Monthly Archives: November 2006

Gunsmoke Western #52 [1959] – Cover

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You’d think by 1959 a comic book publisher could have figured out how to put the comics code stamp on a cover without making it look like the book is called GUNSMOKB WESTERN, wouldn’t you?

Anyway, another of Kirby’s covers early on his return to Marvel, featuring two characters he didn’t draw interiors for but drew on a lot of covers. Split covers like this always look a bit cramped, but in this case I like how it emphasizes the tall, lanky look of Earp and the crowding of the group around Kid Colt.

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Inking on this one is credited to Chris Rule.

Published 1959

New Kirby – Westerns and trivial Cap

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A couple of minor Kirby releases recently. ESSENTIAL CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 3 TPB didn’t use Kirby art on the cover as the solicitation suggested but does include the cover to CAPTAIN AMERICA SPECIAL #2, which uses the art from TALES OF SUSPENSE #74. So there’s a trivial entry for a Kirby checklist, a reprint of a reprint cover as the end of a 500 page book.

Also out recently. MARVEL WESTERNS HC includes the same reprint backups as the various one-shots released earlier this year.

Comics Revue #187 [2001]

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Two more pages of the final Sunday storyline for Sky Masters on the covers of this issue, from January 17 and 24, 1960, inked by Dick Ayers. Sky is able to demonstrate to Doctor Royer how the yoga techniques he’s learned enable him to slow his metabolism down to almost nothing. However, since the project was tied up thanks to bad publicity, Sky goes on to his next assignment, training some pilots in handling launches into space. Unfortunately, the test rocket loses control, sending Sky and another pilot out into space with only a four-hour supply of air.

Kind of obvious from the set-up where this one is going, without too many twists thanks to the quick ending when the Sunday strip wraps up in just three more weeks, but that’s some really slick artwork.

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Published 2001

Strange Tales #123 [1964] – Cover

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This issue has one of the few times that Doctor Strange got equal billing on a STRANGE TALES cover while he was sharing the book with the Human Torch. Of course, the Torch’s star was obviously fading a bit, as the Thing was his permanent co-star for the final year of the last year of the feature.

My favourite bit of this cover is the Loki figure, always one of my favourite Kirby villain designs, you can see the menace on his face even in that edge of it you get in this angle. The Doctor Strange figure is good, although I thought Kirby did better with Doc’s new outfit in a few later issues.

The Beetle, meanwhile, is a pretty goofy villain, can’t help but pale in comparison with Loki. Kind of funny how awkward and ill-fitting his outfit seems.

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Frank Giacoia inks this cover (or possibly Sol Brodsky, see comments).

Published 1964

Fantastic Four #164 [1975] – Cover

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This was Kirby’s first cover for FF on his return after five years at DC, also re-uniting with definitive FF inker Joe Sinnott.

Not really a noteworthy cover otherwise, with a second-string character (the 1950s Marvel Boy, renamed the Crusader here) taking up most of the cover (though he is well drawn, although his powers could use some more crackly dots), but it is good to see Kirby’s version of Ben Grimm in particular.

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Published 1975

-Link- S&K Cover Contest reminder

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Still a few days to enter in Harry’s Favourite S&K Cover Contest. For reference, he’s also added a nice list of covers that he’s posted on his site. Take a look at some of the BLACK MAGIC stuff in for some especially nice stuff. A lot of those are on my short-list. Also, not posted there yet, but BOYS’ RANCH and FIGHTING AMERICAN have a number of covers worth consideration.

The Eternals #8 [1977] – The City of Toads

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The focus in this issue switches mostly to the Deviants side of the vast cosmology Kirby was creating in this book, as we open with their leader Tode confronting the issue of a freak among the Deviants, known as the Reject, whose deformity is that he could pass for an Eternal or a human. Meanwhile, back in New York, Kro invites Thena to the Deviant city (while making some more comments about their past), while the other Eternals deal with Doctor Samuel’s curiosity about what’s he’s learning about the real nature of humanity. Kirby provides a few great views of the old Deviant city destroyed in an earlier battle with the Second Host of Space Gods as Kro and Thena approach the new Lemuria.

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Thena is horrified by a lot of what she sees about how Deviant’s live, in particular how they treat those of their people who show instability in their genetic make-up. As the issue ends, the Reject is brought before the Deviant royalty to face combat with the monstrous Karkas.

It really is amazing the variety of characters Kirby was creating for this series, with some new twists in almost every issue. It’s a shame he didn’t get nearly enough time to explore it all.

Mike Royer inks the 17-page story and the cover.

Published 1977

New Kirby – 1970s CAPTAIN AMERICA v3, TJKC #47

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Just released, CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON: THE SWINE TPB, the third and final volume collecting Kirby’s 1970s run of the book at Marvel, including the two Annuals.

Also out, THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #47, with a look at Kirby’s team books, from kid-gangs to super-heroes, plus the usual selection of goodies.

-Link- Favourite S&K Cover Contest

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Over on the S&K Blog, Harry is having a contest while asking readers to pick their favourite Simon&Kirby (or Joe Simon solo) cover, with a prize of a full colour print of that cover, signed by Joe Simon.

//kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/542

If you want to look at a few of your choices, in addition to back entries of Harry’s site, you can check the chronological list of posts to this weblog. Almost everything up to the mid-1950s features an S&K cover (though just a fraction of the total, mostly from books where the only S&K content is the cover). You can also see a few choice romance covers in this old post.

Upcoming Kirby – Marvel in February 2007

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A trio of later FF issues are reprinted among other contents in two hardcovers from Marvel due in February of next year, one to complete a DAREDEVIL crossover and the other two the same stories included in the recent STAN LEE MEETS one-shots.


MARVEL MASTERWORKS: DAREDEVIL VOL. 4
Written by STAN LEE
Penciled by GENE COLAN & JACK KIRBY
Cover by GENE COLAN

It’s an identity crisis for Daredevil as Matt Murdock juggles a bevy of baddies seeking to sully his good name while he juggles the triple-identity of Matt Murdock, Mike Murdock, and DD! You just might want to ready your slide ruler for tragedy with this kind of trigonometry.

After a dust-up with the Beetle, the Trapster attempts to trick the Fantastic Four into attacking DD by disguising himself as none other than ol’ hornhead himself! Wiser minds prevail, but only until none other than Dr. Doom steps up to the plate! In one of Daredevil’s most amazing Silver Age adventures, he goes toe-to-toe with Doc Doom – in opposite toes! You guessed it, the Latverian monarch switches bodies with Daredevil bringing on a battle that drags the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor into the mix in one of Marvel’s first crossover bonanzas!

As if kicking him out of his own body wasn’t enough, next the Exterminator tries to evict Daredevil from the time stream! With the Unholy Three at his employ to clobber the hornhead back into the Stone Age, he’s got a good chance of succeeding ’cause there’s at least one cast member that won’t be making it out of this adventure alive.
Collecting DAREDEVIL (Vol. 1) #33-41 and FANTASTIC FOUR (Vol.1) #73.
224 PGS. $54.99


STAN LEE MEETS HC
Written by STAN LEE, BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, JOSS WHEDON, JEPH LOEB, ROY THOMAS & PAUL JENKINS
Penciled by ALAN DAVIS, MARK BAGLEY, OLIVIER COIPEL,
MICHAEL GAYDOS, SALVADOR LARROCA, ED MCGUINNESS, LEE WEEKS, SCOTT KOLINS, MIKE WIERINGO & MARK BUCKINGHAM
Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL

Celebrating the 65th anniversary of Stan Lee’s employment at Marvel Comics! In five all-new 10-page tales written by “The Man” himself, Stan meets his web-slinging creation, journeys to Greenwich Village to catch up with his old pal Doctor Strange, is abducted to Latveria by the sinister Doctor Doom, makes the mistake of bicycling past Yancy Street and surfs the stars with a certain silver-skinned space-farer! Plus: Today’s hottest writers and artists pay homage to Stan’s life and career in five new 10-page stories. Also featuring classic Stan-scripted stories from AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #87, FANTASTIC FOUR #79 and #87, MARVEL PREMIERE #3, and SILVER SURFER #14! Collecting STAN LEE MEETS SPIDER-MAN, DR. STRANGE, DR. DOOM, THE THING and SILVER SURFER.
240 PGS. $24.99