.
Also AI Generated Characters are not allowed here.
Rules for editing can be found here and here (and are subject to change without notice). If you have any questions, please see our FAQ or contact the head administrator, Cebr1979, via his talk page.
Enjoy!
  Joe Palooka Notable Characters Added to the Public Domain in 2026[]Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, works published or released in 1930 entered the public domain on January 1, 2026. Sound recordings published in 1925 also entered the public domain. Notable examples include:
For a complete list of all public domain characters, click here. |
|---|
Featured Image[]
With 11,953 images on our database, there is no shortage of pictures of your favorite characters and teams.
This image has been randomly selected from our database. Each time you visit our site, you should see a new image here. For more information about it, click directly on the image. The resulting page will detail when it was uploaded, by whom, and often overview which articles use that particular image.
Please visit our galleries and feel free to upload as many images as you like. We have categorized our images into several groups, for easier future reference. Have fun!
One more thing, before submitting an image, please read our FAQ. This is so you know what can and cannot be submitted, and what to do when you have submitted an image.
What We Accept Here[]
Public Domain Characters from:
- Literature
- Comic Books
- Comic Strips
- Books
- Pulps
- Magazines
- Stage
- Plays
- Operas
- Ballets
- Film/Television
- Animation
- Advertising
- Toys
- Fine Art
- Music
- Mythology/Folklore
- History (who appear in pop culture)
Not Accepted Here[]
Even if they are Public Domain:
- Characters who have works in the P.D. but not their first appearance (e.g. Bugs Bunny, Mighty Mouse, Wood Woodpecker, etc.)
- AI Generated Characters
- Characters from the Vertigo Fables Series or Comico's Elementals
- Orphan Works
- Open Source Characters (add these to the Open Source Wiki instead)
- Historical Figures who do not appear in pop culture
- Historical Figures with Protected Publicity/Personality Rights
- Living Real Life People
- Locations
- Vehicles
- Occupations
- Companies
- Non-Anthropomorphic Objects
Note: Some Old Articles are Grandfathered by Approval of the Head Admin.
Public Domain Links[]
- Wikipedia: Public Domain
- Wikisource, the free library
- Wikimedia Commons: Public Domain Comics
- Project Gutenberg
- TV Tropes : Public Domain
- ComicVine: Public Domain
- reddit: Public Domain
- X: Public Domain
- Discord: Public Domain
- Center for the Study of the Public Domain
- The Online Books Page
- Digital Comic Museum
- Comic Book Plus
- The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana
- LibriVox
- RedVilla
- U.S. Copyright Office Public Records System
- WebVoyage
- Wayback Machine
- Trademakia
