Here’s a nice bold, in-your-face western cover by Kirby and Chic Stone. The Kid’s pose is nicely confident and ready for action.
Published 1965
Monthly Archives: April 2007
Black Panther #12 [1978] – The Kiber Clue
Kirby’s finishes up his stint on the adventures of T’Challa this issue, ending on a cliff-hanger to be resolved by the following creative team. Well, at least it’s better than OMAC’s “and then everything blew up” paste-up ending…
Pretty good story despite the lack of an ending. T’Challa still has his ESP powers as a result of exposure to vibranium in his previous adventure, and gets a message from his captured cousin Khanata about the villainous Kiber, a mad scientist type who is conducting strange experiments in matter-transmission and conversion of matter to energy.
The Panther goes to the rescue, allowing himself to be captured by Kiber’s minions so that he can lead a mass escape by the other captives while he goes to confront the real Kiber behind the image.
Kirby has a lot of fun with the effects of characters walking through walls and doing other highly irregular things thanks to their energy states this issue.
Mike Royer inks the 17-page story. The cover is one of those uncertain ones. The Kirby Checklist has Klaus Janson, which doesn’t seem implausible if the JUNGLE ACTION #18 from a few years earlier is also Janson, but there’s nothing really distinctive to make an identification easy.
Published 1978
-Link- Don’t ask…
Posted in Links.
(pre-publication covers always subject to change of course)
(and presumably Amazon will restore their previous 30%+ discount before the book comes out)
(edited to add, hey look, they just did. Listed at 34% off again)
Thor #258 [1977] – Cover
This is the last of the THOR covers that Kirby did during his 1970s stint at Marvel. A shame, then, that it’s one of those where someone at Marvel decided that Kirby’s Thor didn’t look right. Say what you will about DC, but at least there’s a reference point for saying Kirby’s Superman and Jimmy Olsen look wrong…
Despite that, it’s a pretty good Kirby/Sinnott cover, with the stone texture really coming across nicely.
Published 1977
Tales of Suspense #54 [1964] – Cover
Kirby and Chic Stone team-up for this memorable little early Iron Man cover. I especially like the detailed work on the dragon over on the back wall. The steps that lead directly to the pit of doom are a nice touch, too.
Published 1964
Marvel Premiere #30 [1976] – Cover
Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia provide this cover to a quick spin-off super-team from the then-new INVADERS series. A nice piece, always good to see the Skull done by Kirby, and the retro-designs of the new heroes fits in nicely with Kirby’s style.
This is one of the covers that will presumably be in the upcoming INVADERS CLASSIC VOL. 1 collection.
Published 1976
The Demon #7 [1973] – Witchboy
This issue introduces Klarion, the Witchboy, one of Etrigan’s most persistent foes over the years. The story opens with Etrigan encountering a “Judge” in puritan garb who is searching for Klarion, and attacks Etrigan with a monstrous Draaga, which makes for a great two page splash. Etrigan defeats the creature but is poisoned, and collapses as Klarion and his cat Teekl appear, showing some control over his transformations by changing him back to Jason Blood.
Various hijinks then ensue in Blood’s apartment, including an attack from a Horigal.
Klarion’s people eventually capture him to put on trial, so he summons Etrigan who is able to defeat them. Klarion tries to overstep himself by controlling Etrigan, which Merlin’s Demon wont stand for.
Fun little story with some weird plot logic, but great monster images, and obviously a lot of thought behind Klarion, only some of which made it onto the page in his few Kirby written appearances.
Mike Royer inks the 20-page story and cover.
Published 1973
New Kirby – Spider-Man Omnibus
Posted in New Kirby.
Out this week, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS. In addition to every Ditko Spider-Man story there are a number of Kirby/Ditko collaborations (several covers, the back-up stories from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #8 and FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #1 and the Spidey/Torch story from STRANGE TALES ANNUAL #2), plus various extras bringing it up to 1088 pages total.
See your local comic shop or bookstore, or various on-line vendors, including amazon.com above or Tales of Wonder.
-Link- Wired on LORD OF LIGHT
Posted in Links.
Via Mark Evanier, Wired has an article about the proposed LORD OF LIGHT movie, with concept art by Jack Kirby, and how it was used in freeing some hostages in Iran.
You can see some of Kirby designs and read more about it here.
Marvel Double Feature #18 [1976]
This issue features a reprint of the 10-page Captain America story from TALES OF SUSPENSE #94 [1967], the Kirby/Sinnott story that introduced the world to the glory that is MODOK.
More importantly, someone had the good sense to enlist recently-returned-to-Marvel Jack Kirby to do a new cover for the issue. The original featured MODOK as almost an afterthought, stuffed in a corner of the background. This one, though…
MODOK in all his big-headed, floating-chair, brain-blasting glory. Can Cap possibly hope to survive?
Frank Giacoia inks this cover.
Published 1976