"The Hero who Created a Thousand Heroes."
August 28, 2013 2:04 PM Subscribe
"The reason I picked the over-used cliché “behind the lines” for this series is probably going to be pretty obvious. Each month I’m going to take a look at Jack Kirby original pencils and examples of Kirby original art — images that reveal information not in the final newsprint publications. I may also take a look at some scans of Jack’s pencils from the 70s and compare those to the printed books. Mainly I want to focus on Jack’s famous margin notes from his 1960s work so we can get a glimpse into the Jack Kirby/Stan Lee collaboration." -- On what should've been Jack Kirby's 96th birthday, Robert Steibel starts a new column at tcj.com looking at the King's artwork.
To celebrate the King's birthday, why not check out Tom Spurgeon's selection of Kirby artwork, the gallery at What If Kirby or the large size photostats available at Heritage Auctions?
Then check out The Kirby Museum or the Kirby 4 Heroes campaign run by his granddaughter, Jillian Kirby.
Not enough Kirby? Try Tumblr.
To celebrate the King's birthday, why not check out Tom Spurgeon's selection of Kirby artwork, the gallery at What If Kirby or the large size photostats available at Heritage Auctions?
Then check out The Kirby Museum or the Kirby 4 Heroes campaign run by his granddaughter, Jillian Kirby.
Not enough Kirby? Try Tumblr.
Jack Kirby would’ve been 96 today (here’s how to celebrate)
posted by Artw at 2:11 PM on August 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 2:11 PM on August 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
So if I wanted to celebrate Kirby Day by purchasing a book that he wrote and drew, which would lead to some amount of profit for the Kirby estate, do I have any options?
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:23 PM on August 28, 2013
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 2:23 PM on August 28, 2013
When I was in fifth grade, one of our class projects was to design a museum or memorial of some kind and build a scale model of it. He had just died and I was a pretty intense Marvel fan so I created a combination museum/memorial to the King. It was, frankly, rather ugly (there was a lot of styrofoam involved), but my strongest memory of that year is spending hours laboriously cutting out pictures of the Thing and Iron Man and so forth, and gluing them to the sides of the model and feeling sad in a very fifth grade sort of way.
posted by skycrashesdown at 2:34 PM on August 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by skycrashesdown at 2:34 PM on August 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
Jack Kirby's Best Productivity Tricks
Surely Kirby's productivity trick would be "build a giant machine to do the job, preferably one that exudes large black dots. Also: strange hats."
posted by Grangousier at 2:55 PM on August 28, 2013 [6 favorites]
Surely Kirby's productivity trick would be "build a giant machine to do the job, preferably one that exudes large black dots. Also: strange hats."
posted by Grangousier at 2:55 PM on August 28, 2013 [6 favorites]
So if I wanted to celebrate Kirby Day by purchasing a book that he wrote and drew, which would lead to some amount of profit for the Kirby estate, do I have any options?
Maybe Silver Star? This was a creator-owned book originally published by Pacific Comics, then reprinted by Image. I'm pretty sure that Image would pay royalties to Kirby Estate for the sale of the book.
A donation to fund the creation of the Jack Kirby Museum?
posted by JDC8 at 3:06 PM on August 28, 2013
Maybe Silver Star? This was a creator-owned book originally published by Pacific Comics, then reprinted by Image. I'm pretty sure that Image would pay royalties to Kirby Estate for the sale of the book.
A donation to fund the creation of the Jack Kirby Museum?
posted by JDC8 at 3:06 PM on August 28, 2013
On what should've been Jack Kirby's 96th birthday
Surely you're aware of the effects of the infinity formula. Something was buried in Kirby's grave in 1994, but can you rule out a Life Model Decoy?
Now, EVACUATE THIS THREAD! I'M GOING TO DESTROY IT!
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:08 PM on August 28, 2013 [4 favorites]
Surely you're aware of the effects of the infinity formula. Something was buried in Kirby's grave in 1994, but can you rule out a Life Model Decoy?
Now, EVACUATE THIS THREAD! I'M GOING TO DESTROY IT!
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:08 PM on August 28, 2013 [4 favorites]
Sweet, profits from Silver Star go to the Kirby Museum fund. Two in one!
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:16 PM on August 28, 2013
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 3:16 PM on August 28, 2013
It took me awhile to figure out what Kirby was up to with Kamandi. (Yes, I'm so old, I was buying my copies off the "Hey, Kids! Comics!" spinner. And yes, I still have them, so there! But, I digress...)
But then we got to the "Watergate" issue and it finally hit me: Kamandi is Jack's Pogo. It was his way to lampoon (and, sometimes, harpoon) human history through other eyes. Strangely, our nominal human, Kamandi, knows less of human history than the beasts around him ("your kind was once greatly valued," observed the Tiger, Prince Tuftan, as he observed his workers excavate Lincoln's Memorial). And so the follies and glories of humanity are played out around him, and Kamandi observes them with new eyes.
A strange book. Strange and moving in a way that seems unforced. Jack lived through a lot of history, remember, so his perspective comes from someone who watched it unfold. (The same is true of myself, I realize, as I'm sharin' tales of the olden days with you young'uns.)
Heh. Odd thought: Kamandi was Kirby's attempt at Ellis's Transmetropolitan, long before it's time.
posted by SPrintF at 6:29 PM on August 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
But then we got to the "Watergate" issue and it finally hit me: Kamandi is Jack's Pogo. It was his way to lampoon (and, sometimes, harpoon) human history through other eyes. Strangely, our nominal human, Kamandi, knows less of human history than the beasts around him ("your kind was once greatly valued," observed the Tiger, Prince Tuftan, as he observed his workers excavate Lincoln's Memorial). And so the follies and glories of humanity are played out around him, and Kamandi observes them with new eyes.
A strange book. Strange and moving in a way that seems unforced. Jack lived through a lot of history, remember, so his perspective comes from someone who watched it unfold. (The same is true of myself, I realize, as I'm sharin' tales of the olden days with you young'uns.)
Heh. Odd thought: Kamandi was Kirby's attempt at Ellis's Transmetropolitan, long before it's time.
posted by SPrintF at 6:29 PM on August 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
That Freedom Freak page in the link justsomebody posted is horrifyingly wonderful.
posted by mediareport at 9:28 PM on August 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by mediareport at 9:28 PM on August 28, 2013 [3 favorites]
Those family pictures of Jack Kirby are joyous! He must have been an incredibly fun dad.
posted by JHarris at 1:57 AM on August 29, 2013
posted by JHarris at 1:57 AM on August 29, 2013
Those family pictures of Jack Kirby are joyous! He must have been an incredibly fun dad.
We can hope. Because I've been hurt by the stories about Enid Blyton.
posted by Mezentian at 2:54 AM on August 29, 2013
We can hope. Because I've been hurt by the stories about Enid Blyton.
posted by Mezentian at 2:54 AM on August 29, 2013
A Beginner's Guide to the King of Comics, Jack Kirby
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 5:36 AM on August 29, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 5:36 AM on August 29, 2013 [3 favorites]
According to CSBG, IDW has just re-issued the entire four-issue run of The Strange World of Your Dreams by Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, etc, a series is based on dream interpretation.
posted by Mezentian at 5:04 PM on August 31, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Mezentian at 5:04 PM on August 31, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by Artw at 2:08 PM on August 28, 2013 [5 favorites]