The Great Copyright Collapse (and Why Im Mildly Annoyed)
So, apparently, 2026 is going to be a moment. A veritable tidal wave of…vintage cartoons and comic strips are finally tumbling into the public domain? Fantastic. Truly groundbreaking. Just what we all needed: more poorly-preserved Betty Boop animations plastered across Etsy mugs and aggressively reinterpreted “Blondie” comics starring anthropomorphic avocado toast.
Honestly, it feels like a slightly pathetic victory. We’ve waited decades for these cultural relics to be liberated, and the immediate aftermath promises…what? Endless derivative works of questionable taste? I foresee legions of amateur animators churning out Boop-themed NFTs and “Blondie” cosplayers judging each others accuracy based on increasingly obscure continuity errors.
Don’t misunderstand; I appreciate the idea of public domain. The concept is beautiful, theoretically. But the reality? It will be a relentless assault on nostalgia fueled by people who have absolutely no respect for the original artistic vision. Theyll slap trendy filters on everything and call it “modernization.” Prepare yourselves for aggressively woke reboots featuring cartoon characters suddenly grappling with existential crises and questioning their life choices.
It’s going to be…a thing. A profoundly extra thing. And Im already bracing myself for the inevitable onslaught of low-effort fan fiction.
