Category Archives: Featured Work

Happy Birthday Jack!

In Love #3
In Love #3 (January 1955) by Jack Kirby

I was not planning to do a post tonight but then I remembered it is Jack Kirby’s birthday so I could not let that date go by without something. The cover I have here is for In Love #3 (January 1955). It is special for me because I have the original art signed by both Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. But I also think it is appropriate because it shows a comic book artist, although a rather idealized one. This image is based on what are called progressive proofs. Before a comic is published the cover printer may provide the publisher with progressive proofs. These proofs include pages of the individual colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) as well as pages showing how the printing stages would look. If I remember correctly yellow is printed first, magenta second, cyan third and the black completes it. Printed colors change with age. But with progressive proofs it is possible to scan the individual colors and then combine them together. What results is perhaps the most accurate idea of what the cover originally looked like. I did absolutely no touch-ups on this cover whatsoever.

Oversized Kirby

Adventure #73
Adventure #73 (April 1942) by Jack Kirby

In my recent serial post, The Art of Joe Simon, I discussed and gave a number of examples of Joe Simon’s use of oversized figures on covers. As a rule Jack Kirby did not seem to have any interest in this sort of compositional device. But there are exceptions (and no I do not believe they prove the rule). When Simon and Kirby began to work for DC Jack did do two covers that used an oversized Manhunter (Adventure #73 and #79). Had Jack seen Joe’s use of this device and wanted to try his own hand at it? Or is is possible that Joe did the layout for these covers? In “The Jack FAQ” page 3 Mark Evanier states

During the Simon-Kirby days, Joe Simon did the bulk of the cover designs. (Jack regarded Joe as the best designer of covers the industry has ever seen, though that was by no means the only talent Joe had.)

It is not clear what Mark’s source is for the statement about Joe doing most of the cover layouts. I will decline to provide my own opinion on this issue of layouts. Beliefs are great but they should be backed up with evidence. I feel evidence that can be used to determine who did what layouts is largely lacking. We do have Simon covers from before the S&K team-up, but unfortunately we do not have Kirby covers from the same period. During the time of their collaboration we do not have credits like those that appeared during the Silver Age of comics. I do not believe that it is convincing to use covers done after the breakup as evidence for what was done prior. So as I said we seem to have a lack of evidence.

Despite the many years of Simon and Kirby collaboration to come, these two covers seem to be the only examples of Kirby drawing oversized figures on a cover. But as we saw in previous posts, Simon did return in later years to this compositional technique.

Adventure #79
Adventure #79 (October 1942) by Jack Kirby

Stuntman

After Joe Simon returned from war service, the S&K team made a deal with Harvey Comics to produce “Stuntman” and “Boy Explorers” comics. I previously discussed the part played in these comics by Bill Draut and Ken Riley who worked on backup stories. Now I would like to go into the work done on these comics by our intrepid artist, Jack Kirby. Not surprisingly, Jack’s efforts was the core of these comics as he the penciler for Stuntman and Boy Explorers stories and covers.

Stuntman #1
Stuntman #1, April 1946

Stuntman was published first on April 1946. It has three Stuntman stories with a total of 35 pages. The first story (“Killer In The Big Top”) introduces the characters. The hero is Fred Drake, who is both a movie stuntman and the crime fighting Stuntman. Like many S&K heroes, he really isn’t a super-hero since he has no special powers. But he does wear a costume and maintain a secret identity. As so common in comics, nobody seems able to make the obvious connection between the hero Stuntman and Drake the stuntman. Drake doubles for the famous movie star Don Daring. The two are spitting images of one another, except Don wears a moustache. Don takes on the comic relief roll. Besides being a vain actor, he periodically puts on a Sherlock Holmes outfit and tries to be the detective and solve the crimes. But his detective attempts come off as the acts of a buffoon, while it is the Stuntman the real man of physical action who saves the day. The love interest is the actress Sandra Sylvan. But calling her the love interest is a little misleading. There certainly is an interest by Sandra in the hero Stuntman, but he in turn always manages to escape her advances.

S #2 Curtain Call For Death
Stuntman #2, June 1946, “Curtain Call For Death”

These stuntman stories seem pure Kirby, with the sort of quick action that Jack seems to excel at. Story lengths of 10 to 13 pages also seem the perfect length for this type of plot. Was it the fact that S&K were no longer limited by publishers like DC, or maybe they had matured as comic artists during the time they spent in wartime service. Whatever the reason Simon and Kirby were now at their peak. This peak would last for about ten years and would produce work unmatched by anyone else. It would take a collaboration between Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to match it.

S #2 The Rescue of Robin Hood
Stuntman #2, June 1946, “The Rescue of Robin Hood”

One sign that Kirby wasn’t “pulling any punches” on Stuntman was the return of the double page splash. This layout device was once an important part of S&K work on Captain America, but it was infrequently used during S&K years at DC. But the double spread would return for each Stuntman issue. But only too complete Stuntman comics would be published. A completed double page splash meant for Stuntman #3 would not see print. There was a fourth double spread apparently just in the middle of being ink when work was abruptly terminated. Stuntman is completely inked, other figures partially done and another still in the outline form.

As previously mentioned, Stuntman and Boy Explorers were caught in a post-war comic book glut. With the end of paper rationing, publishers and printers went wild and an over abundance of comic books hit the newstands. It was just too much, many comics would be returned without ever having been put on the racks. New comics like Stuntman didn’t get much of a chance. Only two issues of Stuntman were distributed. A third issue was sent to subscribers but it was one fourth the size of a normal comic, printed without colors, and was short in page count. Completed but as yet used work would eventually be put in Green Hornet Comics about a year later. Even so there maybe two Stuntman stories that have never been published. Unfortunately it appears that the art work for these stories is no longer together.

Unpublished Stuntman
Unpublished Stuntman

All the Stuntman stories that had been made all seem a pretty coherent group. However an ad in Stuntman #2 announced the coming of Stuntgirl and Stuntboy. I suspect that Sandra Sylvan would become Stuntgirl, but I have no idea where the boy would come from. Frankly it is hard to imagine how stories with this threesome would be like. Unfortunately we will never know.

S #2 ad
Stuntman #2, June 1946

Artist and Model

The Jack Kirby Comics Weblog has posted a real nice My Own Romance and made the comment

I think there was some rule that said Kirby had to do at least one artist/model themed romance cover for every publisher he did romance comics for

So I checked and I am sad to say Jack did no artist/model theme cover for Harvey. I have already posted the first issue of Young Romance for Prize which does have that theme. Simon and Kirby used the theme again for Young Love #72 also published by Prize

Young Love #72

But for a short time Joe and Jack had their own publishing company Mainline with a romance title In Love. The third issue of In Love had, surprise, surprise, an artist/model theme cover. In fact the contents was a story about a comic book artist and model. I ask Joe about it once and he commented that they always like that theme. Apparently they liked the idea so much that made a proposal for a comic book or oneshot called “Artist and Model”. Two covers were made for that proposal, one by Kirby and the other by Bill Draut. Jack’s cover was used for the In Love #3 but Draut’s was never published.

Artists and Models

Artists and Models