Is Bunty and Judy in the public domian?

[gigglepoet]

Hi I would love to find the 'Bunty and Judy' comics to put on my kids website does anyone know if they are in the public domain yet  thanks!

[Yoc]

Hi GP,
I've never heard of these guys until checking Google.
They are post 1959 and UK original comics so no you wont see them on DCM.
You might find them someday on Comic Book Plus though which has a thriving UK section -
http://comicbookplus.com/

[narfstar]

Paw Boon is the man to talk to. He has been working on UK and non-English at CB+
Since Bunty is UK and not very old, a lot would depend on if the publisher is still around. I suspect CB+ will probably not be able to carry it but you can always ask Paw and Mark

[John C]

Generally speaking, for any European copyrights, assume they're in force.  Basically, protection lasts seventy years after the death of the (longest-lived) creator.

(That's the situation for current US works, too, but that didn't start until 1978, so not worth worrying about for a long while.)

[paw broon]

Oh dear, I shouldn't go away on holiday - I might have missed this one.  However, Bunty and Judy were both published by D.C. Thomson, whose head office is here in Scotland, in Dundee and they are not pd.  DCT are very protective of their copyright and even I don't dare tempt fate with most of their titles.  Both titles are weekly anthology comics for girls.  Bunty started in 1958 and Judy in 1960.  Both featured some good art with Paddy Brennan and Ron Smith (of Judge Dredd fame) as prime examples.  Judy lasted till 1991 and Bunty till 1995.  Early Bunty issues are quite collectable, particularly in UK and Australia.
You'll find some Bunty and Judy covers here:-http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/index.php#
just have a look on the list.
Many Bunty covers here:- http://www.kellyscomics.com/bunty-comics.php

There might be a way of reading some stories from the comics but it'll take me a while to remember where they are, if they're still up that is.

If you don't mind spending the cash, 30th Century Comics in Putney, London always have a stock of Bunty and Judy.  Have a look here:-
 http://www.kellyscomics.com/bunty-comics.php
It's also worth trying to find the annuals as they turn up in charity shops here and can be reasonably priced.

Hope that helps.  Good luck.

[Yoc]

Thanks Paw, I knew you'd be the man to talk to about this.

[paw broon]

Well, that took a while but you can all read a few stories from Bunty here.  There might be a bad language problem for sensitive souls with one swear word from the blogger - be warned:-
http://rodmckie.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/appreciating-madness-of-bunty.html

And because I couldn't resist it, here's a link to the same site's article on Dudley D. Watkins, who was quite simply, a genius. 
http://rodmckie.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/scotlands-greatest-cartoonist-dudley-d.html

There are a couple of wonderful Broons pages - even better than Oor Wullie, if that's possible.