I want to copyright my character(s) for a comic strip and comic book

The Copyright Office has a circular on cartoons and comic strips, linked below. You can publish all thestrips you've created so far as a collection, but note that this collection's registration won't cover future strips that you create. And the characters themselves aren't protectible by copyright, they're protected by trademark and unfair competition law, although some images of them can be copyrighted. See an IP lawyer to help you with this. You can apply for copyright registrations electronically, and it's much easier and more efficient than the old paper form method. Please see the link below. ONce your application has been submitted with the date of creation, you can go head and submit your strips to newspapers. Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.

As Attorney Koslyn notes, you should register all of your strips electronically in one group registration. The cost is minimal. I strongly suggest, however, that you spend some time with a copyright attorney who will walk you through the registration steps the first time. The last thing you need is to do it wrong – considering that the process currently takes about TWO YEARS [while the registration that will ultimately issue will be “effective” on the date that you applied for registration, the registration will not issue for 24 months (though there are exceptions)]. In addition to the strips, I suggest that you SEPARATELY register the copyright that protects each one of your main characters. Simply draw each one on separate pieces of paper in a pose that each normally appears in the strip and register the copyright in each one of those drawings. You should also learn the right way to place a copyright notice on each of your strips: "Copy. [year of publication] [owner]." You should discuss with your own attorney how to properly do this in light of the fact that your strips are not yet published and that it may make sense for your to assign your copyright to a business that you form to sell your strips. Because of the two year wait to receive a copyright registration, you should not wait to offer your strips to publishers or syndicators. I also suggest that you learn the ropes of cartooning [see http://j.mp/ah966t ] and what writers need to know about copyright law [see http://j.mp/cFgNft ]. Good luck.