Do you think the Kirby Estate should gain the rights to these concepts and characters?
No. Because they aren't all his concepts. Kirby was an artist and the best but he didn't invent Spider-man so I am not sure why he is on the list with FF and the Hulk. He just drew in those books. It's not like the Superman thing because DC really didn't invent Superman they stole him. But it wasn't illegal, because he wasn't copyrighted, it was just dirty.
Kirby co-invented some of the characters with Lee. He was also paid for it. However, and he agreed to this, albeit grudgingly, Marvel or Atlas comics owned all of it, as a company not as individuals. You can see down the road how complex things would be if each person said well I invented this little part of the story here or this name so bla bla bla. People are paid for arcs and stories and art, editing etc but you've got to claim a character from the start as you made it if that's how you're going to go. With out the company no one would know who your character was but you. Ultimately it's the company's. (That's how Disney works too ask Adam Philips)
Thing is, a Character is one thing but each comic is its own thing, I think, even if it uses a character from whatever, the book the story etc should count as much as the characters. I would say more.
I don't know how many stories use vampires in them or even Dracula, but each one, even if it has a similar look, is actually a different character because it's doing different things. Same for elves, wizards and other common fantasy stuff. It's not like whoever made up vampires or in the case of Bram Stoker, Dracula can own rights to all films books etc with his character when he stole a character (a vampire) to start with and just gave it a name... Much less if he just drew it in a book. You can argue Hulk (originally) was a rip from Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. (both were on TV the year he was invented too) He's green he morphs when he's angry and he used to look just like Frankenstein. Superman is not all that different from so many mythical gods. (as are Diana and Thor) Plus it's really just one story about him. Every story after the origin could stand on it's own. You have characters now who don't even have origins yet. It's what the character does after the first issue that makes it what it is too. It's not like the character wouldn't exist if you hadn't given it a birth story. I don't think it's fair to collect on an idea forever. Get your big check but once you pass the ball and others are really doing the work and continuing to allow your creation to exist then they have the right to use it, because it is really up to their imaginations now.
The Japanese character Mario is in about a 100 games and tons of books etc. Still the game makers owns the game he makes and the Mario inventor gets a cut royalties etc. When he dies his relatives could just pull the character. If you start stuff like this it's a very slippy slope of patenting everything. Oh that's my fire ball, oh well I invented jumping on things, well that coin shape was my idea etc etc.
Kirby was paid. He was paid to draw. He was paid to edit etc. He helped invent some characters, characters which have since been changed dramatically. It's a tricky question when someone else does all this work on a story but it uses a concept from the past which it evolved. Luckily that's answered as they did it.
You couldn't join an established company with like 5000 characters and universe to play in already made and make up one person who your company then helps push and promote and then leave the company and take it with you and start your own comic with that character in it. It's property of the company, and you get your money for creating original stuff but that doesn't mean you get the rights and can take your character away and go writning with it in a different company or your own company
You'd at least have to change it some. AKA Venum to Spawn. Hulk FF X-men etc belong to Marvel not Kirby not even Stan Lee. Once you leave Marvel you leave. Any royalties etc should have been worked out when it was happening and not after a man dies.
Log in to comment