Monthly Archives: December 2007

Upcoming Kirby – Marvel Monsters and OMAC

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More Kirby from the latest DC and Marvel solicitations. OMAC has some great stuff, although of course ends kind of abruptly. Good to see they’re including the Who’s Who page. Hopefully they’ll find some room from some of the other stuff that’s appeared in the fan mags, like some of the concept pages, the two-page spread from one issue which was shrunk, the original final page of #8. About half of the TtA Masterworks is Kirby, all the covers and a dozen stories. AVENGERS CLASSIC this time around will probably have the original Kirby cover, and possibly a pin-up from that issue.


omac.jpgJACK KIRBY’S O.M.A.C.: ONE MAN ARMY CORPS HC
Written by Jack Kirby
Art by Kirby, Mike Royer and D. Bruce Berry
Cover by Kirby & Royer

Witness the early tales of Jack Kirby’s legendary creation O.M.A.C. in this hardcover collecting stories from O.M.A.C. #1-8 (1974-1975) plus artwork from WHO’S WHO! In one of his last major works for DC, Kirby envisions a 1984-inspired dystopia starring corporate nobody Buddy Blank, who is changed by a satellite called Brother Eye into the super-powered O.M.A.C. (One Man Army Corps). Enlisted by the Global Peace Agency, who police the world using pacifistic means, O.M.A.C. battles the forces of conformity in this short-lived but legendary series!

on sale May 21 176 pg, FC, $24.99 US


MARVEL MASTERWORKS: ATLAS ERA TALES TO ASTONISH VOL. 2 HC
Written by STAN LEE, LARRY LIEBER & VARIOUS
Penciled by JACK KIRBY, STEVE DITKO, DON HECK & PAUL REINMAN
Cover by JACK KIRBY

Ready your fallout shelter, check your 4th-dimensional passport, and get ready for a trip into the wild and wooly days of the Atlas Era! The Marvel Masterworks have prepared another heaping helping of towering terrors that eat atom bombs for breakfast and psychological mind-benders of scintillating suspense. Led by Jack “The King” Kirby, there’s a whole passel of monsters from beyond the edge of imagination eager to smash their way into your town. From swamp beasts, terrorizing trees, atomic ants and Gorgilla, the gorilla who’d give King Kong a run for his money. If collateral damage is what your desire, then Groot, Krang, The Blip, Rommbu, Thorr and X, The Thing That Lived, are your best friends and your insurance agent’s worst nightmare. While Kirby tested the tensile strength of newsprint, Steve Ditko challenged readers to look through the pages of comic books and into new dimensions. His parables of suspense and wrenching psychological tension will leave you curled up and screaming for more — whether you like it or not!

Collecting TALES TO ASTONISH #11-20.
272 PGS. $59.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-2913-4


AVENGERS CLASSIC #10
Written by STAN LEE & DWAYNE MCDUFFIE
Penciled by DON HECK & JUAN DOE
Cover by ART ADAMS

This is the big one! The Avengers break up!! Faced with an unstoppable enemy, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are fragmented and very nearly destroyed in another thrilling Stan Lee/Don Heck yarn from the House of Ideas! Featuring: the incredible, the inconceivable, the incalculable menace of…IMMORTUS! Plus!! All-new Avengers adventures from the incomparable minds of Dwayne McDuffie and Juan Doe!

32 PGS. $2.99

Panels – The throne endures

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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.

throne.jpg

from Essential Thor #3 [2006]
(reprinting Thor #159 [1968])

Panels – A soft spot for show folks

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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.

showfolks.jpg

from Eternals Omnibus [2006]
(reprinting The Eternals Annual #1 [1977])

Upcoming Kirby – Five-Oh, King and Complete

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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).


king.jpgKIRBY: 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


k50.jpgKIRBY 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