Daily Archives: October 19, 2004

Who’s Who – The Definitive Directory Of The DC Universe #16 [1986]

by

WHO’S WHO #16 featured four Kirby drawn entries (as well as Brian Bolland drawing the Kirby designed Morgaine le Fay from THE DEMON).

Mother Box gets an entry, inked by Mike Royer. Simple enough image of three styles of Mother Box, with backgrounds of the use of it at the hands of Orion, Scott Free and the Forever People.

New Genesis gets a page, inked by Greg Theakston. Four images of various scenes, including a nice one of the memorial statues, and a background of the destruction of New Genesis from THE HUNGER DOGS.

The New Gods get a great double page spread, inked by Theakston, with 29 characters in a big crowd scene (with, oddly, Fastbak being the largest one, right up front), as well as headshots of each.

newsboys

And the Newsboy Legion get a page, with a scene of the team back in Suicide Slum with their guardian, officer Jim Harper, inked by Karl Kesel.

Published June 1986

Upcoming Kirby – Marvel Visionaries Stan Lee

by

A fair bit of Jack Kirby, some of it never before reprinted (the final
Kirby issue of THOR), in the upcoming Marvel Visionaries Stan Lee
hardcover, due February of next year.

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Marvel Comics; (February 1, 2005)
ISBN: 0785116931

In celebration of its 65th anniversary, the House of Ideas proudly presents a timeless testament to another true Marvel visionary! In 1961, writer Stan Lee penned Fantastic Four #1, an historic issue unlike any comic book that had come before. This super-hero team had true personalities – they doubted their own abilities, battled problems of money and illness, and even fought among themselves. The monumental popularity of this realistic comic-book style inspired Lee to create similarly themed titles – including Hulk, X-Men, and Avengers with artist Jack Kirby; and Amazing Spider-Man with artist
Steve Ditko. By 1965, Lee had successfully established Marvel Comics as a cohesive universe populated by world-famous comic-book characters. Now, this deluxe keepsake edition collects his greatest moments – some never before reprinted:

“Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge” (Captain America Comics #3): Stan’s first story, a two-page text piece! “The Red Skull’s Deadly Revenge” (Captain America Comics #16): The defining Golden Age Red Skull story! “The Raving Madman” (Suspense #29): Stan’s satire on Frederick Wertham and the comics witch hunts of the ’50s! “Your Name Is Frankenstein!” (Menace #7): A modern Frankenstein story, featuring many of the elements of the later Marvel books! “Where Walks the Ghost” (Amazing Adult Fantasy #11): A short, twist-ending story by Lee and Ditko! Plus: “Spider-Man” (Amazing Fantasy #15); “A Visit With the Fantastic Four” (Fantastic Four #11); “How Stan and Steve Create Spider-Man” (Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1); “In Mortal Combat with Sub-Mariner” Daredevil #7); “The Final Chapter” (Amazing Spider-Man #33);“Bedlam in the Baxter Building” (Fantastic Four Annual #3); “And Who Shall Mourn for Him?” (Silver Surfer #5); “Brother, Take My Hand” (Daredevil) #47; “And Now, The Goblin,” “In the Grip of the Goblin,” and “The Goblin’s Last Stand” (from Amazing Spider-Man #96-98); “No Longer Alone” (Captain America #110); “No More the Thunder God,” “When Gods Go Mad,” and “One God Must Fall” (from Thor #179-181); “While the World Spins Mad” (Marvel Premiere #3); and “The Circle of Life” (Spectacular Spider-Man Super-Special 1995)!

Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #144 [1971]

by

The second collection of Jimmy Olsen stories by Jack Kirby should be out this week, bringing all of the 1970s Fourth World stories by Kirby into print.

#144 will be among those issues. It opens with a Kirby cover inked by Neal Adams, featuring the Newsboy Legion and Jimmy Olsen, as well as Jimmy Olsen’s Pal, Superman, with a giant sea monster. Far-out!! indeed.

“A Big Thing In A Deep Scottish Lake” is a 22-page story inked by Colletta, with of course facial modifications by Murphy Anderson. Morgan Edge sends Jimmy and the Newsboys off to Scotland to investigate the Lake Trevor Monster, and directs his contacts at Intergang to take care of them.

Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #144 [1971]

And for once, Flippa’s scuba gear finally comes in handy, as he goes down to explore the lake, while their guide, Felix MacFinney, reveals himself to be an Intergang agent. Fortunately, they’re saved by the Scrapper Trooper (a miniature clone of Scrapper) and the timely arrival of the Loch Trevor monster, who looks to be a distant relative of Fin Fang Foom.

Meanwhile, Superman and the Guardian are invited to a new discotheque, where they encounter Dubbilex the DNAlien, Terry Dean and the San Diego Five String Mob.

“The Torn Photograph” is a two-page vignette giving some hints about some of the mysteries surrounding the DNA Project, stuff Kirby didn’t get a chance to fully explore, but many of which informed modern day Superman stories featuring the Project.

Back-up this issue is the cover and lead story from STAR-SPANGLED COMICS #10, the fourth Newsboy Legion story from 1942, “Kings For A Day”. It features the boys winning an election where kids run the city for a day. They take jobs as Mayor, DA, Police chief and Commissioner of Sanitation. Of course, they’re disappointed to find that they’re honourary positions, but still manage to foil various criminals, with some help of Jim Harper, the Guardian.

Published 1971