> It would put the characters into public domain and rob the authors of the ability to sustain themselves selling collections of early strips. That's not true

> It would put the characters into public domain and rob the authors of the ability to sustain themselves selling collections of early strips. That's not true. It might make it harder to make as much money, but there's nothing that says the author can't still profit from selling something after it's in the public domain. I've paid for works in the public domain multiple times, sometimes directly to the author of the work. Creators have a massive advantage when selling their own stuff. They can include things like signed copies and extras that no one else ever could. Fans want to support the creators of the things they love because they want more of it.