Who owns Superman? Or Spider-Man? Or the Avengers?
For the five years between 2008 and 2013, that wasn't an easy question to answer. All these characters, and a host of others beside became the subject of repeated battles in the American courts, as the families of DC and Marvel's key creators fought to regain the rights their husbands or fathers had signed away decades before. There was big money at stake to be sure - but a hefty slice of family pride too.
The biggest lawsuits were filed by the families of writer Jerry Siegel, who'd co-created Superman in 1938, and Jack Kirby, the artist who helped create all of Marvel's flagship characters in the early 1960s. The Siegels’ 2008 court victory awarding them 50% of the copyright in Superman's first appearance suddenly made everything seem possible. The arguments would go all the way to the brink of a US Supreme Court hearing before they were settled.
My history of these fascinating battles began life as a free online essay on this PlanetSlade page. It’s been available here for well over a decade, but now I’m asking people to buy the book instead. Elsewhere in its pages, you'll find my definitive essay on Andy Capp creator Reg Smythe, a look at the extraordinary research which went into Tintin's adventures, and the tale of how blues guitarist Johnny Winter came to wage war on a DC cowboy comic.
All these delights can now be yours in either paperback or e-book form for the price of a couple of drinks. Head over to Amazon US or Amazon UK to buy your copy now!