I’m one of those who thinks that the regal majesty of Asgard in the Thor comics by Kirby shines through despite the inking of the majority of those stories, not because of it. But whatever the case, shine through it doth, yea verily.
from Essential Thor #3 [2006]
(reprinting Thor #159 [1968])
The interactions of the cosmic and humans are explored extensively in Kirby’s work throughout the years, with THE ETERNALS containing several interesting aspects of the contrast. Frequently small scenes like this would add some flavour to the stories. Also of note, the old woman has one of those faces common in Kirby background crowd scenes.
from Eternals Omnibus [2006]
(reprinting The Eternals Annual #1 [1977])
A few major Kirby releases are scheduled or re-scheduled for early next year, appearing in the latest solicitations from Diamond. KING OF COMICS seems to be on track for February from Mark Evanier’s recent updates. Hopefully this solicitation of COMPLETE v5 will be the one to actually result in a book coming out, as well as wider availability of v4, which I gather quite a few people missed. And of course KIRBY FIVE-OH, the book format special taking the place of the fiftieth issue of THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, should be amazing (it’ll also be available from some places that TJKC normally isn’t, such as from Amazon from the link below).
KIRBY: KING OF COMICS HC
by Mark Evanier
Jack Kirby created or co-created some of the comic book world’s most popular characters, including Captain America, The X-Men, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, and The New Gods. This book serves as an authorized, visual celebration of the one and only “King of Comics” and his groundbreaking work.
HC, 9×12, 224pgs, FC SRP: $40.00
KIRBY FIVE-OH: 50 YEARS OF KING OF COMICS TP
by John Morrow & Jack Kirby
The publication that started the TwoMorrows juggernaut presents Kirby Five-Oh!, a special look at the best of everything from Jack Kirby’s 50-year career in comics! The regular columnists from The Jack Kirby Collector magazine have formed a distinguished panel of experts to choose and examine the best Kirby story published each year from 1938-1987! Plus, the best covers from each decade! Jack’s 50 best unused pieces of art! His 50 best character designs! Also, profiles and commentary by the 50 people most influenced by Kirby’s work! To wrap it up, there’s a 50-page gallery of Kirby’s powerful raw pencil art, and a deluxe color section of photos and finished art from throughout his entire half-century oeuvre.
SC, 14 x10, 168pgs, PC SRP: $19.95
THE COMPLETE JACK KIRBY TPs
by Jack Kirby & Joe Simon
The work of Jack Kirby, “The King of Comics,” continues to be reprinted in this ongoing series. This time it’s two volumes from the fall of 1947, and features a red-hot series of stories by Kirby in his prime! Volume 4 contains material including “My Date,” “The Flyin’ Fool,” “Lockjaw the Alligator,” crime stories, and the first issue of Young Romance. Volume 5 features three Flyin’ Fool stories, his last Lockjaw the Alligator, and Earl The Rich Rabbit stories; crime from Headline Comics; and high-school humor from My Date Comics.
VOLUME 4—SC, 8×11, 160pgs, B&W SRP: $25.00
VOLUME 5—SC, 8×11, 160pgs, B&W SRP: $25.00
Pair of Kirby items in the latest DC solicitations. Another “Countdown” branded one-shot with some Kirby, this time the great OMAC #1 (though you might want to hold off on that if you just want that story, since a reprint of the full OMAC series is likely only a few months away). And some early Kirby shows up in a reprint of some Captain Marvel stories. Presumably, from the page count of the book, only one of the four Kirby stories from CAPTAIN MARVEL ADVENTURES #1 [1941] will be included. Reprints of the full issue can be found in SHAZAM ARCHIVES #2 and in THE COMPLETE JACK KIRBY #2.
COUNTDOWN SPECIAL: OMAC
Written by Jack Kirby, Jim Starlin and Len Wein
Art by Kirby, Mike Royer, Starlin, Romeo Tanghal, George Pérez and Pablo Marcos
Cover by Ryan Sook
Witness the origins of OMAC in this spectacular 80-page giant collecting O.M.A.C. #1 (1974), WARLORD #37-39 (1980), and DC COMICS PRESENTS #61 (1983)!
On sale February 6 80 pg, FC, $4.99 US
SHAZAM: THE GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD TP
Written by Bill Parker, Dennis O’Neil, Elliot S! Maggin and others
Art by C.C. Beck, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, Barry Kitson and others
Cover by Alex Ross
An earth-shattering volume collecting stories from Whiz Comics #2,Captain Marvel Adventures #1,137,148, Marvel Family #21, 85, Shazam! #1, 14, DC Comics Presents Annual #3, Superman #276, L.E.G.I.O.N. ’91 #31, Power of SHAZAM! #33 and Adventures in the DC Universe #5.
Advance-solicited; on sale March 26 – 224 pg, FC, $24.99 US
Some interesting items coming up from Marvel. The long promised “lost issue” of FF, newly finished by the original collaborators, comes out, in an attractive sounding and affordable package. Not sure what the status is on the “finished with modern scripting, inking and colouring” version that had been mentioned before is. Also HULK gets an Omnibus, with about half the book being Kirby. In more obscure reprints, the second Masterwork of Hank Pym stories will have a bunch of Kirby covers, and AVENGERS CLASSIC gets to some non-Kirby material, but will still have a page of Kirby if they continue to run the original covers inside.
FANTASTIC FOUR: THE LOST ADVENTURE
Written by STAN LEE
Pencils & Cover by JACK KIRBY
IT’S THE COMIC BOOK EQUIVALENT OF A LOST BEATLES TRACK! Together, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby produced 102 consecutive issues of FANTASTIC FOUR. But there was a 103rd story they’d begun in 1970, but never finished-until now! Working from copies of Jack’s penciled pages, Stan Lee and Joe Sinnott have reunited, to complete the work they started almost four decades ago! Plus, this super-sized issue includes reproductions of Kirby’s unlinked penciled pages, with border notes and analysis by John Morrow, and a complete reprint of FANTASTIC FOUR #108 by Stan Lee and John Buscema, which incorporated some of the material from the lost story as a flashback.
64 PGS. $4.99
THE INCREDIBLE HULK VOL. 1 OMNIBUS HC
Written by STAN LEE & GARY FRIEDRICH
Penciled by JACK KIRBY, STEVE DITKO, MARIE SEVERIN, GIL KANE, BILL EVERETT, JOHN BUSCEMA, JOHN ROMITA, DICK AYERS, MIKE ESPOSITO & BOB POWELL
Cover by JACK KIRBY
Variant Cover by ALEX ROSS
Dr. Robert Bruce Banner may have the appearance of a mild-mannered scientist, but after being caught in a gamma bomb explosion, he became the unstoppable engine of destruction know as the Incredible Hulk! Marvel is proud to present the tales of everyone’s favorite man-monster from the very beginning: From the earliest Stan Lee and Jack Kirby issues that put an irradiated angle on the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde complex to the Steve Ditko’s psychological slobbernockers in TALES TO ASTONISH and the Jade Giant’s return to his solo series, this Hulk-sized collection is the foundation for every purple-pants’d adventure ever! Featuring artwork by a who’s who of Marvel Age luminaries and scripts by Stan “The Man” Lee, they’ll introduce you to General Thunderbolt Ross; the tortured woman who loves both the man and the monster, Betty Ross; the Leader; the Abomination; and a series of earth-shaking fights between the Hulk and the Silver Surfer, Thor, Giant-Man, Namor, Hercules and more! Collecting the first adventures of the Jade Giant in one painstakingly restored volume with every page, every pinup and every letters column. Not to mention unused covers, critical essays and bonuses galore! Collecting INCREDIBLE HULK #1-6, TALES TO ASTONISH #59-101 and INCREDIBLE HULK #102.
752 PGS. $99.99
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: ANT-MAN/GIANT-MAN VOL. 2 HC
Written by STAN LEE, LARRY LIEBER, LEON LAZARUS & AL HARTLEY
Penciled by DICK AYERS, DON HECK, STEVE DITKO, LARRY LIEBER, CARL BURGOS & BOB POWELL
Cover by JACK KIRBY
Hank Pym and his ladylove, Janet Van Dyne, make their highly requested return to the Marvel Masterworks in the concluding volume of Ant-Man/Giant-Man’s Silver Age adventures! Penned by no less than “The Man” himself, Stan Lee, and illustrated by an unmatched cadre of Bullpen embellishers from “Dazzling” Dick Ayers and “Sturdy” Steve Ditko to Golden Age greats Carl Burgos and Bob Powell, you’ll need high pockets to hold onto the action and adventure that’s in store for you. Giant-Man and the winsome Wasp have the decks stacked against them as they go up against an array of antagonists from the wild and weird Human Top, Porcupine, Colossus and the Wrecker to the Incredible Hulk, Attuma and Spider-Man! Also presenting the debut of the world’s tallest Avenger’s new look and the Wasp’s own solo feature! You don’t need to be one of the smartest minds in the Marvel Universe to know it’s time to reserve your copy today!
Collecting TALES TO ASTONISH #53-69.
304 PGS. $54.99
AVENGERS CLASSIC #9
Written by STAN LEE & DWAYNE MCDUFFIE
Art by DON HECK & JUAN DOE
Cover by ART ADAMS
Marvel proudly introduces…Wonder Man! The newest, most dynamic surprise character from the world-famous House of Ideas! Destined to become one of the most provocative, exciting, talked-about new characters of the year! Wait till you see him in this legendary yarn by Stan Lee and Don Heck from AVENGERS #9! Plus, an ALL-NEW Wonder Man adventure, with art by up-and-coming sensation Juan Doe!
32 PGS. $2.99
THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #49 is available now, no doubt the usual compliment of great features. It’s also the first issue available as a PDF download from the publisher.
I missed it before, but Craig Yoe’s latest book, CLEAN CARTOONIST’S DIRTY DRAWINGS, apparently features a bit of Kirby, some early gag cartoon work, among its contents.
AVENGERS CLASSIC #5 continues reprinting the original series in order.
A few new Kirby items due early next year in the latest solicitations. I’ve also just updated the new Kirby announcement page on some previously announced items which have been postponed. DESTROYER DUCK will probably see a colour edition, including the Savage Dragon crossover, sometime in the future. CAPTAIN VICTORY is delayed so they can get some better source material. Here’s some info if you can help with that. SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE GREAT DISASTER, which had one Kirby reprint, is off the schedule for now.
COUNTDOWN SPECIAL: THE NEW GODS
Written by Jack Kirby; Art by Kirby, Mike Royer & Vince Colletta; Cover by Ryan Sook
The newest 80-page Special revealing past tales related to the main characters of COUNTDOWN sheds light on the New Gods! Included here are the Kirby masterpieces MISTER MIRACLE #1, FOREVER PEOPLE #1, and NEW GODS #7!
80pg. Color $4.99 US
On Sale January 2, 2008
JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL. 4
Written by Jack Kirby; Art by Kirby, Mike Royer, D. Bruce Berry and Greg Theakston; Cover by Kirby
This fourth and final volume collects the remaining issues of these classic series – THE NEW GODS, THE FOREVER PEOPLE and MISTER MIRACLE – in chronological order as they originally appeared! Also included in this volume are Kirby’s sequel to THE NEW GODS, plus the graphic novel THE HUNGER DOGS – featuring 25 pages restored to Mike Royer inks – and rarely seen Kirby art from DC’s WHO’S WHO series, all from the mid-1980s.
424pg. Color Hardcover $49.99 US
On Sale March 26, 2008
THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN OMNIBUS VOL. 1
Written by STAN LEE, LARRY LIEBER, ROY THOMAS, ROBERT BERNSTEIN, DON RICO & AL HARTLEY
Penciled by DON HECK, GENE COLAN, JACK KIRBY & STEVE DITKOCover by JACK KIRBY
Variant Cover by ADI GRANOV
Variant Cover FEATURING IRON MAN MOVIE IMAGE
As the Marvel Age of Comics exploded on the pop-culture scene, super hero after super hero that redefined the genre leaped forth from the imagination of the Marvel Bullpen. Adventurers and innovators, scientists and high-school bookworms, they were amazing men and women with all the failings and foibles of you and me. And there are none that touch both that adventurer ideal and human reality as Tony Stark, the Invincible Iron Man. A jet-setter, playboy, and brilliant scientist, Tony is cut down to Earth when a battlefield explosion rips into his heart. Only by creating the amazing Iron Man armor can he stay alive! Packed with the debonair and debutantes, Cold War monsters and sultry super-spies, the Iron Man Omnibus presents the stories of one of comics’ most intriguing characters from the very beginning! Featuring the first appearances of such classic Marvel characters as the Mandarin, the Black Widow, Hawkeye, the Crimson Dynamo and the Titanium Man in lushly-illustrated stories by “Dazzling” Don Heck, Gene “The Dean” Colan and scripted by no less than Stan “The Man” Lee himself, this is the go-to volume for the Iron Man fan. Including every page, every pinup, and every letters column. Not to mention unused covers, critical essays, and bonuses galore!
Collecting TALES OF SUSPENSE #39-83 & TALES TO ASTONISH #82
720 PGS./All Ages …$99.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-2900-4
AVENGERS CLASSIC #8
Written by STAN LEE & DWAYNE MCDUFFIE
Art by JACK KIRBY & MICHAEL AVON OEMING
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
See the mighty Avengers trapped! See the Teen Brigade in action! See action, drama, thrills as only Marvel can present them! Can you think of any one man whose power is greater than that of the Avengers? Don’t answer that! Not until you meet Kang, the Conqueror, who’s destined to rank as one of the most unique villains of all time! Reprinting the classic Avengers #8 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, fully restored and recolored, plus an all-new Avengers adventure!32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99
Today is Joe Simon’s 94th birthday, and he’s still going strong. Happy Birthday, Joe.
Mark Evanier has a post up about Simon. And of course you should keep an eye on the S&K Blog for a regular dose of some great analysis and wonderfully restored classic comic book images from Simon’s career.
DC has announced how the reprint of “The Hunger Dogs” in the upcoming fourth volume of THE FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS will be handled. Short form, the 24 pages of the original version of the story will be restored to their original trim size and Royer inked format, but still integrated with the later pages as published in the 1980s. All the pages will be re-coloured into a style matching the 1970s material reprinted in the series. The book is due next March.
Pair of Kirby reprints from Marvel just announced. The second RAWHIDE KID hardcover is a little surprising. That finishes up Kirby’s run doing RK stories, although he was still on covers for another dozen issues, plus a non-series western short. Really good issue of AVENGERS in this month’s AVENGERS CLASSIC, too.
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: RAWHIDE KID VOL. 2 HC
Written by STAN LEE
Penciled by JACK KIRBY, JACK DAVIS, DON HECK, DICK AYERS, GENE COLAN, PAUL REINMAN, AL HARTLEY & SOL BRODSKY
Cover by JACK KIRBY
They’re not just the pair that created the world’s most-famous super heroes; Stan Lee and Jack Kirby prove they’re the kings of all comics, with a one, two-gun second Rawhide Kid Masterworks!
The man from the Texas town of Rawhide, Johnny Bart, is the fastest draw in the wild West, but that kind of reputation doesn’t come easy, and with the law on his trail it’s all for one for the Rawhide Kid. Every no-good varmit west of the Mississippi from Mister Lightning to the Barker Brothers to Jasper Jelko is looking to build his rep over the Kid’s dead body, and when you’ve got friends like Jesse James, who needs enemies?!
So do yerself some good book learin’, reserve your copy today, and one day you might be just as good as the roughest, toughest, rootin’est, tootin’est cowboy who ever kicked back a glass of milk! Collecting RAWHIDE KID #26-35.
272 PGS. $54.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-2684-3
AVENGERS CLASSIC #7
Written by STAN LEE & DWAYNE MCDUFFIE
Art by JACK KIRBY & MICHAEL AVON OEMING
Cover by ART ADAMS
The mighty Avengers face their darkest hour as Iron Man finds himself on trial and an ensorcelled Thor battles his teammate — with the Enchantress, the Executioner and evil Baron Zemo waiting to pick up the spoils in this extraordinary Marvel epic! Reprinting AVENGERS #7 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, with an all-new adventure for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes from writer Dwayne McDuffie (FANTASTIC FOUR) and artist Michael Avon Oeming (POWERS)!
32 PGS. $2.99