Doesn’t look like any more Kirby publications are coming out in 2005, so here’s an overview of what we got, at least 49 separate print items (some quite trivial, of course, but others up to 800 pages of Kirby), up from 17 in 2004 and 8 in 2003, plus 2 major digital publications. Good year, overall, lots of fun stuff. Book of the year, not including the KIRBY COLLECTOR, is probably ESSENTIAL FF v4, but maybe KAMANDI ARCHIVES when I get around to picking it up (and, ahem, at least it pays royalties). Unfortunately we didn’t get the scheduled COMPLETE KIRBY v5, which would have been a contender. Anyone heard an update on that?<\/p>\n
And of course 2005 saw the announcement of the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center<\/a>, now accepting PayPal donations for future projects and exhibitions, and already hosting a great Kirby checklist, a few stories and a short video.<\/p>\n Some good stuff coming up in 2006 as well. As usual, updates will be posted on the weblog as I get them, and available here<\/a>, and general Kirby in-print information is kept here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The most important and essential of the Kirby publications was this trio of issues from TwoMorrows. All the usual great stuff, amazing art finds, pencilled pages, columns and the like, plus they started reprinting some well restored full stories from the S&K days, including some romance, horror and crime in these issues. Look for more of the same in 2006, plus their publication of SILVER STAR from the pencils.<\/p>\n JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #42<\/a> DC only had one Kirby publication this year, but it was major, the first ten issues of KAMANDI in one hardcover volume.<\/p>\n KAMANDI ARCHIVES VOL. 1 HC<\/a><\/p>\n AC included a few Kirby short stories in their various reprint anthologies, one or two in each of these issue.<\/p>\n AMERICA’\u0092S GREATEST COMICS #11 Craig Yoe included a 1950s Kirby story, “The Fourth Dimension is a Many Splattered Thing”, reprinted from the original artwork, in this collection from Fantagraphics.<\/p>\n MODERN ARF VOLUME 1 GN<\/a><\/p>\n Marvel of course went to the Kirby reprint well most often in 2005, most importantly for me with some long-awaited additions to their ESSENTIAL line, each collecting over 500 pages of 1960s Kirby, some of it for the first time in decades, in black and white.<\/p>\n ESSENTIAL FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 4 TPB<\/a> Good Kirby year for those who like Marvel’s hardcover reprints as well, with two FF volumes (bringing it one volume left to the end), some good Thor work, a few previously unreprinted stories in the Golden Age Captain America, plus finishing off the TALES OF SUSPENSE run of Cap and starting his solo series for the Silver Age volume (with some great art in that run, and of course MODOK). And some Iron Man and Doc Strange covers. Add to that the latest variation on Marvel’s reprints, an over 800 page OMNIBUS collecting the FF up to #30.<\/p>\n MARVEL MASTERWORKS: CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 2 The 1970s Kirby also got a taste of the limelight in two dedicated volumes, including the hard-to-find original tabloid Cap story, with hopefully more to follow (ETERNALS is also likely for 2006).<\/p>\n BLACK PANTHER BY JACK KIRBY v1 TPB<\/a> Kirby also figures into a few mostly non-Kirby collections from Marvel in 2005: Marvel also mixed a few reprints into their regular comics during the year, either all reprint books (the MILESTONES specials) or mixing new stories with reprint backups (the rest of these). Each of these has one or more Kirby story.<\/p>\n FANTASTIC FOUR: THE WEDDING SPECIAL There was apparently some never followed up on “Dollar Digest” experiment that reprinted some Kirby stuff in small black and white volumes. I never did see them.<\/p>\n AVENGERS: ASSEMBLE DOLLAR DIGEST And a few trivial bits from Marvel:<\/p>\n ESSENTIAL MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE VOL. 1 TPB – five covers Plus there was MAXIMUM FANTASTIC FOUR, which I don’t know what to make of, except that I’m sure the Evanier introduction was interesting.<\/p>\n
\nJACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #43<\/a>
\nJACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #44<\/a><\/p>\n
\nAMERICA’S GREATEST COMICS #12
\nAMERICA’S GREATEST COMICS #13
\nBEST OF THE WEST #52<\/p>\n
\nESSENTIAL THOR VOL. 2 TPB<\/a><\/p>\n
\nMARVEL MASTERWORKS: DOCTOR STRANGE VOL. 2
\nMARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE ALL-WINNERS COMICS VOL. 1
\nMARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 1
\nMARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 8
\nMARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 9
\nMARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL. 2
\nMARVEL MASTERWORKS: THOR VOL. 4
\nFANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS Vol. 1 HC<\/a><\/p>\n
\nCAPTAIN AMERICA BY JACK KIRBY v2: BICENTENNIAL BATTLES TPB<\/a><\/p>\n
\n
\nAVENGERS: KANG – TIME AND TIME AGAIN TPB <\/a>– one story
\nBEST OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 1 HC <\/a>– five stories
\nFANTASTIC FOUR – THE MOVIE TPB<\/a> – one story
\nMARVEL VISIONARIES – STAN LEE <\/a>– three stories
\nMARVEL WEDDINGS<\/a> – one story
\nWHAT IF? CLASSIC VOL. 2 TPB<\/a> – one story, one other cover<\/p>\n
\nGIANT-SIZE INVADERS #2
\nGIANT-SIZE X-MEN #3
\nMARVEL MILESTONES: DR STRANGE, SILVER SURFER, SUB-MARINER & THE HULK
\nMARVEL MILESTONES: DR. DOOM, SUB-MARINER & THE RED SKULL
\nMARVEL MILESTONES: IRON MAN, ANT-MAN & CAPTAIN AMERICA
\nMARVEL MILESTONES: VENOM & HERCULES
\nMARVEL MILESTONES: WOLVERINE, X-MEN & TUK THE CAVE BOY
\nMARVEL MONSTERS: DEVIL DINOSAUR #1
\nMARVEL MONSTERS: FIN FANG FOUR #1
\nMARVEL MONSTERS: MONSTERS ON THE PROWL
\nMARVEL MONSTERS: WHERE MONSTERS DWELL #1<\/p>\n
\nFANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST FAMILY DOLLAR DIGEST
\nHULK: HULK SMASH DOLLAR DIGEST
\nSPIDER-MAN: AMAZING FANTASY DOLLAR DIGEST
\nX-MEN: CHILDREN OF THE ATOM DOLLAR DIGEST<\/p>\n
\nMARVEL VISIONARIES: STEVE DITKO – one cover (SPIDEY #1)
\nSPIDER-MAN \/ FANTASTIC FOUR CLASSIC – one cover (SPIDEY #1)<\/p>\n