John Morrow has news on the inclusion on an hour-long documentary about Jack Kirby in an upcoming extended DVD release of a FANTASTIC FOUR film based on his creations. Also a great colour image of a Kirby collage from SPIRIT WORLD which will appear in black and white in an upcoming JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR.
Over on the TwoMorrows blog, publisher and THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR editor John Morrow mentions that he’s begun work on putting together #48 of that publication, and says he’ll try to give some behind the scenes info and previews over the next few weeks, so keep your browsers pointed here.
Newsarama has a brief interview with DC’s Georg Brewer about the upcoming FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS series of chronological reprints of Kirby’s work, including the 1980s material (which they apparently haven’t made a final decision about how to handle yet). Also the cover design for the first volume and the projected schedule (every three months).
Image Comics publisher Erik Larsen writes about Jack Kirby, in particular the 1980s work published by Pacific, confirming the rumour that Image will be reprinting SILVER STAR and CAPTAIN VICTORY in the near future, in single full colour volumes for each. He also talks a bit about how they’re handling the colouring, which was pretty inconsistent in the originals.
Mark Evanier has more on his upcoming Kirby book, including a request for images of any especially noteworthy pages, in particular from the era where not a lot of those pages survived. If you have anything that he might be interested in including, or know anyone who might, get in touch with him and help make this book the definitive Jack Kirby art book.
And, of course, if you have anything like that or even less rare (well, I guess all original art is one of a kind, so less rare isn’t exactly the right phrase), the Kirby Museum Original Art Digital Archive would be interested in it as well.
Mark Evanier has the skinny on his long-in-progress Jack Kirby biography, namely that he’s split it into two books, one of which (basic biography, heavily illustrated) will be out this October as KIRBY: KING OF THE COMICS, the other (heavily detailed on all aspects of Kirby’s life) will come out sometime later, whenever he’s satisfied that it’s done. More details on the first will follow on his site.
John Morrow has been posting up a storm on the new TwoMorrows Blog, including this post which drops some information (including the cover) of the upcoming FANTASTIC FOUR – LOST special, recreating Kirby’s version of what became FF #108. Check it out.
Also on the TwoMorrows front, if you’ve been wanting to get a lot of their back-issues, their online store now offers some great deals on complete bundles of their major mags for half price, like this offer to get every available KIRBY COLLECTOR issue.
TwoMorrows has an upcoming book that is sure to have a lot of stuff of interest to fans of Kirby’s 1960s work.
Brush Strokes With Greatness: The Life & Art of Joe Sinnott
by Tim LASIUTA
Joe Sinnott is a true living legend. During his 56-plus-year career in comic books, he has worked in every genre, and for almost every publisher. As a young artist in the 1940s, he started with Stan Lee at Timely Comics, then branched off to Charlton Comics, Treasure Chest, and Dell as a top penciler. But the creation of the Fantastic Four in 1961 by Stan and Jack Kirby ushered in the Marvel Age of Comics, and Joe began a long and storied association with Marvel as its top inker. His deft touch can be seen on almost every book published by Marvel in the ’60s to the late 1980s, and today, Stan and Joe continue that tradition with the Sunday Spider-Man comic strip. Brush Strokes With Greatness celebrates the storybook career of the versatile artist, as he demonstrates his passion for his craft. In it, Joe shares his experiences working on Marvel’s leading titles, memories of working with Lee and Kirby, and rare and unpublished artwork from his personal files. This book features dozens of colleagues and co-workers paying tribute to Joe and his amazing body of work, plus an extended Art Gallery, and a Checklist of Joe’s career. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime celebration of all things Sinnott, which includes a Foreword by Stan Lee, and an Afterword by Mark Evanier.
Paul Pope talks about Kirby machines, along with a panel from an upcoming FF story he drew.
Spiritual Symbolism in Kirby’s Work.
Fantasy Evolutionary History via Kirby on Atomic Surgery.
Animator Mark Mayerson on Kirby including a pencil animation design of a Space Pirate.
Lots of great posts so far in the Early Jack Kirby series of posts over on the S&K blog.