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!