No, I’m really not going to wax on poetic about a nondescript weapon, such as Inter-Gang’s Sigma Blasters, except to say these are legitimate creations of Jack Kirby, however detailed or not. I mean, the light sabers conceived of by George Lucas: You tell me what their value is today…

Instead allow me to take this space to yet again marvel over Jack’s depiction of the Man of Steel, who in only a couple issues of Jimmy Olsen and (especially) this debut appearance of The Forever People thus far, the artist/writer imbued the super-hero with a new personality trait (quirk?), one of dissatisfaction and yearning. Superman on Earth was now, suddenly, disaffected, a Stranger in a Strange Land, and with the creation of New Genesis he was blessed with instant aspiration. Supertown was a potential home, populated with folks as incredibly-powered as himself, and the growing conflict, with good and evil so clearly delineated, was certainly a fight worthy of the Last Son of Krypton. Jack’s set-up was beautiful.

Superman’s discontent was perfectly matched for the era, when youth and middle-aged alike — think Easy Rider and Save the Tiger — began to question who they were and where they were going on this earthly plane. And what if you were a miracle man who could fly, was invulnerable and was hero to an entire planet? If you didn’t have the inclination to subjugate said world and just wanted someone, anyone, to relate to, wouldn’t you just want to get away and find solace among your own “kind”?

About the design aspect of Jack’s Supes: I’ll not go down the obvious critical road of commenting on the pasted-on drawings of Jimmy Olsen and Superman by Al Plastino and, later, by Murphy Anderson. Frankly they are as offensive as Vince Colletta’s inks on a good half of the books… they are what they are, we’re stuck with them, so why complain?

Anyhoo, I’ve spent my life arguing who is the best Kirby inker and the meaning of Jack’s peculiar art motifs and just getting excited all over again about the visual bombast of his stuff; but, now, I’m becoming more and more engrossed about Jack the writer and, my friend, there is so much to discover!