General Category > Comic Related Discussion
Jack Kirby's copyrights and Steve Ditko's departure from Marvel Comics
John C:
--- Quote from: Bob Hughes on March 22, 2011, 08:15:38 AM ---Without Kirby, Marvel would be known as the company that went out of business in 1941. Stan Lee never would have been heard of.
--- End quote ---
Even granting that, which I think might be a stretch, what difference does it make? He got paid in 1941 for the work he did in 1941. He got paid in 1961 for the work he did in 1961. Fans try to make it sound like he was slave labor chained in the basement or that his private files were published without his knowledge. He submitted work on request for an ongoing publication in exchange for money.
And on the flip side, by the way, who would have ever heard of Kirby without Timely/Marvel? How many people HERE, let alone in the outside world, can name the Boy Commandos or the Newsboy Legion, for example? Does anybody imagine a Guardian, Fighting American, or Captain Victory movie around the corner? Where are the extended print runs of his comic strip work?
--- Quote from: Bob Hughes on March 22, 2011, 08:15:38 AM ---Without Kirby, there would have been no Silver Age comics revival because without Challengers, Showcase never would have lasted long enough for the Flash to get his own comic book, DC never would have gone on a teams binge which resulted in buying Blackhawk, creatings Sea Devil, Suicide Squad, Rip Hunter, Cave Carson and .... the Justice League of America.
--- End quote ---
OK, so how much should Image pay the Kirby family? They've benefited, too, after all. Perhaps all modern comic companies (and, heck, creators) should donate ten percent of their income to the Kirby family for his influence.
Oh...wait. But what about all the creators whose work you don't care for, but kept the companies in business by producing thousands of throw-away stories that were just interesting enough to make the next sale? They probably don't deserve anything for keeping the industry alive long enough for Jack to create his influence, of course. They only did their work and got paid for it...
Contracts or not, my point is that he created on request (even if the request was vague and he did a lot to fill it) with full intention that someone else take ownership and publish it. Unless Jack and Steve were complete idiots, there's no possible way either of them could have believed they owned what Marvel was publishing any more than a migrant field hand would think he's getting a cut of the profits when the crops are sold.
Also, influence isn't something an employer or client pays for after the fact. You don't hire a lawyer then go back to him ten years later to give him more money because you've since discovered he's more talented or better connected. Nobody seeks out Nikola Tesla's family to dump money on them because he made alternating current work...and I'd say that's a little more influential than the Challengers of the Unknown.
--- Quote from: Bob Hughes on March 22, 2011, 08:15:38 AM ---If Ditko had stayed at Charlton, Captain Atom and the Blue Beetle would probably have become the most successful characters of the sixties.
--- End quote ---
His track record doesn't suggest that at all, even if I'd love a history where it was true. Nor do I see any hint that Blue Beetle was undergoing any kind of growth spurt, though I admit I've never sought out or crunched the numbers.
narfstar:
Ditko's objectivist Blue Beetle would probably have had the same number of sales as his Mr. A. As John has pointed out the industry had as much to do with their success as they had with industries.
darkmark (RIP):
Well, guys, let's face it...neither the Creeper nor the New Gods made enough money for DC to want to continue them. Could they have become hits if DC stayed with them, as Marvel did with Conan? Maybe. I'd like to think so. But...maybe not.
Also, it's debatable that Captain Atom or the Blue Beetle would have become THE success stories of the Sixties. True, they were great characters, and I loved those books. But Marvel and DC ruled the superhero world even then, and the other companies caught sloppy seconds from their tables. The only one I can see making a real challenge to Marvel and DC would have been Tower, and they sputtered out all too soon.
josemas:
Even if Martin Goodman didn't keep all of his promises to his creators he comes across as almost a saint when compared to a publisher like Victor Fox.
Best
Joe
bminor:
--- Quote from: josemas on March 23, 2011, 08:24:05 AM ---Even if Martin Goodman didn't keep all of his promises to his creators he comes across as almost a saint when compared to a publisher like Victor Fox.
--- End quote ---
What was Mr. Fox like?
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version