Kirby Estate Lawsuit

Comics aficionados need no introduction to the late great Jack Kirby; to those who do, let’s just say Marvel would probably be nowhere without him, having created or co-created most of the publisher’s major silver-age characters.

Kirby’s relationship with Marvel had always been tumultuous at best, especially when it comes to copyrights, a battle that he claimed in the 70s to not be ready for. His kids are though, as the New York Times reports that the man’s estate has sent 45 notices of copyright termination to Marvel, Disney, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures and just about anyone who’s making any use of the characters he was involved with.

These types of lawsuits aren’t uncommon in the biz, but this one rings a little different, and dare I say scarier, for those on the receiving end: the Kirby heirs are apparently being represented by Marc Toberoff, AKA the same gentleman who recently gave large chunks of Superman back to the Siegel estate.

Since my own legal expertise extends as far as watching Jack McCoy growl it out on Law & Order, I really can’t say what the implications of the suit might be, but I’d guess the end goal is more monetary restitution than actually stopping RDJ from flying in a red/gold armor suit. Still, let’s keep an eye out for this one…