100 100 Top Top Creators Creators Celebrate Jack Jack Kirby’s Kirby’s Celebrate Greatest Work Work Greatest
100 Top Creators Celebrate Jack Kirby’s Greatest Work
Edited by Jon B. Cooke & John Morrow • Designed by Jon B. Cooke Conceived & Coordinated by John Morrow & Jon B. Cooke Frontispiece Jack Kirby Portrait Painting: ALEX ROSS • Introduction Jack Kirby Portrait Illustration: DREW FRIEDMAN Afterword Jack Kirby Portrait Photography: GREG PRESTON • Proofreaders: ROB SMENTEK and ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON Colorist: TOM ZIUKO • Transcriber: ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON • Cover Artist: JACK KIRBY • Cover Colorist: TOM ZIUKO
Dedication
To the eternal memory of the King of Comics, JACK KIRBY and to the lovely Rozs in our respective lives — BETH COOKE and PAMELA MORROW — who put up with our nutty Kirby obssession as we slave away at all hours of the morning in our own “dungeons” over the last twenty-plus years! — The Editors
Grateful Appreciation and Thanks
To all the Contributors, as well as Harry Mendryk, Tom Kraft, Rand Hoppe, What If Kirby? [whatifkirby.com], The Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center [kirbymuseum.org], Heritage Auctions [ha.com], Cory Sedlmeier, Marvel Entertainment, Andrew D. Cooke, Cliff Galbraith/East Coast ComiCon, Paul Levitz, John Ferrante, Wayne Alan Harold, Richard Pini, Mark Sinnott, and especially Drew Friedman, Greg Preston, Bill Sienkiewicz, & Alex Ross!
Trademarks, Copyrights, and Acknowledgments Kirby100 editorial package © 2017 TwoMorrows Publishing & Jon B. Cooke • All testimonials © 2017 the respective contributors • Kirby Timeline © 2017 John Morrow & Jon B. Cooke Frontispiece © 2017 Alex Ross • Introduction illo © 2017 Drew Friedman • Introduction © 2017 John Morrow • Afterword © 2017 Jon B. Cooke • Afterword photo ©2017 Greg Preston Cover art, opening spread illustrations, back cover illos, background imagery, various, design elements, “Jack Kirby” signature, Deities bonus section illustrations, Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers, Silver Star, “Street Code,” and all related characters and artwork TM & © the Estate of Jack Kirby The Adventures of The Fly, The Double Life of Pvt. Strong © Joseph H. Simon Estate • The Shield TM & © Archie Comic Publications, Inc. Atlas, Batgirl, Batman, Beautiful Dreamer, Big Barda, Big Bear, Blue Beetle, Bug!, Captain Storm, Challengers of the Unknown, Darkseid, The Demon, Desaad, The Dingbats of Danger Street, Firestorm, Flower, Forager, The Forever People, The Guardian, In the Days of the Mob, Jimmy Olsen, Kamandi the Last Boy on Earth, Lightray, Lois Lane, The Losers, Mark Moonrider, Manhunter, Martian Manhunter, Metron, Mister Miracle, The Monkey King, Mr. Freeze, Nightwing, OMAC, Orion, Our Fighting Forces, Pisces, Robin, The Sandman, Serafin, Showcase, Spirit World, Superman, Super Powers, Super Soldier: Man of War, Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, Warden Frye, Weird Mystery Tales, Witchboy, Young Gods of Supertown, Young Scott Free, and all related characters are TM & © DC Comics. Amazing Fantasy, Alicia Masters, Amazing Spider-Man, Angel, Ant-Man, Atlas Monsters, The Avengers, Balder the Brave, Batroc, The Beast, Beta Ray Bill, Betty Ross, Black Bolt, The Black Panther, Bucky Barnes, Bulk, Captain America, Charlie America, Crystal, Cyclops, Devil Dinosaur, Doctor Doom, The Eternals, The Falcon, Fandral, Fantastic Four, Fear, Fin Fang Foom, Fury Force, Galactus, Giant Man, Gorgon, Gruto, Guardians of the Galaxy, Hawkeye, Hela, Hercules, Hogun, Howling Commandos, Hulk, Incredible Hulk, The Human Torch, Iceman, The Inhumans, The Invisible Girl, Iron Man, Karnak, Ka-Zar, The Kree, Lockjaw, Loki, Machine Man, Magneto, Major Victory, Marvel Girl, Medusa, Moomba, MoonBoy, Mr. Fantastic, Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Not Brand Echh, Professor Xavier, Quicksilver, The Rawhide Kid, The Red Skull, Rick Barnes, Ronan the Accuser, Scarlet Witch, Sgt. Fury, Sif, The Silver Surfer, The Skrulls, Sore, Strange Tales, Sub-Mariner, Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish, Thanos, The Thing, Thor, Triton, Two-Headed Thing, Tyrannus, Vance Astro, Volstagg, The Vision, The Wasp, The Watcher, What If?, Wonder Man,The Wrecker, X the Thing That Lived, The X-Men, Zabu, and all related characters are TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Boys’ Ranch, Captain 3-D, Fighting American, Foxhole, Stuntman, and all related characters TM & © the Estates of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. Doofus TM & © Rick Altergott. Flaming Carrot, Young Funnybook Lust TM & © Bob Burden. Savage Dragon TM & © Erik Larsen. Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre TM & © Batton Lash. Jacklactus TM & © Joseph Michael Linsner. The Fabulous Four TM & © Brendan McCarthy. Destroy!!, Understanding Comics, Zot! © Scott McCloud. Echo TM & © Terry Moore. Mister X TM & © Dean Motter. Elfquest TM & © Wendy & Richard Pini. Alien Legion TM & © Carl Potts. The Mad Mummy TM & © Mike Vosburg. Too Much Coffee Man TM & © Shannon Wheeler. Frank TM & © Jim Woodring. Big Blown Baby TM & © William Wray. Justice, Inc. TM & © Condé Nast. Darth Vader TM & © Lucasfilm, LLC. Conan the Barbarian TM & © Conan Properties, Inc. Alarming Tales, Race for the Moon © Harvey Entertainment. The Jack Kirby Quarterly © Chrissie Harper. Garbage Pail Kids, Mars Attacks! TM & © Topps Chewing Gum Company. Thundarr the Barbarian TM & © Ruby-Spears. The Incredibles TM & © The Disney Company. Rip Kirby, Prince Valiant TM & © King Features Syndicate. My Little Pony TM & © Hasbro Inc. Radioactive Man TM & © Bongo Entertainment. Barnacle Boy, Mermaid Man, Ren and Stimpy, SpongeBob Squarepants, and all related characters TM & © Viacom International, Inc. The Prisoner TM & © ITC Entertainment Holdings, Inc.
TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina 27614 www.twomorrows.com • email: twomorrow@aol.com First Printing • June 2017 • Printed in China Hardcover ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-079-3 • Softcover ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-078-6
T A B L E Introduction by John Morrow..... 6 THE GOLDEN AGE 1. Paris Cullins: Blue Beetle....... 8 2. Allen Bellman: Captain America Comics #5..... 10 3. Mike Vosburg: Stuntman #2............................. 12 THE 1950s 4. John Workman: Boys’ Ranch #3......................... 14 5. Bill Black: Captain 3-D #1..... 16 6. Trevor Von Eeden: Fighting American #1............... 18 7. Bob Burden: Fighting American.................... 20 8. Ed Piskor: Foxhole #5............. 22 9. Joe Staton: Showcase #6...... 25 10. Michael T. Gilbert: The Fly #1............................... 26 11. Rich Buckler, Sr.: Blue Ribbon Comics #5.......... 28 12. Garry Leach: Race for the Moon #2............ 30 13. Dave Gibbons: Alarming Tales #3.................. 32 THE ATLAS MONSTERS 14. Craig Yoe: Strange Tales #89.................. 34 15. Peter Poplaski: Strange Tales #95.................. 36 16. Dave Sim: Boys’ Ranch........ 39 17. Graham Nolan: Fear #2....... 40 18. John Holmstrom: Strange Tales #100................ 41 19. David Lloyd: Amazing Adventures #6......... 42 THE MARVEL AGE OF COMICS 20. Alan Weiss: The Rawhide Kid #28............. 44 21. Al Gordon: Amazing Fantasy #15............. 46 22. Sal Buscema: Fantastic Four Annual #1....... 48 23. Carl Potts: Sgt. Fury #1........ 52 24. Rick Hoberg: Strange Tales #114................ 54 25. Rick Veitch: Fantastic Four #20.................. 56 26. Tom Mandrake: The Avengers #4.................... 58
O F
27. Kyle Baker: Captain America.................... 60 28. Shannon Wheeler: The X-Men #8........................ 62 29. L arry Hama: Sgt. Fury #13... 64 30. Steve Mitchell: Sgt. Fury #13.......................... 65 31. F red Hembeck: Fantastic Four #34.................. 66 32. W alter Simonson: Journey Into Mystery #113.... 68 33. A dam Hughes: Tales of Suspense #66........... 70 34. P . Craig Russell: Fantastic Four #40–70........... 72 35. Richard Howell: Fantastic Four #45.................. 74 36. K elley Jones: Journey Into Mystery/Thor #125–130........ 76 37. John Romita, Sr.: Tales of Suspense #77........... 78 38. P aul Smith: Journey into Mystery #106......................... 81 39. L adrönn: Fantastic Four #49.................. 82 40. John Byrne: Fantastic Four #51.................. 84 41. K en Steacy: Fantastic Four #51.................. 86 42. M ark Schultz: Fantastic Four #52................. 90 43. D erf Backderf: Tales to Astonish #82............. 92 44. B arry Windsor-Smith: Thor #134............................... 94 45. T erry Moore: Fantastic Four #59.................. 96 46. M arie Severin: Not Brand Echh #1................. 98 47. J oseph Michael Linsner: Fantastic Four #66 and Thor #159............................. 100 48. W endy Pini: Fantastic Four Annual #5..... 102 49. Brent Anderson: Fantastic Four #69................ 104 50. Dean Haspiel: Tales of Suspense #85......... 105 51. Peter Kuper: Thor #148...... 106 52. Dan Brereton: Captain America #106......... 108 53. Bob McLeod: Thor #158.... 110
C O N T E N T S 54. José Villarrubia: Captain America #109......... 112 55. Joe Sinnott: Fantastic Four #95................ 114 DC AND THE FOURTH WORLD 56. Jerry Ordway: Mister Miracle #1................ 116 57. Dustin Nguyen: The Forever People #6......... 117 58. Will Meugniot: Mattel Comic Game Cards.... 118 59. Al Milgrom: Jimmy Olsen Adventures........................... 120 60. Cliff Galbraith: Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #134........ 123 61. Dan Jurgens: Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #135........ 124 62. Jim Valentino: The Forever People #6......... 126 63. Scott McCloud: The New Gods #5................ 128 64. Steve Rude: Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #136........ 131 65. Jim Starlin: Metron of the New Gods..... 132 66. Jan Duursema: Mister Miracle #5................ 134 67. Mike Royer: The New Gods #6................ 136 68. Tom Scioli: The New Gods #7................ 138 69. Giorgio Comolo: The New Gods #7................ 140 70. Michael Allred: The New Gods #9................ 142 71. George Pratt: Mister Miracle #9................ 144 72. Michael Avon Oeming: Mister Miracle #9................ 146 73. Paul Rivoche: Mister Miracle #9................ 147 74. Bill Morrison: In the Days of the Mob #1............. 148 75. Glen Murakami: Weird Mystery Tales #1....... 150 76. Steve Bissette: The Demon #2...................... 152 77. William Stout: The Demon #15.................... 155 78. Rick Altergott: Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth........... 158 79. Erik Larsen: Kamandi #6.... 160
80. Kevin Eastman: Kamandi #16........................ 162 81. Thomas Yeates: Kamandi #19........................ 164 82. Scott Shaw!: 1st Issue Special #6.............. 166 83. Alan Davis: OMAC #4........ 170 84. Batton Lash: Our Fighting Forces.............. 172 85. Alex Ross: The Sandman #4.................. 174 RETURN TO MARVEL 86. Evan Dorkin: Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles............. 176 87. Bruce Timm: The Eternals #3.................... 178 88. William Wray: What If? #11........................ 182 89. John Paul Leon: The Eternals #7.................... 184 90. Rick Parker: Devil Dinosaur #1................. 186 91. Dean Motter: The Prisoner......................... 188 92. Simon Bisley: Conan ........ 190 93. Bob Budiansky: How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way................... 192 INDEPENDENCE 94. Jeff Zapata: Street Code.... 193 Bonus! Bill Sienkiewicz: Street Code.................. 194 95. Jim Woodring: Ruby-Spears work................ 196 96. Paul Karasik: Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #9....... 198 97. Philip Tan: God................... 202 98. Brendan McCarthy: Captain Victory #13.............. 203 99. Rudy Nebres: Silver Star #1....................... 204 100. Keith Giffen: Kenner Super Powers........ 206 100 Years of Kirby: A Chronology of the King’s Reign......................... 208 Alphabetical Index................. 221 Afterword by Jon B. Cooke..... 222
Introduction
Editor, The Jack Kirby Collector Publisher, TwoMorrows Publishing
by John Morrow
Welcome to the Celebration! while fun, was ultimately in vain. The creators who agreed to share their essays for this book needed little help. If you love Kirby, the problem isn’t trying to think of a page that’s meaningful to you; it’s narrowing it down to only one, from the tens of thousands you digested since first discovering the guy’s amazing work.
f you picked up this book by accident, with no idea who Jack Kirby is, you’re probably lost. But what a great place to lose your way — in the imagination of the greatest comic book creator (and now, film conceptualizer) who ever lived. Jack Kirby was born Jacob Kurtzburg on August 28, 1917. This book is being released exactly one century later, but despite containing over 100 of the top creators in comics and animation — all offering their personal praise for, and critiques of, their favorite Kirby work — it can only begin to scratch the surface of the life and career of the man rightfully dubbed the “King” of comics.
We’ve attempted to assemble this project into some semblance of chronological order, from Jack’s earliest work to his final. That’s easier said than done, however, since numerous contributors couldn’t contain their comments to just one page, issue, title, or even a single era. So all-encompassing was Jack’s influence on comics, and even mainstream pop culture, that many of the contributions here crossover from talking about their chosen Kirby work, to reference a much earlier — or later — strip to make a point about their favorite. (And, truth to tell, some just wanted to discuss the King in general terms, so we simply assigned a pertinent piece to accompany their testimonial, whether it’s mentioned or not.) Such was Jack’s influence and impact, that just like a Kevin Bacon party game, you can connect nearly any Kirby creation to another, usually in far fewer than six steps.
Before co-editor Jon B. Cooke and I began approaching said creators for their cooperation with this 100th birthday celebration, I spent a solid week poring over every Kirby comic book and reprint volume at my disposal, choosing what I felt were key Kirby pages to discuss, and making notes as to why I picked them — all so we could offer the potential contributors a starting point for making their own choices. After nearly a quarter-century of producing my magazine, The Jack Kirby Collector, preceded by more than three decades of my own Kirby collecting — long before I ever imagined it’d end up being my life’s work! — I’ve amassed a gargantuan collection, but still haven’t read every story Kirby produced (though I’m getting close!).
The selections here are surprisingly varied; we assumed most people would choose perennial favorites like the Fantastic Four and The New Gods, and indeed, many did. But work as obscure as DC’s 1970s Sandman and Marvel’s Devil Dinosaur also made the
The exhausting task of reviewing that much material,
Top: Jack Kirby, circa 1968. This photo was subsequently color-tinted. Above: The original art for the splash page from “Talent For Trouble,” Boy Explorers Comics #1 [1946], featuring Jack Kirby pencils and Joe Simon inks. The Harvey Comics title lasted for one single issue on the stands (though an ashcan of #2 was sent to subscribers). 6
Mike Vosburg
Artist/Writer/Storyboard Artist/Television Illustrator Creator, Lori Lovecraft, The Mad Mummy 1997 Primetime Emmy Award-winner, Spawn
“The Rescue of Robin Hood,” Stuntman #2, pgs. 1-2 irby was someone I was familiar with mostly from his monster stories at Atlas and later the Marvel superheroes. But while everyone was raving about his work, it didn’t resonate with me emotionally. My preference for his work were a couple of “Newsboy Legion” stories and the brilliant Challengers of the Unknown series (inked by my hero, Wally Wood). Then my buddy Ronn Foss sent me a copy of a reprint called Thrills of Tomorrow, featuring Simon and Kirby’s Stuntman. I was hooked from page one. The character was a circus stuntman, Fred Drake, who added a mask and a cape to his outfit to become his vigilante alter-ego. In the first story, he tracks down the sideshow malcontent who has murdered his trapeze artist partners. Drake’s amazing likeness to actor Don Daring leads to his logical employment as a double for the bumbling actor, constantly saving his skin while Daring gets the credit. The color palette was very simply: lots of red, yellows, and blues for the characters, and the backgrounds done in more neutral shades. (I didn’t understand this then; I just knew I liked it.) Stuntman himself wasn’t some musclebound stud; he looked like a basketball player — long, lean and athletic. The action leapt off the page. Bodies flew, heroes leapt… and the girls looked glamorous. Stuntman didn’t have super-powers; his success was based on his intelligence and athleticism. Like Joe Kubert’s “Tor,” Jack would usually introduce the stories with these wonderful double-page spreads that took your breath away. But such was his wizardry as a storyteller, that things didn’t miss a beat when the action returned to the multiple frame pages. There weren’t a lot of close-ups; the camera was always pulled back away from the action so that we could clearly see the mayhem that was happening — and all of this while maintaining a sense of dynamics unparalleled in comics. While Joe Simon’s inks could be a bit rough at times, they always enhanced the life that Jack Kirby had in his pencils. The blacks were boldly and stylishly laid in, popping the important elements of the picture. Thrills of Tomorrow only reprinted two of the Stuntman stories, but I’ve long since been able to see the entire series and have loved every minute of it. For me, like my other Kirby favorite, Fighting American, it was the consummate in thrills, chills and laughs… all for a dime. 12
Left: Kirby-inspired cover of an issue of Mike Vosburg’s creator-owned series, The Mad Mummy [#3, 2014], published by AV Publications.
Bill Black
Artist/Writer/Editor/Publisher/Filmmaker Creator, Femforce, AC Comics universe Editor Emeritus, AC Comics
“Man from the World of D,” Captain 3-D #1, pg. 12 he first Jack Kirby comic I bought was Captain 3-D #1. Wow, whatta comic! It was the most action-packed comic I’d ever seen. Nothing else on the stands in 1953 could compare with Kirby’s dynamic figure work. And the story set down a mythos that stretched back in time 50,000 years, pitting the evil Cat People against the world’s guardians, the Men of D! I was hooked. The 3-D craze ended and there never was a second issue. But the artwork was so fantastic that I sought out more like it, hitting pay dirt in Fighting American. In that title, I learned that the creative team was Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, who were never credited in the 3-D book. Captain 3-D cost more than twice what a regular comic book did, but it was a quarter well spent. Frustrated with no second issue, I decided to draw one myself. This was an early effort that launched me on a comic book career that has lasted more than 45 years. In my fanzine days I created a Captain 3-D homage character, Commando D. He continues to this day as a recurring member of the Sentinels of Justice in AC Comics titles. A second similar character, Astron, was the subject of my first professional film. Today I have 30 films in release and have published around a thousand comics. It was Jack Kirby and Captain 3-D that kick-started that career. Reading Jack’s creations back in the ’50s (Fighting American, Stuntman reprints, Bullseye, Challengers of the Unknown, Yellow Claw, and the Sky Masters newspaper strip) established him as my all-time favorite artist. Marvel Comics were not distributed in Central Florida from 1958 to 1962, so I missed out on the “monster” years. But in 1962 when I went to Florida State University in Tallahassee, I was astonished at what I found that first night at a local drug store comics rack: Fantastic Four! Strange Tales (Human Torch)! Incredible Hulk! Tales To Astonish (Ant-Man)! Journey Into Mystery (Thor)! and Two-Gun Kid! Incredibly every comic was drawn by Jack Kirby! Now I had discovered a comic book company based on the art of Jack Kirby. I was in comic book heaven.
time, and I never fail to be thrilled by his artistry. It all started with Captain 3-D. In recent years, Jack Kirby Collector magazine editor John Morrow has unearthed the three stories that were penciled for Captain 3-D #2. None were inked, and none were by Kirby. I have retired from AC Comics and in my spare time I have resurrected my old Paragon fanzines, just for the fun of it. The book I’m working on now will feature my attempts to ink a Captain 3-D story drawn by Mort Meskin.
Jack has been a life-long inspiration. I still buy Kirby comics that were from before my Right inset: Captain 3-D #1 art by Kirby. Inks and colors by Bill Black. Top right inset: Captain 3-D #1 cover, pencils by Kirby. Next page: Kirby original art (likely assisted by Steve Ditko and Mort Meskin) from #1, on multiple layers of acetate that hold the different art for each level of depth in the 3-D process.
Nineteen fifty-three to 2017... more than six decades. I’ve come full circle with Captain 3-D. 16
Trevor Von Eeden
Co-Creator/Artist, Black Lightning Creator/Writer/Artist, The Original Johnson 2010 Inkwell Award, 2011 Inkpot Recipient
“Break the Spy Ring,” Fighting American #1, pg. 9 ven this early example of the King’s work resonates with all the qualities that make Jack Kirby the most creatively exciting artist in the entire history of comics.
volume, and spatial representation that defined his later, more mature work (i.e., the “legs four feet apart” larger-than-life poses, endlessly inventive impossible machinery/ diverse alien cultures of his Thor/FF comics — notably the immortal Surfer/Galactus trilogy), but they still jump and slide all over the page, literally bursting energetically out of the confines of the panel border itself (as in the final panel) in a restless explosion of uncontrollable creative, narrative, and compositional energy that would subsequently become the hallmark of this singularly unique, and incomparably expressive comics artist.
In Kirby’s world, everything is vibrant and alive — almost crackling with the pure, uninhibited power of a seemingly limitless source of arcane, explosive, creative visual energy. His bold, violent, dramatic, usually modernistic, and endlessly dynamic universe was one created in broad, sweeping, confident strokes of an ordinary #2 lead pencil, but his was a sense of perspective — and spiritual, cosmic grandeur — never before imagined, much less seen, in the history of sequential art. Jack’s source of power, energy, and dramatic visual expression seems as primal and ancient as the visual and narrative art of civilizations that existed millenia ago: the beautiful hieroglyphics and ritualistic, totemic carvings of the great ancient Egyptian, Nordic, Mayan, and Incan civilizations and societies that existed at the beginning of recorded history (and which are constantly referenced in his Fourth World and Eternals books, as if to emphasize his affinity with these ancient founts of cosmic mystery, wisdom, and wonder). He seemed to channel, understand, and express spiritual, emotional, and psychological forces of incalculable depth, breadth, and power that have existed deep within the hidden, unacknowledged corners of the human psyche since the beginning of mankind’s consciousness. Kirby’s sensibilities were more than just larger-than-life; they were cosmic, universal — and intensely primal.
In the field of comics, the name Kirby is synonymous with the words “POWER” and “CREATIVE ENERGY” — and rightly so. His was the energy of one man’s inexhaustible love for his chosen profession and field of self-expression. In Jack’s case, it was also a genuine feeling of love and compassion towards his fellow man — which is rare in any field, individual, or time. With Jack, it permeated everything that he did.
Tense, violent, elegantly slashing lines, abstractly spotted blacks, and shadows created from a realm of visual logic all their own — yet all unerringly and astonishingly effective in heightening the sense of threedimensional solidity and volume of Kirby’s drawings to an uncanny degree of representational expression. The King’s figures on this particular page are not yet refined to the point of pure abstraction of line, form,
People tend to forget, but Jack Kirby was a man who saw the unimaginable horrors of war, the sheer, inhuman brutality of which his fellow man was capable, firsthand, and up close — yet he never once surrendered his love of life or mankind to them. He somehow managed to survive World War II with his humanity, and his sense of love and compassion towards his fellow man, intact — which is why I think he became the great artist that he was. He was a great human being first.
Top inset: Before switching to humor, straight-ahead action led the way in Fighting American #1 [1954]. Cover by Kirby and Joe Simon. Right inset: Trevor Von Eeden’s Kirby-esque artistic take on Superman, from World’s Finest Comics #305 [1984]. Next page: Dynamic action page by Kirby (pencils) and Simon (inks), from “Break the Spy Ring,” in Fighting American #1.
Kirby’s storytelling is as brilliantly inventive as his drawing and composi18
Ed Piskor
Artist/Writer/Animation Designer Creator/Artist/Writer, Hip Hop Family Tree 2015 Will Eisner Award winner, “Best Reality-Based Work”
Foxhole #5, unpublished cover hen I think about Kirby as a cartoonist, I really feel a certain kinship because the two most formative things for him to become who he became — and, by “became,” I mean an obsessive cartoonist who turned out more than 100,000 pages’ worth of material, which is ungodly. You have to have something beyond just talent. There has to be an obsession, a kind of mania. There’s a reason for that. George Orwell said about writing books that because of the intense amount of work to put a book together, all authors are running or hiding from something. And I think Kirby, growing up through the Depression and knowing what poverty was, and also being summoned to war and killing people — those are the two scariest things that happened to him as a young man — what could be more peaceful than sitting at a drawing board and drawing all day after you had to kill people when you were still a child yourself?
I think by virtue of being a storyteller, he was able to talk about his experiences in the war. My grandfathers never mentioned one word about the war. Not to make excuses, but both my grandfathers beat their kids — spanked them. They were reasonably abusive, and they were kooks because… I can’t imagine killing somebody. I’m 34, and I definitely couldn’t imagine doing it when my brain was still forming. You hear pain in Kirby’s voice, and certain levels of — I don’t want to call it excuse-making, because he absolutely did what he had to do — but he described, “You’ve got this Nazi coming at you, and he looks like a butcher! My sergeant hit me on the helmet and said, ‘You have to take care of this guy.’ What was I supposed to do?” It’s pretty harrowing, and I think that video is one of the most illuminating documents we have into the guy.
I watched the Greg Theakston video interview. It’s five minutes of Kirby talking about his time in the war, and you hear Kirby use profanity. “It was a f*cking nightmare,” he says, or something like that. We didn’t have knowledge of what these people went through. Both my grandfathers were f’ed-up, and it’s because they had PTSD. I think Kirby had intense undiagnosed Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, which just kept him grinding. He had a family to take care of. He’s been escaping poverty since the ’20s. And that’s the soup that was thrown together to create such a prolific creator.
Kirby didn’t have to do all those comics. He didn’t have to do all those pages. He didn’t have to work so hard in the ’80s. Of course, he was due way more cash by Marvel for all of his creations. Of course he’s due that, but his family was doing fine. There’s something extra that went into it. Osamu Tezuka didn’t go to war, but he was raised through several depressions. And the idea that Jean Giraud did Blueberry comics from nine to five, and from five to three a.m. he became Moebius — these guys are f*cked up, and I think war and the Great Depression played a huge part on them. And they became the Mount Rushmore of comics, so there’s something to it. Poverty and violence is a good recipe to stay indoors and keep grinding.
Left: Ed Piskor’s rendition of Lee & Kirby’s Magneto. Above insets: Foxhole #1’s cover includes a Kirby image inspired by Joseph Hirsch’s 1944 World War II painting, “High Visibility Wrap.” Next page: Foxhole #5 unpublished cover art [1955] by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. 22
23
Rich Buckler, Sr.
Artist/Writer/Editor/Painter Creator/Artist, Deathlok the Demolisher 2015 Inkwell Awards Ambassador
Blue Ribbon Comics #5, cover ack Kirby passed away in 1994 on my birthday, February 6th — a surreal and profound Jungian synchronization to be sure — at least for me, anyway.
looking for. So that was the bad news. Of course, a bit of a disappointment there, right? There was no comprehensive critique of the rest of my work. Jack was always a man of few words.
Jack’s influence on me and my art career stretches back to my teen years as a comic book fan, fanzine publisher, and collector. His powerful images and storytelling compelled me to develop my nascent art abilities and pursue a career as a comics illustrator. I wanted to be like Jack Kirby!
But the good news was when he told me that he checked out all of my story pages, and was duly impressed. I recall his exact words to me which were: “Rich, your pencil work is very good. So, if you’re ever in New York, my advice to you is to go see Stan Lee and tell him I said to give you a job!”
I was without formal art training back then (and still am “self-taught” to this day) — but that was not a significant disadvantage for this fourteen-yearold aspiring comic book pro. No, not at all. My art school was primarily Marvel Comics and Jack Kirby’s work on Fantastic Four and The Avengers.
So, a personal and very strong recommendation from Jack Kirby himself! How could you beat that? Well, I did travel to New York and I did see Stan Lee and Stan did give me a job! And, years later, at Archie/Red Circle, I got to hire Jack Kirby to draw the cover of Blue Ribbon Comics #5 [1984], featuring the Simon and Kirby co-creation Lancelot Strong, the Shield, which I then hired myself to ink!
What stands out in my memory is the first appearance of Captain America in The Avengers, an epic FF Annual featuring the Fantastic Four’s battle with Sub-Mariner and Atlantis, and also the FF’s first encounter with Galactus and the Silver Surfer and first appearance of the Black Panther. When I was still living in Detroit — this was early in 1969– 70 — I had started making the transition from fanzine/amateur artist to pro. I assembled a portfolio of pencil and ink comic book samples and, on the recommendation of my close friend Shel Dorf, I sent these off to Jack Kirby by mail, in hopes of getting work from Jack as an inker. Jack had just moved over to DC Comics and had already made his new home on the West Coast and he was scouting for inkers. A surprise long distance call later, I learned that, unfortunately, the sample Thor page I inked on vellum for his consideration was not quite what he was Previous and this page: Kirby’s cover for Blue Ribbon Comics #5 [1984], inked by Rich Buckler, in various stages of development, plus a Kirby tribute featuring the Thing drawn by Buckler. The Shield was revamped by Kirby and Simon in 1959. 29
Craig Yoe
Cartoonist/Writer/Editor/Publisher/Historian/Art Director Co-Author, The Art of Mickey Mouse 2016 Eisner Award winner, “Best Archival Collection”
“Fin Fang Foom,” Strange Tales #89, pg. 5
Strange (But True) Tales he majority of King Kirby’s loyal subjects agree his most stupendous visual creation is ol’ green-head: Fin Fang Foom! The monster of monsters was green on his inaugural appearance on the cover of Strange Tales #89. He was inexplicably orange on the inside. It’s not easy staying green.
seventy bucks might suddenly show up. Racing down the aisle I bumped straight into… Jack Kirby! I excitedly showed Jack my purchase. With a cigar clenched in his teeth, he took the art in hand and inquired how much it was. I told him fifty dollars. He whistled, “That’s a lot of money!” Jack told me he had a page from the story hanging on his wall back home and wanted to know if I would like him to sign mine. Yes! I profusely thanked The Master and trucked on!
More of a conundrum is what’s in the emerald behemoth’s scanties. Kirby’s monsters, while destroying civilization, were nude, but chastely wore underpants! I will reveal here what’s behind the knickers!
Later I invited Dick Ayers over to visit me at my studio and I showed him the art and he, too, kindly signed it.
First, though, I will tell you about my personal experience with Fin Fang Foom. In the late ’80s, I went to a typical New York comic-con held in a small hotel ballroom. I was keeping my eye open for treasures and, behold, I spied an iconic page of original art! My eyeballs popped out like a Tex Avery wolf seeing sexy Red Hot Riding Hood! It was the page where Fin Fang Foom came to life! I asked how much the monsterpiece was, fearing the worst. Indeed, the owner wanted crazy money, way beyond all reasonableness. The robber baron spat out his ridiculous price: “Seventy dollars!”
At his office in L.A., I met with Stan “The Man” Lee and got his John Hancock on the art. As I said, I’m going to reveal to you the mystery of what’s in Fin Fang Foom’s skivvies, but first I’ll tell you the secret origin of his nomenclature. Stan told me then that the monster’s name was inspired by his friendly neighborhood Chinese take-out! Okay, I promised to tell you the forbidden knowledge of what I learned was hidden by Fin Fang Foom’s underoos. WAIT! I see I have just about used up my word count allotment! The astounding fact about FFF’s privates will sadly have to wait for another time.
I retorted, “I’ll give you forty dollars!” boldly flashing two crisp Jacksons. The dealer rejoined, “Hmmph! A guy already promised he’d take it at seventy and would be back soon!” I shot back, “Though it’s way beyond what it’s worth, but out of the goodness of my heart, I’ll pay fifty dollars and, a bird in the hand…”
For now there’s only space to say: “Make Mine Marvel’s Most Magnificent Monster: The Fin, The Fang, The FOOM!” Top inset: Looks like a self-portrait of Craig Yoe before his morning cuppa, replete with his trademark hair style! Left: Jack Kirby’s splash page (with Dick Ayers inks) for Foom’s debut tale in Strange Tales #89 [1961].
Dude bit. I grabbed the art and zoomed off in case my nemesis with his thick bankroll of 34
35
Peter Poplaski
Cartoonist/Writer/Editor/Painter Co-Author, The R. Crumb Handbook 1998 Eisner Award winner, “Best Comics-Related Book”
“The Two-Headed Thing,” Strange Tales #95 Misshapen Shapeliness and Shapely Misshapenness: The Heroic Energy of Jack Kirby’s Monster Comics, 1960-63 like Kenneth Clark was making a media reference about the Jack Kirby Marvel monster comics that we loved as kids.
n 1972, I was in college and had just returned from a month in Italy studying renaissance art. By accident, I had stumbled upon the 13-part BBC series Civilisation by Kenneth Clark being replayed on Wisconsin Public Television. I remember my brother, Bill, and I were viewing the second episode, in which Clark quotes St. Bernard of Clairvaux criticizing the Cluniac style of sculpture in monasteries:
For me, St. Bernard’s 12th century commentary using his poetical phrase: “misshapen shapeliness and shapely misshapenness,” also eloquently described and immediately called to mind every Jack Kirby monster character, and it was for this very aesthetical reason we youngsters avidly collected Strange Tales and Tales to Astonish. These magazines weren’t just entertainment, but a reflection of the times in which our youth was staged as well. Of course, we climbed the apple trees in our backyard and played baseball practically every day, but overhead were jet aircraft cracking the sky with sonic booms, practicing no doubt for some possible future conflict with global repercussions. America was living through the Cold War arms race, the race for space, and the Cuban missile crisis. However, all the palpable paranoia and horror of those times — thoughts of possible oblivion — were being transmuted by creative energy and channeled into our favorite distractions; into movies, comic books, and TV. Television was the great com-
“And in the cloisters, under the eyes of the brethren engaged in reading, what business have those ridiculous monstrosities, that misshapen shapeliness and shapely misshapenness? Those unclean monkeys, those fierce lions, those monstrous centaurs, those semi-human beings. Here you see a quadruped with the tail of a serpent, there a fish with a head of a goat. In short there appears on all sides so rich and amazing a variety of forms that it is more delightful to read the marble than the manuscripts and to spend the whole day in admiring these things, piece by piece, rather than in meditating on the Divine Law.” I commented to my brother then that it sounded to me
36
mon denominator and a popular show like The Twilight Zone had the wit to show us every week that reality is not really what we think it is. Reality is actually stranger, scarier, and more dangerous than fantasy. The Marvel monster comics had similar storylines, but they themselves, as objects for kids, seemed magical and more intimate. They appeared suddenly in 1960 on the weekly racks of new comics for sale on Thursdays at Peters drugstore. There, amidst the clean realistic rendering that underscored integrity on DC Superman and Batman comics by cover artists Curt Swan and Stan Kaye, next to the modern classicism that the Murphy Anderson inking brought to Carmine Infantino’s Flash and Gil Kane’s Green Lantern covers, behind the movie and TV photo covers of Dell Comics, Harvey’s Casper, and various Classics Illustrated and Archie comics, were buried dark grey or blue and brown covers with a primary yellow or red logo surrounding a large heavy orange or green “something” with text captions shouting, “CAN MANKIND SURVIVE?” The lumpy three-fingered alien-creature-monster drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Dick Ayers threatened to reach out aggressively. “NOTHING CAN STOP HIM!” This comic book cover grabbed at us as would a movie poster. We were not just watching a scene, we had become part of one. “THERE’S NO PLACE TO RUN!” My first thought was maybe I shouldn’t be looking at this. Calmly I opened the comic book to the splash page. What my brother and I saw (I immediately had to show him even though he was four years younger than me) was like a Ray Harryhausen stop-motion animation movie on paper in every issue we came across. The Two-Headed Thing had weight and moved like the Cyclops in The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Zzutak pulled himself off of a giant Aztec flat canvas to breathe and live in three dimensions like King Kong. The Creature from Krogarr crawled out of the television set. What if the Monster at My Window was at our window? “THERE’S NO ESCAPE!” Actually, Billy and I didn’t want to escape. We wanted to learn. We picked up pencils and tried to draw monsters and dinosaurs like Jack Kirby. When we were given money to go buy ice cream, we’d excitedly put our nickels together so we could buy a Tales to Astonish
Above: Peter Poplaski relaxes with Strange Tales alongside his epic renderings of the awesome Atlas monsters created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, back when Pete conceived of the characters as a toy line! Below: Printed ridiculously small are those illustrations. Previous page inset: Strange Tales #95 [1962]. TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.
featuring Gorgilla, the Monster of Midnight Mountain. After a few years, the Marvel monsters evolved into the multi-part book-length epics of the Marvel super-heroes burdened with physical and social problems. They were monsters who wanted to be human again. You can witness the transformation in the first five issues of The Fantastic Four
37
Sal Buscema
Artist/Actor Co-Creator, Nighthawk, Nomad, Starhawk 2003 Inkpot Award, ’13 Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award
Fantastic Four Annual #1, The Incredible Hulk pin-up wasn’t a huge fan as a kid, but I certainly read comic books, and I didn’t become familiar with Jack Kirby until my oldest brother John got into the business. John was eight years older than I, and he was 20, I believe, when Stan hired him, so I was only 12 at that time, and I wasn’t really familiar with artists. But, later on, as John became a fixture in the business, I became familiar with Jack Kirby’s stuff.
so I thought it was a good time to make a change. The beauty of the whole situation was that I was able to stay in Virginia. Marvel was starting to farm work out to people all over the country, so I didn’t have to move to New York. I went to Marvel with the idea of being an inker. My first love has always been inking. For some reason, I draw better with a brush than I do with a pencil. One of the first jobs that they gave me was at John’s insistence, because he was not happy with the way he was being inked at the time. Joe Sinnott was inking John’s Silver Surfer, and Joe is a phenomenal inker, but he wasn’t inking John the way John wanted to be inked. He knew that I was very familiar with his work, and knew what he wanted, so I was able to give it to him, and he talked Stan into making me the inker on the book.
I got my first job in comics in 1968 when they were expanding the line. I’m not completely certain about the timeline, but that’s probably when they started with Stan’s concept of very, very loose scripting and leaving the storytelling to the artist. I had a very good job with an art studio in Washington, D.C., known as Design Center. They’re no longer in business — they’ve been gone for many years — but, at the time, they were probably considered the top commercial art studio in the area. We did everything from visual aids to advertising, animation — the works. You name it, we did it. But I always wanted to get into comics, and I wasn’t completely happy with the work I was doing at the studio. They were interested in supporting animation and filmmaking, and that’s not what I wanted to do. I wanted to illustrate, and they were moving in another direction,
I wasn’t totally familiar with the body of Jack’s work, but I was certainly familiar with what he was doing for Marvel at the time. Who in the business wouldn’t be familiar with Jack’s work? He was the Babe Ruth of comics! He was phenomenal and, to this day, I think he’s still the greatest comic book illustrator of all time. I’m not sure John was ever asked to draw like Jack Kirby. First of all, John would not do that because he had his own style of drawing. And who could draw like Jack Kirby? Those who have tried to imitate his style of drawing have fallen flat on their faces. I remember a statement from Gil
Top inset: Detail from Sal Buscema’s Hulk illustration in the Mighty Marvel Calendar for 1975. Above inset: Character-filled panel from The Incredible Hulk #278 [1982], with pencils by Sal Buscema and inks by Joe Sinnott, repro’d from the original art. Next page: Kirby’s Hulk pin-up in Fantastic Four Annual #1 [1963], with inks possibly by Sol Brodsky. 48
51
Rick Veitch
Artist/Writer/Publisher Creator, Bratpack, The Maximortal, The One 2000 Eisner Award winner (shared), “Best Anthology”
“The Mysterious Molecule Man,” Fantastic Four #20
Jack’s Other Negative Zone rowing up where I did, the schools didn’t offer much in terms of art training. Bitten by the creative bug early, I had to look elsewhere to learn the basics of drawing, design, perspective, and anatomy. The place I found them being demonstrated, if not explained, was in comics.
In art, Negative Space is defined as “the space around and between the subject(s) of an image. Negative Space may be most evident when the space around a subject, not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape, and such space occasionally is used to artistic effect as the “real” subject of an image.”
While I was fascinated by all comics, certain artists really got my engines revving. Often I would study a powerful panel and try to understand why it held such an attraction to me. Many of those images were Jack’s. In fact, almost everything Jack Kirby did seemed to posses an underlying vitality that other cartoonists lacked. What was it?
It’s one of the things Jack understood (maybe intuitively?) that made his stuff so much more visually powerful and eccentric than other cartoonists. Blasting out page after page during the Sixties, he was embedding hypnotically effective abstract design elements in every corner of his comics. Readers experienced all this subliminally, but I think it contributed to their general delight with his work.
“It” was a lot of things, of course, but one of the hidden things jumped out at 14-year-old me while studying FF #20, “The Mysterious Molecule Man.” Jack must have been particularly rushed that issue as his normally highly detailed backgrounds were absent. Many panels were left with completely empty backgrounds, which were only lightly color tinted or left white.
Later, Jack introduced the “Kirby Krackle,” a design trick conveying fiery energy that made Marvel’s competition look instantly obsolete. What’s interesting is that the reader must experience “figure-ground reversal” for the “Kirby Krackle” to work! The eye initially wants to linger on the bazillions of black dots; but only by reversing focus to the Negative Space around them will the reader see Jack’s dancing fractal flames.
Somehow this seemed even more mesmerizing than usual. I kept looking and looking until it dawned on me that the space around Reed, Johnny, Sue, and Ben was incredibly interesting. If I scrunched up my eyes and ignored the line art, the white spaces formed insanely amazing abstracts which, when grouped together, formed bigger structures that bordered on metaphysical. I was seeing Jack’s art (and my own) in a whole new way! I didn’t have a name for this shift in visual perception when I discovered it in Jack’s work, but now I know it’s called “figure-ground reversal” and is essential to comprehending “Negative Space,” a basic design concept that should be part of everyone’s foundational training in the arts.
Just part of the Kirby magic!
Top inset: Rick Veitch famously worked Jack’s Fourth World characters into Swamp Thing #62 [1987]. This pages features Veitch pencils and inks by Alfredo Alcala. Above: Rick Veitch shares about his son, Kirby: “When I brought little Kirby up and showed Jack his name tag, Jack said ‘Yoiks!’ I think this was 1991 or ’92 at San Diego. Kirby was three. Now, at 28, Kirby is a fantasy illustrator and comics colorist!” Next page: Splash page from Fantastic Four #20 [1963]. Pencils by Jack Kirby and inks by Dick Ayers. 56
57
new thing with a small company,” and I really respected that. It was one of the first non-Marvel, non-DC books I ever bought, but I thought it was terrible. I imagine now I’d have a very different point of view on it. Jack Kirby was full of piss. He was not afraid. He hit his stride after doing comics for 30 years, and that really shows you a lot about the man. If you look back at the early stuff, it’s Jack Kirby, but it’s not really Jack Kirby. It wasn’t until he was doing Fantastic Four that he’s doing all of this groundbreaking stuff. It shows me that you have to put in the time and put in the work, and the payoff is when you are 50, and that’s when you really start to come forward as an artist. Kirby’s work ethic is still inspiring, and the fact that he would break rules and make it work. He made the paper bend to his will. He just had a good energy to him, and that’s completely inspirational. He defined mainstream comics. Now that people are more and more mining his imagination, I think next we’ll start to see the secondary and tertiary books that he created. We’ll see characters like Black Bolt and the weird god characters he made. I’ll bet the New Gods will come back soon. In the ’70s and ’80s he was considered kind of a hack, and he was looked down upon, and I was one of those people. So he was outside of the mainstream, but he also defined the mainstream, and I think he’s going to define it more and more as we go forward. This page: Original art for a playful Kirby pin-up page, sporting Chic Stone inks, featuring the bouncing Beast, from The X-Men #8 [1964]. 63
Larry Hama
Artist/Writer/Editor/Actor/Musician Creator, Buck O’Hare, Writer, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero 2012 Inkpot Award winner, Comic-Con International: San Diego
“Fighting Side-By-Side…” Sgt. Fury #13, pg. 10 age ten from Sgt. Fury #13 is a textbook lesson in visual storytelling. Panel one sets up the whole scene for the next two pages. Design tension is created immediately by the tilted horizon. The tiny fragment of shell-torn building on the far left is the only background, but it conveys the location perfectly, along with the twisted bicycle frame in the foreground. The flight path of Cap’s flung shield carries us across the panel where Bucky is established as the guy who’s going to free the pilots. This leaves mopping up the Nazis to Captain America. Note that the soldier with the grenade launcher who figures in panel three is established here, as well. Panel two. The camera POV is similar to panel one, but zooms in on Cap. Movement is towards camera and to the right, continuing the movement from panel one. Note that Cap’s rotational action here is counter-clockwise, whereas it was clockwise in panel one. Something else to note are the aesthetically pleasing negative spaces. (The negative space mastery is evident in all the panels here: no clumsy overlaps, tangents, or confusion about where one figure ends and another begins.) Panel three. Cap turns to deal with the panzergrenadier established in panel one. Note that the entire background is the horizon line that tilts in the opposite direction from the one in the first panel. The tilt amplifies the action. Panel four. Cap takes out the grenadier, and we have the off-panel explosion of the grenade to the left. Note that the blast lines and speed lines are a part of the panel design in every frame. Panel five. The mopping up. Complicated action
pulled off with élan in relatively small space — and again, the negative space is killer. Panel six. A quiet panel, but with dynamic figure tension to wrap up the page. Notice that the horizon line is parallel with the bottom panel border.
Above inset: Larry Hama’s greatest claim to fame is doubtless his developing the storylines for the Hasbro G.I. Joe franchise through his long-running stint on the series, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, for Marvel. Elements of his work on that title were repurposed from a pitch Hama made for Fury Force, a projected war series to be led by Sgt. Nick Fury, Jr.! Here’s Hama’s sketch of the group from that 1981 proposal. Top right: Page from Kirby/Ayers’ Sgt. Fury #13 [1964]. 64
Fred Hembeck
Cartoonist Contributor, Marvel Age, Comics Buyer’s Guide Artist/Writer, Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe
“A House Divided,” Fantastic Four #34 ack in 1964, Jack Kirby’s artwork was clearly the face of the emerging Marvel Comics line — and for the most part, he brought inker Chic Stone along for the ride.
Oh, I know what you’re thinking: what about all the classic multi-issue cosmic sagas to come? What about the years and years of Joe Sinnott’s exquisite embellishment over Kirby’s ever increasingly breath-taking pencils? Yeah, what about that anyway?
Consider: Jack was penciling Fantastic Four, Thor, X-Men, Avengers, “Captain America,” some issues of Sgt. Fury, and providing covers for virtually every book Marvel published, save for Spider-Man and Millie the Model! That right there is a clear-cut visual identity: The Kirby/Stone team literally screams 1964 to me, and I love it!
I can’t disagree with the consensus that Sinnott was the best long-term inker Jack ever had — or that a reduced workload beginning in 1965 allowed his artwork (and his imagination) to flower as never before, but I still do love me some 1964 Kirby/Stone art! And as an example, let’s take a look at Fantastic Four #34, “A House Divided,” featuring the menace of Gideon. One and done in a mere twenty pages, Stan and Jack turn their attention to a megalomaniacal billionaire intent on breaking up the FF, using surreptitious means to turn the group’s members against one another. Maybe it’s just me, but I find myself more likely to identify with the threat posed by a power-mad rich guy (um, especial-
Personally, it was a great year for me, maybe the best of my young life. I was eleven at the time, and had been faithfully following Stan and Jack’s exciting new creations since I had stumbled across FF #4 several years earlier. Things, it seemed, just kept getting better and better, and in a lot of ways, I feel Marvel peaked in ’64.
66
P. Craig Russell
Artist/Writer/Illustrator Comics adapter of operas by Mozart, Wagner, and Strauss Eight-time Will Eisner Award winner
Fantastic Four #40-70 he first Kirby comic I saw was the third issue of Fantastic Four. I was visiting some friends, David and Dickie and Tommy Meadows. Tommy was a couple of years older than us and had issues #3-13 of Fantastic Four. That’s the first time I had ever noticed it, and I sat down and started reading one and was sold. There was no looking back after that. I was completely captivated by it.
around issue #29 that I started buying Fantastic Four. There was that interim period where George Roussos was inking it, and I never liked that look. A kid can’t articulate why they do or don’t like something, they just do or don’t, and that inking seemed to me, in retrospect, antithetical to Kirby’s style. I just didn’t care much for it. But then Chic Stone started inking it, and it started having more bounce and was truer to Kirby. By the time Joe Sinnott came in, that was the Golden Age. I was buying literally every single Marvel comic that came out.
Up to that point, given the age I was, I’d gone from Disney and Harvey comics, and graduated to Archie. Then to see this, the storytelling, the dynamism — and at the time it wasn’t as dynamic as his artwork became in a couple more years, but it was just so compelling. I think it was more the story than the art at first. I was just drawn into those stories, and was at just the right age for them. I didn’t start buying Kirby comics right away. It was
I followed Kirby to DC. I had all of the Fourth World titles, including Jimmy Olsen. I was still at that stage where everything he did, I picked up — also pretty much everything everyone else did, I picked up. You could do that then. You could buy all the Marvels and DCs and not go bankrupt, and know exactly what was going on in those parallel universes. Kirby was an artist I can’t say I was ever influenced by. I would look at Alex Raymond or Steve Ditko and want to draw just like them, and I would copy their drawings. I never did that with Kirby, but I think I held him in higher esteem than anyone else. Sometimes I think we just recognize ourselves in some artists, and those are the ones we copy and are influenced by, and others we are simply bowled over by how great they are, and that’s good enough. My favorite Kirby period is from issues #40 to the mid#70s of Fantastic Four. I’m not exactly sure which issue they changed the paper size, but I think that impacted the work of a lot of artists because they were drawing smaller and there was less chance for detail. I think that mid-period, not only of Fantastic Four but of Kirby’s entire career, was a high point both for his work and comics in general. Some artists evolve styles over the years, and others keep the same style throughout their entire career. If you look at John Severin in 1951 and 1991, it’s almost impossible to tell which era it came from. He maintained that high quality at all times, but it didn’t particularly evolve. But if you look at Kirby in 1942, ’52, ’62, and ’72, it’s immediately recognizAbove inset: Cover of Fantastic Four #55 by Kirby and Joe Sinnott. Left: 1987/2013 commission by P. Craig Russell, featuring one of Kirby’s greatest creations, the Silver Surfer. Next page: In 2012, this epic page from FF #55 by Kirby and Sinnott, was sold on the Heritage Auction site for an astonishing $155,350.
72
John Romita, Sr.
Artist/Art Director/Licensing Ilustrator Co-Creator, The Punisher, Designer, Wolverine Inkpot Award, 2002 Eisner Hall of Fame inductee
“If a Hostage Should Die,” Tales of Suspense #77 In all the other comics, the figures were standing straight up in the same poses on almost every page. Kirby made it a law in his approach that nothing was ever going to be standing straight up stiffly. His stiffest drawing was that first drawing of the costume with the odd-shaped shield. He did that standing straight up, and it was very unnatural for Captain America. Not only was I aware that everything was
first saw Jack Kirby’s work when I was ten years old. I was in the streets of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Everybody assumed, because I could draw chalk super-heroes on the street, I was the authority on art, and I had all of my guys in my neighborhood buying that Captain America book. I remember telling them, “This is no ordinary comic where people are standing still and the dialogue is screaming. The drawing is screaming and the dialogue can’t keep up with it!” I had never heard of him. I was a Daredevil fan, the one with two different colors; he was my favorite character. When I saw the first Captain America I grabbed it… I had a copy of #1, and, like a trillion other comic collectors, my mother lost it. I was very aware when Kirby and Simon left the series, and very surprised that theirs was such a short run. I had no idea that Jack couldn’t be tethered down like a horse in the bullpen there. I was so disappointed when Syd Shores, a pretty good artist, took over for Jack. It just wasn’t the same.
Above left: After Kirby’s departure from Marvel, John Romita Sr. was one artist on Captain America. This vignette of the character is from his work on the Aurora Comic Scenes insert that was included in plastic model kits in the ’70s. Above right: Page from Kirby and Simon’s Captain America Comics #1. Next page: Tales of Suspense # 66 page. Inks by Chic Stone. 78
83
someone to channel his energy for the next Doom Patrol, an FF parody issue with a pulse-pounding script by Grapplin’ Grant Morrison. I eagerly replied that not only could I emulate The King, I could even replicate the style of Joltin’ Joe Sinnott, the man I consider the very best inker to ever embellish his pencils. The storyline placed the Doom Patrol in a Marvel-esque universe, and it’s revealed that Automaton, a.k.a. Robotman, has had his brain swapped by a wicked villain who seeks to destroy them. To make a long story somewhat less convoluted, this erstwhile foe is called upon to defeat an awesome evil and save a child’s life, but by doing so sacrifices his own existence — sound familiar?
er me into Stan the Man’s office for an interview. He’d be on the phone with Jolly Jack, who’d come down with a nasty cold and couldn’t do that month’s story. The minute he’d hang up I’d beg Stan for the chance to do a fill-in issue, and he’d stroke his chin and say, “You really think you can do it?” and I’d reply, “You bet, Stan!” He’d show me to a desk in the bullpen, right next to Sturdy Steve Ditko, and Dashing Don Heck, and Jaunty Jim Steranko, and Adorable Artie Simek. I believed that everyone actually worked there, happily kibitzing with one another as they penciled and inked and lettered and colored. I’d knock out 20 pages that make Jack proud, and later he’d say, “Not bad, kid — welcome to the Bullpen!” and my career would be launched.
I could go on at length about the impact Kirby had on making me the artist I am today. A few years ago I was at a con in NYC, and some fans were perusing the originals for that Doom Patrol story, to which I had added plenty of Kirby krackle. They then enthused over some Tempus Fugitive pages, all heavily airbrushed, and I asked what it was about them that they liked. One replied that it’s the way the artwork kinda sparkles, which my wonderful wife Joan immediately picked up on: Kirby krackle, Steacy sparkle. I’d never been so proud!
Of course it didn’t happen that way. I did bang on Stan’s door in 1974, and he sent me to Jazzy Johnny Romita, who offered me work as an inker, which I declined, deciding to go to art college instead. By doing so I learned one of life’s great lessons; that wanting something and having it are two very different things… but that’s a story for another day. I eventually did break into comics, and years later got a call from editor Tom Peyer at DC, who asked if I loved King Kirby. He needed
This page: At top are photos taken by Ken Steacy during an early ’80s visit to the Kirby home in California. Ken asked Jack to sign one the following year at the San Diego Comic-Con, and he notes of the bottom photo, “It has watched over my drawing board ever since, a reminder of the heights to which we aspire, and the great man who set the standard for us all.” Next page: If but to lighten the tone a little after so much discussion of the quite emotional “This Man, This Monster,” here’s Kirby and inker Joe Sinnott’s fun splash, FF #99 [1970]. 88
Barry Windsor-Smith
Artist/Writer/Illustrator/Author Creator, BWS: Storyteller Multiple award-winner
“The People-Breeders,” Thor #134, pg. 3 ack Kirby meant a lot to me. When I was young, the new American comics that came to England were mostly DCs, and later Marvel started to happen in the mid-’60s. Beforehand, they were all secondhand comics, which you could buy for a tuppence each at the junk shop. As a child, I was reading black-&-white British and Australian reprints of DC’s Superman, Adventure Comics, and Batman, and that sort of thing. While I was as interested in super-heroes as much as any kid, there came a time around the early to mid-’60s when I started losing interest in comics because they were no longer satisfying to me in any way. The Superman stories were stupid and the artwork was bland. Not that they weren’t before — they had been bland all along — but it’s just my temperament had changed. If it hadn’t been for Jack Kirby, I would have been one of
those people who outgrew comics and never looked back. The comic book industry and the movie industry both owe Kirby the greatest debt. Of course he’s gone. I don’t know if there’s a thriving Kirby family anymore, but whoever’s left should be reaping rewards. It would be great if Marvel would sponsor a biographical film about Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. A docudrama type thing. There are enough people who know about their creations now because of the movies, that although it wouldn’t be a runaway blockbuster, it might be an art house hit, and they could probably make their money back from it. I’m talking about a biographical film with actual Hollywood actors. I can’t think of anybody who could play Kirby, but give me ten minutes and I could probably come up with half a dozen names. It would be telling the story of the creation of Marvel Comics. I would love people to know the truth. It would be an inspiring picture, with the right screenplay, and the right sort of independent sponsorship. I think that Stan Lee would go for that instantly, and I think he would be gracious enough to say Jack Kirby is the co-star of such a film. That would be a good way to acknowledge how Jack Kirby changed the comics industry. Left: Barry Windsor-Smith page from a proposed mini-series starring The Thing. “As the four-part series in incomplete,” he explains, “I should mention that the premise of the work is that Ben is left alone in New York and undergoes something of a personal crisis; a mental breakdown in a way where he questions himself as a man or a monster, and his value (if any) to the Fantastic Four. It’s a comedic look at a serious subject for Ben Grimm.” Top inset: Kirby Mavelmania poster. Next page: Thor #134, page three, inks by Colletta. 94
Joseph Michael Linsner Artist/Writer Creator, Cry For Dawn, Artist/Writer, Killraven
Fantastic Four #66 & Thor #159
The Radiant Brilliance of Jack Kirby y introduction to the world of Jack Kirby started in October 1973. I was four years old and already a lover of comic books. Batman was my favorite, probably because he was on TV every afternoon. My mom would pick me up a comic book every time I went out shopping with her. If I already had all of the new Batman comics on the stands, I would get something else. One day Marvel’s Greatest Comics #45 grabbed my attention. I couldn’t actually read yet, but through the magic of comics, I could follow the pictures and get the general idea behind the story (I still enjoy European comics this way). MGC #45 reprinted Fantastic Four #62, and featured the introduction of Blastaar.
that was cosmically cool), Reed grabs onto a rock drifting by. Little does he know that a bunch of aliens have just glued a cocooned figure to the other side of that same rock. They dropped the cocoon off in a hurry and then hightailed it out of there — this had to be one evil guy all wrapped up. There is a full-page shot of Reed calmly hanging onto that rock without knowing that this malevolent presence was on the other side, mere feet away. That page totally blew my mind. I was already a lover of monster movies, so I could tell that something really bad was gonna erupt soon. When the bad guy finally did break out, he scared the heck out of me. Blastaar looked genuinely evil! His beady pure white eyes looked demonically feral. He freaked me out — but I loved it! What mind could dream up such a creature? It was many years before I got to read the next issue where he actually fights the Fantastic Four, and I must confess that confrontation was a bit of a let-down. He really seemed like he would tear the very fabric of reality apart when he first popped out of his cocoon. His introduction and build-up was more impressive than his actual performance.
Our hero, Reed Richards, gets trapped in the Negative Zone, and the rest of the F.F. try to save him. While floating around in space (without a space suit! I remember thinking
The full-page shot where his cocoon is on the other side of the rock that Reed is hanging onto is one of my favorite pieces of Jack Kirby art. It says so much, and really gets the imagination going. It’s the classic Alfred Hitchcock concept that you build suspense by showing the bomb hidden under that table to the audience, while the protagonist is kept clueless. The weight of the figure is so impressive. If you look at it, he seems to be weighing down the whole rock, tilting it off of its axis. The deep gravity of the cocoon lets the reader know that something very intense is about to happen. I love it. I still get chills whenever I look at it. The total flip side to that page is one of my other favorite Kirby pages, from Thor #159, which I discovered as a teenager. Don Blake needs to leave the confines of Earth and get to Asgard to find out the truth about his identity. Laying down, he closes his eyes… His true self, Thor, leaves his body and becomes light as a feather. This is a brilliant illustration. It is without a doubt the very best visual invocation I have ever seen of sleep and dreams. Whenever I look at it, I hear a gentle wind — I feel the limitless cosmos open up and embrace me. As I write this, I am looking at the black light poster of that image, which hangs in my studio. It is something I see and love every day. This and next page: Kirby was a master at using diagonals to convey movement and keep the reader slightly off-balance, as on these full-page splashes from Fantastic Four #66 [1967] and Thor #159 [1968]. Also, “Jacklactus,” a tribute piece by Joseph Michael Linsner, featuring a mash-up of Kirby and one of his greatest creations, Galactus. 100
Dan Brereton
Artist/Writer Creator, Madman, The Atomics, Red Rocket 2011 AML Special Award in Graphical Narrative
“Cap Goes Wild,” Captain America #106, pg. 1 drawn by an artist I was told was “the greatest.” He sure was. That book — this artist’s work — changed everything. I can’t and won’t try to explain it. I’d just never experienced anything as wonderful as the work of Jack Kirby.
was eight years old when I was first exposed to comic books in a meaningful way. This was back in ’74. I was an advanced reader, and raided the school and local library regularly. I’m still enamored of a great many children’s book illustrators, and it was my first ambition as an artist to be one. One day a friend of mine invited me over after school. He knew I liked to draw, and showed me his collection of comic books.
Comics became my life, and Kirby was the gateway. I felt I had discovered treasure in those flimsy, stapled newsprint dreamscapes. Jack’s work opened the door and I stepped into an alternate storytelling world my imagination has never wanted to depart. The effect hasn’t been muted in over 40 years.
I had never seen a comic book collection before. I’d seen comics on the racks in stores here and there, but was never encouraged to explore them. If anything, comic books were looked upon as trash in my house.
Inset left: Detail from the cover of Fantasy Masterpieces #3 [1966]. Below: Left is Dan Brereton’s rendition of Cap, and right, Captain America #106 [1968] cover. Giacoia inks. Previous page: Page from same.
Among the books in his box was a bagged issue of Captain America,
109
Al Milgrom
Artist/Writer/Editor Co-Creator/Artist, Firestorm 1982 Comics Buyer’s Guide Fan Award winner
Jimmy Olsen Adventures by Jack Kirby Vol. 2, cover
Jack Kirby: The Once and Always King! ack Kirby! What can you say about Jack Kirby that hasn’t already been said a thousand ways and a thousand times — probably more eloquently than I could ever say it. He was an innovator and pacesetter almost from the very start in the early 1940s and somehow maintained that exalted position for some five decades. Along the way he created more characters than anyone in comics ever has or ever will. His output was enormous, but the quality was still first-rate. Somehow the work that flowed out of him was always top-notch. He was geared for speed with no loss of integrity. He was never the greatest draftsman in comics — there were guys who probably, technically, drew better — but the overall package that Kirby presented: Power, speed, majesty, dynamism, scope, innovation sustained over fifty years… my God, it’s staggering!
I think the first time I became, vaguely, aware of Kirby was in the first issue of Archie’s Fly. I didn’t know who the artist was — but something about the character, the way he was drawn, the way he moved, the way the action flowed… it just drew me in. To this day it remains one of my all-time favorite comics. Then again, I noticed Kirby’s work when, briefly, he took over the art chores on “Green Arrow.” Suddenly, that rather mundane Batman wannabe became fascinating and exciting. Xeen Arrow, indeed! I noticed his work again when I saw The Incredible Hulk #3 on the spinner rack. The cover looked more or less like any of the monster books Marvel was producing — books which didn’t interest me and I didn’t buy — but I thumbed through this issue and was lured in by the action, the situations, the awesome power with which the Hulk was
Previous page: Kirby’s pencils for the unused Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #133 [1970] cover, and Al Milgrom’s finished cover for DC’s Jimmy Olsen Adventures collection [2004]. Above: Al’s sketch for the cover of The Avengers #154 [1976], and, at right, Kirby’s final pencil version, which was inked by Al. 121
Jim Valentino
Artist/Writer/Editor/Publisher Creator, normalman, ShadowHawk Founding member, Image Comics
“The Omega Effect,” The Forever People #6, pg.18 irby did not believe in one-dimensional characters. His heroes had flaws; his villains, depth and nobility, as shown in this page from The Forever People #6.
kill the youngest of the Forever People, Serifan, as an act of mercy; the magnanimousness of having absolute power at one’s fingertips. We understand more about these two characters — how they think, what they feel, to what ends they will go — in these four panels than in most writers’ entire books! So, the next time someone says to you that Kirby couldn’t write, show them this page. Explain the subtleties and the nuance, if you must. For just as he drew, Kirby wrote from the gut and from the heart.
Here we see Darkseid (arguably Kirby’s greatest villain, if not his greatest creation) showing a depth of character and conscience rarely, if ever, seen in a comic book super-villain. His regal stance, hands clasped behind his back reflecting his power and position; his slapping the insubordinate Desaad, an act of authority over a subordinate; and his refusal to allow his resident sadist to
Top inset: Vance Astro displays the shield of Captain America to become Major Victory in Jim Valentino’s Guardians of the Galaxy #20 [1992]. Above left: Original art, The Forever People #6 [1972]. Inks by Vince Colletta. Above right: Yes, that’s the late Kung-Fu star David Carradine sitting next to Jack, with Jim Valentino in the background. Previous page: Great characterization by Kirby, such as this from The Forever People #6, has perhaps made Darkseid the most potent villain in the DC universe. Pencils by Kirby and inks by Royer. 127
Scott McCloud
Cartoonist/Author/Comics Theorist Creator/Artist/Writer, Zot! 1994 Eisner Award winner, four-time Harvey Award winner
“Spawn,” The New Gods #5, pgs. 2-3 got into comics when I was about 14. My friend Kurt Busiek got me to read a big stack of comics, and I think it was probably within a year or two when I ran into Kirby’s work. Within the first couple of years, with the guidance of Kurt, who was always a little ahead of me in plumbing the history of the stuff, I came to recognize that Kirby had a lot on the ball, and was really the source of some of the stuff I was enjoying from people like John Buscema. The first stuff that I encountered was prime Fantastic Four, the full-bloom of the Joe Sinnott years, and not the earliest stuff. The earliest work to me seemed more primitive; the very early Fantastic Four doesn’t feel to me like he had quite hit his stride, and I wasn’t really ready to enjoy the New Gods era. Things like Devil Dinosaur were an acquired taste later on, but my favorite Kirby periods are still the mature FF issues and work like New Gods, which I think of as the mature, pure, and post-Marvel Kirby. By the time I was in high school and especially college, I was thinking of it more sort of as an ecology of styles, and I was very interested in going back to the source, and I had come to recognize that Kirby was the trunk of the tree. Pretty early on I developed a kind of altitude on the form, so it wasn’t that I was a fan of any one artist. I was more just trying to understand how the medium worked. So Kirby, to me, was this avatar of a particular approach to comics that I
Above: Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics detailed Kirby’s wide-reaching influence on super-hero comics. Pages like this 1971 New Gods #5 spread [right] prove him right. 128
Steve Rude
Artist/Writer Co-Creator/Artist, Nexus, Creator/Writer/Artist, The Moth Seven-time Will Eisner Award winner
“The Saga of the DNAliens,” Jimmy Olsen #136, pg. 5 hen Roz Kirby walked up to me at the San Diego show one year and asked, “Is this one of your letters, Steve?” I was disoriented for a moment. What Roz had just retrieved from her purse was a letter that I had written the Kirbys back in high school. This letter was then almost 20 years old and, sure enough, it was one of mine. Apparently, the Kirbys thought so highly of the reader comments they received in the mail during the 1970s, they had actually thought to save the damn things, which had to number at least several thousand. I used to think that these comments sent in by readers were never really taken seriously, beyond the ones that were lucky enough to make it to the letter columns. After maybe holding on to them for a week or so, these letters would surely be thrown out. But there it was: written on my mom’s 5" x 7" stationary on which I used to write regular letters to Jack, hoping that he might give the Golden Guardian from Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen his own book. The explosive scene featured here is why Kirby, and the way he drew things, made my time in high school so inspired and memorable, channeling my 16-year-old anxieties into a jet-stream of hopes to make comics my life’s work. This page: Say what you will about the superb rendering of artist Steve Rude, but if any contemporary comic book artist “gets” Kirby, it is the Dude, as he consistently produces exceptional Kirby-inspired material that expertly channels the King. Whether it’s his wonderful Mister Miracle Special [1987] of 30 years ago or his recent Fourth World cover for the TwoMorrows’ magazine, Comic Book Creator [#12, Spring 2016], the guy just nails it! Of note is his Legends of the DC Universe #14 [1999], a new story around Kirby’s concepts in Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen. Inset is a 1998 Steve Rude Orion/Darkseid illustration. 131
Jan Duursema
Artist/Advertising Illustrator Co-Creator/Artist, Arion, Lord of Atlantis 1983 Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award
“Murder Machine,” Mister Miracle #5, pg.10 did a story with Big Barda and the Demon intended for Legends of the DC Universe, but it never got published. It was my take on Kirby. I never sold any of the pages; I held onto it. I just like it. It was written by, I think, John Ostrander. The shop I went to as a kid didn’t carry Marvel comics, so I read Superman, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Batman, Richie Rich, and that kind of stuff. My biggest influences were the super-hero comics. I liked to read the cartoony stuff, but it wasn’t really my thing. When I went to the barber shop, we’d look at “Sgt. Rock” in Our Army at War. I always picked up any of Joe Kubert’s comics. Something about his style really appealed to me. I went to the Kubert School because I wanted to learn storytelling. I’d done four years of college in fine arts, but I always felt like I wanted to do cover paintings or storytelling or illustrations for books. Then I realized it was the same Joe Kubert whose comics I’d read. I hadn’t read comics in a long time. We’d gotten them until I was about thirteen or so, then I fell away from them. After I graduated college, I thought, “Comics — oh yeah, I like those.” When I went to the Kubert School, Jack Kirby was the name everybody was always talking about. Of course, I had to catch up on my Marvel Jack Kirby. And I don’t remember seeing much of his DC stuff at the shop as a kid. But I started catching up and learning my Jack Kirby history, and I realized a lot of the books I had seen over the years had a lot of Jack Kirby influence in them. It’s only natural; he influenced the entire industry. I only met Kirby once, in San Diego. He was sitting on a sofa, and we walked by and said hello. I said, “I’m a big fan,” he said thanks, and that was about it. It was fun, but I didn’t want to bother him. The kind of work ethic he had, getting the work done, always doing a professional job, and maintaining dynamics and a great attitude with his characters — there’s something about that generation. Kirby, Joe Kubert, and many of the guys of that era had this purity of style. They were each very individual artists. Even though there were influences back and forth, there was an individuality in their styles. Everything we’ve become, whether you do Kirby dots, or draw forest jungles like Joe would do them, or metallic surfaces like Kirby would do them, we all have influences from them, I think. My father was a little older, but my mom was of that same generation, and I can see that same type of mentality, that
do-it-yourself, make it work with what you have kind of mentality. They didn’t really do comics to gain fame and fortune; they did comics because they loved it. I think that was the type of work ethic that was instilled in me by my parents and from reading about people like Jack Kirby. They weren’t in it for the buck. Obviously they wanted to make a living, but they knew they had to do a lot of work to make that living. And they kept doing it. Jack Kirby especially was a machine, but in the best sense. Sometimes I feel that’s the way we need to be too, in order to maintain our art and to keep it going. I don’t think there could be comics without people like Jack Kirby. He’s the father, or grandfather, of a lot of the work you see now. A lot of the stuff we have now wouldn’t exist without him.
Top: Artist Jan Duursema holds up a spread featuring The Demon on Apokolips (originally intended for Legends of the DC Universe, but unpublished). Right inset: Big Barda by Jack Kirby. Next page: From Mister Miracle #5 [1971]. 134
135
Tom Scioli
Artist/Writer/Educator Creator/Artist/Writer, American Barbarian; Co-Creator/Artist, Gødland 1999 Xeric Foundation Grant recipient, “The Myth of 8-Opus”
“The Pact,” The New Gods #7 his is the comic that made me go from being casual fan of Kirby’s work to being a fanatic. It is, in my opinion, the greatest of all time, not just my favorite comic, but my favorite piece of literature, my favorite work of art. Pound for pound, line for line, page for page, I’d put it up against anything. This comic informed the path of my career. I wanted to make pop art myths like this. I’m at the point where I’m studying this comic on the molecular level.
design sense, brutality, and grandeur of the first year of Flash Gordon comics. It’s a prequel, but it’s full of genuine surprises. New characters are introduced, like Avia, Steppenwolf, and Darkseid’s Disney-villain mother, Heggra. Established characters reveal hidden depths. Expectations are turned on their head. Darkseid, the series’ omnipotent Big Bad, whose planet is covered with cyclopean statues of himself, where he is feared and worshipped by other gods, has not yet ascended to his throne. Here he’s a quiet, sneaky, manipulative introvert hiding in the background, giving people helpful suggestions that lead to their downfall. The kindly grandfather figure, the manof-peace Highfather, is the warrior god man-at-arms Izaya. Aloof Metron, who is perhaps the most godlike character in the New Gods pantheon, is shown as a work-for-hire mercenary scientist who would bow and scrape and debase himself in the pursuit of transcendent knowledge. The paradise world of New Genesis itself is shown to be built over the bones of the dead, over the ruins of war, with festering bioengineered weaponized mutants crawling under its surface. Orion is definitively revealed as Darkseid’s son, which was hinted at in prior issues, but fully spelled out here. And the cross-continuity connectiveness is drawn a bit closer in the surprise revelation in this “Comicbook of Revelations” that Mister Miracle is Highfather’s long lost son. The story developments enrich the whole and have ramifications on the present day storyline. It’s a master class.
In the Beginning — the New Gods were formless in image and aimless in deed!!! On each of their two new worlds, their races had sprung up from a survivor of the old!! The living atoms of Balduur gave nobility and strength to one!! — and the shadow planet was saturated with the cunning and evil which was once a sorceress!! For an age these New Gods pursued their own destinies — until the time of the great clash!!! It would start on New Genesis — with these two — Izaya the Inheritor and his wife Avia — and happiness — the first sign of coming tragedy — in an imperfect state!!! The opening text sounds like the Bible crossed with the opening crawl from Star Wars, and that’s how the whole comic feels. I always note, this comic predates Star Wars by four years. In the corner of the opening page is a note from the author: From time to time — this kind of segment will supplement the larger tapestry of The New Gods. Thank you .
This is Kirby taking his Kirby aesthetic to its furthest limits. At the time I first read this story, I was not as well-versed in Kirby, so I thought all these squiggly, zig-zaggy M.C. Escher structures were unique to New Genesis and Apokolips culture, but they’re Kirby’s smashable brand, the inimitable way he approached technology, architecture, and costuming. Each character is a walking decal-
— Jack Kirby He did it, sadly, only once more, with this story’s sequel, “Himon,” which is also a contender for greatest of all time. This is Kirby going back to his Alex Raymond roots, one of the few influences Kirby cites by name. Beyond just the fact that Steppenwolf is a Prince Barin lookalike, it’s got the breakneck world-building, space fantasy
Left inset: If Kirby had drawn The Incredibles or My Little Pony, it would’ve looked a lot like these illustrations by Tom Scioli! Next page: Kirby depicts the horrors of war like no one else — even in a futuristic society. Spread from The New Gods #7 [1972]. 138
Paul Rivoche
Artist/Writer/Illustrator/Animation Designer Co-Creator/Artist, Mr. X, Illustrator, The Forgotten Man Gold, Silver Award winner, Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles
“Himon,” Mister Miracle #9, pg. 25
What Jack Taught Me here were you when you first came across the incredible work of Jack Kirby? For me, it was Kirby’s Fourth World comics which revolutionized everything. In 1971, I was a mop-topped kid of twelve, equipped with black spectacles and a voracious appetite for comics, stories, and drawing. We lived in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and when the New Gods and related titles magically sprouted from the spinner racks, I began a weekly comics pilgrimage to the drugstore to try and amass every last issue of his enthralling, interconnected new epic. Jack’s stories hit me with incredible force. Somehow, inexplicably, I’d missed his Marvel output, and had become a committed DC reader. But, after a steady diet of far tamer DC fare, I was bludgeoned by the raw power of this new-to-me storyteller. Immediately, I noticed that Kirby did something different: He portrayed super-heroes as righteous soldiers in a cosmic war. His characters weren’t just doing ordinary super-hero fisticuffs; their struggles were part of a much larger fabric, one with great meaning. They were soldiering in defense of ideas, of truth, which at times compelled them to savagery and even a fight to the death, such as real soldiers experienced. When Orion battered Slig to death in New Gods #5, it was something different — as was the fact that he almost reveled in the violence!
Astonishingly, he predicted and covered many things which have since come to pass or are currently emerging: Nanotechnology, miniaturized computers, genetic engineering, the nature of mob behavior, propaganda, mass brainwashing, state surveillance, and more. A paramount theme of his, as seen in the pages of Mister Miracle #9 and Scott Free’s struggle to escape the clutches of Apokolips, was the never-ending cosmic/spiritual struggle between totalitarianism and individual liberty, as he had personally witnessed through World War II and the Holocaust. Kirby told the thrilling story of Scott Free’s decision to escape the rule of the collectivist mob and become himself — a true individual. For an introverted kid unknowingly grappling with that very same thing, as most artistic or sensitive souls do, nothing could have resonated with greater Truth! And what gave it so much strength was Jack Kirby’s sincerity. He truly loved his characters, and truly believed in what he was writing about. It all mattered. All this was, for me, a turning point. Jack Kirby’s forceful storytelling and astounding vistas inspired me to ever-greater exertions. And so I continued on, hunched over my little wooden office desk, surplus from the Canadian government, attempting to create my own comics with a stack of bond paper, some fountain pen ink, and a set of scratchy Speedball dip pens. I’m still on that journey.
So, it wasn’t just the dynamic drawing, the much-lauded ‘Kirby dots’ and squiggly lines, the baroque anatomy, squared fingertips, and gigantic machinery that impressed me so forcefully, as enthralling as those all were. These proved to be merely the surface elements of Kirby’s artistry.
Jack taught me: Be yourself, try to find yourself, even if it means great struggle; resist, at all costs, being an unthinking cog in the collectivist mob. That is the great “miracle” of Mister Miracle: Discover, and defend your unique and God-given individuality. This is a lesson as vitally necessary now as it was back in 1971.
Lying deeper was the sheer force of his compulsive stream of ideas. Jack Kirby managed to translate quite serious themes into a language that any kid could understand, all in the pages of a newsprint comic book. He took real issues and translated them into his imaginary world, dressed up in a compelling, entertaining package.
Top inset: Detail of Paul Rivoche’s Kirby-esque cover, Iron Man Annual #1 [2014]. Colors by Nolan Woodard. Above: Page from Kirby’s Mister Miracle #9 [1972]. Inks by Mike Royer. 147
Glen Murakami
Artist/Animator/Director/Producer Art Director, Superman: The Animated Series 1995 Eisner Award, “Best Single Issue” (shared)
“Horoscope Phenomenon,” Weird Mystery Tales #1 hen I was a kid, I didn’t like Jack Kirby. “Oh, he’s that guy who draws square fingers.” It was around junior high, high school when it started to click, and I started to get it. I started to realize how the different inkers affected the artwork, and I was seeing different phases of his career. When I was only looking at the late ’70s Marvel stuff, I didn’t have any context for any of it. But in any article or interview I would read, people would talk about Kirby, so I began thinking he deserved further investigation, and I started to piece it all together. I wasn’t a huge comic collector when I was younger, because we couldn’t get our hands on them. We would mostly get comics during summer vacations when we went on a long road trip as something to pass the time while in the car. I didn’t start collecting seriously until I was in junior high. I remember one year at San Diego Comic-Con someone telling me, “If you want a bunch of Kirby comics, you’re going to have to dig around all the discount boxes on the floor.” I walked out with a two-foot stack of all the ’70s DC and the later Marvel stuff I rooted out from the quarter bins. That’s when it came together for me.
Jack Kirby. He invented a lot of the language of comics. His page layouts — how dynamic they were. His work is sort of impressionistic, and I think that’s something a lot of people misunderstand about his style. He’s kind of a genius, someone who invented so many things. Where he places the camera when drawing something — there’s a New Gods sequence where Kalibak is fighting Orion, and Kalibak is punching Orion. The camera has to be mounted on Kalibak’s arm to get that angle. Nobody else was doing that. Recently I went back and looked at Tales of Suspense with Captain America fighting all those soldiers. That sequence is pretty amazing, just the fight choreography. There’s an early Fantastic Four sequence where the Thing is charging at a door — all of those drawings are amazing. Kirby is one of those artists I never get tired of. I can just pick up a stack of comics, it doesn’t matter from which era, and get something new from them every time I look at them. Little things I’m impressed with: there’s an early Hulk sequence where he’s transforming and his shirt is ripping. How did he know how to do that? There’s a lot of weird, abstract stuff where he just seemed to know how to draw it all. I think Kirby sets a standard, and you try your best to try
I just think you wouldn’t have modern comics if not for
150
Steve Bissette
Artist/Writer/Editor/Historian/Publisher Creator/Artist/Writer, Tyrant, Creator/Editor, Taboo Three-time Kirby Award winner, 1993 Eisner Award winner
“My Tomb in Castle Branek,” The Demon #2, pg. 6 It was the summer of ’72; the coming-of-age movie Summer of ’42 was still circulating in Vermont theaters, along with Billy Jack, Mark of the Devil (the vomit bag gimmick movie that was “The First Film Rated ‘V’ for Violence!”), and some great drive-in fare changing twice a week in a plethora of local Vermont open-air passion pits. What did I know about passion, though? I was still a virginal Catholic lad, and I wasn’t just “still reading comic books,” I was drawing my own comics, too, in my sketchbooks, dreaming of being a pro. I was so intoxicated with underground comix at ages 15, 16, and 17 that I’d completely missed Jack’s move to DC Comics from Marvel, and the entire Fourth World run (I caught up with those later, while in college), occasionally browsing newsstands and comics racks
here aren’t many mainstream four-color corporate-owned comic book characters I can actually cite as somehow defining arcs of my personal and professional life, but Jack Kirby’s Etrigan, the Demon, is one of the two of ’em (I’m sure you can guess who the other one is). I was still in high school — well, actually, poised between my junior and senior years, that weird final limbo summer between not-yet-an-adult and better-be-an-adult-fast — when The Demon #1 hit the newsstands. I was making money hand-over-fist, working long hours in my family’s rural grocery store and a part-time highway crew stint as one of the guys with a walkie-talkie holding that sign directing traffic: You know, “Stop.” “Slow.” Repeat. “Bored sh*tless” doesn’t begin to cover it.
Above: Steve Bissette inks a blueline version of Kirby’s original concept drawing for The Demon. Next page: Splash page from The Demon #2 [1972], with inks by Mike Royer. 152
Kevin Eastman
Artist/Writer/Editor/Publisher/Patron Co-Creator, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Signatory, The Creator’s Bill of Rights
“The Hospital,” Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth #16 y love for comics developed at the usual young age, seven or eight. First, it was about the characters I enjoyed reading about, and then, as my passion to want to draw my own comics grew, the artists themselves became the more important focus.
enough detail to bring you into their world through the story he wanted to tell you. The artwork was insane. Every panel on every page seemed to literally explode with excitement! The imagination that went into every detail, the splash pages, the two-page spreads — YEEOW! — every issue was a page-turner that would leave you out of breath in the end.
Jack Kirby had been one of a few with whom I identified as an early-on favorite, because of his Marvel Comics work, but, in the early ’70s, when he moved over to DC Comics, the King became my obsession.
I truly loved all the issues, but issue #16, “The Hospital,” was in my Top Ten. I loved the parallel, where Kirby finally leads you deeper into the origins of Kamandi’s world, when you think you’re reading the handwritten diary of a gorilla doctor recording the rebirth of mankind, but you’re actually reading the diary of the human doctor recording the birth of the new animal order. Perfectly done.
Using every penny of my paper route proceeds and birthday money, I followed all the titles he created — Edited, Written, and Drawn! — but there was a stand-out, my all-time favorite, and still is today… Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth! Looking back, I think that growing up in a tiny town in Maine, and Planet of the Apes being the first film I ever saw in the theater, had a hand in the connection, but it ran so much deeper.
As I continue to stand firmly upon the shoulders of the man, and humbly try to walk in his footsteps, I owe him a million lifetimes of thanks for all that he has given me. I am forever grateful to Jack Kirby.
Kamandi was the hero I could relate to and dreamed I could be. Set in a post-apocalyptic world gone mad, it was an epic adventure filled with action and fantastic characters, who, to me, had real emotions and personal struggles, and they dealt with incredible hardship trying to survive another day! All centered around a boy, Kamandi, who used his wits and skills to make it through each day, stayed strong, and, true to his beliefs, stood beside his friends at all costs! For an eleven-year-old kid like me, it clicked on every level. Back in the real world, Jack Kirby was the hero I dreamed of becoming. His ideas seemed endless, anything he could imagine; he could create, write, draw all of it. He was the complete storyteller, and this is what appealed to me. The pacing was fast, but he always left time to breathe life and personality into his characters. The stories never seemed to be over-written — or under-written — with just Right: Kevin Eastman, who sponsored The Art of Jack Kirby, poses with pride in his San Diego studio with a prized personal possession framed on his wall, the original cover art of Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth #16 [1974]. Next page: Original cover pencil art for Kamandi #16, from a photocopy in Kirby’s files. 162
163
While this isn’’tt a complete list of every important date in Kirby’’ss lif life fe and careerr,, it hopefully hits most of the key events and a few we think pertinent. Rule of thumb: Cover dates were generally two or three months later than the date the book appeared on the stands, and six months ahead of when Kirby was working on the stories, so we’ve assembled the timeline according to those adjusted dates — not the cover dates — to set it closer to real-time. — John Morrow.
1916–1930s • August 12, 1916: Kirby’s paresnt Rosie Bernstein and Benj Kurtzberg marry in New York City. On the certificate, Rosie’s father’s given name is Jacob.
1941 • Early 1941: In addition to their Timely assignments, Kirby and Simon (along with several inkers) frantically produce Captain Marvel Adventures enturess #1, the first book devoted solely to Fawcett’s new super-hero sensation (a boy who says the magic word “Shazam” and is transformed into the “World’s Mightiest Mortal”). But, because they believed the book would bomb, Simon and Kirby left their credit lines out of what would soon become one of the biggest selling titles of the decade. • February: Stan Lee’s first professional writing appears in Kirby and Simon’s a Comicss #3, a two-page text piece entitled entit “Captain America Captain America eberr,, who is editor Foils the Traitor’s Revenge.” Soon the former Stanley Lieber Simon’s office assistant (and relative by marriage to publisher Goodman), will be writing stories for the creative team during their stay at Timely.
• June 5, 1917: Benj Kurtzberg, living at 147 Essex Street, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, registers for the draft during World War I. Jacob is born almost three months later. (Until a birth certificate is discovered — which the family does not have — this is a best guess at Kirby’s birthplace.)
fe a S&K first for • July: Simon and Kirby’s Young Alliess #1 goes on sale, featuring comics: The kid gang.
• August 28, 1917: Jacob Kurtzberg [Jack Kirby] is born on New York City’s Lower East Side. Jack’s younger brother, David, will arrive on January 22, 1922. • 1920 Federal Census: Bennie, Rose, and Jacob are listed living at 131 Suffolk Street, Manhattan. • September 25, 1922: Rosalind Goldstein [Roz Kirby] is born, in Brooklyn, New York. • 1930 Federal Census: Ben, Rose, Jack, and David are living at 172 Delancey Street, Manhattan. • Early 1930s: Kirby (still Kurtzberg) joins the Boys’ Brotherhood Republic, a selfgoverning youth organization helping to keep kids off the street and remain productive, and he sees his work in print for the first time, in the club newsletter. He draws a regular feature, Kurtzberg’’s Konceptions, between 1933–35.
icss #10 (cover dated • Before completing their work on Captain America Comics Jan. 1942), Timely’s accountant reveals to Kirby and Simon that they are being cheated out of promised profits from the title as originally negotiated with Goodman. By then, the men are recognized throughout the industry as a top creative team in the field. Clandestinely, the partners contact Jack Liebowitz, co-owner of DC Comics, the industry’s top publisher, and negotiate a deal: $500 every month for the partners in return for 25 pages (extra for any additional work). Secretly preparing their DC stories, Simon and Kirby’s secret deal is uncovered by Goodman and the two, after finishing their last issue of Cap, are fired. Upon their departure, Stan Lee takes over as editor of the comics line. • December 8: The United States of America enters World War II.
• Mid-1930s: Kirby gets his first professional job as a cel opaquer for Max Fleischer’s animation studio, the producer of Popeyee and Betty Boopp animated cartoons. He advances to become an assistant animator. With a possible studio strike or relocation looming, he takes a position at Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate, drawing comic strips and one-panel cartoons, such as Laughs from rom the Day’s News, Cyclone Burke, The e Black Buccaneerr,, and Socko the Seadog.
1942 • Benjamin Kurtzberg’s draft registration card lists his address at 3142 Coney Island Avenue, Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. • Early to mid-1942: The Simon and Kirby team debuts at National (DC Comics) with
Adventure Comics css #72 (cover date March), their Sandman Sandm revamp. Part of their IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW, CLICK THE LINK • September 1938: Jumbo Comicss #1, published by Fiction House, aappears, contract with National guaranteed a minimum number of pages, something few reprinting some of Jack’s earlier syndicate strip work. This is the first time his creators received at the time. Kirby and Simon then debut more BELOW TO ORDER THIS BOOK! new features: work appears in a U.S. comic book.
• 1939: Kirby joins Victor Fox’s studio as a staff artist.
1940
“The Newsboy Legion” (with costumed co-star, the Golden Guardian) in Star Spangled Comics css #7 (Apr.); “Manhunter” in Adventure Comicss #73 (Apr.); and “The Boy Commandos” in Detective Comicss #64 (June) (June).
THE PARTY STARTS WITH
KIRBY100
• May 23: Kirby marries Roz Goldstein.
rd
• 1940 Federal Census: Ben, Rose, Jack, and David are living at 30 Banner 3 Road, • Summer: Due to its popularity, the team begins work on a Boy Commandoss solo Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. The census also asks where the family lived in 1935, title, which reportedly rtedly remains one of the company’’ss top to sellers for years. and the Kurtzbergs confirm the same address. TWOMORROWS and the JACK COLLECTOR • November: BoyKIRBY Commandos #1 goes on sale. The title lasts for 36 issues, ending magazine KIRBY’S BIRTHDAY in reveals that DC publisher Liebowitz • January: The Blue Beetlee newspaper strip debuts with uncredited Kirby work. celebrate inJACK the fall of 1949. 9.100th Decades laterr,, Simon style with the release of KIRBY100, a full-color visual generously shared profits from the title. Kirby confirms they were treated well by • Early 1940: Kirby meets Joe Simon in the Fox offices and, in May, Kirby and Joe holiday for the King comics! .It features an all-star theofcompany Simon collaborate for the first time, in Blue Boltt #2. Kirby’s debut work for Timely
line-up of 100 COMICS PROS who critique key images
Comics (the future Marvel Comics) appears in Red Raven Comicss #1 (August • Sensing young his menpage would be drafted, Liebowitz contracts with the team to from Kirby’s 50-year career,the admiring layouts, cover date), with the “Mercury” feature. It is the first time Kirby signs his work produce inventory material — on top of their regular assignments — to tide the dramatics, and storytelling skills, and lovingly reminiscby the name Jack Kirby (one of numerous pen names he initially uses, but it is company over while Simon and Kirby fulfill their military service commitments. ing about the one that sticks). The team of Simon and Kirby is established. Sometime in their favorite characters and stories. Featured areas BRUCE ALEX ROSS, WALTER SIMONSON, late 1939/early 1940, Timely publisher Martin Goodman hires Joe Simon the TIMM,1943 BYRNE, JOE SINNOTT, STEVE RUDE, ADAM comics line’s editorr,, and, outside o the office, Simon and Kirby conceiveJOHN of Captain • Early HUGHES, PINI,1943: JOHN ROMITA SR., DAVE America, which they pitch to Goodman, who agrees to share 25% of the profits WENDY GIBBONS, RUSSELL, andare dozens of the with the team on top of their rate of $12 per page. Kirby is hired as Timely’ s art P. CRAIG • May 21: Papers filed more to legally change Jack and Roz Kurtzberg’s last name to top names in comics. Their serve toeffective honor Jack’s place director for $75 a week. Kirby , andessays it becomes on June 23.in comics history, and prove (as if
there’s any doubt) that KIRBY IS KING! This double-length book is edited by JOHN MORROW
• Summer: Jack Kirby meets Rosalind “Roz” Goldstein, who lives in the same • June 21:aKirby for military duty in the U.S. Army to Camp Stewart, and JON B. COOKE, with Kirbyreports cover inked by MIKE ROYER. apartment building. They begin dating. Georgia, where he receives basic training as infantryman and mechanic. (The Limited Hardcover Edition includes 16 bonus color pages of • Fall: Marvel Mystery Comics micss #13 features the debut of Simon and Kirby’s “The 1944 Kirby’s 1960s Deities concept drawings) Vision.” (224-page FULL-COLOR PAPERBACK) $34.95 • February 5: Republic StudiosTRADE releases the first chapter of the 15-chapter movie • September 25: Kirby proposes marriage to Roz, who accepts. serial, Captain America. The names of theEdition) two men who created the character ISBN: 978-1-60549-078-6 • (Digital $12.95 • December 20: Simon and Kirby’s Captain America Comicss #1 goes goe on sale and are not listed in the credits. HARDCOVER with 16 bonus pages) $45.95 reportedly sells nearly half a million copies. Subsequent issues sell upwards (240-page LIMITED EDITION • August 17: Private 2nd Class Kirby is shipped to Liverpool, England, to serve ISBN: 978-1-60549-079-3 of one million copies per issue. The title is an unqualified success and Timely’s among the troops replacing the D-Day invasion force. biggest seller to date. The series continues until 1949 and the character aracterr,, with his http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=95_97&products_id=674 trusty sidekick, Bucky, also appears in numerous other Timely comics. • August 23: Private Kirby lands on Omaha Beach, in Normandy, France, and is
208
100 Top Creators Celebrate Jack Kirby’s Greatest Work Born Jacob Kurtzberg on August 28, 1917, comic book artist Jack Kirby rose from a hardscrabble life in the slums of New York City’s Lower East Side to become one of the most celebrated and revered pop culture artists in U.S. history. From the Golden Age of the ’40s to the artist’s own golden years in the ’90s, Kirby was the premier adventure cartoonist of his day and architect of the modern day super-hero mythology, which is now being played out in grand scale on motion picture screens the world over. Alone or with collaborators, this “King” of comics created Marvel Comics icons Captain America, The Avengers, the X-Men, the Hulk, Mighty Thor, the Silver Surfer, and many other characters, as well as DC Comics’ epic Fourth World mythos and mega-villain Darkseid. This 224-page, full-color book is a celebration of the beloved artist’s centennial anniversary, attended by a pantheon of creators — 100 artists who share memories, mementos, appreciations, and tribute artwork, much of it appearing here for the first time. Join us for the party as we say, “Happy 100th Birthday, Jack Kirby!” 53495
COVER ART BY JACK KIRBY & MIKE ROYER COLOR BY TOM ZIUKO
9 781605 490786
Testimonials, Tribute Artwork, Personal Photos, and Anecdotes by
TwoMorrows Publishing Raleigh, North Carolina
ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-078-6 $34.95 in the U.S.
Printed in China
MICHAEL ALLREDRICK ALTERGOTTBRENT ANDERSONJOHN BACKDERFKYLE BAKERALLEN BELLMANSIMON BISLEYSTEVE BISSETTE BILL BLACKDAN BRERETONRICH BUCKLERBOB BUDIANSKYBOB BURDENSAL BUSCEMAJOHN BYRNEGIORGIO COMOLO PARIS CULLINSALAN DAVISEVAN DORKINJAN DUURSEMAKEVIN EASTMANCLIFF GALBRAITHDAVE GIBBONSKEITH GIFFEN MICHAEL T. GILBERTAL GORDONLARRY HAMADEAN HASPIELFRED HEMBECKRICK HOBERGJOHN HOLMSTROMRICHARD HOWELL ADAM HUGHESKELLEY JONESDAN JURGENSPAUL KARASIKPETER KUPERLADRÖNNERIK LARSENBATTON LASHGARRY LEACH JOHN PAUL LEONJOSEPH MICHAEL LINSNERDAVID LLOYDTOM MANDRAKEBRENDAN McCARTHYSCOTT McCLOUDBOB McLEOD WILL MEUGNIOTAL MILGROMSTEVE MITCHELLTERRY MOOREBILL MORRISONDEAN MOTTERGLEN MURAKAMIRUDY NEBRES DUSTIN NGUYENGRAHAM NOLANMICHAEL AVON OEMINGJERRY ORDWAYRICK PARKERWENDY PINIED PISKORPETER POPLASKI CARL POTTSGEORGE PRATTPAUL RIVOCHEJOHN ROMITA sr.ALEX ROSSMIKE ROYERSTEVE RUDEMARK SCHULTZTOM SCIOLI MARIE SEVERINSCOTT SHAW!BILL SIENKIEWICZDAVE SIMWALTER SIMONSONJOE SINNOTTPAUL SMITHJIM STARLINJOE STATON KEN STEACYWILLIAM STOUTPHILIP TANBRUCE TIMMJIM VALENTINORICK VEITCHJOSÉ VILLARRUBIATREVOR VON EEDEN MIKE VOSBURGALAN WEISSSHANNON WHEELERBARRY WINDSOR-SMITHJIM WOODRINGJOHN WORKMANWILLIAM WRAY f r o n t i s p i e c e b y ALEX ROSS • e d i t e d b y JON B. COOKE & JOHN MORROW THOMAS YEATESCRAIG YOEJEFF ZAPATA
Art © the estate of Jack Kirby
ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-078-6 ISBN-10: 1-60549-078-4