Popeye the Sailor Man is a cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, first appearing on January 17, 1929, in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre. From Wikipedia
Beloved characters like Tintin and Popeye, along with major works by Hemingway, Ravel, and Hitchcock, are now freely available for use after 95 years of copyright protection.