We are not only humbled, but downright impressed with the amount of support we’ve seen surrounding the Avengers opening. Our plan to open a gallery celebrating the life and work of Jack Kirby in New York City has met with some astounding results. Thanks to good folks reblogging us on tumblr, retweeting us on Twitter, and just generally getting the word out, we’ve generated an additional thirteen hundred dollars in donations in the last week! Now, this may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to the 700 million bucks that Avengers has generated worldwide (so far), but this is a big step. And here’s why: Since we officially kicked off our fundraising campaign in September, we’ve raised almost 30% of our goal. It took us over six months to get to the eight thousand dollar mark, and we’ve added $1300 in just a week. However, we need to have thirty thousand in our coffers just to get the doors open (it is expensive in NYC, after all), and the more funds we raise, the more we can do with the space we’ll have, and the longer we may be able to stay open.
1965 – Avengers 16 cover original art
And it hasn’t just been the money that’s been coming in, either! We’ve experienced a storm of new followers on tumblr and Twitter, new likes on Facebook, a significant increase of daily hits on the Museum’s homepage, and more mentions of Jack’s name in the mainstream media than we’ve ever seen! What’s more, we’re thrilled to see that other comics-related non-profits like The Hero Initiative are also reporting a groundswell of support. So, please, keep getting the word out for us. Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, Pinterest, all of it. Make sure people know that the characters in this movie they’re enjoying were created by human beings, and aren’t just corporate trademarks. If you can’t donate (hey, times are tough!), just help us get the word out. While Avengers is well on its way to becoming a billion-dollar franchise, it’s also generating all kinds of discussion and interest about creators’ rights in places where there had been none before. That’s a good thing, and we’re honored that so many of you have chosen our cause to donate your hard-earned cash to. Thanks for reading, and thanks again for your help and support!
If you are going to attend the Calgary show and own Kirby original art, please consider bringing it to the show and allowing us to scan it for our Original Art Digital Archive.
Mike Cecchini and Richard Bensam will be manning the MoCCA Festival table, while I’ll be in Calgary.
If you’re heading to WonderCon and have Jack Kirby original art in your collection, please bring it to the show for us to scan for our Original Art Digital Archive. OR we may be able to visit your home or office, since we’ll be around a day before and after the show. Feel free to send me an email at scans@kirbymuseum.org to see if we can arrange something.
Tom Kraft of What if Kirby, will be set up at booth 323 of Bechara Maalouf’s Nostalgic Investments, and I should be set up at John Morrow’s TwoMorrows Publishing booth 721.
Of course, Tom, John and I enjoy talking to all Kirby fans, so be sure to stop by and say hello!
On this Valentine’s Day, we praise all romantics, everywhere!
Jack Kirby and Joe Simon’s idea to produce comic book versions of the stories that were in romance pulp magazines revolutionized the comic book business in 1947.
Walking into Maxwell’s at Washington and 11th in Hoboken during these last three months, patrons have been greeted by 50 pieces of striking artwork displayed on walls of russet brick. Brightly colored images of fantastic gods, dinosaurs, heroes, and villains fill the space, making one wonder what cryptic theme connects them all. The answer, not surprisingly, is that the 34 artists from such varied locations as Hoboken, Maine, California, and the UK, are paying tribute to the hyper-imaginative and influential comic-book creator, Jack Kirby.
From the dawn of comic books in the early 1940s, through his final years, Jack Kirby created and co-created some of the most enduring characters and stories in comics (Captain America, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, X-Men, Thor, Hulk, Avengers, Darkseid among hundreds of others). In addition to revolutionizing such comic book genres as crime, war and superheroes, Kirby also co-invented romance comics with his partner Joe Simon. Kirby’s 1960s work with Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee (who dubbed Kirby “King”) may be his best-known, considering the movies that have recently been made based on their work. But another Kirby legacy is his almost single-handed definition of the expressive visual language of comic books, with his dynamic page layouts portraying exaggerated anatomy, heartfelt emotion and explosive movement.
1966 – Jack Kirby
KIRBY ENTHUSIASM has been on display since the mid-October weekend of the New York Comic Con at Manhattan’s Javits Center. The well-attended opening featured a Kirby-themed bill of musical acts headlined by Weep, which is led by Doc Hammer of the cult-favorite cartoon show, The Venture Brothers. All of the musical acts donated a portion of their ticket sales to the Kirby Museum. The visual artists have pledged to support the Museum with their art sales, as well.
“This was the first exhibit of its kind that the Kirby Museum has mounted,” said Randolph Hoppe, a cartoonist, graphic artist and communications professional who is not only a co-founder of the Kirby Museum, but also a longtime Hoboken resident and Maxwell’s patron. “I’ve participated in other group shows at Maxwell’s, and I hoped that combining a Jack Kirby-tribute art opening with a Kirby-tribute music bill during the New York Comic Con would be a winner. The bands were incredible, and as you can still see, the art is wonderful, too.”
2011 – Kirby Enthusiasm logo
Karl Heitmueller, a cartoonist and writer who co-curated the show with Hoppe, is Maxwell’s house artist, as well as a bartender. “In addition to the nightly original musical acts that co-owner Todd Abramson books in the back room,” Karl noted, “Maxwell’s regularly showcases visual artists on the walls, in the front bar and restaurant. Kirby Enthusiasm may be the most visually dynamic group-show we’ve displayed,” he added, “which is only fitting, considering the subject. Jack Kirby is the King, after all.”
So, to celebrate this feast for the eyes, and to garner one more blast of support for the artists and the Kirby Museum, Maxwell’s is hosting a closing event on Monday, 30 January, starting at 7:00 p.m., with FREE domestic drafts and house wines served from 7:00-8:00 p.m. Artwork may be sold right off the walls! Mark Frauenfelder, co-founder of blog boing boing, contributed a painting, “Flower, Daughter of Goom.” In addition to pledging a portion of the sale of the painting, Frauenfelder has also authorized the Museum to offer a limited edition of prints of the bold, sexy image of one of Kirby’s characters. The Museum has prints available from other participating artists, such as Arlen Schumer, Steven Brower, Ryan Inzana, Karl Heitmueller, R. Sikoryak and Cheese Hasselberger.
New Kirby Museum memberships will be welcomed – posters, prints, portfolios, t-shirts, stickers and more are all offered in return for donations and/or membership dues. Membership dues support the ongoing operations of the 501(c)(3) Museum, convention appearances, its online presence, education programs, publishing efforts, and more. The Museum is also actively building a collection of archival-quality scans of Jack Kirby’s original art. Donations outside of membership dues are currently being marked for the Museum’s Brick and Mortar campaign. The Kirby Museum is now engaged in a campaign to raise $30,000 to open a pop-up Museum on New York City’s Lower East Side, near where Jack Kirby lived his early life.
“Jack Kirby is one of the most influential creative forces of the last half of the 20th century, and I’m thrilled to have participated in Kirby Enthusiasm with Maxwell’s and the Kirby Museum,” said painter and cartoonist James Romberger. Having watercolors in collections of organizations such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as producing graphic novels such as “Seven Miles a Second” (with David Wojnarowicz and Marguerite Van Cook), Romberger contributed a large print of an abstract, one-color piece to the show. “The influence of Kirby’s imagination, talent and creativity is deep, far and wide,” Romberger added.
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