Popeye goes PD?

According to this article in today’s London Times, Popeye the Sailor will lose its copyright protection in Europe on January 1. Supposedly anyone, starting Thursday could use E.C. Segar’s earliest drawings to create T-Shirts, posters, or whatever.

In the United States the character is protected until 2024, as U.S. law protects a work for 95 years after its initial copyright.