It’s Here! The First Jack Kirby/Boycott Marvel Petition (that we know of)!

A while back, I wrote about the unlikely prospect of a serious Marvel boycott in support of the late Jack Kirby and his heirs. I then received the following comment yesterday from Brian Munn, Director of The Canadian Comic Art Centre in Guelph, Ontario:

“[S]o, I’ve been thinking abut posting a Boycott Marvel petition and your blog finally convinced me.”

Munn has posted the petition calling for just compensation for Marvel Universe co-creator and his heirs. I’ll let Munn’s petition take it from here.

“Jack Kirby is one of the most important and influential artists in the history of U.S. comic books and popular culture. Along with writers Joe Simon, Stan Lee, and Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby created the characters and stories on which Marvel Comics has built a very successful business over the past 60 years. Kirby created or co-created Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, The X-Men, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, and many more. For his efforts, Kirby was paid a few dollars a page and never shared in the billions of dollars in profits his characters have made in various media, including print, film, and video games.

“We strongly urge Marvel Entertainment and its owner Disney to acknowledge Jack Kirby’s authorship and primary role in the creation of these characters. As well, we urge Marvel to pay Kirby’s family royalties for the use of these characters and stories.

“Until such a time as Marvel can make things right with Kirby’s legacy and Kirby’s family and heirs, we will refuse to purchase any Marvel product, including comic books, movies, toys, or games. We ask Marvel, Disney, and its shareholders to act ethically and morally in this situation, just as their characters would.”

The petition is live. You can sign it by clicking here. I’ll be doing that later tonight, and I hope you will too.

Thanks to Brian Munn for giving me even any credit for his work.