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<\/a>1 – Captain America Comics<\/p><\/div>\n
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As Kirby’s skill as an artist developed, he incorporated more and more complex background elements into his compositions and these became more significant aspects of his designs. As I have stated in a previous blog, I believe that the inking provided by a draftsman as outstanding as Wallace Wood had a major effect on Kirby’s desire and ability to create three dimensional backgrounds that would bring greater force and- to his drawings. One can see how the structures surrounding the figures in this panel add drama and substance to the narrative.<\/p>\n
<\/a>2 – Sky Masters<\/p><\/div>\n
As time passed, Kirby grew more daring, until sometime in the mid sixties, he seemed to reach a point where the creation of vast areas of space was a primary goal. This development seemed to coincide with his cosmic period, where he would depict land and space-scapes that would boggle the mind. Growing up in New York, Kirby had always had an affinity for the metropolitan megaliths that surrounded him. With the advent of the Fantastic Four, whose Baxter Building headquarters were located in the heart of town, Kirby brought his treatment of skyscrapers to the level of masterworks.<\/p>\n
When he introduced Galactus, Kirby had to devise a method to convey to us the massive scale of the godlike being and the speed and agility of his herald, the Silver Surfer. This touched off an explosion in the use of background elements and of buildings in particular to amplify the power of Kirby’s drawings.<\/p>\n
Here for example is a wonderful panel, showing the Thing perched on top of the Baxter Building, destroying the device of the gigantic Galactus, who looks on in anger. The skyline and design of the buildings below give this relatively small panel a fantastic sense of panoramic space.<\/p>\n
<\/a>3 – Fantastic Four<\/p><\/div>\n
One immediately thinks of King Kong while looking at this drawing.<\/p>\n
The image of a gigantic ape a top the Empire State building was one that obviously had a profound effect on Kirby as well as many other artists. Kirby paid homage to Kong big time in issue #69 of the Fantastic Four. The cover is one of his most dramatic, with a composition that uses figures moving in a sort of architectural framework. One of the things we notice first is the strange scale of the figures. In proportion to the buildings, they are far too large, creating that towering King Kong effect. Then too, the angle of the drawing gives us a sense of extreme vertigo, as if the building were swaying in a quake.<\/p>\n
<\/a>4 – Fantastic Four<\/p><\/div>\n
Architect and Kirby aficionado, Jack Fetterman makes an interesting point about this cover. He states that, “Of particular interest, as seen in the first image, the horizon as Jack indicates as a distant skyline, is not in line with the constructed perspective, but in line with the rotated dynamic one. (below) This subtle gesture reinforces his representation as being realistic when in truth it is fantastic.”<\/p>\n
6<\/p><\/div>\n If we return to the Silver Surfer, whose aerial abilities allowed Kirby to present an amazing array of dizzying spectacles, we can see how the artist again uses the structure of buildings to show us high speed acceleration in its most dynamic presentation.<\/p>\n 7 – Silver Surfer\/Fantastic Four<\/p><\/div>\n This row of buildings is as lovingly drawn as anything else Kirby does. The blacks are spotted for maximum effect to show the mass and density of the stone buildings as the Silver Surfer plows through them, scattering brick and mortar like shrapnel. Notice how the block of masonry in the upper right corner is thrust at us, giving the figure even more force and propulsion. Let me state here that inker, Joe Sinnott’s powerful and meticulous inking of Kirby’s drawings in this case totally supports the artist’s pencils.<\/p>\n If I could choose a single image that showcases Kirby’s mastery of deep space, combined with architectural structure it would be this panel of the Surfer below, soaring high above the canyons of Manhattan.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>