Message #267254

[Rachel Dearth]

Koschei the Deathless and Baba Yaga
Koschei keeps his soul in an egg (in a duck in a box buried under a tree on an island, etc.) and is a bad guy in everything from folk tales to Stravinsky operas. Baba Yaga is a terrifying witch with razor-sharp teeth who lives in a house on chicken legs. Koschei and Baba Yaga both turn up as villains in Hellboy: Darkness Calls and Atomika, among other places.
Literary Characters

These characters are brilliant scientists, explorers, swordsmen, detectives, and blood drinkers. And they're all public domain. They've even had their own superhero team already, in Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Captain Nemo
Even Jules Verne couldn't quite figure out who this mysterious pirate was, giving him two different backstories — so feel free to make Nemo whoever you want. Comics publishers have put out various adaptations of the Verne story, but he's also popped up in Disney comics, EC Comics, Dell Comics, and Caliber Comics over the years. There's also Jason DeAngelis's steampunk manga sequel to the books.