Sorry about the lack of posting recently. I’m hoping to get everything back on track soon. Until then, I’ll try to as least post an eyecatching Kirby panel every day.
from Thor #127 [1966]
Panels – Thor, in torment
Posted in Panels.
New Kirby – SS & DD
Posted in New Kirby.
Two hardcover collections of some of Kirby’s later work hit the stores this week. From Image comes JACK KIRBY’S SILVER STAR, collecting the 6-issue Pacific Comics series of the 1980s. And Marvel brings us DEVIL DINOSAUR OMNIBUS, the 9-issue series from 1978 that finished off his last stint at the company.
And in more trivial news, I missed this one before, but a few weeks back ESSENTIAL DEFENDERS VOL. 3 was released, which includes the four issues of the series (#42 – #45) with Kirby covers.
-Link- San Diego Kirby panel
Posted in Links.
Mark Evanier has his usual packed panel schedule for the San Diego Comic-Con up. Many interesting things, but of course none more interesting than this usual entry:
Sunday, July 29
10:30 AM – 11:45 AM / Room 1AB
THE ANNUAL JACK KIRBY TRIBUTE PANEL
Once again, we stop to talk of the man they call “The King of the Comics.” This time, talking Kirby will be NEIL GAIMAN, DARWYN COOKE, ERIK LARSEN, MIKE ROYER and members of the Kirby family, with previews of upcoming Kirby projects and a few surprises.
[Video] Jack Kirby: Storyteller
Posted in Video.
I rented the recent 2-DVD release with the extended version of the 2005 FANTASTIC FOUR movie in order to see the one hour JACK KIRBY: STORYTELLER documentary included among the special features. It’s a very enjoyable feature, with original interviews with a wide variety of comic book types who were involved with or influenced by Kirby, including Mark Evanier, Mike Royer, John Romita, Walt Simonson and a few dozen more, giving a good overview of his place in comic book history, and well illustrated with a variety of images both from published work and from original art and photocopies of pencils. As you might guess from the fact that I run this weblog, I’ve read a lot of interview with and about Kirby, so none of the information was really new to me, but it was nice to see it all in one place like this, and see the effect that Kirby had on others.
Two of Kirby’s children, Neal and Lisa, are also extensively featured, giving a more personal perspective on the man, as well as talking about their mother Roz’s role in his life (as do many of the other interviewees). They also provide an opportunity for the use of a lot of photographic material in the visuals, in addition to the comic book art, and a lot of that I don’t think I’d seen before.
There are a few minor flaws, a few comments in the interviews seem to get the chronology slightly askew, and sometimes the choice of artwork to go with a particular discussion is perplexing (discussion of the 1960s material featuring 1970s covers). And of course with Kirby’s lengthy and complicated career, one hour isn’t going to cover close to everything, especially when the focus is, properly for this venue, going to be on the FF. A proper Kirby documentary would have to have a lot more on Joe Simon (and ideally an interview with him), for example.
Well worth a rental, though, and if it was released as a standalone feature, maybe with some longer unedited interviews as extras, I’d be happy to drop $10-$15 on it.
Anyway, as long as I have it here I guess I might as well watch the movie, too. But that’ll be a topic for another weblog.
Admin – KING OF COMICS info page
Posted in Admin.
I’ve added a page over to the sidebar for Evanier’s upcoming KIRBY: KING OF COMICS book. So far just the cover and a few quick buying links and info, but eventually it’ll be your one-stop shop for links to any previews and reviews that come along.
Upcoming Kirby – DC and more
Posted in Upcoming Kirby.
The newest solicitations for the direct market have a few previously mentioned Kirby items. For those who want to buy Mark Evanier’s KIRBY – KING OF COMICS from their comic book retailer, it’s listed in the books section, on or about page 400, with the order code “JUL07 4078”. Meanwhile, JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL. 3 has a number of classic bits, including my favourite Fourth World story, “Himon”. And the first of Kirby’s FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL one-shots, featuring Atlas, has a tenuous enough link to some other DC stuff to show up in SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE GREAT DISASTER FEATURING THE ATOMIC KNIGHTS AND HERCULES VOL. 1 TP. Couldn’t they find a way to connect the Dingbats to that stuff? (and more seriously, no OMAC?)
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 $40.00
JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL. 3 HC
Written by Jack Kirby
Art by Kirby & Mike Royer
Cover by Kirby
The third of four volumes collecting Jack Kirby’s classic 1970s classic “Fourth World” magnum opus! In this volume collecting THE NEW GODS #7-10, THE FOREVER PEOPLE #8-10, SUPERMAN’S PAL JIMMY OLSEN #146-148, MISTER MIRACLE #7-10, Darkseid’s deadly schemes reach Earth as Orion of the New Gods battles Kalibak, son of Darkseid, the Forever People run afoul of the DC Comics hero Deadman and more!
on sale November 21 396 pg, FC, $49.99 US
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE GREAT DISASTER FEATURING THE ATOMIC KNIGHTS AND HERCULES VOL. 1 TP
Written by John Broome, Gerry Conway, Jack Kirby and others
Art by Murphy Anderson, Jack Kirby, Walter Simonson and others
This thrilling volume collects futuristic tales from Strange Adventures, First Issue Special, Hercules Unbound, Kamandi, Weird War Tales, House of Mystery, Superman, Amazing World of DC Comics, and House of Secrets!
on sale October 24 576 pg, B&W, $16.99 US
Upcoming Kirby – Don’t Yield, Buy SHIELD
Posted in Upcoming Kirby.
Pair of reprints scheduled for Marvel in September. AVENGERS CLASSIC continues, with the re-introduction of Captain America. The recent first issue also indicated that they’ll be including the original letter columns in the series. Bigger news is that SHIELD gets a Masterworks volume, running straight through to the end of Kirby’s involvement with the series, including a few side trips. A lot of these are just Kirby layouts, but some are full pencils, and the artists doing the finishing on the others are some top notch guys.
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. VOL. 1 HC
Written by STAN LEE, JACK KIRBY, ROY THOMAS & DENNIS O’NEIL
Penciled by JACK KIRBY, JIM STERANKO, JOHN SEVERIN, JOE SINNOTT, DON HECK, HOWARD PURCELL & OGDEN WHITNEY
Cover by JACK KIRBY
Having revolutionized everything from war to Westerns to good ol’ super heroes, in 1965 Stan Lee and Jack Kirby set their sights on the spy game. With Cold War covert ops snagging headlines and James Bond topping the box office, Marvel’s greatest minds unveiled a whole new wild world upon the comic book faithful. So break out your Priority A-1 Clearance, and get ready to dive into the world of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Featuring more amazing gadgets and world-dominating baddies than you can shake a Heli-Carrier at, this Masterworks collects, for the first time ever, the complete early S.H.I.E.L.D. extravaganzas. With guest stars including Tony Stark, Captain America, and Nick’s trusty team of Dum Dum Dugan, Gabriel Jones, and Jasper Sitwell, not to mention the Marvel debut of comics visionary, Jim Steranko, this book is truly a watershed of Silver Age wonder! You know it. We’re not going to hold you back, so say it loud, say it proud, “Don’t yield, back S.H.I.E.L.D.!” Collecting STRANGE TALES #135-153, TALES OF SUSPENSE #78 and FANTASTIC FOUR #21.
288 PGS $54.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-2686-7
AVENGERS CLASSIC #4
Written by STAN LEE & DWAYNE MCDUFFIE
Penciled by JACK KIRBY & MICHAEL AVON OEMING
Cover by ART ADAMS
Captain America may be dead, but witness his classic rebirth into the Marvel Universe in “Captain America Joins…the Avengers!” — a tale destined to become a magnificent milestone in the Marvel Age of Comics! Witness the tragic death of Bucky and the triumphant return of the Golden Age’s greatest hero in an instant classic that could only be told by legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby! Plus: take a new look at the ultimate man out of time, as writer Dwayne McDuffie (FANTASTIC FOUR) and artist Michael Avon Oeming (POWERS) craft an all-new 9-page story starring the one-and-only Captain America!
32 PGS. $2.99
-Link- Kirby en español
Posted in Links.
I can’t understand a word of it, but lots of pretty pictures in this spanish (I think) blog about recent and upcoming Kirby reprints.
http://disipatedworld.blogspot.com/2007/06/ultimo-tren-kirbylle-ii.html
New Kirby – Big Day
Posted in New Kirby.
Break out the wallets, it’s a big day for Kirby reprints, including work in two eras considered by many fans to be among the peaks of Kirby’s career. As always, links below, or purchase from Tales of Wonder, gives a small kickback to this site.
JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS v1 is the first of four volumes to be released quarterly that will collect Kirby’s chronicles of the New Gods, including the new 1980s material. in publication order.
FANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS v2 collects the heart of Kirby’s longest run on a title, including the introduction of dozens of new characters (a few about to make their silver screen debut) and some of the most exciting comics ever produced.
Also, AVENGERS CLASSIC #1 reprints, naturally enough, AVENGERS #1 (along with some new material), a welcome return of Kirby reprints to relatively inexpensive monthly comics. The reproductions in these is supposed to be a step up from the existing reprints of this material.
-Link- Kirby documentary reviewed
Posted in Links.
The new FANTASTIC FOUR DVD with an extended version of the 2005 movie is out, and includes the one hour documentary JACK KIRBY: STORYTELLER. Gary Sassaman has a review of the documentary:
All in all, “Jack Kirby: Storyteller” is probably the best comic book documentary I’ve ever seen. Like Kirby’s drawing style, it starts at the upper left corner and fills the page with an incredible vision of who the man–as an artist, husband, father, and comic book god–was.