Edited by author 06-25-2003 12:19 PM
It can be difficult to tell if something is in the public domain.

I assume you're in the U.S. http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm is a good quick overview. If your comic was published without a copyright notice, it's in the public domain. If it did have a notice, then you need to check the year of publication + 28 years renewal listings, to see if it was renewed.

If it wasn't renewed, it's in the public domain. If it was renewed, then it won't be in the public domain until 95 years after publication.

For more detail, see http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/renewals.html

-Kurt