Monthly Archives: January 2010

Dark Horse Presents #103 [1995]

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This issue of Dark Horse’s long running anthology series promises an “exclusive never-before-seen Jack Kirby centerfold” on the cover, and indeed we do get this Kirby image from 1970, inked by Mike Royer, on a two-page spread in the middle of the book.  This is one of several religious themed images that Kirby did and displayed in his home.  Dark Horse published this and the other images in the series in a portfolio the following year, signed and with commentary by Roz Kirby, and I think they’ve all been seen in various issues of  The Jack Kirby Collector and other places in the years since.

It’s a fascinating image of God turning his back on the world, very open to interpretation on the exact meaning, and an showing a few of the visual motifs that he used in his comic book work in a more pure form.

A nice look at some of the work that Kirby did when there was no real commercial aim or deadline (remember, he did these kinds of things while maintaining his regular comics work at several pages per day).

Where Creatures Roam #3 [1970]

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Reprint from TALES TO ASTONISH #16 [1961] in this issue. The story was originally titled “Here Comes Thorr, the Unbelievable”, but for some mysterious reason was renamed “Thorg” (okay, not so mysterious). A 7-page Kirby/Ayers effort.

This is one of many examples of Kirby using large stone creatures (including, oddly , the first Thor story soon after this), specifically Easter Island types, in stories. I think there was an article in TJKC about it. Anyway, in this one Linus, an archaeologist, and his wife Helen go to a recently discovered remote volcanic island in the Pacific to examine some giant stone heads. He finds a hidden room and trips an electric eye, which brings one of the heads to life, digging itself out to reveal a giant figure. Turns out Thorg is part of an advance team for an alien invasion. Linus convinces Thorg that he can conquer Earth solo, without activating the other heads, and calling his people to the island. Naturally everyone else assumes that he’s betraying humanity.

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But after the other aliens arrive, Linus sneaks away and uses dynamite to trigger the volcano, destroying the island, knowing that the aliens rocky bodies would sink in the sea. Everyone else flees, but they return for Linus when they realize what his plan was. The natives don’t seem too upset by him blowing up their island, but he did save humanity.

Lots of common plot points from several other stories, like man pretending to sign with the invaders and the advance force to the invading army, but as usual put together in a clever way, and great looking artwork (though not really done justice in this reprint).

The cover is a modified version of the Kirby/Ditko TTA #16 cover, with various figures added, as well as some boats and water across the bottom.

Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #136 [1971]

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Jack Kirby’s fourth issue of JIMMY OLSEN features the 22-page story “The Saga of the D.N.Aliens”, opening with Superman continuing the fight with the green kryptonite-laced giant Jimmy Olsen clone, while the real Jimmy and the Newsboy Legion look on, and suddenly a new version of the Guardian, the old protector of the original Newsboys, joins the fight.

The heroes aren’t doing too well, until suddenly rescue comes in the unexpected form of a the Scrapper Troopers, miniature duplicates of the feisty brawling Newsboy. Man, those guys at the Project were just goofy, weren’t they? Anyway, returning to the Project, the original Newsboys explain how a dying Jim Harper finally confessed to his identity as the Guardian, and they took a sample to create this new clone, and Superman shows Jimmy around the Project (some pal, keeping all this secret from Jimmy for so long), including the three types of clones, the Normals, the Step-ups and the Aliens, the latter demonstrated by Dubbilex.

Meanwhile, in the Evil Factory, Darkseid’s minions Simyan and Mokkari get dressed down by their master for their inept handling of the situation, and hatch their next agent of destruction from their own out-of-control experiments.

Kirby was really tossing out those ideas with reckless abandon in those early days at DC, even moreso than is normal for him. He even tosses in a collage to illustrate some of the science of DNA being used by the Project.

Vince Colletta inks (with the usual Superman and Jimmy modifications by other hands), and no Kirby cover on this issue