http://twomorrows.com/images/large/books/cjkc1-2_LRG.jpghttp://www.twomorrows.com/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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http://www.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/23727666690.2.GIFA 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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http://www.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/45357796056.2.GIFKAMANDI 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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http://www.milehighcomics.com/istore/images/fullsize/29921775528.1.GIFAs 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.
