Public Domain Super Heroes
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The Ostrich-Riding Cowboy & his Ostrich?
Cowboy

Real Name

Unknown

First Appearance

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (December 6, 1964)

Original Publisher

Rankin/Bass

Created by

Romeo Muller & Robert L. May

Origin[]

The Ostrich-Riding Cowboy was one of the inhabitants of the Island of Misfit Toys.

Notes[]

  • The character of Rudolph is not in the public domain and, thus, cannot be used without permission. He was created in 1939 by Robert L.May and his first appearance was renewed. However, he has been popularly referred to as "Santa's 9th Reindeer."
  • Like the character, the song, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, is NOT in the public domain so avoid using details which are original to it.
  • The copyright year in Roman numerals for the special was mis-marked as MCLXIV (1164) instead of the correct MCMLXIV (1964). This invalidates the copyright under U.S. law at the time, which required a valid date of copyright be affixed to the production meaning that still images from the special and all of the characters unique to it are, as a result, in the public domain.
  • The name given in this article is a conjecture based on the characters appearances.
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