Posted in: Comics | Tagged: betty boop, blondie, Miss Marple, nancy drew, pluto, public domain
Nancy Drew, Blondie, Miss Marple, Pluto and Betty Boop comics in 2026, as a result of public domain?
Article Summary
- Nancy Drew, Blondie, Miss Marple, Pluto, and Betty Boop enter US public domain in 2025 and 2026.
- Classic characters’ original versions can be used in comics and other media without licensing fees.
- Caution needed: new works can only use elements present in the characters’ earliest appearances.
- Public domain status may usher in a creative wave with beloved icons reinvented for modern audiences.
We’ve been getting more Mickey Mouse, Popeye and Winnie the Pooh comic books now that the characters have entered the public domain, where it comes to copyright, if not trademark. And still a little time to wait for Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Captain America to go down that road. But as of 2025, we have Nancy Drew, Blondie, Miss Marple, Pluto and Betty Boop entering the public domain in the USA, allowing comic book publishers to add the characters to their comic lines without legal objection of licensing necessities… as long as you don’t introduce elements that were added to the characters at a later date. And make sure that the laws in one territory are the same as in yours…
Nancy Drew is a fictional teenage amateur sleuth created by publisher Edward Stratemeyer and featured in a long-running series of mystery novels written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, beginning with The Secret of the Old Clock in 1930. Typically depicted as an intelligent, resourceful, and independent 16- to-18-year-old young woman living in the town of River Heights with her lawyer father, Carson Drew, she solves crimes with the help of friends Bess and George, embodying courage and quick thinking that made her an enduring role model for young readers.
Blondie is the title character of the long-running newspaper comic strip created by Chic Young in 1930, originally as a carefree flapper named Blondie Boopadoop who marries Dagwood Bumstead, leading to their disinheritance and a shift to middle-class suburban life. Portrayed as a smart, sweet, responsible wife and mother who often manages her clumsy husband’s antics while later running a successful catering business, she represents the sensible heart of the Bumstead family in a humorous slice-of-life series still published today.
Miss Marple is a fictional elderly amateur detective created by Agatha Christie, first appearing in short stories in the late 1920s and fully in the 1930 novel The Murder at the Vicarage. Living in the quiet English village of St. Mary Mead, she uses her sharp observation of human nature, drawn from village life, knitting, and gossip, to solve complex murders with understated insight and logic, becoming Christie’s most iconic sleuth alongside Hercule Poirot. I totally based my own The Many Murders Of Miss Cranborne comic book character on her.
Pluto is a cartoon dog character created by Walt Disney Productions, debuting anonymously as a bloodhound in the 1930 short The Chain Gang before becoming Mickey Mouse’s loyal pet in 1931’s The Moose Hunt, where he received his name, part of the “Sensational Six” core Disney ensemble.
Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer and animator Grim Natwick, debuting in 1930’s Dizzy Dishes initially as an anthropomorphic poodle before evolving into a human Jazz Age flapper known for her signature “Boop-oop-a-doop” catchphrase, curvaceous figure, and playful sexuality. Featured in over 90 theatrical shorts through 1939, she embodied the spirited, seductive yet innocent essence of 1920s culture, becoming animation’s first major female sex symbol despite later toning down under censorship. Might that censorship now be undone in 2026?
Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!
Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!
