The "Definitive" Jack Kirby...?

A new discussion thread poked it’s head out the sand on the Kirby-L internet discussion forum, and it has to do with the Jack Kirby book that came out a few years back entitled “Tales to Astonish” and written by the infamous Ronin Ro.

I’ll leave my comments on the Ro book until later in this thread, but the Kirby-L discussion has got me wondering if there will ever be a “definitive” Jack Kirby biography. I’m as anxious as the next Kirby fan to see Mark Evanier’s much anticipated Jack Kirby biography -- if and when it ever gets published, and speaking of which I’m not really sure how to classify the Kirby tribute book that Mark has coming out in February ’08. The Kirby bio and the tribute book are two different entities.

In the meantime though, it dawned on me that the closest thing we fans have to the “Jack Kirby Story” can be found within the pages of John Morrow’s always-entertaining Jack Kirby Collector. I consider the JKC to be an on-going look at the life and times of the King. Granted, a lot of times JKC has a bit of redundancy to it. It seems like no matter how many interviews Jack gave he rarely shed some light on anything “new” and Jack’s early years have been played out dozens of times in any number of articles. Still, I’m grateful for the JKC because the magazine has provided many of us with a sort of bedrock in the life of Jack Kirby. Which kind of allows me to segue into a bit of commentary for Ronin Ro’s Tales to Astonish.

There was very little that I recall in Tales to Astonish that was original. I mean -- I wouldn’t exactly call the effort a product of deep research. It seemed like Ro culled most of his information from other interviews and articles and even pulled some discussions from Kirby-l and then he mixed it all together and called it a “book.” Furthermore, I don’t recall TtA presenting Jack in an especially positive light, nor do I recall walking away feeling like I learned anything. There was a passage or two at the end that dealt with Jack’s untimely passing that was more than I expected but otherwise I was glad I read it in an afternoon --for free -- at the local library.

Which is what I recommend you do as well. Tales to Astonish can probably be picked up cheap on eBay or any number of other discount book sellers. (I just did a quick search on Amazon.com and found used copies for about $2.50 here).

It’s not for me to say what the exact merits are concerning Tales to Astonish. I just feel that if you really want to learn about Jack Kirby you can do so by turning the pages of the Jack Kirby Collector.

That is at least until Mark Evanier’s book comes out. I hope.

Devil Dinosaur -- 30 years later

I admit it -- I picked up the Devil Dinosaur Omnibus Edition recently (on eBay) more for nostalgic reasons than because of any particular artistic or literary merit due the series. Back in 1978 or '79 or whenever it was Jack produced it this mini-epic, I had no idea that Kirby pretty much had his foot out the door -- that he was at the tale-end of a three-year contract with Marvel Comics and Devil Dinosaur represented part of his 15-pages-of-comic-art-a-week obligations to the company.

At any rate I thought the series was fun. But I was probably a little too old to appreciate it at the time. But here it is 30 years later and now I'm a father with a daughter who not only likes to read but who also loves dinosaurs. What better excuse than that do I need to pick up this nicely-produced edition that packs all nine of 'ol DD's adventures in one easy-to-read volume.

There's only one flaw in my humble opinion. I don't understand the introduction written by Marvel big guy Tom Brevoort. Now Tom is a nice guy. I never had the pleasure of meeting him but he always provided great commentary when he participate in the KIRBY-L online forum a while back and he has been in instrumental in his efforts to get Kirby's mid-1970's material reproduced. But his tone in the Devil Dinosaur volume is almost apologetic.

I can think of a lot of great things to write when it comes to Jack Kirby and I can certainly come up with enough superlatives to fill a page-and-a-half intro to this Omnibus edition. So why does Tom spend his time basically telling us that Jack's mid-70's titles all failed, that the inking and writing weren't what the fans were asking for or that Devil Dinasaur was the impetus or a proposed animation series for Saturday morning. Why not focus on the positive? Like how Jack could find a unique angle for any genre, how his imaginaiton in Devil Dinasaur is unbridled or that the series is just plain old fun.

Apparently the folks at Marvel decided to sell the book shrink-wrapped so they wouldn't risk anyone opening it up and not enjoying the contents.

Well let me tell you -- Devil Dinosaur holds up a lot better now than a whole bunch of whatever "dark" comics that were being published at the time. And if you have the cash and especially if you have young kids than I say Devil Dinosaur is a worth the money.

I just ask you to ignore the silly introduction written by Tom Brevoort.

Quote/Unquote...!

The first time I noticed Jack using quotation marks to make a point I thought to myself -- “What the heck is THIS?” Oddly enough, my dottering father does the same thing whenever he writes a letter but the similarity ends there. I think. All I know is that (what I call) those “crazy Kirby quotation marks” were being put to (over) use by the time Pacific Comics started publishing Captain Victory and Silver Star. And if my memory serves me, they were STILL being used when Jack went back to DC to do the Hunger Dogs graphic novel and the Super Powers maxi-series.

So why did Jack use “quotation marks” to put emphasis on “specific words and phrases” when plain old bold face type would have worked just fine? I’m not exactly sure. I am confident about one thing: Jack the “editor” wasn’t about to interfere with anything that Jack the “writer” put down on the printed page. And that rule-of-thumb also applied to whoever lettered Jack’s books (we certainly know it was true when it came to inking – just ask Mike Royer).

We’ll never know if the use of “crazy Kirby quotation marks” ever existed when Jack was at Marvel in the 1960’s because Jack never “wrote”. Let me clarify -- Kirby never wrote in the sense of turning in scripts and certainly wasn’t writing word balloons on the art boards. If Jack was “quote-happy” when he returned to Marvel in the mid’70’s we never saw them because even if they were present, because Archie Goodwin or whoever else was managing editor t the time no doubt politely whited those silly “quotes” out or erased them altogether.

Looking back now after all these years, I accept those “quotation marks” as part of Jack Kirby’s unique, inimitable writing shorthand. Much the same way as Jack’s use of certain words. Ever notice that to Jack it always a “blowup” and never an “explosion?” Look back on some of Kirby’s more diversified works from 1975 on – and I swear you’ll never find the word “explosion”. Just a little pet peeve on my part -- but in the sense of words “sounding good” and reading “better” a powerful explosion just sounds easier on the ear and a bit more literary than “powerful blowup.”

Which brings me back to Jack Kirby’s use of quotation marks. Maybe Jack felt that by using quotes on certain words and phrases they stood out more than by using bold face type. Kind of like Mike Meyers/Austin Powers using his fingers to put everything into quotes.

Silly? Absolutely. Annoying? You bet! But Kirby comics wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable without those crazy Kirby quotation marks.

And you can quote me on that!

Another One Bites the Dust: Death of the New Gods

I caught wind of this late last month and I have to say I’m shocked and depressed over “Death of the New Gods.” I guess if I had to choose, I’d say I was more depressed, because it seems like after all these years the good folks at DC feel the only way to make any headway into the development of a character (or characters in this case) is to kill them off.

Now I know that maybe by killing off all (but one) of the New Gods, Jim Starlin is alluding that the characters in the Fourth World can be re-introduced or re-tooled or re-whatever’ed and then re-presented into a new series. But I’m just not sure that killing off the New Gods is the way to do it. I’ve never been a big fan of killing off any existing comic book character.

I certainly didn’t know Jack Kirby -- that’s not counting me meeting him at the 1975 MiamiCon (see my post below) – but from what I’ve learned and read from others like Mark Evanier, Jack Kirby was all about LIFE and not DEATH. So I have to wonder how Jack would have reacted to all this killing – especially the killing of a group of characters that continue to make money for DC and especially ones that were so near and dear to his heart.

Granted none of the re-launched series of the New Gods have lasted more than a couple of years each. Some even less than that. You’d have thought that maybe John Byrne could have done something special when he had the chance. Never happened. Mark Evanier had a fun go at it a few years back in a dis-jointed kind of way. I’ve always felt that maybe it’s the way in which the New Gods were presented. Beats the heck outta me what the secret is. I really enjoyed Walt Simonson’s take on the New Gods and THAT didn’t last either!

Anyway, Jim Starlin seems to think it’s time to do away with the Fourth World and he’s just the guy to do it. I’m not entirely convinced. I’ve always run hot and cold on Starlin’s art: loved him on Shang Chi way back in the day. Enjoyed his run on Warlock and especially Pip the Troll (which I recall was a homage to Jack Kirby -- cigar and all). I thought Cosmic Odyssey was o-k, but Starlin only wrote it and didn’t illustrate it (that was early Mike Mignola if I’m not mistaken). Not to mention that over time Starlin’s characters seem to gain weight. Kind of the same way Jack Kirby’s characters got bulkier over the years. Startlin’s version of Orion is the beefiest I’ve ever seen. And I don’t necessarily mean that as a compliment.

You can read an interesting interview with Jim Starlin regarding Death of the New Gods by clicking here.

Anyway -- so over the course of this 8-issue mini-series all the New Gods will bite the dust. Silly me -- I didn’t even realize LightRay got whacked in another series. And now Big Barda. And that’s just the beginning! Issue #5 is already being pre-ordered and I’m sure by issue #8 there will be more carnage and mayhem going on than even Orion can handle. That is if he’s still around by then.

My only solace: if they can kill Superman and bring him back I’m sure the New Gods can work their way back into the DC Universe. Hopefully it’s just a matter of a time.

A few words about the Jack Kirby Collector

Not that John Morrow needs the publicity -- but any chance I get, I try to say a good word about John’s fantastic publication the Jack Kirby Collector. The Jack Kirby Collector is on the brink of its 50th issue and will shortly earmark 10 years of publication! No small feat in today’s crowded comic book and magazine marketplace. The aim of the Jack Kirby Collector has always been to "celebrate the life and art of Jack Kirby." And if you don’t know who Jack Kirby is yet, then you can start by reading a few of the posts on this page.

The JKC started innocently enough. Back in 1996 or 1997 and I kind of stumbled upon it by chance. John may have just published or was just about to publish his first issue of JKC -- a thin little fanzine that had a few scans of art and maybe an article or two or three. But it was about Jack Kirby darn it and that made it an instant "buy" in my book! In fact, if I remember correctly, I subscribed right then and there and was all the happier because of it.

Now you have to understand that 10 years ago, TwoMorrows Publishing was publishing just one thing: the Jack Kirby Collector. Who’d have figured that from that humble beginning John Morrow would create a virtual publishing empire – one that made comics fun again! Or at the very least it made reading “about” comics fun again!

In short order, the Jack Kirby Collector increased its page count, started showcasing color covers and was previewing page after page of raw, unlinked Jack Kirby artwork. The fan base for the JKC increased as well, as subsequent issues soon became theme-based and full of articles and commentary that made the Jack Kirby Collector the closest thing to a literary review of the art and life of Jack Kirby that we’ll probably ever see.

Of course of you already read the Jack Kirby Collector than you know everything I’m saying is true. And if you haven’t read the JKC yet, then you owe it to yourself to throw down a few bucks and treat yourself to a true visual experience.

It’s hard to pick out favorite issues of the Jack Kirby Collector, but as long as you’re twisting my arm I’ll admit to getting all giddy over the first New Gods issue (#6), The Demon issue #23 ) and the one devoted to Kamandi (#17). An issue that showcased Jack’s work in animation after he left Marvel the second time is another fave.

With issue 31, the JKC went King-Size: publishing the mag at nearly the same size as Jack’s original artwork and as if that weren’t enough, now Tomorrows Publishing puts out a digital edition which makes it even easier to get your hands on the JKC.

At the same time -- call it coincidence or fate or good timing -- but over the years that the Jack Kirby Collector has been published, the public’s awareness of Jack Kirby has increased. More and more of Jack’s work is being reprinted than ever before, and a lot of folks are finally connecting the dots and realizing that Marvel Comics is a lot more than Stan Lee.

Like I said, John Morrow sure doesn’t need the publicity. He let’s the quality of his work speak for him. But in the event there’s someone out there who still isn’t convinced that Jack Kirby is the real architect of the Marvel Universe – then click here and strap yourself in for one wild ride!

A mere tip of the hat somehow just doesn’t seem a sufficient accolade to John Morrow and ten great years of publishing the Jack Kirby Collector! He deserves more -- much more. Guess I'll have to renew my subscription yet again!

I can hardly wait for the next 50 issues to hit the stands!

Re-Cap: Death is the Black Star!

Whenever I look at a Jack Kirby comic I try to imagine just how enthusiastic Jack was about the book he was drawing when he was actually drawing it. Anybody even remotely familiar with Jack’s work knows he was such a consummate professional that it was darn near impossible for him to not give each book his all. There are some books that I like more than others but I’m reasonably sure he tried to tackle each assignment he was given with the energy. Still there are some efforts that just more energized than others.

Take for example Captain America King Size Annual #3 (1976) – aptly titled “Doom is the Black Star!” This came out early in Jack’s run on his return to Captain America. I want to say in fact that it hit the stands shortly after the “Madbomb” story arc wrapped up. I’ve read this particular annual a number of times and considering it featured no other established Marvel characters other than Captain America, that didn’t stop it from being a great self-contained rip-roaring yarn that pits Cap against an evil alien from space.

But one of the things I enjoyed most about Doom is the Black Star is that it exists within Jack’s own little world. Forget the Marvel Universe! Jack’s is a world that wastes no time with rhyme or reason. For instance Cap just happens to be a guest on a local talk-show about UFO’s and that gets him introduced to a guy who jus happens to have aliens skunking about his farm. This is all played out in a few word balloons and after that it’s typical action, action, action sown in Jack’s own imitable style.

Favorite pages for me include 26 -- where Cap turns laser gun back on an alien and blows its head off. And of course a spine tingling splash on page 36 that shows the alien villain morphing into someone’s worse nightmare.

It’s a hokey story but a fun one and I can almost hear Jack giggling to himself as he drew the thing.
And true to form, Jack wraps up the story in a few panels -- a sudden explosion on page 46 and *POOF* it’s over. The US government denies everything and we’re left pondering earth’s fate.

Doom is the Black Hole had great art, workman-like inking courtesy of Frank Giacoia and nice lettering thanks to Gasper Salidino.

Like I said, this was done early in Jack’s run on Captain America -- probably before Jack started o get pelted with hate letters demanding that Captain America be placed firmly in the Marvel Universe. Certainly this annual is better than the one that followed 12 months later entitled “The Great Mutant Massacre” I’m thinking Jack saw the writing on the wall and was fast approaching his mutual agreement to be removed from writer/artist chores on Captain America.

But for a while there – the pages of CA was a fun place to be. And that first Captain America annual provided a terrific read.

So Many Comics So Little Time

If only Jack Kirby had produced a lot less great comics, my life would be a lot less complicated! “Complicated” in the sense that because Jack was so prolific there’s so much of his work for me to still discover. It’s not a matter of collecting. I don’t really consider myself a comic book collector as much as I do a comic book “appreciator” -- and especially of Jack Kirby’s work. Like I mentioned a few posts a go, everyone has specific periods of time in which they enjoyed Kirby the most. For awhile there I was hooked on Jack’s DC comics (do I need to mention more than once that Kamandi is a great example of what comics is all about?) but that was only until Jack went back to Marvel in 1975 and I got all jazzed up about Jack’s return to Captain America and his take on Black Panther. And then that was surpassed by Captain Victory and Silver Star.

Now, thanks to the great job John Morrow does with The Jack Kirby Collector, I’m all excited about Kirby’s monster books-- forever reprinted by Marvel back in the early 1970’s but never appreciated by me until recently. And don’t even get me started on his romance books! For anyone who ever questioned Jack’s ability to write a good yarn, they have only to look at any number of the dozens of stories Kirby told within the pages of True Love and My Romance. Say what you will about Joe Simon being the “writer” and Jack Kirby just being the “artist”. There was a whole lot of cross-pollination going on and I think it’s pretty evident that Jack wrote more than his share of stories.

I guess I take Jack’s work at Marvel in the 1960’s for granted. He produced so much for so long that it’s really impossible for me to digest it all! It’s almost numbing: The Fantastic Four, Thor, The X-Men, the Hulk. You know as well as I do that the list goes on and on.

It’s a classic case of too many comics and too little time! But that’s o-k. I’m not going anywhere. And if I have to have a vice – it might as well be one as enjoyable as discovering the work of Jack Kirby…one comic book at a time!

Remembering MiamiCon '75

I feel honored to be able to say that I actually met Jack Kirby. I even spoke to him, but to be honest, I as so in awe of the individual I was standing near I found myself at definite loss for words.

The occasion was at the Miami Con, held December 18-21, 1975, and presented at the old Diplomat Hotel. I don’t know how many comic book conventions there were back in the early to mid 1970’s, but as far as I know the Miami Con was the first big one in South Florida. Come to think of it, I don’t know if there was ever a Miami Con II or III. But this one lasted 3 days and included two HUGE guests of honor: Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.

I couldn’t have been much more than 13 or 14 years old at the time and this was a very big deal to me. Jack Kirby had recently returned to Marvel -- I don’t recall if any of Jack’s new books had hit the stands yet -- and here he was in person! Jack was scheduled to sit in on a “question and answer” panel and then would be out roaming the seller’s area.

I tagged along with two of my older brothers and the minute I walked through the double doors of the Diplomat Hotel, I could tell I as in the midst of something big: dozens and dozens of sellers set up in the hotel’s ballroom, with table after table of comic books both new and old. We were running late and got there just in time. The special guests would be meeting and greeting fans in a special side room.

As I crowded in I could see Jack Kirby bracketed between Neal Adams and another bearded gentlemen I assumed was Stan Lee along with about 6 or 7 other guests -- the names of which escape me. We were running later than I imagined because after several minutes, one of the organizers (I think) announced “…That concludes the question and answer session. Now if you’ll kindly get in a single-file line, you can come up to the table and shake hands with out distinguished guests!” My big chance -- I thought!

One of my brothers was in front of me in line and mumbled something about wanting to tell Stan Lee what a jerk he was for letting Kirby go to DC a few years earlier. I wanted to ask Stan if Kirby would be doing a monthly Silver Surfer comic. Only problem was -- the bearded gentlemen sitting next to Jack wasn’t Stan Lee, it was the James Doohan -- the actor who portrayed “Scotty” on Star Trek!

My brother got right up in Stan/Walter’s face: “…You should have never let Jack go!” stammered by older brother. James/Walter looked back at him. “…I don’t know what the heck you’re talking about!” Then I chimed in, “…And will Jack be penciling the Silver Surfer?” James/Walter responded, “…Why don’t you ask Jack, he’s sitting right next to me!” Everybody broke into laughter. …“But I want to hear it from you -- you’re Stan Lee!” replied my brother.

At that point Neal Adams interrupted. “…You guys are both wrong! Stan Lee won’t be here until Sunday afternoon. This is James Doohan! It took me a second or two to connect the dots and realize that we’d made slight fools of ourselves.

My brother and I both kind of wilted in embarrassment and continued through the line. Jack sat there chuckling and shook our hands and I smiled and opened my mouth and some phrase resembling, “I really enjoyed Kamandi” trickled from my lips.

From there we hit the seller’s room and I picked up a cheap copy of New Gods #1. This whole “convention thing” was overwhelming me. I peeled away from my brother and got lost in the moment. After what seemed like a couple of hours I needed a break. As I headed towards an anonymous corner of the ballroom to rest, it was if the crowds parted and a light beamed down from the ceiling. There he was -- the man himself. There was Jack Kirby on the seller’s floor just hanging around speaking with the occasional fan -- and just a few feet from me!

It took me awhile to recognize him -- Jack seemed bigger then when I saw him seated at the guest table just a few hours earlier. I gathered up enough nerve to go up to him. Jack must have seen me because he gave me a smile and said “How’s it going?” Whatever it was I thought I might want to say to Jack Kirby disappeared from my mind. I shyly stuck my just-purchased copy of New Gods #1 in front of him. “Can you sign this please?” Jack was all too accommodating. Then I asked his advice on what he thought I an aspiring comic book artist should stick in his portfolio. Jack didn’t miss a beat. “…When I started, I made sure I included subjects that were popular at the time. Castles and knights in shining armor. That sort of thing.”

Just when I was ready to ask Jack another question -- I heard a shrill female voice shout out from behind me “…Kirby, let’s go!” I imagine it was Jack’s wife, Ros. And then in an instant, two men approached Jack and they led him away and left me standing there.

So much for my meeting with Jack Kirby. Short and sweet but I had actually talked with the King!

I don’t know if Jack ever returned to Miami and I’m not sure if the Miami Con ever returned either. Before I knew it a flood of new Kirby books was hitting the stands and life was good.

Kirby-l: Ten Years Young (more or less) …and Counting

One of these days I’m actually going to finish a pet project of mine -- that being a Kirby-l internet forum “anniversary” recollection. Trust me -- it’s a lot easier said then done. Until then, I offer up a bit of nostalgia about Kirby-l and salute everyone who has ever taken the time to post a question and add to the never ending discussion about why Jack Kirby was the greatest comic book creator the industry ever knew.

So let’s take a trip back…

It was 1995 or there about, but it seems like yesterday: I was on my computer, killing a few minutes while on a short break from work and enjoying a moment or two surfing the World Wide Web.

Just for kicks I’d decided to type in “comic book artists” on the Yahoo search engine to see what would come up. To my surprise a whole list of talented folks revealed themselves before my very eyes. But the name that shined the most brightly just happened to be Jack Kirby! I was in heaven! Not one, not two, but four websites dedicated to Jack! Hey, life doesn’t get any better than this!

Now you have to understand, back then -- in my mind anyway -- there wasn’t a whole lot of difference between the concept of the “internet” and the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey! To me, they were practically one and the same! It’s only been 10 years or so, but this whole internet thing was new to me. How the heck all this information was available at the touch of a finger was almost more than I could handle. So when I noticed Jack Kirby on the ‘net, who was I to ask questions?

If my memory serves me well, one Kirby site I found was a biography of sorts and linked to Hogan’s Alley, another was for the newly-started Jack Kirby Collector, a third was for a British Kirby fanzine – the name of which escapes me at the moment -- and the last internet Kirby listing was for a discussion forum for what is now affectionately known as Kirby-l..! I gotta say it again: when I discovered this I felt like I’d just won the lottery. In short order, I’d subscribed to the Jack Kirby Collector and joined the Kirby-l forum. And that ladies and gentlemen is when the fun started!
Kirby-L was and still is a great meeting place for Kirby fans.

The original driving force for the original version of Kirby-l was a gentleman by the name of Matt Gore. At some point he let go of the reigns and another individual named Chrissie Harper took over. Seeing as how my memory is at least as bad as Stan Lee’s it wouldn’t surprise me if I got the order wrong. But no matter. With Kirby-l it was as if Jack’s concept of the Uni-Mind was realized at long last. On Kirby-L I’d found a place where anyone could pose a question about Jack and talk about it at length with other like-minded individuals. And it wasn’t just the average Joe who participated in this daily sparring. Such Kirby luminaries as Mark Evanier, Mark Sherman, Greg Theakston and others including Bob Heer, Doug Rockstead, Bob Rivard, Mark Mayerson, George Kesidis, Richard Bensam, Olivier Toublan, Ron Evry, Charles Hatfield, Barney Dannelke, Chris Bailey, Ray Owens, Kirk Groeneveld, Gene Kannenberg, John Morrow, Colin Stuart, Mike Rhode, Steve Jones, Mike Manley, Harold May, Rodrigo Baeza, Cord Wiljes, Lou Smith, Glen Gold, Mark Justice, Jon B. Cooke, Keith Lee, Steve Taylor, Steve Chaput, Carlos Benvenutti, J. Kevin Carrier and a whole lot more folks whose names I’ve long since forgot often joined in and added their thoughts and recollections to all things Kirby.

Kirby-L quickly became one of my favorite vices. Back then it was great listening to Mark Evanier wax philosophic about his years spent working as Jack’s assistant. We postulated who may have been the inker on the first issue of Fantastic Fourwhy Vince Colletta was Jack’s worst inker, in addition to great tidbits about the Fourth World Trilogy. Not to mention seeing scans of Jack Kirby artwork that fellow fans shared on line.

It all seems a bit ant-climactic recalling this in 2007. But back in 1995 everything about Kirby-l smacked of a certain “newness”. Funny enough, although the original core group of Kirby-l contributors has either moved on, lost interest or passed away, the same kinds of questions are still being debated today.

These days the Kirby-l forum is moderated by Randy Hoppe and is sponsored by the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center. I have no doubt that 10 years from now, it’ll still be going strong. Just like the legacy of Jack Kirby!

We hear so often that Jack Kirby was such a consistent 3-to-5 page-a-day comic book artist that I think the full impact of such a produce-or-starve work ethic starts to lose its luster after awhile. Sometimes I try to picture myself illustrating three pages of artwork a day and in my mind’s eye it doesn’t seem that difficult. But then I sit down to actually try to do it and I find the results are far, far different.

There have been times when -- after reading a stack of The Eternals for example – that I’m so pumped up and motivated that I’ll grab a few sheets of paper and a pencil and sit down at the ‘ol drawing board with the full intent of illustrating non-stop for one Herculean 10-hour stretch. If I’m lucky, I may get a cover penciled. Maybe a pin-up. If I’m real lucky I may get a few pages of simple layouts sketched out. But then reality hits me in the head and I have to mow the lawn or take my daughter somewhere or repair a leaky Fawcett. I’m pretty positive that even if I was just drawing 20 pages of stickmen I still wouldn’t get very far.

Which brings me back to Jack Kirby. The man was a virtual production line when it comes to making great comic books. And I urge anyone to attempt at even faking what Jack did -- regardless of your level of talent. While I write this I’m glancing over at my light table and seeing the same handful of drawings staring back at me. They’ve been sitting there in various stages of completion for about two weeks now and I’m not really sweating it. I wonder if Jack ever wished he had that type of flexibility in his schedule -- to choose not to pencil anything if he so desired. Apart from the fact that he probably couldn’t, I wonder some times if he would have blown off a day at his drawing table even if he had the chance. I’m more convinced than ever that Jack had to draw. Much in the same way that gamblers have to play cards or smokers need another cigarette. All of us fans are the ones who benefited the most from this “vice” of Jacks. But maybe if Kirby was making a lot more money and had some kind of ownership in his creations he would have been a little easier on himself.

Before I wrap I want to point out some way-cool news that I just stumbled across: A Newsarama article states that Eric Larsen is going to be penciling a new Silver Star on-going series. Silver Star -- as you may or may not know – was one of Jack’s last major undertakings before he more or less retired from penciling. Here’s an excerpt from Eric Larsen:

“…It will be two books to begin with. Silver Star covers Earth - Captain Victory covers all space and both will be packed with awesome Kirby characters and concepts many of which have only appeared as sketches. The idea is to introduce these characters one after another the same way that characters were introduced in other Kirby books over the years. What I'd like to do is feature Jack's original drawings and whatever notes he might have had in the back of the books to give readers insight into what Jack drew and what we had to work with. In the Silver Star book, for example, there are a few drawings that feature characters that didn't make it into the book. In Jack's original Silver Star pitch there was a whole gang of guys that wound up on the cutting room floor and Jack redesigned his "Angel of Death" character so much that he doesn't look like the same guy. That original design was cool as all hell and I want to put that design to good use. Jack has numerous cosmic characters that would fit right in to Captain Victory and Earthbound characters would be right at home in Silver Star and we can mix and match as well, having cosmic characters appearing in Silver Star and non-cosmic characters popping into Captain Victory…”

You can read the entire interview/article by clicking here!.

Eric Larsen is one artist who is keeping the Kirby flame alive with his unbridled enthusiasm for the medium.

I think Mark Evanier was once quoted as saying that a person’s favorite Jack Kirby comics are the ones they grew up reading. Meaning that for many of us who grew up in the 1960’s the Fantastic Four, Thor and Captain America represent the watermarks of Jack Kirby’s career. For others who grew up a few years later it was Jack’s work on the Kamandi and The Demon. For others still, the yardstick for measuring Jack Kirby’s creativity is with the books he produced during his second stint at Marvel -- books like Devil Dinosaur, The Black Panther and The Eternals to just name a few. The important thread here -- and actually there are many -- is that Jack Kirby produced a heck of a lot of comic books and comics characters during his illustrious career. And because of that -- in my humble opinion anyway -- you can’t just pigeon-hole one specific time period showcasing “the best work” Jack Kirby ever did.What I find even more interesting is that for lots of fans -- me included -- we may have grown up reading Jack’s work in one decade, but actually prefer his work from another.

For example, I grew up in the mid-to-late 60’s with 3 brothers, and the four of us were completely immersed with Jack’s run on the FF, Thor and any thing else he happened to produce. By the time I finally got my hands on one of Jack’s books there usually wasn’t much left to it. It had literally been devoured during the shared reading of my siblings. But the period I really enjoyed -- call me silly -- is the body of work Jack produced during his second tenure at Marvel (1975 - 1978). I thoroughly enjoyed The Eternals and Captain America and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Maybe I was a little older and not quite so in need of substance per se, so I just took Jack’s writing in stride. I tuned in to the elements I liked and tuned out the stuff that annoyed me (like Jack’s constant use of quotation marks) and just had a great time.

But the joyride didn’t stop there -- a few years later I chanced upon Captain Victory and felt like I was enjoying a sci-fi adventure from the 1940’s. The only thing missing was the popcorn.I’d like to think that for most of us fans it’s the same. We all grew up reading specific Jack Kirby books but deep down in our heart-of-hearts we enjoy other Kirby titles. When you want to impress your friends you mention the literary merits of The New Gods. But when no one is watching you’re a sucker for adventures of Machine Man or Devil Dinosaur.Jack’s books have never gone out of style. Whether it’s the Boy Explorers from the 1940’s or Jack’s Romance titles from the 1950’s, there is something for everyone. Great artwork and great writing from on of America’s least known (outside of comics anyway) but most talented artist-writer-editors.

As long as I’m basking in the glow of so much of Jack Kirby’s work, allow me to provide a free plug for Greg Theakston’s fantastic series of books entitled “The Complete Jack Kirby” from Pure Imagination Publishing. Greg has been systematically publishing Jack’s work beginning with his early strip work and I believe he is up to volume 5 by now. The Complete Jack Kirby is a great way to get to know the art of Jack Kirby and like I mentioned earlier, after reading a volume or two of this great series you’ll understand why I said that you can’t possibly pigeon-hole Jack’s work to one specific decade or genre.

Jack of all Trades

You know -- I've been meaning to start this Jack Kirby blog for quite a while but I never could find the time. Hopefully that has changed. At any rate, before another day/month/year goes by, I figured I needed to get some words down on paper regarding one of the -- if not the most creative, talented and dynamic comic book creator the industry has ever known -- Jack Kirby. And if you don't know who Jack Kirby is then shame on you.

So just who is Jack Kirby? For starters he's not "just" anyone. He was/is a real "jack of all trades" (hence te name of this blog). A comic book writer, artist, editor and creator whose career spanned about 50 years and encompassed pretty much the birth of the comic book medum itself! Not only that, Jack Kirby was the creator or co-creator of some of the most popular and widely read comic book characters the world has ever known -- namely the lion's share of characters that make up what is better known as the Marvel Universe. Plus a whole bunch of other creations for DC Comics and a host of other publishers.

Don't believe me? If you've ever thrilled to any of the Hollywood blockbusters that deal with the X-Men, The Hulk, the Fantastic Four or any of a dozen other Marvel comic book properties that have hit the screen in the last few yars, then you have enjoyed some of the characters created by Jack Kirby. Or if you you've ever enjoyed the four-color adventures of these same characters within the pages of a comic bok than chances are you read a story that was either written, illustrated or both by Jack Kirby.

I'm not sure if I can add anything new to the Kirby mythology that hasn't already been said or hasn't already been written, but at the very least I can offer a fan's point of view on JK and also turn you on to some other cool links that will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about my favorite comic book creator.

For starters you can check out The Jack Kirby Collector at http://www.twomorrows.com/. Publisher John Morrow has been producing the JKC -- a real labor of love -- for about the last 10 years or so and this king-sized magazine offers insights and artwork on Jack Kirby. Also at the top of the list is Mark Evanier's suberb site http://www.newsfromme.com/ which has a seperate link for Jack Kirby. Mark had the enviable position of actually working as Kirby's assistant back in the early 1970's and is currently finishing up a long-awaited biography on the artist many in the industry still refer to as "the king." And certainly I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the The Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center -- run by the Jack Kirby Estate and which exists as a way cool venue to keep Jack's name in circulation and educate people on Kirb's many contributions to Marvel Comics and the comics industry in general. And before I forgot, you may want to join in the fun on the Kirby-L chat forum, where more often than not a whole bunch of like-minded (at least I think they're like-minded) Jack Kirby fans post questions and generally argue about who is the best and worst inker to ever embellish a Jack Kirby page of art or which story was the best that Jack ever wrote, etc. There's a great bunch of folks on Kirby-L and there's always room for more.

Heck, if all you do is take a few minutes to check out the above links then you'll be off and running.In the meantime join me when you can as I wax poetic about Jack Kirby and the exciting four-color worlds he was able to create with the use of a simple pencil and a blank sheet of paper!