RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books JACK KIRBY: A tribute to the King...

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It occurred to me earlier that today is Jack Kirby's birthday (I wanted to start this topic earlier, his birthday is actually August 28, 1917, so this topic is starting a little after-the-fact).

Jack Kirby is largely the reason I began collecting, and have continued to enjoy comics for over 3 decades, since I began reading in 1971.

Before my Kirby phase, I began with Harvey comics' humor titles for about a year, before I discovered superhero titles in 1972.
And I think Kirby-wise, it was a great time to begin reading DC and Marvel titles. I began reading DC titles with BATMAN 241, and was soon also reading DETECTIVE, JUSTICE LEAGUE, WORLD'S FINEST and SUPERMAN, HOUSE OF MYSTERY and a few others.

I was reading these for several months when a few new titles came along that really got my attention.
First was THE DEMON # 1 (cover date August/September 1972), and I was just knocked out by the pages in that, although at age 9 or so I didn't really think about art. Because Kirby's name was on the cover as well as the story credits, I think Kirby's stories were the first comics I thought of as someone's personal work.





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A month or two after, KAMANDI # 1 (cover date November 1972) came along, and this pretty much sealed my desire to look at anything from this point forward that Kirby produced. I was hooked !




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KAMANDI was, and remains, my favorite comic series of everything I've read. The endless stream of adventure and visual wonders, the sincerity and nobility of Kamandi, Ben Boxer, Dr Canus, Tuftan, Flower and other characters, against the backdrop of an untamed and chaotic world, our world through a mirror darkly, all collectively make it the quintessence of what comics are about for me: Pure fun, pure adventure, stunning visuals, and heroes of nobility and conscience.
Writers who arguably have more literary talent have failed to grasp the storytelling essentials that Kirby clearly did, in KAMANDI, and in so many of his other works.



Around the same time KAMANDI began (late 1972), Kirby's work also appeared in WEIRD MYSTERY TALES issues 1-3, and FORBIDDEN TALES OF DARK MANSION 6 ( a set of stories that were sold to DC, because the black-and-white SPIRIT WORLD magazine was cancelled after the first issue. Which I found out much later would have been SPIRIT WORLD # 2. But in any case, they look much better in color than if they'd been published in black-and-white magazine form).

And in this same few months, I first began reading MARVEL'S GREATEST COMICS, starting with issue 38, reprinting the classic Lee/Kirby FF run (issue 38 reprints FF 51, "This Man, This Monster", which I think is the best issue of the series, a great issue to start reading the Lee/Kirby FF run).

But at this point I was more partial to Kirby's DC work. I found Stan Lee's "ever-lovin" editorial insertions into the narrative a bit intrusive and annoying. But I still enjoyed the stories, I just liked Kirby's DC work more. I later developed an acquired taste for Stan Lee, but it took time.

I also had the good fortune to be given Jules Feiffer's THE GREAT COMIC BOOK heroes as a gift one Christmas (1973) and, among many other classics, first read Kirby's 1941 origin of Captain America.
Although the name Jack Kirby was the same as in the 70's titles I was reading, the style was very different, and I don't know if I immediately connected these two eras with the same artist.
It was not until I was older and collected Kirby's Fourth World books (with backup 1940's reprints of Newsboy Legion, Manhunter, Sandman, and Boy Commandos) that I fully appreciated that this was an artist whose work spans the entire history of comic books.

Also unknown to me at the time I first read them, some of the stories reprinted in the 1971-1972 issues of HOUSE OF MYSTERY and HOUSE OF SECRETS also reprint late 1950's Kirby work for DC.
As do the 1973-1974 reprint series BLACK MAGIC (reprinting 1950-1954 Simon & Kirby work) and BOY COMMANDOS (reprinting Simon and Kirby's 1942-1943 work).

Meanwhile, I was still loving the DEMON and KAMANDI.

Later came OMAC, SANDMAN, OUR FIGHTING FORCES and FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL (featuring single issue tryouts of ATLAS, MANHUNTER and DINGBATS), JUSTICE INC., KOBRA, and RICHARD DRAGON KUNG-FU FIGHTER.
Kirby's leaving DC in late 1975 was a great disappointment to me.

But his return to Marvel in 1976 got me excited again, especially THE ETERNALS.



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As well as Kirby's fun work in CAPTAIN AMERICA, 2001, MACHINE MAN, BLACK PANTHER and DEVIL DINOSAUR ( all in the 1976-1978 era).

It was only after Kirby left DC in 1975, and then left comics entirely in 1978 (to pursue animation on a Fantastic Four cartoon series, among others) that I really began to discover a lot more artists and storytelling styles in comics.
I think the Shooter era at Marvel from 1978-1987 was one of Marvel's most creative periods. So if Kirby had to leave comics, at least it was at a time when a lot of other talented newcomers came in to do their best work.

In 1979 I also turned 16, and with purchase of my first car, I sought out comic shops and started filling in back issues I'd missed.

I first filled out the gaps in my KAMANDI collection, and worked my way back to Kirby's Fourth World books (FOREVER PEOPLE, NEW GODS, MR MIRACLE and JIMMY OLSEN) and fell in love with Kirby's work all over again. I still think the Fourth World books stand out as Kirby's best and most ambitious work. I still pull these out once a year or so and re-read them.
But my favorite Kirby work remains KAMANDI. Pure adventure, and lots of fun to read.

Once I completed my 70's Kirby collection, I moved on to filling in my Neal Adams BATMAN and DETECTIVE issues, along with the other O'Neil, Novick and Giordano issues. And then moved on to more Adams, Wrightson, Kaluta, and DC's mystery books.

But I never shook the Kirby fever.

Kirby also came back in late 1981 to help launch the Pacific Comics line, and as writer/artist, created the first alternative-publisher color comic of the 1980's, CAPTAIN VICTORY. Which was a major step to broadening the market, and establishing royalties and creator ownership of characters.
While I have to agree it's not Kirby's best, CAPTAIN VICTORY came out at a time (I was 18 at the time) that allowed me to re-visit the wonder I felt in the early and mid-70's with Kirby's many great previous works for Marvel and DC. And Royer was back to ink it, with glorious Steve Oliff colors.


I acquired enough of a taste for Stan Lee that I finally purchased a near-complete run of Lee/Kirby FF issues, a complete run of FF 28-102, and scattered issues before that back to issue 13, and reprints of the rest, which I managed to put together between 1982-1983. Which was perfect timing with Byrne's run on FF 232-293, which is Byrne's wonderful tribute to the original Lee/Kirby run.

In 1984-1985, I put together a run of the Lee/Kirby JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY/THOR series (issues 102-177 and 179). I initially resisted this run because I didn't like Vince Colletta's inks on other titles in Colletta's 70's and 80's work, but as I explored these 1960's THOR issues, I was amazed at his inks on Kirby's J.I.M./THOR. And also his inks in FF 40-43.

I got a good sampling of Kirby's pre-Marvel monster stories back in the early/mid 1970's, in 70's reprint books like CREATURES ON THE LOOSE, FEAR, MONSTERS ON THE PROWL, WHERE CREATURES ROAM and WHERE MONSTERS DWELL.

And for the last two years or so, I've been most into the 1959-1963 pre-Marvel monster stories again, that ran in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY 59-82, STRANGE TALES 67-100, TALES OF SUSPENSE 1-35, TALES TO ASTONISH 1-35 (before superheroes took over these books), and also in the shorter runs of AMAZING ADVENTURES/AMAZING ADULT FANTASY, as well as shorter runs of STRANGE WORLDS, and WORLD OF FANTASY.

It's wonderful to see these books, and how they evolved into Marvel's budding superhero age.
The best article I've seen on the pre-Marvel period from 1949-1962 is in the Overstreet Guide 22nd edition (1992 edition).







Another article that begins with the 1963-forward Marvel Age, "The Four Phases of Marvel" can be seen online here:
(just look for the "Four Phases of Marvel" button, on the left-border list)
http://www.samcci.comics.org/reviews/






Jack Kirby is the reason many of us began collecting, and also the reason many of the current comics field professionals were inspired to become artists as well.








Here's a website that allows you to look at the many covers Kirby did for Marvel in the 1958-1970 period:
(You can just click on the top two for FF and JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, and from those links can title-search for Kirby's other covers on AMAZING ADVENTURES, AMAZING FANTASY, STRANGE TALES, TALES OF SUSPENSE, TALES TO ASTONISH, THOR, STRANGE WORLDS, WORLD OF FANTASY, RAWHIDE KID, TWO-GUN KID, BATTLE, LOVE ROMANCES, X-MEN and many other covers you'd like to view.)
FANTASTIC FOUR
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY(THOR)

Plus, as most of you are no doubt familiar with, many other articles and publications about Kirby and interviews of those who worked with him can be found at:
www.twomorrows.com




Which, longwinded as it is, is just the tip of the iceberg regarding my affection for Kirby's work. And for many others here, I'm sure.

Man, Rob's Boards have really hit bottom of late. This is the first time I've even looked in for 2 whole weeks. there just hasn't been ANYTHING of interest being discussed here at all...

There's a general-comics section over there, and near as I can tell so far, a more level-headed crowd...

Man, Rob's Boards have really hit bottom of late. This is the first time I've even looked in for 2 whole weeks. there just hasn't been ANYTHING of interest being discussed here at all...

Man, Rob's Boards have really hit bottom of late. This is the first time I've even looked in for 2 whole weeks. there just hasn't been ANYTHING of interest being discussed here at all...

Man, Rob's Boards have really hit bottom of late. This is the first time I've even looked in for 2 whole weeks. there just hasn't been ANYTHING of interest being discussed here at all...

Just thought I'd mention this, as I'm currently in the middle of re-reading my Kirby comics-- for the first time ever-- in CHRONOLOGICAL sequence!!!

I started out with the first 2 volumes of Greg Theaskston's THE COMPLETE JACK KIRBY. then, after putting together a chronological listing of all the stories I have (and where all the reprints are located) I plowed thru ever Golden Age Marvel Comic story in my entire collection! 22 Bill Everett SUB-MARINER stories-- wow!! A bunch of Carl Burgos HUMAN TORCH stories-- what CRAP!! A mess of other, miscellaneous stuff-- and of course-- the first 10 issues of CAPTAIN AMERICA. Whoa!!!!! I have the strongest feeling Jim Steranko has a copy of CA #10, because 2 or 3 of the stories in there he --ahem-- "borrowed" heavily from for work he did in the late 60's!

Then I moved on to Kirby's DC work. For this, I had to update my DC index, so I could re-read all those Fourth World back-up reprints in the CORRECT order. Which was cool-- especially when I got to the BOY COMMANDOS story where they teamed up with THE SANDMAN & SANDY THE GOLDEN BOY and THE NEWSBOY LEGION & THE GUARDIAN, as well as the Kid Commandos, AND get to meet F.D.R.!!! Whatta story!!!

Next up was STUNTMAN (Greg Theakston, 1987); THE COMPLETE JACK KIRBY (Mar-May 1947 and Jun-Aug 1947) with CLUE COMICS (with Gunmaster), HEADLINE COMICS, PUNCH & JUDY (with Lockjaw The Alligator), AIRBOY COMICS (with Link Thorne the Flying Fool); YOUNG ROMANCE #1 (DC, 2000), REAL LOVE (Young Romance & Young Love, from Eclipse, 1988), 3-D MAN (AC Comics / Golden Age Men Of Mystery #15, 1999); and right now I'm in the middle of FIGHTING AMERICAN!!! (Marvel, 1989)

The very recent HULK, CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN, HUMAN TORCH and JIMMY OLSEN books are really coming at a good time. The JO book, incidentally, FINALLY filled in the one last episode of the Fourth World epic I'd never read before (the 2nd episode)--so at last, I have the WHOLE THING!!!

But I'm really dying to get to the 1960's. Early Marvel-- especially FANTASTIC FOUR-- is my favorite period of comics. With those, after finally filling in so many gaps after decades, I'm ready to tackle the monumental task of re-reading every 1960's Marvel story in my collection-- in chronological order! YEEH-HAH!

That's is so weird... no way I posted that thing 4 times!!!

Yeah, lots of weird things have been happening... Like, I tried to register in the Legion boards (since that's where the level-headed crowd is at) and my e-mail was banned! Isn't that special?

Hear hear!

This is actually probably the best time ever to collect Kirby. Much of his work prior to the 1960's wasn't very accessible, until the last decade, due to how few copies there are out there, from the 1965-and-prior comics era.

But as Profh0011 pointed out, much of Kirby's early work is now being reprinted, and extensive checklists of Kirby's work are also making it easier to seek out Kirby's massive body of work.

I highly recommend THE ART OF JACK KIRBY (by Ray Wyman and Catherine Hohlfeld, 1992, The Blue Rose Press). Which in addition to covering Kirby's entire career, has an extremely detailed checklist and chronology of Kirby's work. A tremendously useful reference tool.

Two other great volumes are the collected hardcovers of BOYS RANCH and FIGHTING AMERICAN.

And of course, the Marvel Masterworks collections of virtually all Kirby's early Marvel work on FANTASTIC FOUR, THOR, AVENGERS, and X-MEN.

All in beautifully reprinted hardcover editions, that make them arguably more enjoyable than when they were published decades ago.

If only DC would release Kirby's Fourth World books in nice hardcovers, then all his best work would be available in nice editions.

Although DC did just release Kirby's JIMMY OLSEN material in a new trade (JIMMY OLSEN issues 133-139,141). With hopefully a concluding volume of 142-148 to follow.
Kirby's JIMMY OLSEN is among my favorites of Kirby's work, it's tremendously fun reading. A great mix of action and humor. Too bad the Transilvane story (JO, issues 142-143) couldn't be reprinted for Halloween. Maybe the 2nd volume will be out before next Halloween.

I saw these on e-bay, and thought you'd get a kick out of seeing them.

A set of 14 poster-size prints of ornate Kirby designs of architecture and movie set designs.

Kirby in 1978- 1979 apparently did set designs for a Science Fiction theme park, and also for a movie based on Roger Zelazny's work. Here's the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2210171508&category=972


Some VERY cool pages of oversize art !

Two of the images:

"Science Fiction Land"




"Pavilions of Joy"

I Started reading comics around 1963, as
soon as I learned to read.. Before then, I
was only able to look at the pictures!

I was aware of Jack Kirby's artwork INSTANTY.
He was a great artist: His figures, machinery
and backgrounds were all drawn quite well!

I started reading the Fantastic Four around
issue 19 or so... Wow!!!!!!! Jack made an
impression on me!!

I'm an artist, too..though my forte is portraits
and landscapes, I did draw superheroes. I'm not
one hundreth as good as Jack ( Or my OTHER
artistic idol, Curt Swan, who as you know drew
Superman for many years!! )

Jack was excellent at portaying emotions on his
characters, and drawing anything from a Battle scene
to just having his characters discussing plans.

I was sad to hear of his death.
That was several years ago now.
I wish I'd have met him. I've heard
he was a very nice man.

He left a fine legacy..Many years of
excellent art and story telling.

And many years of inspiration, to large
numbers of comic book readers, young and
not so young.

Thank you , Jack. You were one of the
great ones.

In a way I envy you, Beardguy, to be just a few years older than me, and to have seen the Silver Age unfold before you as it happened from 1963 forward, in the "wonder years" of your pre-pubescence.

Beginning with "The Flash of Two Worlds" (FLASH 123, September 1961, the first Golden Age and Silver Age Flash crossover), and "Crisis on Earth One/Earth Two" (the first JLA/JSA crossover in JLA 21 and 22, August and September 1963, which began an annual event in that series) and the beginning of the "DC Universe" developing from that time as well.
Another great early crossover is in MYSTERY IN SPACE 90 (March 1964) "Planets in Peril" by Fox and Infantino, teaming Adam Strange, Hawkman and the JLA, a fun story that was one more step toward an increasingly cohesive DC universe of characters.
Another (recently collected in a trade paperback, titled ZATANNA'S SEARCH) is a loosely connected set of crossover stories, done over several years, from JLA, HAWKMAN, DETECTIVE COMICS, GREEN LANTERN and THE ATOM, from 1963 to 1966 or so.

While over at Marvel, their superhero age began with FANTASTIC FOUR # 1 in November 1961. And then gradually, the Hulk, Spiderman and Thor were slowly launched in 1962.
The Hulk made his first crossover guest appearance in FF # 12, in March 1963.
There was also an Spider-man/FF crossover in FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL # 1 (Sept 1963), where Spiderman visits the Baxter Building, and tries to join the FF.
And shortly after, AVENGERS 1 and X-MEN 1 were released in September 1963.
The first crossovers between the Avengers, FF, and X-Men began in 1964, with guest appearances by the Avengers in FF 25-26, and the X-men in a crossover appearance in FF 28.
The absolute best crossover ever was in AMAZING SPIDERMAN ANNUAL # 1 (1964), by Lee and Ditko, where every last Marvel hero made a guest appearance. Great story !

And from there things progressed, with introduction and expansion of a number of other characters, such as The Watcher, The Recorder, Galactus, the Silver Surfer, The Inhumans, Black Panther, and other characters who made the Marvel tapestry increasingly more cohesive, from 1963-1966.

DC's climb toward the Silver Age plateau had begun earlier with introduction of the new Silver Age Flash in 1956, and with the slow introduction over a period of years of Adam Strange(MYSTERY IN SPACE), and new Silver Age versions of GREEN LANTERN, THE ATOM, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, HAWKMAN and others, that all made a gradual crawl from scattered appearances in SHOWCASE and BRAVE AND THE BOLD, and over a period of years (1958-1964) slowly eased into their own regular series.
Very slowly.
And it was not until JLA 21 and 22 (the first JLA/JSA crossover, in 1963) that things began to really evolve on the DC side as well.











It must have been really exciting to watch things unfold at both DC and Marvel on a monthly basis throughout this era.




I had the good fortune to meet Jack Kirby in person at San Diego Con in July/August 1987.
He was in a conference room in a panel discussion with others, but it was as if the others didn't even exist, because all the questions were aimed at Jack. He was very personable. And it was funny, because he couldn't seem to remember what series he did in what order, he wasn't sure if he'd done NEW GODS or KAMANDI first.

Which is natural, because he did such a huge monthly output of work over so many decades. We're the ones who constantly re-read and index his stories, Kirby just wrote and drew them one at a time, and then moved on to create the next one, never looking back.

So it was interesting that even though he created them, it was obvious that, chronologically and analytically, we knew more about his stories than Kirby himself did.
It also made me feel like a comic geek, for knowing Kirby's continuity perhaps too well, more than the King himself did.

Although being in his 70's at the time, I'm sure Kirby's memory wasn't as sharp as it once was.

As fortune would have it, when I came in late to that conference room (a few minutes late) and took a chair up in one of the front rows that was open, I happened to pick the seat right next to Roz Kirby !!

She was very nice too, and in the mob of people who were trying to talk to Kirby during and after the panel discussion, I was actually able to talk to her much longer than Jack. I asked her to sign my 1987 San Diego Con book, and she seemed very surprised by this. She asked why I'd want her signature, and I told her "because you're Jack Kirby's wife ! You're the woman behind the man !" She blushed and signed my book. Both were extremely modest and nice, despite every one of us treating them like gods.

You can see Jack Kirby on Ken Viola's 60-minute video, THE MASTERS OF COMIC BOOK ART, produced in 1987, where Harlan Ellison hosts and gives 1-minute introductions for 10 different comic book artists, who are interviewed for about 5 minutes each. In the order they are interviewed, the artists are Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko(who narrates, but is the only artist not seen), Neal Adams, Berni Wrightson, Moebius, Frank Miller, Dave Sim, and Art Spiegelman. A great little tape, that lets you see many of the masters of the field.
( Although I would like to have seen a second volume, featuring Joe Kubert, Al Williamson, Frank Frazetta, Carmine Infantino, Jim Steranko, Michael Kaluta, Barry Windsor-Smith, Jim Starlin, Michael Golden, and John Bolton ! )


But anyway, if you can find this video, it's a place where you can see Kirby talk about his work.
There was a book recently collecting the Comics Journal interviews of Jack Kirby, with his wife Roz speaking in the conversation as well.

( Below is a taste of that initial excitement I felt, when first seeing Kirby's Fourth World books advertised, in my own re-creation of DC's full-page house ad in JIMMY OLSEN 134, from when Kirby first left Marvel and arrived at DC in 1970: )

___________________________________________


THE MAGIC OF... KIRBY !!







__________________________________________



I first read these stories in 1979.

But through this ad in JIMMY OLSEN 134 (which issue I had the good fortune to stumble on in a used bookstore before I got the later Fourth World books, and was thus able to read them in order) I was able to experience the excitement as if I was there from the beginning:


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_MNK0lQqf-vc/RvCAIL6ufJI/AAAAAAAAB6w/iLq8VuoEH5E/s1600/MagicOfKirbyAd.jpg

Dave The wonder Boy :

I envy YOU! You actually met
Jack Kirby!!!

That is a memory I expect you'll cherish for
as long as you live. Roz sounds like she was a
very special woman. They were quite fortunate
to have been together for all those years.

I did meet Chris Clairmont at a Comic convention
in spring of 1983. I wanted to show him a sample
of my work. I brought a story I'd written and drawn
myself. NOT for future employment, but just for
an overall critique.

He glanced at it, then handed it back to me after
only a minute of looking at it.

" it's not up to professional Standards. ", He told me.

" I know that, " I replied.... " I just wanted you to see it
because you write the X Men and I respect you
because you do a great job! " I told him enthusiastically.

" Thanks. " he said, and walked off.

I didn't like him so much after that, though I read the
X Men for several more years, until fall of 1989. That was
when the book lost it's " One big X family " type feel and
began to take on a new direction that I had difficulty
relating to.

I'd rather have shown that multi part story ( Using heroes
of my own making. ) to Jack Kirby. Now THAT would
have been a great memory!

I never understood peoples fascination with Kirby,his art was shit & all his 4th world characters (with the exception of Mr.Miracle & possibly Darkseid) were crap with stupid gay names!
In my book Kirby is way over rated with guys like Ditko being far superior!
I really find it difficult to read anything pencilled by Kirby cause the art work is so damn crappy!

Okay, Nowhere Man..So you don't like Jack Kirby.


What comic artists DO you like?

Pretty much anyone who isnt Jack Kirby (with the exception of Byrne & Liefield)!

Fave artists off the top of my head,in no particular order:
Alan Davis
Brian Bolland
Neil Adams
Alex Ross
Dave Gibbons
George Perez
Phil Jimenez
Jim Aparo
Curt Swan
John Romita
Kevin Maguire
Tom Mandrake
Jerry Ordway
Gil Kane

Those are a GREAT bunch of artists!

I like Ordway, Curt Swan, most of the ones you
named, and some that were Not on your list:

John Buscema

Bob McLeod

Bill Sinkewicz ( spell? )

Stuart Immomen

Don Heck

Sal Buscema

Wally Wood

To name a few.

As I say,that was just off the top of my head.
I do like Immonens work & some but not all or Sienkiwitz (whatever)!
There is a lot of others.
One name escapes me though,there was a guy who did a humungous JLA run in the 70s/80s but I cant for the life of me remember his name!

Anyway, here's my take on Jack Kirby.

Jack Kirby is to comic book art what Elvis Presley was to rock and roll. He was the guy who pretty much invented it.

There were others before him that did similar things but didn't quite capture the magic. There were others about the same time who might have been more technically proficient. But in each case (Kirby and Elvis) they had some special, indescribable, mixture of talent, style and that "x" factor to be the artist that made everyone take notice and, therefore, pretty much invented "the language" of their genre.

Both Kirby and Elvis might have declined in their later years but that doesn't diminish their influence on everyone else.

No wonder we call both "the King."

G - Man :

Well Put! That is how I feel about Jack Kirby, too!!!

Yeah,Dick Dillin thats the guy!

Gotta disagree about the comparison to Elvis!
Elvis was a great singer up to when he died (ok so live he was mostly in a drugged up stupor) and to my mind actually released some of his best records!

Kirby didnt deteriorate either,his style stayed the same so to me all his work looked nasty!
There were far superior artists from the 30's onwards who dont get half the credit Kirby does!
To my mind the only reason Kirby has been given the stature he has is due to the fact when Marvel launched in the 60's,he pencilled the bulk of the titles giving him an iconic status far beyond his actual talent!

Wow, you guys have been busy since the last time I posted here !





Thanks for your response, Beardguy.

Sorry about the Claremont thing. But take heart, there's as many really kind and supportive creators as there are abrasive egomaniacs in the comics field. Don't let one rude experience discourage you. Lots of others would be glad to look at your stuff and give you feedback.

I've had some similar responses when I've shown my stuff to other creators. Although I mostly submitted stuff to them by mail.
I've gotten nice encouraging letters from Karen Berger, Richard Corben, Sean Deming (a former editor for Eclipse), Will Eisner, and a few others.

Deming sent me a discarded AIRBOY script, with hand written notes on it by Chuck Dixon, warmly welcoming penciller Stan Woch back to the series (AIRBOY # 33). It was the first comic script I'd seen, that by example, showed me how to format a complete script.

I also got responses to submissions with similar guidelines from Randy Stradley (Dark Horse), and Tom DeFalco (Marvel's then-editor-in-chief, in the post-Shooter era).

But I also had an encounter somewhat similar to your experience with Claremont:

Jim Starlin, who I met at a show in Miami in February 1993, similarly wouldn't look at my stuff. He raised his voice a little bit when I pulled out my script for him.
He said that he used to look at scripts, until he published WARLOCK, and some fanboy bitterly accused Starlin of stealing the concepts in that series from a script he'd shown Starlin a year or two prior. So he said since then, he doesn't look at people's work.

Grim business, that.

Conversely, one time, I mailed a script I wrote to Scott Hampton, to see if he'd want to draw it, a Twilight Zone-type story that partly dealt with runaways and child abuse.
He didn't send me a letter back.
Instead he called me at home, and spoke to me for an hour on his tab, offering me suggestions, primarily that I expand it to a graphic novel instead of a 7-page story, and I'd have a better likelihood of selling it. That was about the most encouraging and considerate response I got from a comics creator.
I'd intended to expand my story to a graphic novel as Hampton suggested, but you know... life intervened. And I never got around to it. But I still plan to.

He also suggested that whether you're a writer or an artist, a good way to get your foot in the door is to find a professional who likes your work and can collaborate with you. That way there's a name connected to the project that a publisher already knows, and they're more willing to publish it.
As it turned out, Hampton told me he was working on a similar project at that time, with writer Archie Goodwin, that also dealt with child abuse, so he didn't want to do two similar stories at the same time.
The BATMAN:NIGHT CRIES graphic novel he described was published about 6 months after we spoke.

I've heard Claremont can be rather rude to fans. He has a reputation similar to Harlan Ellison, he can be friendly, or he can be abrasive with fans, depending on his mood.

I met Ellison at the 1987 San Diego Con as well, and was a bit intimidated at first, by stories from friends who'd met him over the years before then.
One told me that when Ellison asked him during a literary discussion if he'd read Gulliver's Travels and responded to Ellison that no, he hadn't, Ellison had waved his hand in the guy's face in a dismissive gesture and said "Illiterate asshole...", and then Ellison ignored him and turned to others present.
So I was eager but hesitant to meet Ellison.

And I was very surprised how gracious and friendly Ellison was. He signed a few of my books.
And that was one of the highlights of the 1987 San Diego Con, when Ellison spoke in a large auditorium room for over an hour.
Ellison's presentation was part commentary on the industry, and part stand-up comedy. He was very funny. One example:
"Spiderman is swinging through the center of Manhattan 70 stories up, and there's not a bathroom in sight... and you thought that was an air conditioner !..."

He ripped on Jim Shooter a bit.
And on DC's censorship plans, to establish ratings, that had caused Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Marv Wolfman and others to resign, and to bash DC in the fan press.
Ellison and Frank Miller are friends, and Ellison sarcastically ripped on Miller's tittilating hint of lesbianism and prostitution surrounding Catwoman in BATMAN:YEAR ONE, that caused Miller to run up on stage and try to take the microphone from Ellison to respond, and Ellison wouldn't let him, and playfully kept the microphone at arm's length while Miller struggled for it.
The audience was doubled over with laughter watching this.

I had an advance registration and wore a nametag, and many of the writers and artists, who I'd never seen, were recognizable to me because of their nametags. And I was similarly recognizable to them.
I initially thought my wearing a nametag was a stupid idea, I mean, who the hell am I?
But it turned out to be a real blessing.

Some others I met at the 1987 San Diego Con were:

Sergio Aragones ( the guy is HUGE ! Well over six feet tall, I told him how much I like his MAD magazine and GROO work. He was very pleasant to speak with) ,
Joe Rubinstein (one of the best inkers of the late 70's/early 80's, not at all how I pictured him, he was a big bodybuilder type, with short dark hair and glasses. Also very friendly, but I would have guessed he was a cop, rather than a comic book artist),
John Muth (he also later appeared a few years later at a booksigning where I met him again, at Tropic Comics in Fort Lauderdale),
Berni Wrightson (who I also saw later, in December 1995 at a Tropic Comics booksigning, where he wasn't nearly as mobbed, and it was much easier to talk to him),
Chris Miller (who drew several portfolios for Pacific/Schanes&Schanes in the early 80's, and also did several backup stories for Eclipse, in SABRE, if I recall. Very friendly guy),
Michael Thibideaux (also very friendly, he'd been an inker on Kirby's CAPTAIN VICTORY and SILVER STAR, and had just begun publishing a VIKING HEROES series, which was somewhat similar to "the Warriors Three" from THOR. Fun stuff, and he was an absolute pleasure to chat with. ),
Peter Sanderson (Who was a jerk to me. He was one of the first pro's I saw at the convention. I saw his nametag, and said "Hey, Peter Sanderson..." and I started walking over to talk to him, having read many of his letters and articles. And real snotty, he snarls at me and mocks me going "Yeahhh, yeahhh, it's Peter Sanderson... " and walked away with whoever was walking beside him. I have absolutely no idea why he'd react as he did. What an asshole ! I've never given a second look to anything he's done since. ),
Kurt Goldzung (Marketing Director for First Comics, who I knew for years as a comic store owner in Hollywood, Florida, from 1979-1985, before he closed his store to work for First Comics. ),
Rick Oliver (Editorial Director for First Comics, who recognized me from my letters. Again, very friendly, and we talked a long time. I loved what First was publishing at that time, and for four years prior, and lavished unbridled praise on him for the work First was producing. He let on some behind the scenes, of the inner workings of First, and upcoming projects at that time.),
Karen Berger (who also recognized me from my letters to WONDER WOMAN, SWAMP THING, and other books she edited.
And in addition to being very personable, holy geez, what a beautiful woman !!
She showed me a bound folder of xeroxes for the BATMAN:SON OF THE DEMON graphic novel that was released soon after.),
Julius Schwartz (Incredibly friendly and approachable, he reminded me of my own grandfather. Despite his being one of the grandmasters of comics, I had absolutely no competition to speak with him),
Peter Gillis (who actually saw my nametag and approached me before I saw him, having recognized my name from my letters to his books, and spoke to me a long time. He gave me a lot of behind the scenes about SHATTER, that he was working on at the time. ),
Mark Evanier (he was inundated with fans, so we spoke very briefly. ),

Robert Silverberg, George Clayton Johnson, Claremont, and Harlan Ellison, who sat at a table discussion about censorship. A provocative discussion.
The playful bickering between Ellison and Silverberg was priceless.
Ellison was very "free enterprise/anything goes" about editorial control, and Silverberg argued for more editorial responsibility and restraint.
Silverberg brought up a series called "Rapeman" that he said is published in Japan, a storyline that focuses around a thug that anyone can hire to rape and humiliate any woman the person who hires him has a grudge with, and Silverberg said that the series has no redeeming cultural value, that it's just cruel and vicariously sadistic trash, saying that now they wanted to publish this series in the United States, and asked Ellison if they should be allowed to do this. Ellison was stuttering and flabergasted, absolutely tongue-tied, which invoked laughter and wild applause from the audience, that a guy as eloquent as Ellison could be so tongue-tied by such an argument.
At one point during the panel discussion, Byron Preiss, who was sitting one row in front of me, stood up to make a comment about editorial responsibility, from his own publishing experience. I had no clue it was Preiss, until he stood up with a question and announced himself.
Preiss' own projects, including THE ILLUSTRATED HARLAN ELLISON, published in 1978, which includes a breathtaking version of Ellison's short story "Repent, Harlequin, said the Ticktockman..." illustrated by Jim Steranko that, along with other material in the anthology book, is a wonderful contribution to the field of comic book art.
As are many other Byron Preiss books from the late 70's, such as Steranko's CHANDLER illustrated book, THE STARS MY DESTINATION adaptation by Howard Chaykin, WEIRD HEROES anthology, and FICTION ILLUSTRATED series.
Preiss was dressed very professionally in a navy blue suit--so unlike the rest of us !--- and was an impressive individual, even among the likes of Ellison and Silverberg.

R.A. Jones, AMAZING HEROES columnist and sometimes comics scripter. I loved his later 1989 four-issue SINBAD miniseries, illustrated by M.C. Wyman, and a second 1990 oneshot western called PISTOLERO, also illustrated by Wyman.
I complimented him profusely for his "Royal Review" of Kirby's best stories that he did in AMAZING HEROES 100 --Jones' contribution to a book-length tribute to Jack Kirby-- selecting his perceived best from the span of Kirby's entire career.


( full-size image at: )
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( full-size image at: )
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Accompanying R.A. Jones was Tony Isabella. I let on that some of my favorite stories he's written were some issues of WHAT IF?, for Marvel.
They were just two guys I struck up a conversation with, and it was evening, so we weren't wearing nametags, and about 15 minutes into the conversation, I introduced myself and told them my name. And they told me theirs. I said "Holy crap, I know you guys ! I've read your stuff !"

When I first went in the front entrance the first day at the San Diego Con, there was a guy who looked just like Frank Miller, who was wearing an "I'M NOT FRANK MILLER" t-shirt. After seeing Frank Miller later in the show, I think it actually WAS Frank Miller, wearing the t-shirt so he wouldn't get mobbed.

I first saw Harlan Ellison in one of the dealer rooms, looking for back issues. I turned around, and holy shit, there's Harlan Ellison standing right next to me !!
He turned to the dealer I'd just been talking to, and said he was trying to complete his back issue run of CAPTAIN MARVEL JR. issues.
I couldn't believe that this famous author, who for years I'd admired, and for years struggled to collect all his books, who I'd seen interviewed on television like a Hollywood celebrity (which he is) was suddenly so accessible, standing right there next to me.
I also couldn't believe he was a fanboy, just like me, going through bins looking for back issues. I didn't talk to Ellison at that point, I was too awed and speechless. I had another opportunity later.
Many, actually.
I kept unwittingly strolling into places where he was.

I was just amazed thoughout the San Diego Con, that every time I turned around, there was another god of the industry, whose work I've admired for years, that I could just walk up to, and thank for the many hours of great storytelling they provided me, and openly discuss their work, often able to chat at length with them.

Even four days at San Diego Con is not enough. No matter how many creators you talk to, there are dozens of others you wish you had time to talk with.
I've been to many conventions, but I never saw anything like this one. Usually, at most conventions, there are between 5 and 20 creators, but at this show there were hundreds. Virtually everyone in the field.

But there were two main events of the Convention:
First was Harlan Ellison's one-man-show monologue presentation.
And the other was an appreciation of Jack Kirby, with many panels discussing issues related to Jack and his art.

Another panel discussion I sat in on was a Marvel panel sitting in front of a barely-civil audience that cried out for the return of Kirby's artwork to the artist.
This was the 25th anniversary of Marvel (1961-1986), and despite Marvel's hyping the hell out of the event over the past year, Kirby was still not given any credit anywhere for his massive contribution to Marvel's creation.


There were ads that ran during Marvel's 25th anniversary in many Eclipse comics from that year (1986-1987), with a photo of Jack Kirby, and the caption:
"Marvel's 25th Anniversary: WHAT ABOUT JACK ?" Paid for by the friends of Jack Kirby.

And needless to say, during the 1987 San Diego Con panel discussions, the panel of Marvel editors were feeling the heat of barely restrained fanboy rage. You could definitely feel the widespread hostility toward Marvel, for its poor treatment of Marvel's greatest contributor. Second only in contribution to Stan Lee, but even THAT's a point that can be argued, whether Kirby or Lee can be most credited with Marvel's success.

It was a watershed year for giving Kirby his due.




( fullsize version of this image at:
http://fullsize.23.GIF )
( This image is TALES TO ASTONISH 23, a pre-Marvel cover by Kirby from September 1961, two months before FANTASTIC FOUR # 1. It demonstrates that many of the conventions of Silver Age Marvel fight scenes by Kirby, terrorizing locals of New York, smashing through buildings, and crowds of people screaming in the streets, were conventions of Kirby's in his pre-Marvel monster stories, from 1958-1963, long before it became the "house style" for Marvel, in the peak Marvel period from 1963-1970 )

Wow! You've met a Lot of Great talent!!

That's great.


I failed to mention that there was a new DC
artist at the same Comic Con I went to in
Spring '83 in Philly that actually asked to
see my sketch book. He was encouraging
and made a few suggestions, too.

I liked him. He was very nice. I forget his
name. I hope he has had a long and
distinguished career as a Comic book
artist.

Well you guys might appreciate the first few lines from the Monster Magnet song Melt!

Quote:

---

Wakin' up, I watch another sun go down
Another day spent underground
In my world of pills
And I was thinkin' how the world should have cried
On the day Jack Kirby died
I wonder if I'm ill
I'll never trust myself again
But I don't care
Just set that plastic soul on fire
And watch it melt

Life is good, a rocket sled utopia
A self imposed myopia
You gotta love this pace
Life is fast, a million winners everyday
You tell me, is this work or play
I'm never really sure
I'll never trust myself again
But I don't care
Well just set that plastic soul on fire
And watch it melt

Well I'm alive, now you watch me go
A tickle inside my brain
Where it comes from I don't know
But I'm laughin' in the flames
It's just the look in your eyes
I feel like I can fly
And then sometimes I dig it so much, I could die

I'll never make no mortal place
'Cause I don't care
Just set that plastic world on fire
And watch it melt

Well I'm alive, now you watch me go
A tickle inside my brain
Where it comes from I don't know
But I'm laughin' in the flames
It's just the look in your eyes
I feel like I can fly
And then sometimes I dig it so much, I could die

---

Monster Magnet was a cool group. I like them.

Thanks for posting those lyrics.

Thanks for posting that, Nowhereman.

It's nice to see Jack Kirby get some mention outside of comics.

I was surprised, when Kirby died, TIME magazine summarized Kirby's work in about 40 words or less on their "Milestones" page.
That seemed a remarkably short tribute to one who is arguably the primary shaper and influence on what is a uniquely American art form.

As G-Man partly said, he is what Elvis and Picasso were to their chosen fields. The undisputed king.

The time is getting close for the 10th anniversary of Kirby's death, so I thought I'd post the obituary I saved, of where I first heard the news:



This article is infuriatingly brief, and at several points, which I partly corrected, innaccurate. Kirby's real name was mis-spelled.
And although I left it in, it's debatable whether Kirby created Spider Man, or just simply did a new cover that was used (the famous one by Kirby from AMAZING FANTASY 15), because Ditko's was rejected.


Kirby claims (in his COMICS JOURNAL interview) that he created Spiderman, and then the concept was developed by Lee and Ditko. But others have disputed this.

This article also comes far short of describing the full breadth of Kirby's influence over more than five decades of comics history, and ongoing.

Beyond Captain America, Kirby (with Simon) also went to DC in 1942-1943 and co-created the Newsboy Legion, Manhunter, Boy Commandos, and a new Sandman series. All popular regular features, in STAR SPANGLED COMICS, ADVENTURE COMICS, and BOY COMMANDOS.

In the late 1940's and early 1950's, Simon and Kirby created the first Western and romance comics.
Simon and Kirby also created their own publishing company, publishing such titles as BOYS RANCH, FIGHTING AMERICAN, STRANGE WORLD OF YOUR DREAMS, JUSTICE TRAPS THE GUILTY, FOXHOLE, BULLSEYE and BLACK MAGIC.

In every genre of comics, Simon and Kirby were leaders, and their style was widely imitated, partly causing Kirby to re-invent his style, after parting with Simon (who left the comic book field to pursue an art career in the advertising field, during a comic industry slump in 1955, largely brought on by creation of the Comics Code, where creative jobs in the comic industry largely evaporated).
And Kirby's late 1950's/1960's style is now likewise widely imitated, as his earlier style was.

In his quest to stay fully employed, Kirby ventured back to DC in 1955, and created CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN, the first Silver Age superhero group (first appearing in SHOWCASE 6, Feb 1957), and instantly made a huge impact on this new comics era. One can easily see parallels between CHALLENGERS and Lee/Kirby's later 1961 team book, the FF.
Kirby also did a lot of monster and science fiction stories for DC, appearing in HOUSE OF MYSTERY, MY GREATEST ADVENTURE, TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED, and other titles.

Kirby's SKYMASTERS syndicated newspaper strip (similar to CHALLENGERS) was the source of a legal clash with DC editor Jack Schiff, and resulted in a mutually hostile departure by Kirby from DC.

Kirby then took work at Atlas/Marvel from 1958-forward, putting virtually all his creative energy into war, western, romance, and monster stories for Marvel, in titles such as BATTLE, LOVE ROMANCES, TWO GUN KID, RAWHIDE KID, and most importantly STRANGE TALES, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, TALES OF SUSPENSE and TALES TO ASTONISH, among others.
From these latter titles would evolve Marvel's superheroes, and the monsters and villians their heroes would fight.

And in between Marvel assignments in the late 1950's, Kirby also managed to squeeze in additional work and leave his impact on other publishers, doing work for Archie, Charleton and Harvey, creating DOUBLE LIFE OF PRIVATE STRONG, ADVENTURES OF THE FLY, RACE FOR THE MOON, BLAST OFF, and other work. But Kirby obviously found his greatest success at Marvel.

Some key milestones from Kirby's most prolific creative period:

FANTASTIC FOUR 1 (November 1961), intro/origin, the FF.
TALES TO ASTONISH 27 (Jan 1962), first Ant-man story (one-shot).
HULK 1 (May 1962), origin/first appearance of Hulk.
AMAZING FANTASY 15 (August 1962), first appearance Spiderman, classic Kirby cover.
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY 83 (Aug 1962), origin/first appearance Thor.
TALES TO ASTONISH 35 (Sept 1962), Ant-man series begins.
TALES OF SUSPENSE 39 (March 1963), origin/first appearance Iron Man, Kirby/Don Heck art.
SGT FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS 1 (May 1963)
AVENGERS 1 (Sept 1963)
X-MEN 1 (Sept 1963)
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY 97 (Oct 1963), "Tales of Asgard" series begins
AVENGERS 4 (March 1964), golden age Captain America revived.
TALES TO ASTONISH 59 (November 1964), Captain America series begins again.
STRANGE TALES 135 (August 1965) Nick Fury:Agent of SHIELD series begins.
FANTASTIC FOUR 44 (Nov 1965) intro the Inhumans, Sinnott inks begin.
FANTASTIC FOUR 48 (March 1966) intro Silver Surfer and Galactus.
THOR 179 (Aug 1970) last Kirby issue
FANTASTIC FOUR 102 (Sept 1970) last Kirby issue, Kirby leaves Marvel.



Unsatisfied with the way many of the Marvel characters he created were being developed by Lee and others, and feeling a lack of credit for even the stories he was able to create himself, Kirby left Marvel in 1970.
(Stan Lee was taking credit for much of Kirby's story plotting work, and creations. The Silver Surfer, for example, was a character Stan Lee saw for the first time when Kirby handed him the pencils for FANTASTIC FOUR 48, it was not something Lee had scripted, and yet Silver Surfer is widely believed to be a Lee creation, while Lee developed the character with John Buscema in a much different direction than Kirby had envisioned.)

Kirby left to work for DC in 1970, where he was not only able to draw, but also to write and edit the work he created. Kirby began with JIMMY OLSEN 133 (in October 1970), soon followed by FOREVER PEOPLE, NEW GODS, and MISTER MIRACLE. An innovative set of new books, the Fourth World series, with an ambitious concept, modern mythology, symbolism, and social commentary, that was intended to be more than an ongoing episodic series, and instead intended to have a limited run that came to a clear and full conclusion.

But others at DC said Kirby's books were not selling, and so FOREVER PEOPLE and NEW GODS were cancelled in 1972, and MISTER MIRACLE was cancelled also in 1974. This was a huge blow for Kirby, his most personal signature work cancelled out from under him.
Based on this, Kirby left DC as soon as his contract ended in late 1975, and returned to Marvel.

But not before producing another massive collection of new characters and series, in THE DEMON, KAMANDI, WEIRD MYSTERY TALES, FORBIDDEN TALES OF DARK MANSION, DAYS OF THE MOB, SPIRIT WORLD, O.M.A.C., SANDMAN, OUR FIGHTING FORCES, JUSTICE INC., FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL, KOBRA, and others.

And then Kirby returned to Marvel from 1976-1978, and created another flood of new characters, in THE ETERNALS, CAPTAIN AMERICA, 2001:A SPACE ODYSSEY, MACHINE MAN, BLACK PANTHER, and DEVIL DINOSAUR. And though not appreciated by Marvel at the time, these stories generated new distinctly Kirby approaches to characters that were loved by many readers, and have since been revived and imitated.

Kirby's final great contribution to the comics field was creation of CAPTAIN VICTORY in late 1981, launching the first creator-owned mainstream comic book, and also launching the first title by a new independent publisher, Pacific Comics, which also for the first time in comic books, gave royalties to the creator of the series, and pressured Marvel and DC to do likewise for their creators, which in a short period of time they did.
DESTROYER DUCK, a benefit book Kirby later also did for Pacific Comics in 1982, to assist writer Steve Gerber in his legal struggle against Marvel for the rights to Howard the Duck, was likewise yet another milestone for the comics field.

The point of saying all this --and even this lengthy summary doesn't fully account for all Kirby's achievement and influence !-- is to give some idea how much more than his obituary indicates, just how much influence Jack Kirby has had, and continues to have, on the comic book field.

In 1986, I read an article (by Doug Moench in AMAZING HEROES 100)that speculated upwards of 80% of comics creators then employed working on characters and visual storytelling techniques that Kirby created.


Looking at just a few examples, the work of George Perez, Jose Ladronn, series like SAVAGE DRAGON, SUPREME, and 1963, continuations of the NEW GODS and other Fourth World series in various forms, Darkseid as a major villain in the DC universe, and the standard characters and props of virtually every Marvel comic produced over the last 43 years...

Kirby's impact on the field endures.

One other interesting anecdote about Kirby's death in 1994.

I didn't read this, but was told it by a comic shop owner, John Chruscinski, of Tropic Comics in Fort Lauderdale.

Kirby's death coincided with a big earthquake in Los Angeles, that preceded Kirby's death by a few days.

When Kirby was having pains in his chest, he went to a hospital to have it checked out, and he seemed to be okay. But the hospital would normally have done more tests, and because they were inundated with patients from the earthquake, they sent him home, for a follow-up in a few days. Kirby apparently collapsed in his yard and died a day or two later.

I don't know how accurate that is. But John has a lot of professional friends in the comic industry, and attends many conventions, so I presume he heard this from someone who knows the Kirby family well.

Dillin also died of a heart attack, and I think he was pretty young. He died rather suddenly and unexpectedly in 1980, I think JLA 183 was his last issue, and George Perez began pencilling the book immediately after, concluding the JLA/New Gods crossover story Dillin had begun.

Dillin, to my knowledge, got his start as part of the new talent Neal Adams helped into the field in 1970-1971. Some of his earliest assignments were a short story in HOUSE OF SECRETS 82 (Nov/1969) and SUPERMAN 249 (the origin of Terra-Man, March 1972), both inked by Neal Adams, which I'm sure helped him get published.

I see Dillin's work as similar to Irv Novick's (although Novick had been in comics for at least two decades prior to Dillin), and I love Novick's BATMAN and DETECTIVE stories, Written mostly by O'Neil and Robbins, and mostly inked by Dick Giordano.

Aside from JLA, I remember Dillin fondly for his work on WORLD's FINEST during the 1970's.




Kirby's cleanest and most realistic art was during the 1964-1970 period. Especially 1965-1966, on JOURNEY/THOR 116-140, and FF 41-60.


But even in the periods before and after, I think Kirby is a masterful storyteller. His visual narrative is very clear, and although less detailed than some artists, he knows how to tell a story with clarity, better than some artists who may be technically better and more detailed.
Kirby's influence stems from many other artists adapting and using the storytelling conventions Kirby created.

I certainly have great respect for many other artists in comics who preceded him or were his contemporaries in the 1940's and 1950's, such as Hal Foster, Alex Raymond, Will Eisner, Bob Kane, Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel, Lou Fine, Mac Raboy, Jack Cole, Matt Baker, L.B. Cole, Frank Frazetta, Wallace Wood, Al Williamson, Steve Ditko, Joe Kubert and Carmine Infantino.
All giants in the field.

And if I were to pick another grandmaster of the field other than Kirby to devote a topic to, for their influence as well as their work, it could easily be Carmine Infantino, Neal Adams, Will Eisner, or Joe Kubert.

Or from the more current era, Jim Steranko, Michael Kaluta, Barry Windsor-Smith, Berni Wrightson, Richard Corben, Jim Starlin, Paul Gulacy, Arthur Suydam, Charles Vess, Tim Conrad, Scott Hampton, John Muth, Craig Russell, Michael Golden, Marshall Rogers, Paul Smith, John Bolton, Walt Simonson, Mike Grell, Frank Brunner, George Perez, Adam Hughes, Frank Cho, Stuart Immomen, Mike McKone, Carlos Pacheco, Jose Ladronn, Mike Mignola and many others.
Although all the names after Corben I listed are, despite having produced great work, not really influential on other artists like those I listed before Corben.



But regardless, I greatly enjoy their work and their various levels of influence on the field, and it's certainly no slap in their faces that I'm praising Kirby here.

But I do think Kirby deserves credit for his massive contribution, in terms of characters he created, influence of his art style, and just the sheer volume of his output, and tenacity in a field that often screwed him. He worked hard, produced many memorable stories, and certainly earned the love and loyalty of his fans, and fellow professionals.

I'm very grateful for the many hours of great reading his work has given me. And continues to give me.

--------------------


"This Man, This Wonder Boy..."

From 1989, this cover, one of many fun tributes to Kirby, in characters and series by
other creators:
KIRBY, KING OF THE SERIALS !



larger/clearer image of same cover:
http://fullsize.1.GIF


I also love "Father Kirby" in the funeral scene of JUSTICE LEAGUE 40 (July 1990),
by J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire.



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http://fullsize.294.GIF



From the opening splash page of LEGION OF SUPERHEROES 294 (December 1982), by Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt :

"Dedicated to Jack Kirby, with respect and thanks."



Beyond this statement, the entire story itself is a visible tribute to Jack Kirby, particularly Giffen's art style at the time. (see also his Dr. Fate backup strip in FLASH 306-313, several scattered issues he did of DC COMICS PRESENTS, and in OMEGA MEN 1-5).
This issue (LSH 294) concluded the "Great Darkness Saga" which is a particularly satisfying attempt to bring Kirby's original NEW GODS saga to a close.
And the entire Levitz/Giffen run of this series (LSH 285-306) is one of my all-time favorite comic series. It captures a similar feel to the combined humor, adventure, eye-popping art, and a huge cast of characters previously in Kirby's JIMMY OLSEN run (issues 133-139, 141-148).

Giffen's style changed dramatically after issue 306. But his run continued until issue 313, and then LEGION issues 1-5 of the new series (3rd series, 1984). Although these are a bit darker and more serious, and the art is not as Kirby influenced.

Also good at roughly the same time was the X-MEN/NEW TEEN TITANS one-shot by Chris Claremont, Walt Simonson and Terry Austin. Which also came very close to the characters and visual style of Kirby's original NEW GODS series.
I consider Walt Simonson the closest successor to Kirby's hard-impacting visual style. And yet Simonson is not an imitation of Kirby, as so many other artists are. Simonson captures the flavor of Kirby, while maintaining a style all his own. And is also one of the nicest guys in comics you could hope to meet.

Both the Darkess Saga and the X-MEN/TITANS crossover came out in the late Summer of 1982.

From SWAMP THING 27, by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Tottleben ( August 1984), concluding a three-part story that guest starred The Demon in all three issues:


"This story is dedicated with awe and affection to JACK KIRBY"





http://fullsize.27.GIF

Walt Simonson's appreciation and tribute to Kirby is also clear in much of his work, particularly in Simonson's THOR run ( issues 337-380 ).

As this comparison demonstrates:

THOR 126 (March 1966) art by Kirby/Colletta:


...and THOR 338 (December 1983) by Simonson.


Among many other covers and panels, that are in clear homage to Kirby's run on JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY/THOR.

http://large.126.gif
http://large.338.gif


And the first cover of Simonson's run really got things off to a riproaring start:




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John Byrne is largely the one who started the "taking Marvel series back to their roots" movement in the early 1980's.

Byrne began working on FANTASTIC FOUR as penciller in 1979-1980 (issues 209-218, 220-221).
But his real contribution began with issue 232, where he began his run as writer/penciller/inker, and he took the series back to the Lee/Kirby spirit, and the quaint little characterizations of the first 102 issues of the series.

Here's the cover of FF # 1 (November 1961)...



...paired with Byrne's tribute to it.
I loved what, to my knowledge, Byrne began: tribute covers.
Like this one, from FF 264 (in 1984), paying homage to the earliest Lee/Kirby and Lee/Ditko runs of Marvel titles, taking them back to their roots, and fully appreciating those roots.

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http://fullsize.264.GIF


And again, this cover Byrne did for a special issue of WHAT IF, where the FF are still heroes, even without their powers. A story that melded concepts of the FF with the story concepts of their predecessor, CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN ( which Kirby created in 1957-1958):


http://fullsize.36.GIF

and this last image, from FF 271, a tribute to the Lee/Kirby pre-Marvel monster stories in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, STRANGE TALES, TALES OF SUSPENSE, TALES TO ASTONISH, STRANGE WORLDS, WORLD OF FANTASY and other titles featuring the pre-Marvel 1958-1963 science fiction/monster stories.
And the early years of FANTASTIC FOUR, HULK, SPIDERMAN, THOR, Ant-man, Dr Strange and others largely began as similar monster stories, and evolved from those roots.



http://fullsize.271.GIF

I loved this story, that continued for two additional issues, in FF 271-273. A great time travel story to an alternate future on a parallel earth, in search of Reed Richards' long-lost father.

Around the same time, Roger Stern began working his magic in AMAZING SPIDERMAN (issues 224-250), and PETER PARKER (issues 49-58) where Stern taps into Spiderman's Lee/Ditko roots, with many panels mimmicking a Ditko look.
Stern also worked a similar Lee/Ditko retro-look on DOCTOR STRANGE (issues 46, 48-73).
And Byrne did some really nice Ditko-esque wraparound covers on a three-issue Lee/Ditko reprint, in DOCTOR STRANGE CLASSICS, in 1983. (These reprint issues also have some nice pin-up pages, including the first Marvel work by then-unknown Arthur Adams).

And finally, toward the end of Byrne's FF run, here's Byrne's FF 291 cover:



Which bears more than a passing resemblance to the cover of ACTION COMICS # 1.
A clear precursor to the work he would do immediately after leaving the FF series.

http://fullsize.291.GIF
http://fullsize.1.GIF


Byrne's run ended with issue 293, from which he left to do MAN OF STEEL, SUPERMAN, ACTION COMICS, and other Superman work for DC, from 1985-1988.

( There's a partial checklist of Byrne's work, in another topic I started:

• "John Byrne: The good years, the bad years, and what the heck went wrong?"
  HERE )

But I think for most of us who were reading at the time, Byrne's run remains arguably the best run on FF in its 40 years, outside of the initial Lee/Kirby run.

His appreciation for Kirby's work is obvious, in these images, as well as his other work on the FF, and other Marvel and DC characters.

--------------------


"This Man, This Wonder Boy..."

Dave -

I'm glad this topic is not dead. I kept in my list
of Favorite Topics here, hoping it would come
back to life eventually.

Jack Kirby is my favorite comic book artist.
After him comes Curt Swan, John Buscema,
John Romita. I am an artist myself and my favorite art
comes from the impressionists and the realists,
such as David, Monet, Van Gogh, Latrec, Titian
Caravagio, Rembrandt, DaVinci, Ruebens, and others.

Jack - In my mind..Is in the after life right now,
discussing Art with these greats..learning from and teaching, too.

He gave us many good years of excellent art, and
wonderful memories of enjoying that art.

That is the hallmark of any great artist.