We’d like to thank all of our members for their support, which is crucial for the Museum to continue our efforts. If you’re not yet a member, please join us!
Our big news for this update is the start of our Original Art Digital Archive project. Museum member Tom Kraft suggested that Kirby Museum volunteers scan both sides of Kirby original art in color at high resolution and provide these scans to the Museum. This archive would not only provide amazing images for the Catalogue Raisonné, but also help scholars and historians in their efforts. Visit the Original Art Digital Archive project’s web page for for more information.
TwoMorrows is donating a portion of the revenue from their upcoming Silver Star: Graphite Edition. We’re really looking forward to this book!
We put off our second update until we got our electronic giving up and running. Well, now we’re connected! Be sure to read up on how we’re using PayPal’s new Subscription feature to help us manage your membership.
There’s been some interesting Jack Kirby news recently:
The Masters of American Comics exhibit co-organized by the Hammer Museum and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) presents Jack Kirby as one of the 15 influential “Masters”. The show opened 20 November 2005 to great acclaim and will show until 12 March 2006. Then it will travel to The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) in Wisconsin from 27 April through 13 August, and then to the NYC metropolitan area. More details to follow.
2005 – USPS Green Arrow stamp
The United States Postal Service announced that it will issue a set of DC Comics Super Hero stamps in late 2006. Included in that 20 stamp set will be a Green Arrow stamp based on a Jack Kirby drawing. The cover of DC Comics’ 2001 Green Arrow collection featured a drawing that longtime Kirby collaborator Mike Royer adapted from a Kirby Bulls Eye drawing. Apparently there will be a Marvel set in 2007.
Although the home video version of this past summer’s Fantastic Four movie was just released, there will be a Special Edition shipped in 2006 that will contain “Jack Kirby: Storyteller” – a one hour documentary about Jack Kirby’s life and career. Interviews with Museum Trustees Lisa Kirby and John Morrow, as well as Neal Kirby, Mike Thibodeaux, Mark Evanier, and others are included. John Morrow has seen a preview and gives it high marks for breadth and accuracy.
We couldn’t be more pleased to debut on that day. Thanks for stopping by. We’ve got some interesting presentations, and lots more in the works.
1984 – New Gods poster
Be sure to try out the comicbook database. Based on the Jack Kirby Checklist, the comicbook database is our first step towards building an complete, online Kirby “Catalogue Raisonné. Programmer Greg Gatlin, who runs AtlasTales.com, has done a great job. The Museum has ambitious plans for the database – what is available now is but a seed which will grow and grow
Anyone who spent time with Jack Kirby reported that he enjoyed telling stories about his World War 2 experiences. Glenn Fleming, a guest to the Kirby home in 1991, recorded Jack describing one particular story that he used in “Mile-A-Minute Jones”, published in Our Fighting Forces #159 by DC Comics in 1975. A brief video clip of Jack interspersed with panels from the comic book was prepared by David Schwartz and is presented here.
Although Jack Kirby is currently more known for his work with Stan Lee at Marvel Comics, he had a long, successful partnership with Joe Simon – Captain America, Boy Commandos. Newsboy Legion and Sandman were big hits in the early 1940s. After World War 2, however, Simon & Kirby produced some interesting, non-action-adventure work before tapping into the romance and true crime genres. Presented for your entertainment and edification is Alligator Tetanus 1947. They produced some action-adventure, as well.
One of the Kirby highlights of 2004 was TwoMorrows Publishing’s re-working and updating of 1972’s Kirby Unleashed. Mark Evanier and Steve Sherman have been kind enough to allow us to use their amended Kirby biography on this site. Newly illustrated with photos, too!
The Kirby Museum’s long-term plans include a major traveling retrospective in 2007, a documentary, and more. We can’t do this without your help. Please consider becoming a member of the Museum to foster the development of these programs.
