I don’t care about the shitty way Marvel treated Jack Kirby, all I want is to enjoy my Avengers movie and anybody who cares about how the big comic companies treat their creative talent is a cynical meanie.
No, really. Here’s a direct quote if you don’t believe me:
But I am a grown ass man, and I can tell you this: the real world does not operate like the morality plays we see acted out on the silver screen in movies like “The Avengers.” Life can not be summed up by “that’s not fair.” It’s not as simple as “Give Jack’s estate some money, Marvel. You can afford it.” That’s not pragmatic thinking. That’s cynicism. And I’m so tired of the cynicism.
Here we have a manchild deeply offended that he is forced to think about the moral implications of his favourite entertainment. He’s neither the first, nor the last fanboy to feel this way and his arguments, as shown up by the Mighty Mighty Godking are the same tired old excuses fanboys have always been dredging up: it’s all in the past, it’s the way the world works, Kirby wasn’t actually all that important, he signed a contract, etc. etc.
More so perhaps than any other art form commercial comics have always depended on screwing over the people actually creating the stories, with every attempt by these creators to gain a modicum of fair treatment quashed, either by the companies themselves or by fan indifference. Kurtz’s argument fits in neatly with this shameful tradition, another confirmation that for most fans it’s more important whether or a Captain America or Thor are done justice in a movie than whether their creators were.
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