Mindful of the use of copyrighted materials in AI, I decided to do some experiments in Gemini using recognizable characters out of copyright.
Make a list of 15 recognizable characters which are now out in the public domain. Include the date that they went into the public domain.
It returned the following list:
| Character | Entry Date | Notes |
| Mickey Mouse | Jan 1, 2024 | Specifically the Steamboat Willie (1928) version. |
| Minnie Mouse | Jan 1, 2024 | Also from the 1928 Steamboat Willie debut. |
| Winnie-the-Pooh | Jan 1, 2022 | The original A.A. Milne version (Tigger joined in 2024). |
| Betty Boop | Jan 1, 2026 | Her 1930 debut in Dizzy Dishes (where she was a poodle-human hybrid). |
| Pluto (as “Rover”) | Jan 1, 2026 | Mickey’s dog first appeared in the 1930 cartoon The Chain Gang. |
| Popeye the Sailor | Jan 1, 2025 | His first appearance in the Thimble Theatre comic strip (1929). |
| Nancy Drew | Jan 1, 2026 | The first three books, starting with The Secret of the Old Clock (1930). |
| Tintin | Jan 1, 2025 | From the 1929 debut Tintin in the Land of the Soviets. |
| Sherlock Holmes | Jan 1, 2023 | All of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories are now public. |
| Miss Marple | Jan 1, 2026 | From Agatha Christie’s first Marple novel, The Murder at the Vicarage. |
| Sam Spade | Jan 1, 2026 | The protagonist of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon (1930). |
| Blondie & Dagwood | Jan 1, 2026 | The original 1930 comic strip versions of the Bumsteads. |
| Buck Rogers | Jan 1, 2025 | The sci-fi hero from the 1929 novella Armageddon 2419 A.D. |
| Felix the Cat | Jan 1, 2019 | Versions from his 1919-1923 silent film era. |
| Peter Pan | Jan 1, 2024 | J.M. Barrie’s original 1911 novel (though UK laws differ). |
My first experiments began with the loved character Tintin. My first exposure to Tintin was in the library in the small California town of Cloverdale where one of my grandfathers lived. I would walk to the library to escape the heat when we’d visit on weekends. There I found Tintin graphic novels and consumed as many as I could find.
Make an image of Tintin as Sherlock Holmes
This one turned out to be a little too on the nose, as Tintin probably dressed up as he does in the resulting images many times:
Yet, it was so nice, Gemini put him twice.
So, onwards and upwards:
Make an image of Tintin as Peter Pan
I like the touch of Snowy as Tinkerbell.
Make an image of Tintin as Popeye the Sailor
Aye, he’s got his spinach (and oysters – makes you wonder about his evenings with Olive Oyl 😉
Okay, enough of the Tintin cosplay, what else would be fun…
Make an image of Tintin dancing with Betty Boop.
A nice little celebration. Some fun in a little Belgian town.
Make an image of Tintin piloting the boat in Steamboat Willie with Mickey Mouse thrown overboard, only his foot visible above the water.
Oh no! Poor Mickey. Someone throw him a life preserver!
Okay, this has been fun, but seems like one last big hurrah and then on to other, less derivative things:
Make an image of Tintin, Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, Felix the Cat, Buck Rogers and the A.A. Milne version of Winnie-the-Pooh sitting around a table having tea in the hundred acre wood.
Oh Pooh! That’s probably not the right version of Winnie-the-Pooh. What am AI to do?
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