Jack Kirby Collector #63

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The

JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #63

SUMMER 2014

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“’80s Independents!” In-depth looks at PAUL CHADWICK’s Concrete, DAVE SIM’s Cerebus the Aardvark, and RICHARD AND WENDY PINI’s Elfquest! Plus see ‘80s independent comics go Hollywood, DAVID SCROGGY remembers Pacific Comics, TRINA ROBBINS’ California Girls, and DENIS KITCHEN’s star-studded horror/sci-fi anthology Death Rattle. Cover by PAUL CHADWICK!

“Let’s Get Small!” Marvel’s Micronauts, The Atom in the Bronze Age, JAN STRNAD and GIL KANE’s Sword of the Atom, the rocky relationship of Ant-Man the Wasp, Gold Key’s Microbots, Super Jrs., DC Digests, and Marvel Value Stamps. Featuring the work of PAT BRODERICK, JACKSON GUICE, ELLIOT S! MAGGIN, BILL MANTLO, AL MILGROM, ALEX SAVIUK, ROGER STERN, LEN WEIN, & more. Cover by PAT BRODERICK!

“When Comics Were Fun!” HEMBECK cover and gallery, Plastic Man, Blue Devil, Marvel’s Star Comics imprint, VALENTINO’s normalman, Bronze Age’s goofiest Superman stories, and the Batman/Dick Tracy team-up you didn’t see! Featuring MAX ALLAN COLLINS, PARIS CULLINS, RAMONA FRADON, ALAN KUPPERBERG, MISHKIN & COHN, STEVE SKEATES, JOE STATON, CURT SWAN, and more!

“Weird Issue!” Batman’s Weirdest TeamUps, ORLANDO’s Weird Adventure Comics, Weird War Tales, Weird Mystery Tales, DITKO’s Shade the Changing Man and Stalker, CHAYKIN’s Iron Wolf, CRUMB’s Weirdo, and STARLIN and WRIGHTSON’s The Weird! Featuring JIM APARO, LUIS DOMINGUEZ, MICHAEL FLEISHER, BOB HANEY, PAUL LEVITZ, and more. Batman and Deadman cover by ALAN CRADDOCK.

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DRAW! #29

LEGO ARCHITECTURE with JONATHAN LOPES, a microscale model of Copenhagen

by ULRIK HANSEN, and a look at the LEGO MUSEUM being constructed in Denmark! Plus Minifigure Customization by JARED BURKS, step-by-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, BrickNerd DIY Fan Art by TOMMY WILLIAMSON, MINDSTORMS building with DAMIEN KEE, and more!

SWAMPMEN: MUCK-MONSTERS OF THE COMICS dredges up Swamp Thing, ManThing, Heap, and other creepy man-critters of the 1970s bayou! Features interviews with WRIGHTSON, MOORE, PLOOG, WEIN, BRUNNER, GERBER, BISSETTE, VEITCH, CONWAY, MAYERIK, ORLANDO, PASKO, MOONEY, TOTLEBEN, YEATES, BERGER, SANTOS, USLAN, KALUTA, THOMAS, and others. FRANK CHO cover!

BERNIE WRIGHTSON interview on Swamp Thing, Warren, The Studio, Frankenstein, Stephen King, and designs for movies like Heavy Metal and Ghostbusters, and a gallery of Wrightson artwork! Plus writer/editor BRUCE JONES; 20th anniversary of Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror with BILL MORRISON; and interview Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre's BATTON LASH, and more!

MIKE ALLRED and BOB BURDEN cover and interviews, "Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman" cartoonist DAVID BOSWELL interviewed, a chat with RICH BUCKLER, SR. about everything from Deathlok to a new career as surrealistic painter; Tales of the Zombie artist PABLO MARCOS speaks; Israeli cartoonist RUTU MODAN; plus an extensive essay on European Humor Comics!

DAVE DORMAN demonstrates his painting techniques for sci-fi, fantasy, and comic book cover, LeSEAN THOMAS (character designer and co-director of The Boondocks and Black Dynamite: The Animated Series) gives advice on today’s animation industry, new columnist JERRY ORDWAY shows his working process, plus more Comic Art Bootcamp by BRET BLEVINS and Draw! editor MIKE MANLEY! Mature readers only.

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KIRBY COLLECTOR #64

Second big issue on 3-D COMICS OF THE 1950s! KEN QUATTRO looks at the controversy involving JOE KUBERT, NORMAN MAURER, BILL GAINES, and AL FELDSTEIN! Plus more fabulous Captain 3-D by SIMON & KIRBY and MORT MESKIN— 3-D thrills from BOB POWELL, HOWARD NOSTRAND, JAY DISBROW and others— the career of Treasure Chest artist VEE QUINTAL, FCA, Mr. Monster, and more!

1940s WILL EISNER/”BUSY” ARNOLD letters between the creator of The Spirit and his Quality Comics partner, art and artifacts by FINE, CRANDALL, CUIDERA, CARDY, KOTZKY, BLUM, NORDLING, and others! Plus Golden Age MLJ artist JOHN BULTHIUS, more of AMY KISTE NYBERG’s History of the Comics Code, FCA, Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLY, cover by DANIEL JAMES COX and JASON PAULOS!

CAROL L. TILLEY on Dr. Fredric Wertham’s falsification of his research in the 1950s, featuring art by EVERETT, SHUSTER, PETER, BECK, COSTANZA, WEBB, FELDSTEIN, WILLIAMSON, WOOD, BIRO, and BOB KANE! Plus AMY KISTE NYBERG on the evolution of the Comics Code, FCA, Mr. Monster, BILL SCHELLEY, and a new cover by JASON PAULOS and DANIEL JAMES COX!

Edgar Rice Burroughs adventure heroes in comics! With art by FOSTER, HOGARTH, FRAZETTA, MANNING, KANE, KUBERT, MORROW, GRELL, THORNE, WEISS, ANDERSON, KALUTA, AMENDOLA, BUSCEMA, MARSH, and YEATES—with analysis by foremost ERB experts! Plus, the 1970s ERB comics company that nearly was, FCA, MR. MONSTER, BILL SCHELLY, and more! Cover by TOM GRINDBERG!

SUPER-SOLDIERS! We declassify Captain America, Fighting American, Sgt. Fury, The Losers, Pvt. Strong, Boy Commandos, and a tribute to Simon & Kirby! PLUS: a Kirby interview about Captain America, MARK EVANIER and other columnists, key 1940s’50s events in Kirby’s career, unseen pencils and unused art from OMAC, SILVER STAR, CAPTAIN AMERICA (in the 1960s AND ’70s), the LOSERS, & more! KIRBY cover!

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THE

ISSUE #63, SUMMER 2014

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Contents The Marvel Universe!

OPENING SHOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 (let’s put the Stan/Jack issue to rest in #66, shall we?)

A UNIVERSE A’BORNING . . . . . . . . .3 (the late Mark Alexander gives us an aerial view of Kirby’s Marvel Universe) GALLERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 (mega Marvel Universe pencils) JACK KIRBY MUSEUM PAGE . . . .48 (visit & join www.kirbymuseum.org) JACK F.A.Q.s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 (in lieu of Mark Evanier’s regular column, here’s his 2008 Big Apple Kirby Panel, with Roy Thomas, Joe Sinnott, and Stan Goldberg) KIRBY OBSCURA . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 (the horror! the horror! of S&K) KIRBY KINETICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 (Norris Burroughs on Thing Kong) IF WHAT? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 (Shane Foley ponders how Jack’s bad guys could’ve been badder) RETROSPECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74 (a look at key moments in Kirby’s later life and career) INCIDENTAL ICONOGRAPHY . . . . .82 (we go “under the sea” with Triton) CUT ’N’ PASTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 (the lost FF #110 collage) KIRBY AS A GENRE . . . . . . . . . . . .86 (the return of the return of Captain Victory) UNEARTHED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89 (the last survivor of Kirby’s Marvel Universe?)

COLLECTOR COMMENTS . . . . . . .91 PARTING SHOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96 Cover inks: MIKE ROYER Cover color: TOM ZIUKO If you’re viewing a Digital Edition of this publication,

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Spider-Man is the one major Marvel character we don’t cover this issue, but here’s a great sketch of Spidey that Jack drew for granddaughter Tracy Kirby in 1975—one of the few good illos of the character Jack ever produced.

The Jack Kirby Collector, Vol. 21, No. 63, Summer 2014.

Published most quarters by and © TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. 919-4490344. John Morrow, Editor/Publisher. Single issues: $14 postpaid ($18 elsewhere). Four-issue subscriptions: $45 US, $61 Canada, $66 elsewhere. Editorial package © TwoMorrows Publishing, a division of TwoMorrows Inc. All characters are trademarks of their respective companies. All artwork is © Jack Kirby Estate unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter is © the respective authors. First printing. PRINTED IN CHINA. ISSN 1932-6912

COPYRIGHTS: Agent 13, AIM, Alicia, Angel, Ant-Man, Avengers, Baron Von Strucker, Beast, Beetle, Betty Ross, Brik, Bucky, Captain America, Crystal, Cyclops, Daredevil, Dr. Droom, Dr. Strange, Dragon Man, Drom, Dum-Dum Dugan, Early Hulk, El Toro, Enchantress, Executioner, Falcon, Fantastic Four, Fin Fang Foom, Fixer, Frightful Four, Galactus, Galp, Giant-Man, Gorgilla, Herbie, Hulk, Human Torch, Hydra, Iceman, Immortus, Infant Terrible, Invisible Girl, Iron Man, Jane Foster, Jasper Sitwell, Junior Juniper, Ka-Zar, Kang, Loki, Magneto, Marvel Girl, Medusa, Molecule Man, Mr. Fantastic, Nega-Man, Nick Fury, Odin, Plunderer, Plunderer, Princess Python, Professor X, Puppet Master, Quicksilver, Rama Tut, Red Skull, Rick Jones, Sandman, Scarlet Witch, Sentinels, Sgt. Fury, Silver Surfer, Skrulls, Space Phantom, Spider-Man, Stranger, Sub-Mariner, Tales of Asgard, Thing, Dr. Doom, Thor, Titanium Man, Trapster, Triton, Tyr, Tyrannus, Wanderer, Warlock, Warriors Three, Wasp, Watcher, Wizard, Wyatt Wingfoot, X-Men, Yellow Claw TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. • Darkseid, Demon, Desaad, Flash, Guardian, Highfather, Kalibak, Kamandi, Lex Luthor, Lightray, New Gods, Orion, Superman, Sandman TM & © DC Comics • Mr. Machine TM Ideal Toys • Black Hole TM & © Walt Disney Productions • Captain Victory, Jacob and the Angel, Beast Rider, Captain Glory, Satan's Six TM & ©Jack Kirby Estate • Thundarr TM & © Ruby-Spears Productions • Destroyer Duck, Roxie's Raiders TM & © Steve Gerber and Jack Kirby

Opening Shot

5 Months of Hard Work

editor John Morrow

efore my late friend Mark Alexander began work on issue #58 of the Jack Kirby Collector (“Lee & Kirby: The Wonder Years”), he first spent a long time on a lengthy 2003-2004 essay entitled “A Universe A’Borning,” documenting the early years of the Marvel Universe, through Kirby’s eyes.

How long did he spend? Well, the title of this editorial is taken from the letter he included when he sent me the final draft, which said, “Here you go, buddy. You hold in your hands five months of hard work. Do with it what you will.”

I was suitably impressed with it (as I think you’ll be, when you read it on the following pages). But Mark wrote me within a few months, asking me to pull it from consideration, since he wanted to use it as the basis for something even bigger—“The Wonder Years,” which unfortunately only made it to publication shortly after Mark passed away in 2011.

After the overwhelmingly positive response to that book, I felt it was a shame that readers never got to see what Mark would do, if he were covering the rest of the Marvel Universe’s history.

And since he said I could do whatever I wanted with “A’Borning,” by gosh, no way was I going to let it languish in a file drawer.

Mark had included a large stack of suggested illustrations, and I wanted to incorporate as many of them as I could. This turned it into one of the most difficult layout jobs I’ve ever tackled, trying to fit what he wanted, where he wanted it. But I’m confident the end result is exactly what he had in mind, and I wish he were here to finally see it in print, the way he’d originally intended.

The only problem is, we never discussed what to use for the lead image, to start his essay off. Since he didn’t leave me any guidance, I decided to dig through my old Marvel collection and see what I could turn up. It’s amazing what you’ll find in old comic boxes, isn’t it? On the next page is a beat-up copy of a longtime favorite of mine—I think it works well, and that Mark would approve. Any similarity between it and any other comic (especially one shown above) is purely intentional. ★

B

(above) Marvel Tales Annual #1 (1964) gave many readers a second chance to experience the origins of their favorite Marvel characters. I hope Mark’s essay has the same effect on TJKC’s readers. Enjoy!

(Mark’s work inspired me to tackle another “book” issue of this magazine. For TJKC #66 next summer, I’ll be producing a 160-page book, in the spirit of #50 and #58. Entitled Kirby & Lee: ’Stuff Said!, it’s centered around chronologically analyzing both men’s comments about their work (see page 92 for details). With all the research involved, and lots of summer travel ahead, our next issue (#64) won’t ship till Fall. Thanks for your patience!)

2

Mark Alexander (1955-2011)

Prologue: Conflagration “I was a Scout in the infantry. If somebody wants to kill you, they make you a Scout. Once while I was on patrol, I entered a street and somebody from a window started calling me all kinds of names in German, and he was laughing. ‘I’m going to kill you,’ he said, ‘I’m going to shoot you right in the face.’”

Jack Kirby interviewed by Ray Wyman Jr., The Jack Kirby Collector #27 Conflagration: a huge, destructive fire [Webster’s New World Dictionary] fter the war he was afraid of nothing.

He trekked halfway around the world and stood face to face with evil men who wanted to slaughter him—just for his ethos—and he lived to tell about it. What could he possibly fear after that? A Jack Schiff? A Martin Goodman? A Jim Shooter?

They were nothing—less than nothing.

War had been hell—hellfire and conflagration. But Kirby, the advance Scout, had plunged directly into the inferno without a fire mask. The heat was paralyzing—but he never once flinched. How could he ever fear anything again?

Bigness

(above) Kirby during WWII. On his sleeve is the 1942 Anti-Aircraft Artillery patch. (below) Joe Simon in the 1940s. ©Joe Simon (next page, top right) Stan Lee in the Timely offices in the mid-1950s. (next page, bottom right) Splash from Yellow Claw #2 (Dec. 1956), one of Kirby’s first Atlas jobs. (throughout) All pencil pin-ups are from the Valentine’s Day sketchbook Jack drew for his wife Roz in the late 1970s.

Right from the start, Jack Kirby was the comic industry’s seminal actionartist. His intuitive understanding of the action hero as iconography—as opposed to photorealism—brought an unprecedented force and dynamism to his figures. He knew from the beginning the world depicted in comics was infinitely larger than life: as such, lifelike illustration couldn’t begin to do it justice.

Kirby reduced the human body to its basic components: he deconstructed the human form, then reassembled it in completely new aesthetic proportions.

As his sinewy supermen exploded across the page, their bodies defied all known laws of physics. Their powerful arms, legs, and torsos carved endless arabesques in space—they jackknifed, corkscrewed, twisted, turned, and danced magnificently, in impossible contortions.

Exactly, it was “bigness.” That’s it and that’s all. No other word applies.

Immediately, every superhero artist in the industry was copying his style—trying to capture his “bigness”—but compared to Kirby, everyone else seemed pygmy.

Enter: Stanley Lieber Jack Kirby had fallen from great heights.

In the 1940s, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby were comics’ most successful duo. The team sold comics of all genres, to a myriad of publishers. Their creations included Blue Bolt, Marvel Boy, Newsboy Legion, Boy Commandos, Sandman, Manhunter, Stuntman, and the Boy Explorers. They did Westerns, crime books, and they invented the romance comic.

While working for Martin Goodman in 1940, Simon and Kirby spawned their most enduring character: Captain America, paragon of justice, juvenilia, and jingoism. To meet the demands of Captain America’s monthly schedule, Simon and Kirby needed a gofer—a flunky—so Goodman hired his wife’s teenage cousin, Stanley Lieber.

After the 1940s, comics suffered a near-death experience. Plagued by the Wertham crusade, a new entertainment alternative called television, and a general lull in overall creativity, comic books were definitely in trouble. When the industry crashed in the mid-’50s, Jack and Joe—whose Mainline Publications had folded—went their separate ways.

Darkening clouds of uncertainty began to gather as Kirby’s professional situation and finances began to dwindle. He got a trickle of work from Harvey and Atlas, but nothing substantial.

In 1956, Kirby headed for the greener pastures of National, and began drawing Challengers of the Unknown under managing editor Jack Schiff. Meanwhile, trying to get out of comics before he went down with them, Kirby co-produced a newspaper strip called Sky Masters (along with Dave and Dick Wood, Jack Schiff, and Wally Wood). A dispute over payments led Schiff to sue Kirby. After that, the artist felt unwelcome at National and pulled up stakes.

Kirby drew The Double Life of Private Strong for Archie Comics, until National’s lawyers decided The Shield’s resemblance to Superman was close enough to prompt litigation. Result: cancellation—such was DC’s power in those days. Kirby also drew a couple of issues of The Fly, but managing editor Richard Goldwater was put off by the bigness. He thought the artwork was “too creepy.” He wanted a slicker, more polished look: “Like the DC artists,” he said.

As it happened, both Simon and Kirby had an axe to grind with Martin Goodman. They were piqued at not owning Captain America (Marvel had made a second attempt at matching its 1940s success in the mid-’50s), and Kirby despised 4

the company’s nepotism. But now, at age forty-one, Kirby’s prospects were bleak indeed. He was no longer king of the mountain. A landslide of misfortune had wrenched him down to where he could no longer even see the mountain’s peak. Compared to the new rising comic artists like Carmine Infantino (and DC’s slick, homogeneous “house” artists), Kirby’s big-action art suddenly seemed outmoded. Smallness was in now, as exemplified by Dick Sprang’s tiny-figured, miniaturistapproach to Batman in World’s Finest. No one at National seemed to mind Kirby leaving, and to make matters worse, Harvey Comics was canceling its action/adventure titles for more lucrative kiddie fare like Little Dot and Casper The Friendly Ghost.

To Kirby, the entire industry must have seemed like a ghost—a ghoulish, rapidly vanishing medium that offered ever-diminishing options. By this time, it was 1958; his fortunes stood at low tide, and the industry had basically written him off. With few other prospects, he was forced to go back to work for Martin Goodman—whose comic company everyone knew was doomed.

As for himself, Kirby wasn’t worried. He’d fought his way up from the ghettos of the Lower East Side, and the war-torn foxholes of Europe. As such, his present obscurity was just one more battle—and he still had plenty of fight left in him.

It was comics themselves he feared for.

Since the crash of the ’50s, it seemed the entire medium was burning out—going up in smoke.

As if an unstoppable, all-consuming fire was blazing out of control, and the comics industry was

A Universe a’Borning PiN-UP

CAPTAIN AMERICA

standing directly in its path.

To save comics, Jack Kirby would have to plunge—once more—-back into the inferno.

Return To Babylon A fetidness hung over the Marvel offices. It was a stench and an abomination. It was a smell that had permeated the ex-Scout’s lungs before—years ago, on a beach in Normandy awash in human wreckage. Unmistakably, it was the smell of rigor mortis setting in: “Marvel was on its ass, literally, when I came around, they were moving out the furniture, they were taking desks out. I says, (sic) go in to Martin and tell him to stop moving the furniture out, and I’ll see that the books make money.”

Jack Kirby, amalgamated from his 1990 Comics Journal #134 interview 5

Kirby’s anecdote about the movers taking furniture has since been deemed an exaggeration by industry insiders. Yet despite these blasphemous naysayers (and their mindless preoccupation with facts), one thing is clear: Kirby was desperate to get the company back on track, in order to provide himself a safe haven.

Back in the 1940s when Simon & Kirby reigned supreme, Kirby had Stan pegged as a bothersome, ocarina-playing kid. Ironically, that kid Kirby found so irksome was now his boss. No matter; because he was the man he was, the ex-Private accepted his lot, and settled down to work.

Carnage “I was given monsters, so I did them. We had Grottu and Kurrgo and it was a challenge to try to do something—anything—with such ridiculous characters. But these were, in a way, the forefathers of the Marvel super-heroes.”

Jack Kirby interviewed by Steve Sherman, 1975 At this point, bigness had all but disappeared from comics, and Kirby was determined to

The idea that when Marvel superheroes began, Atlas monsters ended, is misleading. The monster/sci-fi tales lingered on as back-up filler right up until Tales of Suspense and Tales To Astonish evolved into superhero “split books.” This 1962 Annual was Marvel’s first, released at the time of FF #6. Above is the original Kirby/Ayers splash from Strange Tales #89 (Oct. 1961), featuring “Fin Fang Foom.”

bring it back. He created monsters as if he were Dr. Frankenstein on Benzedrine—monsters by the megaton. They were all Brobdingnagian in scope: hulking, lumbering masses of stone and earth. Huge blocky creatures, orange-brown or gray-green in hue, with unpronounceable names like “Kraggoom,” “Rorgg” and “Zzutak.” They’d cast endless, elongated shadows over the villages they decimated, and the villagers they trampled underfoot. To the ex-Scout, it undoubtedly felt good to be drawing with bigness again.

But he wasn’t just drawing.

Kirby soon learned working with Lee wasn’t going to be like his partnership with Simon, which was based on equal distribution of labor. Knowing Kirby was perfectly capable of conceiving his own storylines, Lee abandoned the traditional full-script method of comic book writing. He opted to let Kirby (along with kindred spirit Steve Ditko) simply “wing it” after a plot conference, establishing the story-flow with the art, and setting the pace as the artist saw fit. Stan (or his brother Larry Lieber) would later supply the dialogue. This “Marvel method,” as it came to be known, saved Lee time, and boosted his income; free from plotting, he was now able to increase his output. Meanwhile, for all this conception, plotting, and pacing, Marvel’s artists never received an extra dime.

It didn’t take long for Kirby to get monsters out of his system. The era passed, as it was bound to: by now, with the new decade, the artist was ready to take Goodman’s comics line in a new direction: “I had to do something different. The monster stories have their limitations—you can just do so many of them. There had to be a switch because the times weren’t exactly conducive to good sales.

So I felt the idea was to come up with new stuff—in other words, there had to be a blitz.”

Jack Kirby, in The Comics Journal #134 6

The First Blitz (“DR. DROOM,” AMAZING ADVENTURES #1-3; PREMIERE DATE: JUNE 1961) The first attempt was “Dr. Droom,” and what a sad flop he turned out to be. An ersatz Dr. Strange, he came out of nowhere, then dropped dead almost immediately, and did nothing ever after. Oddly (considering Marvel’s unwillingness to let any piece of its past fade away), Droom is nowhere to be found in any of the “official” Marvel history books. It’s as if he’d never been: not a mention, not even a footnote. Even though he was the original hero—the first on the scene—Marvel completely washed their hands of him.

Kirby’s first attempt at reviving superheroes had fallen on barren ground. Now he was driven to desperate measures. Something needed to happen—something immediate.

Something big and dramatic enough to steer comics from their present collision course with extinction. Something akin to a miracle. It was obvious Dr. Droom wasn’t going to be that miracle. It was equally obvious The Fantastic Four was.

Lo, A Flagship (THE FANTASTIC FOUR, PREMIERE DATE: NOV. 1961) Suddenly, there was a lone splash of light in the wilderness.

In the beginning, there were The Fantastic Four. They were the creative crucible from which Marvel’s entire aesthetic was forged. They introduced reality; a decidedly cerebral

A Universe a’Borning PiN-UP

Atlas MONSTERS

The FF’s precursor was Dr. Droom, master of the occult. He made three brief appearances in 1961’s Amazing Adventures #1-3, then vanished without a trace, never to be mentioned in Marvel’s own “history” books. Obviously, it made a better legend to claim the wildly-successful FF were Marvel’s first superheroes.

sense of complexity and consciousness that made all else in comics seem redundant. After them, everything was different.

To date, the FF—Marvel’s flagship publication—remains the most important comic series in history in terms of achievement. In a single stroke, Fantastic Four pulled Goodman’s publishing line from the Siberia of monster comics; it set the entire “Marvel Universe” in motion, and changed the face of comics fundamentally and forever. It was as fast, and simple, and complete as that. Readers knew immediately it was going to shape up to something really big: “It was the start of something really different; no costumes, the monster, the human emotion and things to that end—everything was so much there in that (first) issue.”

Roy Thomas, reflecting on FF #1, The Jack Kirby Collector #33 How it began depends on who you ask.

Clouded by contrasting claims and differing versions, it’s impossible to tell whose spark ignited it. Kirby claims he did. Lee swears it was he alone—inspired by his wife—who created the miracle team. And finally, there’s the widely accepted but suspicious sounding “Goodman golf-game” scenario, where Martin—learning of The Justice League of America’s sales figures over golf with DC’s Jack Liebowitz—pressed Stan into coming up with a reasonable facsimile of the JLA. To quote Bob Dylan: “Nothing is revealed.” In view of this, the FF’s genesis will simply be glossed over: believe what you like, and know the truth will never be fully unraveled.

Despite these obscurities, The Fantastic Four’s early revelations were astounding. Reed Richards, the prime mover and level-headed leader, could transmogrify himself into any shape he desired.

He also had graying hair: an early injection of reality.

7

Johnny Storm, a radically modernized version of the 1940s Human Torch, was possibly the first teenager in comics who wasn’t merely a sexually-ambivalent “kid sidekick”—whose main function was to keep the adult hero from talking to himself throughout the narrative.

Johnny’s sister—Sue Storm—could dematerialize at will, and was the integrator. Her relationship to the Torch (as sibling) and to Reed (as future bride) was the unifying cord that tied the group together—and this is quite important—as a family.

Aside from that, Sue was peripheral, and would pretty much stay that way.

Meanwhile, The Thing was anything but peripheral. He looked like nothing on Earth: he had craggy orange flesh, and was cast as a bitter malcontent. The deep self-loathing his deformity had wrought would often turn itself outward, and seek surrogate victims like The Torch.

Right from the start, Ben Grimm was the one who counted most. Quite simply, he epitomized—and catalyzed—everything that would change in comic books after him. Or more to the point, because of him. After The Thing, the idea of what constituted a comic hero would expand and complexify—not fractionally, as it had been, but radically and rapidly. The monster was also Kirby’s first metaphoric self-portrait (the cigar was a dead giveaway). Other Kirby metaphors would follow.

Over time, Ben acquired a blunt sense of humor to counterbalance his angst. But it was clear his Brooklynesque wisecracks masked a deep-rooted embitterment. His anguish and pathos evoked the reader’s sympathies, and Lee understated the emotionality just enough that Ben’s poignancy never degenerated into bathos.

If any one character holds the key to Marvel’s success, it’s surely The Thing (sorry Spidey-fans). Simply, he’s the seminal-figure and cornerstone of their entire universe. He’s as important as that.

Ironically, despite Lee’s later boasts that he developed The Thing to be “a new breed of hero, so phantasmagoric he would re-mold the entire comics industry,” the truth—as usual—is probably more mundane. The writers (and Martin Goodman) were most likely hedging their bets on a full-fledged 1960s superhero revival, and—cautiously— wanted to keep a “monster element” in the storyline, just in case.

Verdant, violent and vengeful, The Incredible Hulk was a Legends have been ferocious combustion of indefatigable energy. born from humbler stuff.

He personified Jack Kirby’s rage, terror, and power.

A Behemoth Berserk

Benjamin J. Grimm, the heart and soul of Kirby’s universe, was the veritable missing link between the Atlas Monsters and the Marvel superheroes.

Had the FF never materialized, The Thing might possibly have ended up as just another early ’60s monstrosity.

(THE INCREDIBLE HULK, PREMIERE DATE: MAY 1962) He was the Jack Kirby bigness personified in green.

What do you do for an encore after launching The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine? Kirby’s response was a solo-star who, if anything, pushed the envelope even further than The Fantastic Four. Verdant, violent, and vital, the Hulk’s adventures had a raw intensity that had been missing from comics for years. The plots weren’t much: mostly, they were full-blown excuses for the monster to perform acts of magnificent destruction and splendid carnage. Stone walls were toppled, tanks were demolished, and entire army battalions were scattered like bowling pins. No question about it, Kirby was drawing big again.

So big in fact, the crowded boroughs of New York—home of the FF— weren’t nearly spacious enough for all this grand-scale devastation.

Subsequently, Kirby settled his emerald enormity in the vast painted deserts of New Mexico: and even they were barely big enough to hold him.

The monster’s alter ego—Bruce Banner–-seemed haunted; and given 8

the circumstances, it suited him. A bespectacled, neurotic variation of Reed Richards, Banner came across as nervous wreckage. A nuclear physicist with a penchant for wearing purple pants, Banner seemed enigmatic and full of dark complexities. Indeed, within his frail frame two beings coexisted—intertwined but incompatible. Obviously, the writers were riffing on R.L. Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde.

Banner’s love interest—Betty Ross—was totally bland, and her importance to the storyline was marginal at best. She epitomized vapid, white-bready characterization. Even her name was unoriginal, having been purloined from a 1940s Simon/Kirby character. Simply put, she didn’t count.

Rick Jones definitely counted. Intriguingly mysterious from the onset, Jones would soon break the bonds of this series to play a larger, more complex role in the Marvel Galaxy— The Nexus. (More on him later.)

As for the Hulk himself, to call him “a different kind of superhero”—besides sounding like a Lee cover blurb—would be a vast understatement. What kind of comics star was feared and vilified by every segment of society? What kind hated his own alter ego? Obviously with

A Universe a’Borning PiN-UP

Although Thor possessed the ability to control weather, in seven initial issues (Journey Into Mystery #83-89), Kirby didn’t do much else with this bona fide god. That quickly changed after his return to the book in #101.

The HULK

The Hulk, Kirby had gone even further down the line he’d drawn with The Thing.

This time, perhaps, he’d gone too far.

Asgard Discovered (“THE MIGHTY THOR,” PREMIERE DATE: AUG. 1962) With one blow from his hammer, all the monsters in Journey Into Mystery’s first eighty-two issues were smashed to nothing.

If the Hulk had been grotesque and looked on with revulsion by all society, Marvel’s next “blitz” would be a hero who was his diametrical opposite. The Hulk’s antithesis would have to be a perfect specimen of humanity—or better yet, a veritable god.

Kirby’s early run on Thor (JIM #8389) never quite lived up to its real potential. As you might expect, Kirby was too pressured, too overworked to sustain the dynamics and intensity the series deserved. On the whole, the book was plagued by the same type of boring, ludicrous antagonists that proliferated in nearly all the 1962 Lee/Kirby superhero comics (FF excluded).

Swimming the untested waters of a new superhero revival, Kirby displayed a cautious unwillingness to drop monster themes. For all he knew, there might be a core audience out there who still wanted beings like “the Stone-Men from Saturn” in every issue (see JIM #83).

Almost as a matter of course, Lee’s contributions to the book were ceaseless variations of hackneyed hoods like “Thug Thacher,” and banal battalions of godless Commies. Mostly, they were downright dire. Readers who’d waited seven issues to see what Kirby could do with a superhero who was also a god, finally got their 9

answer: exactly nothing. At the point of JIM #89 (Feb. ’63), Kirby moved on, and the series degenerated into total stagnation.

From These Small Beginnings (“THE ANT-MAN,” PREMIERE DATE: SEPT. 1962) Kirby even used “bigness” to create the illusion of smallness.

Contrast of course, was the key to The Astonishing Ant-Man, who premiered in Tales To Astonish #35 (or arguably TTA #27). When seen from Henry Pym’s “ant’s-eye” view, his foes seemed to tower over him like skyscrapers. To induce this optical illusion, Kirby employed nauseatingly tilted perspectives, and wildly exaggerated foreshortening. It made Ant-Man’s foes appear gargantuan as he gazed up at them, and made Pym seem microscopic when they looked down on him. This skillful exploitation of unusual angles rendered the action from a viewpoint that seemed eerie, surrealistic, and near-hallucinatory. When those giant, godless commies lifted their colossal, boot-clad feet to squash the tiny hero, it almost gave you vertigo. If you were a kid, the effect was mesmeric.

Approximately, Kirby’s Ant-Man was a re-fried version of DC’s The Atom.

Likewise, Pym’s adventures were endless variations on the theme of smallness. Smallness however, wasn’t in Kirby’s vocabulary. In due course, despite the weird-angle inventiveness of the artwork, the novelty soon wore off. So did the reader’s patience for the book’s ceaseless parade of one lame villain after another. In Tales To Astonish #39 for example, Pym battled a giant, talking, radioactive beetle. It was monumentally moronic. Kirby packed it in after only six issues (TTA #35-40), leaving the series in less capable hands.

As it turned out, Kirby’s departure would diminish The Ant-Man’s prospects infinitely more than any amount of reducing serum.

Fire In The Sky (“THE HUMAN TORCH,”

PREMIERE DATE: OCT. 1962) He flew in on a blaze of glory.

The Human Torch’s solo excursion in Strange Tales (ST #101) seemed the logical encore to Fantastic Four. In theory, the spin-off series sounded like a winning idea.

Judging by reader response, The Amazing Spider-Man was already shaping up to be a hit, and Johnny Storm would undoubtedly appeal to Spidey’s core audience: young adolescent males. It’s hard to argue with demographics.

Perhaps to make Johnny even more swingin’ (in the vernacular of the times), they transplanted him and his sister in Glendale—a “Smallville” type (i.e., fictional) local town. With that done, the premise was set: Johnny was your average kid with super powers, living on his own with no nagging parents to answer to—only a blonde-bombshell sister, who was every delectable inch the perfect 1960s deb.

Moreover, he drove a Stingray.

What kid wouldn’t relate to that?

There was one hitch: It invalidated all the FF’s past history. Disconnected from Reed, Ben, and New York—then given a secret identity to boot—the new series flew in the face of all existing Fantastic Four story-structure.

Continuity? Lost.

Along with the storyline paradoxes, The Torch’s villains were relentless in their mediocrity: Colorless, one-dimensional losers like The Destroyer, The Sorcerer, and The Barracuda. They were human flotsam and jetsam—dire enough to make even the most bored kid go back to his homework. [Note: One in particular stands out, for all the wrong reasons: “Paste-Pot Pete ,” who carried a huge, sloppy glue bucket everywhere, was perhaps the most mindless figure in all comics. Kirby’s later transformation of Pete (to the Trapster) may have been prompted—more than anything—by a desire to rid his comic 10

In 1962, Kirby and Lee were on a winning streak in comics.

Their “flawed hero” formula was producing miracles, but there was one “bug” in the system—Ant-Man. Even Kirby’s innovative “bug’s-eye-view” effects didn’t help.

universe of its most embarrassing blight.]

In most ways, “The Human Torch” was lousy. It wasn’t great Kirby material by any standards. But through all this mediocrity, two issues stood out like diamonds in a dung heap. Strange Tales Annual #2 (1963) had an irresistible “poster-shot” cover of The Torch tangled helplessly in Spider-Man’s web, and more than that, “The Human Torch Meets Captain America” (ST #114) was practically exalted. Even now it stands as a highwater mark of the Silver Age (so what if the Captain was only bogus?). Its ending, in particular, struck chords in young readers. Johnny—a superhero himself— ogled over a 1940s Simon/Kirby comic, and gushed: “Boy! I sure dug this guy the most! I remember how he used to secretly change from Private Steve Rogers, to the great C.A.! (Sigh).” As impossibly lame as that now sounds, youthful readers identified like mad. Here was a solid connection to the reader’s own life: Johnny was a kid who loved comic books— he was the hero who could be you. The cumulative effect wasn’t resistible.

After some months, Kirby left the book in the hands of lesser talents (i.e., mere mortals), and the series became totally vapid—even drearier than the DC comics Marvel had originally seemed an antidote to. Invariably, “The Human Torch” atrophied, then died a slow, agonizing death. It was cruel.

He flew out on a downward spiral—a smoldering cinder, completely used up.

The Human Torch hits skid row—it’s a safe bet you’d never find DC’s “Robin” there.

In this same issue ( FF #4), his sister fell for an arch villain, his own teammate tried to demolish him, and finally, he quit the group. How many more radical innovations could the writers have crammed into 23 pages?

A (Flagship Sets Sail FANTASTIC FOUR #1-13) Finally, the long voyage began.

At the heart of everything were The Fantastic Four, and after a less than auspicious beginning, the series was finally lifting off the ground. Oddly, the book had been slow out the gate. The art in the first issues seemed weak and temporarily drained of any real inspiration. It lacked the verve of Kirby’s Challengers of the Unknown, or even Marvel’s best monster stuff. Perhaps the artist was pacing himself— like a marathon runner—building up steam for the longest, most monumental run in comics history. At any rate, the art in issues #1 and #2 was sparse, and looked like it might have been inked by Flo Steinberg while waiting for her nails to dry.

With issue #4 however, Kirby’s vitality had obviously returned.

In Strange Tales #114, the Torch’s most exalted issue, Johnny connects with his readers by wistfully examining an old S&K Captain America comic.

To True Believers everywhere, the Torch seemed like “the hero who could be you.”

In the first place, the storyline was radically unconventional. How many of DC’s “boy wonders” ever spent a night in a bowery flop-house, like the Torch did? This issue also saw the Silver Age debut of Bill Everett’s SubMariner, who was brilliantly revised as both an antagonist, and Reed’s rival for Sue’s affection. In 1962 the idea of a comic book heroine being besotted by a villain was unheard of. As if that weren’t enough, The Thing and Torch have a bitter, violent confrontation, and at the end of this ground-breaking tale, Johnny quits the group.

Simply, it was beyond the pale.

FF #5 would introduce Dr. Doom, wreaker of cataclysms—a dark, obsessive genius—the man in the iron mask. To this day, he’s still Marvel’s premier villain, which says loads about the company’s past level of creativity vs. their present.

At any rate, in these early issues Kirby was innovating with almost fanatical fervor, and FF #9 had the most radical premise yet: The group becomes financially destitute, and are evicted from their skyscraper headquarters.

Out of necessity, they’re pressed into making a film directed by Namor, who—in a bid for her affection—wines and dines Susan, who’s not the least bit put-off by his advances. Contrastively, how often did you see Lois Lane out on the town with Brainiac?

The readers—whom Stan would soon christen “True Believers”—were ecstatic.

FF #13 (April 1963) introduced a moon-based cosmic sage called The Watcher, arguably Kirby’s first “space-god.” He stood huge and still—a megalith of bland passivity—beholding all the events of the universe.

Always a receptor, never a transmitter, he didn’t live in himself—only through the ones he observed. He seemed to have no needs.

A GALLERY OF Kirby’s Vilest Villains!

PUPPET MASTER

Doctor Doom (shown here from FF #5), an evil gypsy-genius with a dark, labyrinthic mind, would almost instantly become Marvel’s premier villain—a position he, remarkably, holds to this day.

These early delights proved a mere signpost: a portent of even greater wonders to come. Even in the wake of Marvel’s burgeoning galaxy of stars, The Fantastic Four were still the heart of Kirby’s comic book universe. They stood firmly in the center, while all else ebbed and flowed around them. From the moment they came on the scene, they made everything before them seem like nothing—to be blown away like chaff.

A(THEBehemoth Falling INCREDIBLE HULK, #1-5)

First appearance: Fantastic Four #8

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Meanwhile, things were not going well at all down in New Mexico.

After a scant few issues, The Incredible Hulk was beginning to show serious undermining flaws. One was Stan’s total inability to devise a consistent, character-delineating speech pattern for the monster. His dialogue stumbled from Tonto-esque: “Have to reach home! Formula inside home! Must get formula!”— to eloquently evil: “With this flying dreadnought I can wipe out all mankind! Now The Hulk will be the hunter instead of the hunted!”—to a Bronx wiseguy vernacular: “lf yer not on the way to Vodka-land by the time I hit Earth, I won’t be so easy on ya next time!”—all in the span of a few issues. When nothing seemed to stick, Lee kept grasping at straws. He tried rendering the monster entirely speechless in Hulk #3, then took a shot at giving him Banner’s voice (and intellect) in Hulk #4—an obvious desperation strategy.

More inconsistencies: After two singlestory issues, a “split-format” was implemented in Hulk #3, which featured three separate stories.

Issues #4 and #5 contained two tales apiece, and in Hulk #6, the writers—confused as ever—went back to the original single-story

format. The artwork looked uneven as well, with two artists and three inkers in six issues. All things considered, The Incredible Hulk was in chaos.

Worst of all—as usual—were the villains. The writers couldn’t come up with anything even resembling a decent foe where The Hulk was concerned. While the FF had Dr. Doom (and The X-Men would soon have Magneto), The Hulk had “Mongu, the Commie robot.” Some of these losers were blatantly derivative, like the tepid “Tyrannus,” whose underground underlings were carbon copies of the Mole Man’s minions (stop me before I alliterate again). Kirby played it safe by employing the neo-Atlas “Toad Men” in Hulk #2—a nod to the recent past—but mostly, above all else, The Incredible Hulk loved to smash Communists. In a mere five issues, he battled The Gargoyle, a sinister Soviet scientist; Mongu, a pagan Red robot; and General Fang, a cheesy ChineseCommunist. The Hulk’s jingoistic battles with countless Commies seemed paradoxically ultra-conservative from Stan Lee— a man who desperately wanted to be perceived as hip and liberal.

In the meantime, while the Hulk was pounding sinister Soviets into dust, his comics sat on the shelves, collecting dust.

Distributors returned The Incredible Hulk by the truckload, and after six issues the series was unceremoniously cancelled.

Retrospection illumes The Incredible Hulk shouldn’t have died such a cruel death.

It carried real rage, and had an aesthetic that was previously unheard of: a comic hero with an almost Greek sense of fatalism. In the ultimate analysis, the series was a bit too far ahead of its time. The Hulk’s uniqueness—in 1962—

A Universe a’Borning PiN-UP

IRON MAN

had sown more confusion than converts. True Believers weren’t ready for a hero this radical— not yet, anyway. The Hulk’s next stop would be a nineteen-month stint in guest-star limbo, where he’d bide his time until his second coming in Tales To Astonish #60. Even in exile he was a force to be reckoned with (see Avengers #1-5). He wasn’t about to vanish into the night, or meekly drift in the wind. Characteristically, he would smash his way back from obscurity—like Kirby—and fare much better next time around.

The Other Man In The Iron Mask (KIRBY’S “IRON MAN”: TALES OF SUSPENSE #40, 41, & 43, APRIL-JULY 1963) When Stan Lee informed Bullpen artist Don Heck he’d have to wing his way through Iron Man’s origin (Tales of Suspense #39) with only a brief plot outline to go by, Heck says his initial thoughts were: “Oh my God! This will never work!”

He was right. Don’s forte then (and always) was drawing sexy and graceful females with a Milton Caniff touch. Back in ’63 however, superhero action art was a code Don hadn’t yet cracked. His idea of a big payoff brawl in Iron Man’s origin was to have the Commie villain chuck a file cabinet at Shellhead. Lee tried to lessen the imbecility with a word balloon explaining the cabinet was “weighted with rocks,” but it only made things worse. One can 13

almost hear Lee (after viewing this scene) screaming for Flo Steinberg to “Get Kirby on the phone!”

Consequently, Marvel’s leading light was hauled in for the soon-to-be-standard “Kirby Fix.” This three-issue pinch-hitting was frequently employed to show the resident or incoming artist how to pace a story the “Marvel Way”—ie. the Kirby Way. Ironically, pacing aside, Kirby’s Iron Man triumvirate of stories wasn’t that superior—particularly in terms of foes—to what Heck might’ve done himself.

Speculatively, a superhero crossover battle (eg. Iron Man vs. The Hulk) would’ve been an obvious self-starter for the new series, or perhaps a clash with Dr. Doom (Marvel’s other iron-clad icon). Instead, Kirby employed another outmoded Atlas throwback called Gargantus in issue #40, a pre-Stephen Strange “Dr. Strange” in #41, and yet another Marvel subterranean world in #43.

Finally, it’s noted that Kirby and Heck had a major conflict concerning Tales Of Suspense #39. Kirby always claimed he designed Iron Man, drew the first cover, and laidout the origin issue. Heck concedes the first two points, but claims he alone plotted TOS #39. Quite frankly, it’s a safe bet that Heck’s right. Compare the FF’s grand-scale 1963 battles with the aforementioned file cabinet scenario, then decide how Kirbyesque Iron Man’s origin is.

Atlantis Rising (FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #1, 1963) It had been a glorious beginning.

Kirby, the ex-Scout, was by now displaying almost superhuman ambition. It wasn’t The power of Iron Man, from Tales Of Suspense #41. Kirby enough that he and Stan—in barely two designed the unwieldy armor, and drew the cover of the origin years—had created a pantheon of heroes issue (TOS #39). Don Heck’s shaky start on the series prompted who were the most potent and radical Lee to call Kirby immediately back in for #40, 41, and 43. since comics were born. Kirby was now working with almost desperate velocity, on tying all these characters into a sweeping, seamlesslyintegrated fictional cosmos. The organically-grown “Marvel Universe” as it came to be known, was one of the most remarkable achievements of twentiethcentury pop culture.

But it wasn’t entirely original.

National Comic’s “Superman line” (i.e., Superman, Superboy, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Action, Adventure, and World’s Finest) had long offered a consistent, canonical environment where the DC characters connected and interrelated in their fictional localities. But Kirby (as usual), had wider ambitions—he had a vision. Not only would his heroes all co-exist in the same world, they’d all co-exist in our world—with close-knit ties to real places, and social/political events of present day reality.

New York City was crucial to all this: it was the centralized, reality-based hub of all the Marvel superheroes (except The Hulk, and even he came to visit).

Marvel would have no fictitious “Gotham City” or generic “Metropolis.” New York rang true, especially when Lee and Kirby In a majestic two-page spread from FF Annual #1, Prince Namor finds his lost race, and Atlantis is reclaimed. When Kirby and Lee (both lifelong natives) demonfirst pulled Bill Everett’s Sub-Mariner out of Golden Age mothballs, he mouthed maxims like “Sufferin’ shad!,” but Jack—typically— strated how eternally nonplussed imbued him with a nobility that bordered on godlike. This 37-page epic capped off the first two years of Marvel monumentality.

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New Yorkers would react to having superheroes in their midsts: “Well well! If it ain’t the famous Invisible Girl! So this is what ya look like! Mmm—you shouldn’t ever turn invisible, doll!”

With each passing month, Kirby’s comic book topography seemed to expand, spreading like wildfire; and at the front of it all—as always—were The Fantastic Four.

Right off the bat, FF #1 incorporated the subterranean grottos of The Mole Man into this new universe—a theme that would be revisited in Hulk #5, and again in Tales of Suspense #43. In FF #2, the Skrull galaxy was absorbed into the meld to contribute a consistent vision of outer-space. Formerly, in Atlas and DC comics alike, when an alien race descended on Earth, it was always a different set of creatures from an endless array of galaxies.

From here on, however, Kirby would continually revise the FF’s first extraterrestrial foes for his entire run on the book.

More revelations: FF #4’s revival of Sub-Mariner added the first (but not final) quasitemporal dimension to the mix—Marvel’s own past. With this development, Marvel’s storylines could now incorporate all the old Atlas/Timely characters. This was seminal to the unification and immediate growth of Kirby’s brave new world. The “Golden Age connection” would soon be exploited again with the reanimation of Simon and Kirby’s “Ringmaster of Death” in Hulk #3. Moreover, Ant-Man’s nexus to the events of TTA #27 would connect the Marvel Universe to its more recent past (i.e., Atlas monster/sci-fi themes).

Further developments: with the advent of Journey Into Mystery #85, Asgard, home of the mythological Norse gods, was absorbed into Kirby’s ever-expanding mosaic. Now Marvel’s “real” world (i.e., New York) would be fair game for visits from gods, giants, trolls, and demons of every variety. Two months later, The Human Torch would stumble onto a bizarre “5th dimension”—inhabited by a blue skinned race—in Strange Tales #103.

Another bombshell: with FF #13, The Watcher and his “blue area” of the moon were assimilated into the tapestry.

Despite some lively covers, the Human Torch’s villains in This lunar Strange Tales had degenerated into total dross. They were cosmicenough to make any kid go back to his homework. demigod would become The King’s first superhuman “supporting cast member’’; ie., a peripheral figure—though not a villain—who would make reoccurring, but not quite regular guest appearances. Balder the Brave would soon play a similar role in Journey Into Mystery as well.

The next piece of the puzzle was the inclusion of a “micro-verse” discovered by Dr. Doom in FF #16; and in JIM #97, Thor’s clash with the Lava-Man would incorporate an inner-volcanic otherworld into the blend. (A realm which would later be revisited in Avengers #5).

With these amazingly-varied developments, a new milieu of comic book continuity and connectedness was rapidly evolving. No question about it, Kirby was tying it all together—weaving the fabric of an integrated mythology, and innovating like a man possessed.

Ahead of it all were The Fantastic Four. They’d got the ball rolling—they’d set the pace. Their innovations, their emotional developments, and their inner-turmoil profoundly reflected the social and political maelstrom that was the 1960s. They made all the competition look damn silly.

The sprawling, awe-inspiring expanse of the new “Kirbyverse” was stunningly capped-off in the summer of 1963 with Fantastic Before he was the teller of epic, galactic sagas, unleashing the gods inside him— Four Annual #1. Not content to issue a standard DC annual of all in other words, before he was “cosmic”—Kirby created an entire pantheon of reprints, Kirby treated his True Believers to fifty-seven new pages enduring characters and continuity. Welcome to the Marvel Universe, circa 1963, as shown in this house ad. of bombastic bigness. In this story, the arrogant and anti-social 15

Sub-Mariner finds his lost race and becomes “Prince Namor, Lord of Atlantis.” An epic-length all-out war between Atlantis and the FF ensues. At thirty-seven pages, it was the comic book equivalent of a Cecil B. DeMille apocalypse. Finally, Namor’s relationship with Sue takes a new turn with the introduction of Lady Dorma.

The fans were euphoric.

With the undersea realm of Atlantis duly consolidated into Kirby’s cosmos, the “Marvel Universe” was now irrevocably in motion. At the end of all this, the ex-Scout had accomplished what was tantamount to a modem cultural miracle: He’d laid the foundations of a huge, dazzling, pop-art metagalaxy, and in the process, he’d pulled a moribund comics industry from the jaws of death. Comic books were getting their biggest transfusion in the medium’s history.

All in two years. It was quite an accomplishment.

Hell Hath No Fury (SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS, PREMIERE DATE: MAY 1963) In a way, Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos all boiled down to trademarks.

It was Fury’s cigar, and Dum-Dum’s derby; it was Gabe’s trumpet, and Percy’s umbrella. It was the way Dino wouldn’t be caught dead charging into battle without first combing his hair,

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SGT. FURY

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos was Kirby’s bittersweet backward glance at his tour of the E.T.O. The Howler’s brazen celebration of ethnic diversity began and ended with one phrase: “WAH-HOO!” No other words apply.

and the way Dugan always said the word “ugh” in-between the words “my” and “wife.” It was Reb’s exaggerated Southern drawl, and Pinkerton’s overstated British accent. Yet somehow, despite the stereotyping, it all rang true.

The Howlers were a veritable cauldron of contrasting cultures. Among their ranks were an Irish-American, an AfricanAmerican, a Jew, a Southerner, and (soon) an Englishman. Comparatively, rival characters at National (like Jimmy, Lois, and Perry White) suddenly seemed very white, compared to The Howler’s brazen glorification of ethnicity.

In plain point of fact, it was all summed up in one phrase: WAH-HOO!!!

No other term is relevant.

Because of their aforesaid personal quirks, The Howling Commandos, above all other Marvel teams (FF excluded), seemed real. One of the squad—Junior Juniper—was so real in fact, he ended up dead (SFAHHC #4). By 1963 comic book standards, that was pretty damn real.

Readers wondered who would be next.

To be blunt, Junior Juniper was the only Howler who had zero character potential. Since he wasn’t a stereotype, Stan couldn’t figure out what to do with him—i.e., what character traits and speech patterns to endow him with. Mostly, Junior had become a waste of space. The only significant contribution he could have made to the series was to die, thereby infusing the book with some very plausible realism (with apologies to Junior’s family).

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“Nick Fury was my idea of a soldier. Having been a soldier myself—just a PFC, really—the experiences were very, very real, and whatever was real to me was so reflected in Sgt. Fury.”

Jack Kirby, from The Jack Kirby Collector #22 Even more than The Thing, Nick Fury was a thinly-disguised simile for Jack Kirby (see TJKC #24). In WWII, Private Kirby, the advance Scout, had experienced the ravages of combat firsthand; marching endlessly through the snow and mud of war-tom Europe.

As such, SFAHHC can be viewed as a bittersweet backward glance at Kirby’s tour of the E.T.O. [Note: Meanwhile, Sgt. Stanley Lieber sat out the war behind a desk in the States, drawing cartoon posters for V.D. enlightenment. In this way, the fate of both men was ironically typical: Stan Lee was nothing if not lucky.]

Finally, Marvel’s “official” history book (published in 1991) states the Howlers were born out of a bet between Lee and Goodman. Years later, however, John Severin—unaware of this— revealed Kirby had proposed SFAHHC to him as a tentative joint newspaper strip before Kirby returned to Atlas in 1958, rendering Marvel’s claim as dead as Junior Juniper.

Take These Broken Wings (THE WONDERFUL WASP, PREMIERE DATE: JUNE 1963) In terms of substance, The Wasp didn’t even begin.

Fun loving, fickle and flirtatious, Janet Van Dyne had a yen for men.

On first sight, she’d develop an instant crush on any handsome male with a pulse: “Look! An intruder!’’ she ‘d say: “Hmm... he’s not bad looking!” Of Thor she opined: “Those shoulders... those eyes... who cares how corny he talks!!!” (With three exclamation marks no less). In Avengers #4, she took a five-page respite from the group’s battle with Namor: Where was she?

“Powdering my nose, of course!” “What any girl would do in a moment of crisis,” she explained. She was lame-brained, she was hare-brained, she was scatter-brained; and like the great American humorist Will Rogers, she never met a man she didn’t like.

As it happened, The Ant-Man’s adventures in Tales To Astonish had gone flabby. After Kirby left, the series lost what little pace and direction it once had, and seemed on a fast track to cancellation. It needed a spark: subsequently, Jan was the first of many “face lifts” Kirby implemented to boost the book’s sagging sales (see TTA #44).

Ironically, Ant-Man and his army of ants was one of the lamest ideas comics ever spawned: so who did they come up with to save him? A ditzy, boy-crazy inversion of Tinkerbell. It approximated throwing a drowning man an anvil. Now True Believers could follow both of Marvel’s biggest failures in one magazine.

As it turned out, although The Wasp was certainly trifling, she wasn’t entirely dismissible. In FF #26 (“The Avengers Take Over”), it was none other than the irrepressible Janet who tripped up The Hulk. First, she buzzed his ear till he went quite mad, then she called in a platoon of bugs to descend on him like a plague—and down he went, simple as that.

Who but Kirby could devise a way for Marvel’s weakest character to defeat its mightiest one? To quote the ending of King Kong: “Twas the beauty killed the beast.” To quote Bob Dylan: “She don’t look back.”

Tinkerbell indeed.

Behold The Mutants Lame-brained, hare-brained, and scatter-brained, The Wasp definitely had a yen for men. If Henry Pym ever wondered “Oh death, where is thy sting?,” he need look no farther than Tales To Astonish #44.

(THE X-MEN, PREMIERE DATE: SEPT. 1963) It made sense. Since Fantastic Four was burning a hot flame with its group conflicts and romantic triangles, and Spider-Man was making fans ecstatic with the adventures of an alienated teen-hero, why not combine both premises into one magazine? “The World’s 17

A Universe a’Borning PiN-UP

The X-MEN Strangest Heroes” (a.k.a. The X-Men) all shared a mutual affliction: they were born with bizarre powers due to aberrations in their parent’s genes. Thus, a new revelation: The Mutants. Kirby’s comic universe would soon be crawling with them; you couldn’t spit without hitting one. Besides populating the Marvel cosmos with a unique superhuman sub-culture, the “Mutant” concept freed the writers (ie., Kirby) from having to invent lame, convoluted origin scenarios—usually involving radiation—to explain a character’s unique powers.

Like the FF, most of the X-Men were recycled DC characters, but with Kirby action and Lee angst. Who were they?

Cyclops was the most important—and dangerous. He approximated barely controlled destructive force. Unshielded, his eyes would emit lethally devastating power beams. Apart from this, he exhibited a somber, serious persona. He spelled leader; de facto.

The stratospheric Angel had gigantic, operative feathers sprouting from his back (like Hawkman), and The Beast—the group’s academician—was endowed with massively muscled legs and phenomenally agile feet. His erudite speech stood in marked contrast to his bestial appearance.

The Iceman was just what his name implied: An inverted Human Torch. Marvel Girl, a telekinetic temptress, would be Marvel’s most succulent superheroine to date, and the apex of a romantic triangle along with Cyclops and The Angel.

Perhaps the most interesting of all, was the group’s enigmatic leader Professor Charles Xavier. Prematurely bald (another dose of reality) and wheelchair bound, he was a genius possessing numerous psychokinetic abilities, none of which—under L&K— were ever strictly defined. Xavier was Marvel’s first handicapped protagonist—a logical extrapolation of The Thing’s deformity (i.e., the “flawed hero” concept). Mostly, it

The Evil Mutants: The Toad was moronic, Pietro was unoriginal, and Mastermind was Euro-trash, but the Scarlet Witch was Kirby’s most riveting femme fatale to date.

(Judging by the lack of food on her plate, she was also a fast eater.)

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As rendered by Kirby, he had eyes that would look right through you.

They cut like a laser, and at all times seemed to be contemplating infinity. “Attention X-Men! This is Professor X!” he’d bellow, telepathically. If you were a kid, it was hypnotic.

Considering how much untapped potential the 1960s X-Men series had, its results were less than stellar. The group’s ultimate importance wasn’t so much in their own achievement, as in the effect they would have on comicdom’s future.

was all about his eyes. To quote Bob Dylan, he had “warehouse eyes.” In all the early X-Men stories, Kirby drew a tight, zoomedin close-up of Xavier’s eyeballs. He seemed to see you clean through—staring into the beyond, as if he were contemplating infinity: “Attention X-Men!” he would bellow, telepathically: “This is Professor X! Come at once!” If you were a kid, this was powerful stuff.

As startling and splendid as these new teen heroes were, it was the X-Men’s villains who stole the show. First and last, was the imperial Magneto, a veritable living magnet. Tall, powerfully built and demonic, he cut a figure of stunningly evil elegance.

He was all scarlet and satanic, wearing a hell-spawned headpiece with red horns that approximated Lucifer himself. He had Kirby-splayed hands that would carve and scythe, as he channeled lethal waves of magnetic force in whatever direction he chose. How often are comic creators blessed enough to strike gold right off, and concoct a patently perfect arch-foe in a comic’s first issue? Against all probabilities, Kirby and Lee did just that with Magneto.

Magneto’s insidious inversion of the X-Men was The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (X-Men #4, March 1964). They were no slouches either, except for the cretinous Toad—a dimwitted, diminutive hunchback who whined constantly, and dressed like a medieval serf. Sniveling, spineless, and sycophantic, his only apparent function was to grovel at his master’s feet. Simply, he was moronic.

Much better was Mastermind, purveyor of the grand illusion. Roguish, dark and dangerous, he was Euro-trash personified: possibly the ne’er-do-well half-brother that Dr. Strange never spoke of.

Better still was The Scarlet Witch, Marvel’s most potent femme fatale to date.

Sexy and infinitely impressive, she dressed

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BEAST & ICEMAN

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for damage in a hot-pink body stocking, and had the temperament of a raging storm. Haughty, hot tempered and oozing with aristocratic arrogance, Wanda provided the matrix for most of the group’s discord. Both Magneto and Mastermind lusted for her, which would send her brother Pietro into predictable paroxysms of violence. Pietro however, was infinitely less impressive than his seductive sister: as Kirby’s most blatant imitation to date, Pietro (a.k.a. Quicksilver) was The Flash reborn in green, right down to his diagonal ‘“lightning bolt” chest emblem. Quicksilver’s closest approximation to originality was his characterization, which invariably blurred the line between hero and villain.

Wanda and Pietro were confused but basically decent characters, who only joined the Brotherhood out of debt. (Magneto had saved Wanda from a throng of mob-crazed witch hunters—an early strain of Mutant xenophobia.) Quite simply, they seemed disconnected— they didn’t fit in. [Note: The Mutant siblings would eventually be reclassified as heroes, and in the process would lose their ambivalent flavor.

A GALLERY OF Kirby’s Vilest Villains!

MAGNETO First appearance: X-Men #1

Fatally, Wanda changed overnight from haughty and hot-tempered to naive and nervous under the creative control of Lee and Don Heck. After that, the sexy sorceress fell to ruin.

She had no vitality left, no substance. In every way, she was gutless—finished. Like Mae West, goodness just didn’t agree with her.]

Unwisely overestimating the Evil Mutant’s popularity, Kirby featured Magneto’s miscreants in almost every XMen story after their inception. After half a dozen consecutive appearances, the True Believers had more than enough. By popular demand, The Brotherhood was tom asunder by “The Stranger” in issue #11, and Stan even published an apology in the letters-page, for the group’s overemphasis in the series.

It had been a great run, but by X-Men #11 (the final Kirby-drawn episode), it looked like the party was definitely over.

The Stranger—whom Kirby depicted with magnificent bigness—had changed the entire tone of the book in one sweep. He seemed the final annihilator, and issue #11 would have been an entirely logical point to end the series (which by all accounts, wasn’t setting the world on fire in terms of sales).

But Kirby had one last ace to play for the Mutants. For now though, he would hold it close to his vest.

Lest The Avengers (THE AVENGERS, PREMIERE DATE: SEPT. 1963) Lest the avenger pursue the slayer and overtake him.

Deuteronomy 19:6 In the beginning, The Avengers was a wild ride.

Of all the Marvel Silver Age teams, unquestionably the most anarchic were “Earth’s Mightiest Superheroes.” Unlike 20

MARVEL UNIVERSE CONTINUITY BYTE #1 (THE INEVITABLE RICK JONES) He was, in a word, unavoidable.

He single-handedly took the concept of cross-character continuity to a whole new level—through the roof, that is. Rick Jones, the teenenigma who appeared out of nowhere in The Incredible Hulk #1, was one of the most intriguing characters in Kirby’s universe, if for no other reason than his ubiquity. He first appeared as a mysterious orphan who was responsible for the Hulk’s inception. As stated, Jones was a (possibly subconscious) reanimation of the Golden Age Bucky Barnes. In Hulk #6, Jones formed The Teen Brigade—a group of ham radio buffs who used their telecommunications talents to aid the Marvel superheroes.

Ironically, Marvel’s only Silver Age “kid gang”—the type which Kirby was noted for—appears to have been a Lee/Ditko concept.

In March 1963, Jones made his first of countless crossovers, appearing with The Hulk in FF #12. Next, he hopscotched to The Avengers (Avengers #1) where he would infix himself for the next seventeen consecutive issues. In December 1964, R.J. pulled double-duty appearing in Tales To Astonish #62 and Tales Of Suspense #60 simultaneously, marking the fourth and fifth Marvel titles he’d been featured in.

At the point of Avengers #17 (6/65), Jones got piqued at not being considered for the group’s new line-up. Subsequently, that same month, he moved out of The Avengers directly into Tales To Astonish #68, and once again became a regular Incredible Hulk supporting cast member.

The kid never saw an unemployment check in his life.

In the late ’60s, Roy Thomas recognized the ubiquitous, serieshopping Jones as the undisputable Nexus of the Marvel Universe, and duly employed him as Captain Marvel’s ticket out of The Negative Zone.

Later, Roy gave Rick a major role in the early ’70s “Kree/Skull War.” It was amazing how much mileage Marvel was getting from this supposedly minor Kirby character.

But all that came later: going back to the 1960s, when Steranko took over Captain America, he had Rick warily don Bucky’s old uniform once again. This time, Cap didn’t go psycho on him like he’d done in Avengers #7. Instead, he finally made Rick his partner. (But probably not for sheer loyalty—remember, by this point, Jones had sworn allegiance to The Hulk, then to The Avengers, then to Cap, then back to The Hulk, and now back to CA again. “Opportunist” may be the word that applies.)

However you choose to label him, Rick Jones played one of the most contrasting and complex roles in The Silver Age—his numerous cross-title appearances were crucial links in Marvel’s vast chain of continuity.

Ironically, in an entirely fitting twist of fate, once Rick began fighting side-by-side with Cap in Bucky’s old uniform, he became the living reincarnation of the Golden Age character who probably spawned him to begin with.

In a strange sense, it was another completing of the circle. (left column) Hulk #1, Hulk #6 (by Steve Ditko), Fantastic Four #12, Avengers #1. (right column) Tales To Astonish #62 (by Ditko), Tales of Suspense #60, Avengers #17 (by Don Heck), Tales To Astonish #68, Avengers #7.

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Unlike the FF, The Avengers didn’t balance out—they niggled, jarred and hardly ever coalesced. At all times, there was a tension to them. Besides this, their personnel changed every time they turned around. They ran through themselves like fire—members checked in and out of the group like a cheap motel, most fundamentally in issue #16. At that point, the core membership was jettisoned for a sleeker, less powerful roster, which included the X-Men’s Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, having switched from Evil mutant to Good. Kirby’s margin notes (shown atop next page) from #16 show he was masterfully directing the chaos behind the scenes.

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QUICKSILVER & SCARLET WITCH

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the X-Men, they had no vox populi leader to guide them. Unlike the FF, they didn’t balance out: they niggled, jarred, and hardly ever coalesced. At all times, there was tension to them: an underlying current of spiritual unease, that threatened to explode into a no-holds-barred slugfest at any moment. It was this factor in the beginning that made Thor, The Hulk, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and The Wasp truly exciting.

It was strong stuff.

More than anything, it was the presence of The Hulk. As the group’s quarrelsome quasi-member and agent provocateur, he seemed to relish sowing seeds of discord.

Chiding, goading and berating the others, he’d make a complete nuisance of himself, and be generally objectionable. Remarkably, even the eternally-hypersexual Wasp found him repulsive.

The Hulk’s sudden defection from the group (in Avengers #2) was highly reminiscent of the Human Torch’s embittered departure from the Fantastic Four in FF #4.

Naturally, the True Believers assumed The Hulk would return, but in a move that surprised everyone, L&K stuck to their guns: The Hulk would never rejoin the ranks.

In Avengers #4, Captain America reappeared, and mistook Rick Jones for Bucky Barnes, who—for the past twenty years— had been quite dead. Stan has claimed repeatedly he killed off Barnes because he abhorred the idea of the “teen sidekick” from the Golden Age comics. With that said, why were The Hulk and Cap both given teen-mascots (Rick Jones in each case), right off the bat, in their debut issues? The obvious answer was that Lee wasn’t (solely) conceiving these stories.

In any case, for a few glorious months, the wildly unpredictable Hulk kept showing up, giving The Avengers a welcome element of anarchy. Even in Avengers #5, when Hulk appeared just long enough to take a swing (and a miss) at Giant-Man, Marvelites were exultant, and a deluge of “bring back The Hulk” letters immediately flooded 625 Madison Ave.

The last truly epic moment in Kirby’s Avengers occurred in issue #7. Rick Jones donned Bucky’s old uniform, and Steve Rogers (who just happened to be in the middle of a morbid flashback about guess-who) ripped the mask right off Rick’s astonished face. In 1964, would Batman have waxed so wrathful at Robin?

After that, however, the series lost much of its impact.

Kirby’s artwork (when inked by Stone and Ayers) was superb, but by this time (Avengers #8), things had settled down. The group’s ranks had pretty much stabilized, and it was clear The Hulk wasn’t going to rejoin, or even be around much. Simply, the stories weren’t as mesmeric as the early free-for-alls, when the not-so-jolly green giant had been the group’s wild card.

Doubtless, readers found the continuing evolution of lron Man and Giant-Man’s costumes mildly interesting, but even before Kirby left—turning the art chores over to Don Heck after issue #8—it pretty much felt as if the wild ride was over.

Asgard Reclaimed (JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #97-115) Bereft of the Lee/Kirby synergy, Thor’s adventures in Journey Into Mystery had degenerated into total inertia. Upon Kirby’s return however, the series was pulled from the brink of oblivion, and “The Mighty Thor” slowly—almost imperceptibly—began to gather steam.

At first, the book was bogged down by the usual problems. Most of the villains were hopelessly substandard. The Radioactive Man and the Lava-Man were the type of thoroughly third-rate dregs who belonged in the going-nowhere “Giant-Man” series.

Moreover, the whole cane-banging, secret identity shtick became increasingly grating in no time flat.

Below all else, was Stan’s proclivity for overblown

Original art for page 1 of Avengers #3.

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MARVEL UNIVERSE CONTINUITY BYTE #2 (LINKS TO THE PAST: AVENGERS #4) It’s doubtful that any other comic in history contains as many monumentally ironic connections and coincidences as Avengers #4 (March 1964). The key word is coincidences, because knowing Kirby’s modus operandi (i.e., spinning stories by the seat of his pants), it’s inconceivable that any of the following events were premeditated long-term strategies—which makes them even more amazing.

The first fortuitous irony in Avengers #4 was that Prince Namor, a Golden Age revival character, threw Captain America (who was also a pre-WWll legend) into the water—thereby reviving him into the Silver Age. Compare that to Fantastic Four #4 (another landmark fourth issue), in which The Torch, a Golden Age revival character, threw Namor (who was also a pre-WWII legend) into the water—thereby reviving him into the Silver Age. Talk about a coincidence.

In another parallelism of cosmic proportion, Rick Jones, who was hanging out with the Avengers due to his affiliation with The Hulk, turned out to be a dead ringer for the befallen Bucky Barnes—same height, build, hair color and facial features. Subsequently, Cap recruited him to be his new partner. What were the chances of that happening? There’s no way on earth Kirby and Lee could’ve preconceived the whole Barnes/Jones conundrum back in 1962, during the Hulk’s conception (they couldn’t have foreseen CA’s successful comeback, for starters). Consequently, what if Stan Goldberg, the colorist of Hulk #1, had arbitrarily decided to render Rick’s hair blond, or red? Would that have circumvented the entire event?

The only feasible answer to all this—and it’s strictly conjecture—is that while creating The Hulk’s supporting cast, Kirby was either consciously or subconsciously reanimating old Simon/Kirby characters from the Golden Age Captain America series. The 1940s government agent Betty Ross ended up turning her name over to Bruce Banner’s love interest in The Hulk, i.e., General Ross’ daughter. The Ringmaster of Death ended up alive and well in Hulk #3, and accordingly, Rick Jones may have been an allegorical reincarnation of Bucky Barnes. Knowing these characters had been successful in the 1940s, Kirby guessed they’d fly again in the ’60s. Ipso facto, if Rick had been based on Bucky to begin with, it would’ve seemed entirely fitting to later include him as Cap’s surrogate Silver Age sidekick.

Finally, Bucky’s mysterious killer proved to be Dr. Zemo, who would soon appear in a WWII era Sgt. Fury story (Sgt. Fury #8, July 1964).

In one landmark issue— Avengers #4—Kirby established three solid cross-character connections to the past, thereby drawing his tightly synchronized universe even closer together. (clockwise from top left) Fantastic Four #4 (both panels), Avengers #4 (both panels), Hulk #1, and (left) the original Betty Ross from Captain America Comics #2 (April 1941).

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mush-o-drama between Don Blake and his nurse, Jane Foster: “Oh Don... Don, my precious darling!” and “Jane, my most dearly beloved—is this the price you must pay for having won the love of a god?” Lee laid it on so thick you couldn’t cut it with a scimitar.

Then a breakthrough: with the sudden and unexpected appearance of “Tales of Asgard” in JIM #97, the doorway to Thor’s future success finally opened.

The Thunder God’s near-omnipotence made his earthly battles with Reds and cheap hoods seem considerably less than exalted. In “Tales of Asgard,” however, the son of Odin was suddenly on a level playing field, battling foes of his own godly stature. As his enemies grew more powerful, Thor’s battles became more heroic. He was, at last, functioning in a world worthy of him.

saga. Paradoxically, the book’s secondary storyline would foist its lead feature to a pinnacle worthy of Kirby bigness. “Tales of Asgard” would be the elixir that would revive The Mighty Thor from almost certain expiration.

Greater glories were just around the comer.

Giant-Man’s unintentionally comic substance abuse went on for about 10 months (Tales To Astonish #49-58) until he was finally rehabilitated through a new program called “cybernetics” (not to be confused with Dianetics).

Giants Walk The Earth (“GIANT-MAN,” PREMIERE DATE: NOV, 1963) Where Ant-Man had exhibited quirky potential, Giant-Man was an obvious loser.

After Kirby left Tales To Astonish (post-TTA #40), sales figures had come back less than earth-shattering. Lee’s solution to this was always the same: bring Kirby back for damage control.

As it happened, the ex-Scout’s solution to Ant-Man’s atrophy was to infuse the character with patented Kirby bigness. Re-classified as Giant-Man (a fairly obvious riff on the original name), the scarlet size-shifter was (re-) born in Tales To Astonish #49 (November 1963).

The only thing even remotely interesting about him was his unintentionally comic substance-abuse: “Time for a shrinking capsule—fast!” he’d say. “Now for another growth pill!”

And what a world it was: Celestial realms of mythic splendor and barbarian majesty. Turbulent kingdoms and decadent empires, inhabited by Viking gods, warrior-goddesses, trolls, dwarfs, giants, enchanters and demons. Kirby imbued the comic book page with a grandeur no one had ever dreamed of; stretching his visual sense to capture a violent and dreamlike world that was beyond all time and space. A realm of towering palaces, savage landscapes, cataclysmic storms and raging seas—this was Eternal Asgard, home of the Norse Gods.

This was the stuff of legends.

Thor’s mid-period tales—which predominately featured The Cobra and Mr. Hyde—were about to undergo a crucial shift of emphasis, and the second coming of Thor would prove an ironic The continuing evolution of Giant-Man (black circles became stripes, stripes became solid lines, and an unsightly helmet and bib evolved) were to no avail.

There was always a sense of sameness and mediocrity about him.

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And finally: “If my pills hold out, maybe I can wear him down!” Continually overdosing himself on a huge regimen of pills (and more pills), he seemed like some Jacqueline Susann superhero/junkie straight out of Valley Of The Dolls.

Almost immediately, there were ominous signs. Either desperate or distrait (perhaps both), Kirby kept changing the character’s look—an obvious failure tactic. Black emblems became stripes, stripes became solid lines, and the pills became “cybernetics.” Finally, an unsightly blue helmet and bib developed, and so it went, ad nauseum. Nothing helped. Despite the endless cosmetic surgery, there was still an overall sense of sameness about the character.

Simply put, he never stood a chance of catching fire. The premise? Too weak. Apparently, Kirby’s bigness didn’t always work miracles.

If Giant-Man and The Wasp seemed vapid, TTA’s antagonists were nearly ceaseless in their banality. One really does regret continually pouring disparagement over Marvel’s early foes— but really, what else can the objective reader do? Mostly, they were monumentally horrific: There was The Magician, who—if you can believe this—was a magician. There was a Communist ape who was intelligent enough to read (but not speak), and the imbecilic El Toro, who glued two bullhorns to an aviator’s cap, and lunged at his foes with lowered head. A comic character is only as good as his antagonists: as such, Giant-Man was Marvel’s most hopeless hero.

Ironically, it would be comic-painter Alex Ross—not Kirby—who would finally bring out the hitherto unseen monumentality of Giant-Man, in 1994’s Marvels. In a photo-journalistic “street level” shot, the towering titan was depicted looming over New York. Suddenly, all of Pym’s

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KA-ZAR

mediocrity vanished—he seemed Immensity Itself, personified in scarlet.

Silver Age fans saw—for the first time— how the “real” world would look, if their childhood heroes suddenly came to life. It was truly a revelation.

Predictably, about two seconds after Kirby’s exodus from the strip (Tales To Astonish #51), Giant-Man went straight to the gallows, irrevocably doomed. Without Kirby’s knack for making the mundane seem monumental, Henry Pym didn’t so much fall from grace as plummet.

No question, Giant-Man was rubbish—Kirby’s one major miscalculation.

But he was the only one: all the other postFF Marvel characters would accomplish miracles (well, by comic book standards anyway). All of Pym’s peers would go on to great and lasting success. Simply put, they all made it big.

Ironically, the one Kirby drew biggest of all didn’t.

Latveria, East Of Eden (FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #2, 1964) More than anything, the period between FF Annual #1 and #2 had been about cross-title pollination.

Generally known as “crossovers,” the practice of comic heroes hopscotching back and forth in titles other than their own had proliferated in comics since the beginning. No one, however, transplanted characters as frequently or as casually as Kirby did at the dawn of the Marvel Age. Ironically, it all started with a sense of anticlimax. In FF #12, the FF met The Hulk for an oddly lackluster three-page clash. In a rare instance where the storyline unfolded too slowly (my conjecture), the ruckus 26

MARVEL UNIVERSE CONTINUITY BYTE #3 (LINKS TO THE FUTURE: WHO WAS DOCTOR DOOM?) This one’s a doozy. In FF #5 (Dr. Doom’s premiere), Victor’s time machine was introduced somewhat unimaginatively, as the FF went back to the days of Blackbeard. The time machine was exploited again in FF #19, where our heroes met an enigmatic “time looter” from the year 3000 AD. This trans-temporal bandit had used his “ancestor’s” (i.e., Doom’s) time-displacer to travel back to ancient Egypt where he was currently ruling as Pharaoh Rama Tut. The story ends with Tut escaping to another time continuum, and Reed sagaciously theorizing Rama Tut might be Dr. Doom himself.

He was right. In FF Annual #2, Tut meets Von Doom in the 20th century en route to the year 3000, and the two decide they may indeed be the same man— whose lives intersected either in the future or past.

Perplexingly, they can’t resolve how they’re both able to coexist at the same moment in eternity. Let the confusion begin.

The next piece of the puzzle was found in Avengers #8, where Rama Tut traveled to the future (4000 AD), and assumed the identity of “Kang the Conqueror.” Now it appears the villain who premiered in FF #5 actually had two divergent counterparts, existing in alternate time/space continuums at the same moment.

Before it was over, this same being (Doom/Tut/Kang) would again be reincarnated as Immortus (Avengers #10), and later as The Scarlet Centurion (Avengers Annual #2). Moreover, there were hints that he (they?) may have assumed further identities—countless in number—-during various travels through time.

Even the writers seemed confused.

It got to be rather dicey, and you needed an Einsteinean grasp of relativity to understand it all.

Still, this convoluted, centuries-spanning chain of characters established Marvel’s first links to the future—and beyond.

It laid the groundwork for subsequent comic creators— eager to play with Jack Kirby’s toys—to build on: and they did, and they did, and they did, ad infinitum.

Oh, what a tangled web...

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twice (Amazing Spider-Man #8 and Strange Tales Annual #2). Cap crossed over in ST #114 (okay, not technically), and Iceman made a brisk appearance in issue #120.

The Hulk, Namor, The FF, Spider-Man, The X-Men, Rick Jones, the Teen Brigade, Odin, and Jane Foster all appeared in the first three issues of The Avengers—undoubtedly in violation of some maximum-occupancy code.

The X-Men fought The Avengers in X-Men #9, and met Ka-Zar in #10. (Maybe this wasn’t a bona fide crossover; since Ka-Zar hadn’t had a series for ages, he was really only crossing over from obscurity.)

Cap’s adventures in Tales of Suspense featured Rick Jones and would later feature Nick Fury and SHIELD prominently. Speaking of Fury, the Sarge met a young Reed Richards in Sgt. Fury #3, and Captain America—along with Bucky—in Sgt. Fury #13.

Whew.

The end result of all this exhaustive, non-stop guest-starring, were countless common threads of unity that would draw Kirby’s everexpanding universe tighter with each subsequent team-up or battle.

Perhaps the oddest-ever crossovers in the Marvel Galaxy, however, occurred when Kirby himself—along with Lee—made guest appearances in the FF (FF #10 and Annual #3). In these instances, the lines of comics based in reality (or was it reality based in comic books?) became significantly blurred. Verisimilitude might be the word that applies.

At the center of everything, as usual, were The Fantastic Four.

All the Marvel events of the past twelve months seemed capped-off by the advent of FF Annual #2 (1964), just as the previous year’s developments had seemed to culminate with FF Annual #1 (1963).

The parallelisms in the two books were uncanny. In FF Annual #1, readers were introduced to Atlantis, the kingdom where Prince Namor reigned supreme. Correspondingly, in Annual #2, Marvelites discovered Latveria, the provinciality where Dr. Doom was sovereign ruler. Both stories did much to move Namor and Doom into realms of more complex characterization. No longer one-dimensional foes, the human side of both men was beginning to emerge.

As compelling as Victor Von Doom’s revelations in FF Annual #2 were, a story that ran a few months earlier towered over it.

In Fantastic Four #25-26 (April-May 1964), all the elements that had been making the series so hypnotically compelling suddenly converged in a two-part tale that seemed to synthesize everything the magazine aspired to. Part one (“The Hulk Vs. The Thing”) finds the emerald juggernaut tearing New York apart in a holocaust of volcanic rage over Rick Jones’ defection to Captain America. The Army seals off the city, and only Ben Grimm stands between The Hulk and infinite carnage.

FF #12 was ruined because the focus of the action wasn’t on The Hulk and Ben. This time, Kirby wisely expurgated The Thing’s

Anarchy, chaos, apocalypse, and wreckage reigned supreme in FF #25 and 26.

Above the city, they rampaged on bridge tops; below the city, they raged in the labyrinth New York subway system. When the Hulk battled the Thing in this clash of titans, it was nothing short of apocalyptic.

didn’t get underway until page seventeen. End result: short weight.

Next, Ant-Man and The Wasp appeared in FF #16, The Watcher showed up in issue #20, and a modern-day Nick Fury resurfaced in FF #21, to smash Hitler one more time.

The Hulk, Rick Jones, and The Avengers dominated FF #25 and 26, then Namor and Dr. Strange appeared in FF #27. Dr. Strange, for the most part, had been disconnected from the Marvel Universe continuity. By breaking the bonds of self-containment in FF #27, his bizarre anti-world of trans-temporal dimensions and eerie, hallucinatory realms became part of the vast, sweeping Marvel cosmos, circa 1964.

In FF #28, the FF had to fight The X-Men, in a story called “We Have To Fight The X-Men” (arguably Lee’s least ambitious story-title.) In issue #29, The Watcher returned, as did The Avengers in FF #31. In FF #36, The X-Men, The Avengers, and Rick Jones all had a cameo, and in FF #39 and 40, Daredevil was sighted.

And that was just one book! In Thor, The Avengers showed up in numerous stories. Dr. Strange graced JIM #108, and The Hulk rampaged through issue #112.

Kirby’s Human Torch tales featured Unlike the quarrelsome Avengers, the 1964 FF—as a unit—were beginning to feel markedly safe and solid, and yet never the FF prominently, and Spider-Man dull. They were family. Had Iron Man held hands with The Wasp, they wouldn’t have looked half as natural as Ben and Sue. 28

teammates, as Marvel’s two misunderstood monsters engage in a city-shattering slugfest, leaving half the town in a state of mangled magnificence: buildings are annihilated, trucks and buses are smashed to nothing, and little but devastation and debris is left strewn in their wake. It was nothing short of epic.

Despite the momentousness of this titanic struggle, it was the story’s subtleties that stole the show: It was Reed’s heroic effort to aid Ben despite a near-paralyzing illness. It was The Torch, bandaged and delirious, nearly crashing to the pavement while flying to help The Thing—who in the past had been his bitter enemy. But most of all, it was the impossibly courageous Ben Grimm—the heart of Kirby’s universe—who shone brightest.

Outmatched in strength by the indefatigable Hulk, Ben is beaten half-senseless, but stubbornly refuses to yield—lunging at his foe again and again, like a punch-drunk boxer, too delirious to know he’s beaten. At the book’s end, Grimm is thoroughly vanquished; but with near-suicidal courage, he steels himself for one last advance at The Hulk.

Somehow in defeat he seemed most heroic of all.

In FF #26, The Avengers step in for a bigger-than-big Kirby free-for-all, but despite its galaxy of guest-stars, “The Avengers Take Over” couldn’t surpass the gripping pathos of the first installment.

No question, in terms of storytelling sophistication, this two-part thriller was ambitious beyond the pale of the medium. Kirby proved he was the master of pacing, sub-plotting, and drawing the reader—irresistibly—into the suspense. It was a turning point in terms of what comics could achieve, and significantly, it was the FF’s first continued story. Kirby proved what he was capable of, given room to flex his muscles.

A GALLERY OF Kirby’s Vilest Villains!

The RED SKULL First appearance: Captain America Comics #1

Still towering above everything were the Fantastic Four. In FF #26’s last panel, the triumphant quartet stride heroically into the night, joined in hands, as The Avengers acknowledge the FF’s superiority as a fighting team. Indeed, unlike the quarrelsome Avengers (or the often chaotic X-Men), the FF—as a unit—were beginning to feel markedly safe, and solid, yet never dull. It looked perfectly natural for Ben to hold Sue’s hand in that last scene, whereas Iron Man and The Wasp in the same situation would’ve seemed amiss. Why? Because the FF were family: the bond they shared was deeper, more deserved than any other. As a team, they were nothing short of tremendous—an impossible act to follow.

This was their shining hour.

Truth Be Thy Shield (“CAPTAIN AMERICA,” PREMIERE DATE: NOV. 1964) Under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield.

Psalms 91:4 That first splash page hit you like a Kirby punch. In Tales of Suspense #59, the very instant Captain America hurled himself through that plate-glass window, readers knew the action would be non-stop—and it was. As Kirby’s most non-cerebral Silver Age effort, 29

MARVEL UNIVERSE CONTINUITY BYTE #4 (RANDOM ENCOUNTERS IN NEW YORK: JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #116) Pages 12-14 of Journey Into Mystery #116 are simply Jack Kirby showing off. Not that he did this often, mind you, but when drawing this sequence in “The Trial Of The Gods,” one can almost hear the artist chuckling that he was about to show DC just how codified and continuityconscience his fledgling galaxy had become.

The chain begins when a young Teen Brigade member observes The Enchantress and The Executioner on the streets of New York inciting mayhem. Manning his ham radio, the boy tries to alert The Avengers, who are concluding a meeting about their line-up change (Avengers #16).

Missing them, the kid sticks his head out the window and yells for Daredevil who’s hurdling over the rooftops, but The Man Without Fear can’t answer, as he’s on his way to stop Sub-Mariner (Daredevil #7).

Next, the youth radios the Baxter Building, but the FF are shipboard (in FF #39), licking their wounds after their defeat by the Frightful Four— who happen to be hovering above the Baxter Building just as the kid is transmitting. Suddenly, in a blinding fireball, Balder The Brave—straight from hallowed Asgard—lands on the roof of the FF’s headquarters, and the evil FF (who assume he’s The Torch) flee to parts unknown.

How could a comic book world that was almost invisible only four years earlier possibly support all this connectedness?

It was beyond the reach of the current competition, that’s for sure. Most of all, it proved two things: One was that Marvel’s constricted distribution arrangement (circa 1965) proved a blessing in disguise. In terms of tight, manageable, thematic-integration, nine magazines—three of them “split” books—appears to be the perfect number of titles a continuity-conscious writer could have wished for. The parameters of the 1965 Marvel Universe didn’t seem to overtax the memories of the readers, or the organizational faculties of the writers (either one).

Most important, it’s well known that by this time (JIM #116), Kirby alone was conceiving the storylines in the books he cared about most: Thor and the FF. This particular issue (“The Trial Of

The Gods”) began a long, dimension-spanning saga chock-full of “god” themes and interweaving storylines— in other words, it had Jack Kirby written all over it. The fact that Jack—with little or no input from Stan— conceived this three-page “continuity byte” strongly indicates Kirby was the main architect of the unity and synchronization that was enveloping the Silver Age Marvel comics.

Conclusion: although Lee gets the credit, the continuity of the Marvel Universe seems more Kirbyesque in its scope, breadth, and ambition.

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the early “Captain America” was a frenetic, all-out thrill ride: fun in its totally simplistic action-packed approach. While the FF’s adventures were unfolding on an increasingly technological front, “Captain America” ran on pure adrenaline.

It was all spontaneous combustion—movement, speed and hyperactivity. It was pounding fists, whizzing bullets, bodies hurtling through space, walls collapsing, glass shattering and Kirbydebris flying everywhere. It kept up—it didn’t stop. You could hardly catch your breath. One could imagine drawing these pages got Kirby’s blood racing as rapidly as Steve Rogers’.

Needless to say, the plots weren’t considerable (nor did the confines of a “split-book” format allow them to be). In issue after pulsepounding issue, Cap got attacked by gangs of generic thugs—never less than twenty—setting off acrobatic action executed with the vitality and abandon of a barroom brawl.

But what dialogue does a barroom brawl need?

In “Captain America,” Lee’s inherently selfish “Marvel method” began to trip him up. By letting Kirby plot the stories, all Lee could do was try to give the dialogue his own flair; even then he could only be subservient to the artist’s ideas. In this way, Captain America’s slugfests painted Lee into a creative comer. When Stan tried to cram smug, Spider-Manian wisecracks into Cap’s mouth (“Who taught you karate—Millie the Model?”), they didn’t ring true. Cap wasn’t a hip, freewheeling 1960s teenager. He was a heroic 1940s anachronism, with a built-in sense of authority and a serious persona to match.

Apparently, the Marvel Method had its drawbacks. [Note: To his credit, Stan would soon devise a more appropriate manner of speech for Steve Rogers; by 1966, Cap’s every utterance took on a heroic, super-patriotic mien—Captain America would, from then on, recite every line as if addressing the blind statue of justice.]

Captain America’s over-the-top free-for-alls lasted about four issues. At that point (TOS #63), Cap’s adventures reverted to a WWII setting, with some diabolical Simon/Kirby saboteurs splendidly revised for the occasion (most notable was The Red Skull).

Less eminent than Fantastic Four, and less exalted than Thor, it seemed Kirby had less to prove in “Captain America.” Still, for allout action with the brakes off, Cap’s hyperkinetic brawls in Tales of Suspense packed one heckuva punch.

life into Kirby’s gods, Stan developed an archaic scripting style with both Biblical and Elizabethan overtones. It had enough Old World elegance to make even a casual remark seem bound in fine leather: “Honored Father, the time hangs too heavy upon me! As thou well knowest, I am born to act, to fight, to dare! The very fibers of my being revolt at the thought of quietude, at the minutes which drag tormentingly on without the challenge of battle!!”

Asgard Triumphant (JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #116 AND BEYOND) Meanwhile, Thor’s ever-increasing opulence proved—if nothing else—that the most talented individuals in any field can lift up the people around them. Kirby’s creativity in Journey Into Mystery was such a powerful force, both Stan Lee and Vince Colletta were foisted by it.

Thor had inspired Lee—who’d been a hack for the past two decades—to his first burst of true dialogue inventiveness. To breath

Now free from plotting, Stan’s dialogue was definitely blossoming. Suddenly, Lee was hailed poet laureate of modem comic book writers. (One hitch: Kirby was doing most of the “writing”—but at the time, who knew?)

Similarly, Kirby’s flame had sparked speed-demon inker Vince Colletta. Colletta had proven time and again—by his infamous indifference—that he didn’t consider comics a serious art form. In his early run on Thor, however (especially in “Tales of Asgard”), Colletta’s minimal, scratchy inks were transformed. Suddenly, he endowed Asgard’s vistas and Viking gods with a soft and blurry peculiarity that seemed subtly distorted— as if viewed through a sliver of glass. Somehow he rendered The King’s celestial scenes with a timeless elegance and austerity that seemed beyond his reach.

Once “Tales of Asgard” hit its stride, fans finally saw what Kirby could do with a superhero who was also a god, and letters of enthusiasm poured in. The writers finally saw the light: “TOA” was the direction Thor needed to go. In a single landmark issue (JIM #116), the book’s lead feature became a virtual spin-off of its spin-off series. Colletta was deployed to ink the entire 31

book, and Asgardian themes—which had previously been a mere undertone—began to replace the Thunder God’s New York storylines. “The Trial Of The Gods” felt like the first leg of an epic odyssey, and accordingly, “The Sword In The Scabbard” (which ran in the next issue’s “Tales of Asgard”) indeed was the first leg of an epic odyssey—it began “The Quest.” Moreover, the Blake/Foster melodrama was (mercifully) toned down, and earthbound foes like The Cobra and Mr. Hyde were quietly ushered into obscurity. With that, Thor’s rehabilitation was complete.

Tales of Asgard’s catalytic effect on JIM’s lead storyline made the Thunder God’s adventures instantly more epic. No Kirby series ever transformed as suddenly or startlingly as Journey Into Mystery after issue #116. In one transcendent sweep, the book simply exploded.

From here on, Thor’s adventures would be second only to those of The Fantastic Four.

A GALLERY OF Kirby’s Vilest Villains!

The FIXER First appearance: Strange Tales #142

In Anger And In Fury (“NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D.,” PREMIERE DATE: AUG. 1965) And I will fight you with a strong arm, even in anger and in fury.

Jeremiah, 21:5 He approximated James Bond on steroids.

In lieu of vodka martinis and exotic women, this agent’s calling cards were perpetually ripped shirts and fat cigars. The same trademarks in fact, that had carried him through all of WWII. Nick Fury was back with a vengeance.

The old Howler (now a Colonel) was in this series a grizzled, one-eyed government agent. On Tony Stark’s urgings, he came to lead a high-tech spy agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. (i.e., Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-Enforcement Division). The actual acronym would’ve been S.H.I.E.L.E.D., but that wouldn’t pass muster, would it?

Obviously riffing on The Man From U.N.C.LE. and other Bondian spy-themes of the day, the series brought Kirby’s most obvious doppelganger—Nick Fury—into a thoroughly topical context.

(Too topical, as it later turned out. After “spymania” ended, as all fads must, Marvel was hard-pressed to keep a SHIELD series in syndication.)

Unlike his debonair double-agent counterparts such as Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, Fury barnstormed, and came on quite bombastic. His coarseness and natural rowdiness was a refreshing departure from the typically suave 1960s super-spy milieu. In “Nick Fury, Agent Of SHIELD” (Strange Tales #135), there wasn’t a tuxedo or British accent anywhere to be found.

different. If I had the kind of gimmicks Bond used, they wouldn’t read the comic.”

Jack Kirby, in The Comics Journal SHIELD’s endless arsenal of quasi-scientific techno-miracles (designed by the agency’s Weapons Director, Anthony Stark) gave the series an element of futuristic technologism that 1960s TV and movies couldn’t hope to compete with. Mostly though, Fury would fling the technorama weaponry aside and charge into battle with just a gun, a ripped shirt, and a cigar clamped in his teeth. Twenty years on, Fury—like Kirby—could still cut the mustard: and he could still yell “WAH-HOO!!” just as loud as he’d done in the ’40s.

For “NFAOS,” Kirby only drew three-and-one-half issues (ST #135, 141-143, along with numerous layouts), but luckily, when The King pulled out, the series didn’t flounder—quite the contrary.

Fury’s adventures were eventually turned over to 1960s enfant terrible Jim Steranko, Kirby’s ablest successor, who turned “SHIELD” into one of the most dazzling comic book series of all time.

“When I did SHIELD, I had to go five-to-ten years beyond James Bond—that was my job. Every time a James Bond picture came out, I had to have four or five gimmicks that would allow a reader to see something 32

MARVEL UNIVERSE CONTINUITY BYTE #5 (THE VAST NETWORK OF S.H.I.E.L.D.) When Jack and Stan first hit on the idea of Nick Fury becoming a modern day super-spy, they probably weren’t thinking much past replacing the oblivion-bound Human Torch series in Strange Tales. They couldn’t have foreseen that S.H.I.E.L.D.— Fury’s agency—would become a multifarious, Byzantine-beast whose talons would link their comics line with an unprecedented network of cogent connections.

First off, agents Fury, Dugan, and Jones linked SHIELD to its thematic crucible, Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, which ran concurrently with the Colonel’s adventures in Strange Tales (post-#134). Tony Stark, as well as Cap (post-Tales Of Suspense #78), were both SHIELD operatives, which established networks to The Avengers, and to both storylines in Tales of Suspense. In Cap’s case, every Kirby-drawn CA tale post-TOS #78—until Jack left Marvel—had a SHIELD subcurrent.

In no time, SHIELD agents descended on the Marvel Universe like a plague of locusts—you couldn’t trip without landing on one. In The Avengers, The Black Widow went undercover for Fury in the Far East, while Iron Man endured the ceaseless verbiage of Jasper Sitwell long enough to tackle AIM in New York.

Down in the South American jungles, Cap fought side-by-side with SHIELD Agent 13—Sharon Carter—who had become his love interest, and somewhere near Latveria, Fury and Dugan were briefing the FF on Dr. Doom’s latest mischief. Aside from all this SHIELD fringe activity, Kirby even managed to depict Fury and company blazing away in Strange Tales as well, where Jack was conceiving the stories through his art, layouts and margin notes (ST #135-153).

Retrospection reveals that at times SHIELD’s sway over the Marvel Galaxy came perilously close to oversaturation, but Fury—and Kirby—somehow managed to keep the federation under control, thereby creating some tremendously exciting cross-character stories and events. Fury’s agency became such an integral part of everyday Marvel life, that it’s impossible to imagine the post-1965 Marvel Universe without the vast network of SHIELD. (top row) Reed Richards fights with Fury in WWII in Sgt. Fury #3, while modern day Fury reveals his CIA ties to Reed in FF #21. (left) Fury fought side by side with Cap in Sgt. Fury #13, and reestablished ties in Tales of Suspense #78. (right) Dum Dum leads a new generation of Howlers in Strange Tales #139.

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Insemination (X) (X-MEN #14 AND BEYOND) Simply, The X-Men had run out of steam. The early ideas had been grand: the “danger room” in particular was an effective device to start each story with a riveting visual moment. But repetition trivializes all great ideas. By the end of Kirby’s run, it seemed everything had slowed down, everything had petrified. After Magneto’s demise, there was a persistent sense that something had ended.

Then, a revelation.

Kirby’s layouts in X-Men #14 spawned the Mutant-hunting Sentinels, whose dark, fascistic undertones introduced a whole new complex of ideas, and gave the book a much-needed second wind.

Whether or not the theme of these murderous robots contained clouded subtexts of ostracism and genocide (and/or social observations on genetics) is unclear. Either way, the die was cast.

On the whole, considering Early on, the X-Men series was beginning to lose steam. With #14, however, Kirby gave the series a second wind with the how much untapped potential the introduction of the Sentinels—a fascist force of murderous 1960s X-Men series had, its results robots whose pledge was to purge Mutants from the Earth. were less than sensational. The book’s final importance wasn’t so much in its own achievement, as in the effect it would have on Marvel’s future.

In the end, invariably, Kirby only had time to inseminate—not develop—The X-Men. He pollinated the book with a motherlode of Tales Of Suspense concepts that begged extrapolation. The rich complexities and dark, harrowing themes inherent in The Sentinels were seeds that Kirby—overstretched as always—wouldn’t have time to sow.

Others would.

Hindsight illumines that The X-Men—like The Hulk—was a great idea that would have to wait for its time.

A Universe Of Battle (FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #3, 1965) The time span between Fantastic Four Annual #2 and #3 was an era marked by changes and transitions. In Strange Tales (as well as the FF), Ben and Johnny’s once bitter infighting had gradually evolved into comradely needling. Likewise, Sue’s confusion over Sub-Mariner was just a fading memory, and her now-unequivocal love for Reed was about to trigger the biggest event the comics medium had ever seen.

There were other changes: Marvel’s “split-book” format, which began with the coming of Dr. Strange in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963) was further exploited in Tales Of Suspense #59 (Iron Man/Captain America; November 1964), and Tales To Astonish #60 (GiantMan/Hulk; December 1964). With this development, the last vestiges of Marvel’s sci-fi back-up stories lumbered into obscurity; and with them went Stan’s brother, Larry Lieber—temporarily banished to the limbo of Marvel Western comics.

Further alterations: The X-Men’s adventures had changed dramatically with the demise of Magneto and the advent of The Sentinels. A new era was dawning for the Mutants, Suddenly, she was all problems. The transition from X-Men #11 to Avengers #16 (both dated May 1965) caused the succulent Scarlet Witch to change—immediately—from confident and arrogant, to nervous and naive. Could Lee and Heck have derived her new persona from the margin notes Kirby added to his Avengers #16 layouts?

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beginning with X-Men #11 (May 1965). In this issue, Wanda and Pietro—who were never entirely convincing as villains—walked out of The X-Men’s storyline, directly into the pages of that month’s Avengers (#16).

In a risky and totally unexpected move, Kirby and Lee completely revamped the ranks of The Avengers, leaving only Captain America on board to mold Hawkeye (a former Iron Man nemesis), Wanda, and Pietro, into a team— despite their insecurities and attitude problems. Even the Truest Believers couldn’t believe it. The original Avengers had been wildly popular (and considerably mightier), and most Marvelites were up in arms.

Despite a near-unanimous howl of outrage, the writers stuck to their guns. Simply, these sweeping changes had been initiated in a brave bid In a universe of struggle, Armageddon descended on NYC, merging heroes and evildoers into a shapeless, multi-colored, monolithic mass, for continuity. The storyline impervious to all but battle. FF Annual #3 (1965) brought the first phase of Kirby-grandiosity to a dazzling consummation. paradoxes that rose from (August ’65), to the surprise of no one. (Well, maybe to Giant-Man.) Thor, Iron Man, and Giant-Man being in two separate books, had Characteristically, Hank would be back—next time as “Goliath”— become too much for Lee and Kirby. Accordingly, Captain America’s and even more changes would ensue. They just wouldn’t let him be. solo adventures reverted to a World War II setting, which neutralized The Human Torch in Strange Tales had likewise lived past his the contradiction of Cap’s dual-existence in The Avengers and Tales Of “sell-by” date. Consequently, he was squeezed into oblivion by “Nick Suspense. Clearly, the creators were striving for a level of continuity and Fury, AOS” in ST #135. With this done, Marvel had—hopefully— thematic focus that was unprecedented. After Avengers #16, it seemed winnowed out all the chaff from their comics line. the group’s personnel changed every time they turned around. They Finally, and significantly, in JIM Annual #1 (1965), The God of ran through themselves like fire; their members checked in and out, Thunder stumbled onto a hidden entrance to Olympus, ancestral as if The Avengers were a cheap motel. home of the Greek gods. With this development, the entire pantheon There were more revisions: after numerous attempts to mold of Greco/Roman legends such as Hercules, Zeus, Pluto, Ares, and Henry Pym into a salable commodity, his creators finally threw in Mercury were now absorbed into the vast tapestry of Kirby’s universe. the towel. They launched “The Sub-Mariner” in his place in TTA #70 Through it all there’d been The Fantastic Four, and through it all they’d shone like sun gods. The book had a storyline that never seemed to run out of steam. Its characters and ceaseless innovations spawned and evolved in a way that was dazzling, yet perfectly natural at once. The group was driven by the same flaws and foibles that drive us all: as such, it was impossible not to feel involved with them. Simply, they transcended: they went beyond everything comics previously had to offer—way, way beyond.

In the past year “The Frightful Four” had been introduced, and the debut of Madam Medusa (FF #36) would gradually usher in the next phase of Kirby monumentality: The Cosmic Era. In a two-part FF/Daredevil crossover (FF #39-40), the series hit its greatest peak yet, as the FF were forced to battle Dr. Doom without their powers. Reed transformed the recently humanized Ben Grimm back to the hideous Thing—without his approval—so he could tackle Doom on a level playing field. Taking his malignant fate out on Doom instead of Richards, an unstoppable, revenge-crazed Thing almost murders Von Doom—reducing his metal-clad 35

hand to rubble seemed bigger, more god-like than ever before, his eyes set stoic in in total observance. Even Lee and Kirby showed up at the end, only to be demonic fury. bounced out by Nick Fury.

If possible, All things considered, it had been quite a day.

Grimm was By now it felt like time in the Marvel Universe was being even more epic marked by the FF Annuals, and FF Annual #3 seemed the perfect here than in grand finale to the first incredible phase of Marvel’s growth. It was a FF #25—his glorious, golden sunset—a magnificent final toast. pathos was At the end of everything stood The Fantastic Four. Even compared crippling. to their Marvel Universe peers, they were in an entirely different Then class. More than anyone, they rose above what comic heroes had finally, everybeen, and dictated what comic heroes would become. In this way thing came then, The Fantastic Four were the ultimate comic book legends of together at the Sixties, and their legacy was the ultimate legacy of The Silver once.

Age. Above all others, they defined their times, and epitomized Since FF their era.

The Cosmic Kiss: Although the pressures of saving the world #1, Kirby had Had there ever been heroes equal to these? had long been a strain on their relationship, Sue and Reed been spinning finally tied the knot in FF Annual #3 (1965). For once, Vince a vast, comColletta’s “romance comics” style of inking looks suitable for plex web of Fantastic Four.

(BIGNESS FROM ABOVE) characters, That word again: Bigness. continuities, and localities. His grandiose, cosmos“What could possibly top the bombastic bigness of FF spanning “Marvel Universe” was—by 1965— Annual #3?” the True Believers wondered. What phenomenal in its sweep of vision. Only the could Kirby possibly do for an encore? loyal True Believers who followed Marvel Meanwhile, Kirby, whose production each month, understood how its schedule was months ahead of ramshackle and labyrinthine their comic consumption, elements all fit together: how this already knew. As he toiled in his convoluted mosaic of our world, “dungeon” studio, drawing the answer they otherworlds, netherworlds and transsought, a cosmological maelstrom was about temporal realms interlocked—as relato descend. It would take Kirby—and the tionships and coincidences converged medium he single-handedly pulled from and intertwined at Kirby’s will. the inferno—to a grandeur no one had Reed Richards and Sue dreamed of. It would unleash the gods Storm—from the beginning— inside him. had been the Adam and Eve Meanwhile, a silver harbinger of this universe. In the early was drawing near: and like Kirby, days, their ambivalent feelings he too was an advance scout. A silver toward each other provided the matrix for some herald and a purple apocalypse—the Final delightfully tempestuous moments. (Reed: “Everything Duo of Doomsday. And still they wondered: I do is for your own good, but you’re too scatter-brained and What could possibly top the wedding of Sue emotional to realize it!”) (Sue: “Oh, go polish a test tube!”) Now and Reed? that the couple’s long and winding relationship was speedTo quote Bob Dylan: “Two riders were ing toward matrimony, Kirby was determined to pull out all approaching—and the wind began to howl.” ★ the stops, in a coup de grace FF Annual story that would make every other comic book in history seem downright negligible. For “Bedlam At The Baxter Building,” the artist plucked from his universe as many characters as twentythree pages would allow, and set them loose in a war of unprecedented Kirbyesque grandiosity. In a universe of battle, heroes and evildoers merged into a confused, multi-colored, monolithic mass; impervious to all but combat, it seemed the final apocalypse.

Kirby whipped up an endless horde of thugs, gods, acolytes, and deadly beasts (all controlled by—who else—Dr. Doom) to crash Reed’s wedding, in a cataclysmic battle that was a comic book equivalent of Ragnarok. An exercise in truly inspired excessiveness, it all seemed one step from chaos. When The Watcher finally appeared Through it all, the FF shone like sun gods. They were the center of the Marvel Universe, and everything ebbed and flowed around them. They were the ultimate comic book heroes of the Silver Age. Thanks, Jack. to give the groom the necessary weapon, he

Epilogue: A Pillager Approaching

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Gallery Commentary by Shane Foley

(right) Shown here is a rough photocopy of Jack’s pencils from Strange Tales #141. Though he was generally doing layouts on the series, for this issue, he produced much tighter pencils for inker Frank Giacoia. (page 38) A Strange Tales #146 discovery—go read it! Thanks to Pete Von Sholly for alerting us.

Sean Howe, in the course of researching his recent book Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, unearthed a nice batch of Fantastic Four #61 pencil stats, so let’s dig in: (page 39) Fantastic Four #61 pencils, from page 17: Sandman, visually created by Ditko, had no real need of a visual upgrade—and indeed some readers objected to it—but it seems that during this prime period in his career, Kirby simply couldn’t help himself. (Although who knows— maybe Stan asked for the redesign?) But one of the practical reasons given for the costume was to give Sandman extra abilities, courtesy of the Wizard—and this stunningly drawn page puts that idea into action.

(page 40) Fantastic Four #61, page 10: Panel one is inspired design. Amidst the chaos, all four characters are easily identified by the reader, as his eye is directed through and around the oval-shaped action. Then, when the reader is ready to move to the next panel, Reed’s arm near Sue leads the eye directly to Sandman in the second panel. Then Sandman’s blast takes the eye directly to Sue’s head in panel three.

Superbly clear storytelling. And, amazingly, Jack draws Sue with broken lines, rather than leaving that to the inker. (page 41) Fantastic Four #61, page 13: For years, Kirby enthusiasts thought that John Romita added his Peter Parker and Mary Jane heads to panel two—now we have proof! Looking at panel three, and seeing the amazing detail there, who would guess that Kirby produced at least three pages per day? No corners cut here! (pages 42-43) Fantastic Four #61, page 14, before and after inking. This page shows how closely Stan followed Jack’s border notes, often using almost the exact phrasing, while deliberately avoiding others. In panel two, ‘strange beams of unearthly spectrum’ become ‘spectrum beams’ (to me, Stan’s revision makes less sense than Jack’s original), while Jack’s ‘something is really cooking’ is much improved by Stan and kept in spirit only.

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Let’s take a glimpse at how Jack was directing the early SHIELD strip, even though he wasn’t producing finished art in most cases.

On this page from Strange Tales #146, plotted

by Kirby, Jack’s margin notes for the first panel provide a nice bit of characterization, which Stan picked up on in the finished dialogue: SHIELD men aren't super men They must run into occasional stand off and be prepared to die

(right) Don Heck produced the finished art for this issue over Jack’s layouts, and Mike Esposito provided the inks. But in addition to laying out the story, Kirby designed the new characters. On the back of this page, Jack fleshed-out the basic design of the beasts that make a sudden appearance and departure in this sequence. He had named the character “The Pounder,” but it looks like Stan didn’t want to use such a good name for a throwaway character, so renamed the creatures the “Hammer-Hand Androids.”

Other notes by Jack that are visible: Around corner behind enemy comes stampede of scared artificial men The Pounders mad with fright, run over technicians like herd of elephants! They scream and yell and wave mighty hands with which they pound technicians down.

Pounders run fell men into electric barrier and jump around as lashing power knocks 'em flat. Many stiffen in various attitudes in fireworks.

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(pages 44-45) Fantastic Four #61, page 18: Who cares that opening the Negative Zone/Sub-Space never had this effect before or after… Kirby sure knew how to draw a dramatic sequence! Joe Sinnott’s inking is strong and faithful, only adding minor details, such as strengthening outlines of heads and faces, adding shine lines on pipes or shadows in bolt holes, where he felt it totally necessary. (page 46) Thor #162, page 17 pencils: A page from the strangely truncated origin of Galactus. One wonders if there were plot details, which Kirby included, that were changed by Stan, which may have made the sequence read differently.

For instance we see here that Stan has the gunners unlock the ‘Incuba-Cell’, rather than it opening itself.

And rather than concentrating on destroying the ‘object’, which Stan has them doing, Kirby has them on the verge of destroying the planet below, with that ‘object’ (coincidentally?) in their firing line. Does it make a difference? We can’t know. And artistically, would the page have retained more of Kirby’s power if Sinnott had inked it? Colletta didn’t ignore much of Kirby’s pencil work, but there is a lack of the care that Sinnott always shows. (page 47) One of the pencil pages from Kirby’s final Fantastic Four story, meant for #102, and reworked for #108. Panels 2, 3 and 4 are beautiful work by Kirby, with lots of detail drawn and drama between the two characters. It’s hard to imagine why this story was released the way it was, all chopped up and rearranged, when surely one or two pages redrawn/rewritten would have sufficed. This is page 11, with the final panel being from another, outdoor sequence that was taped into place.

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www.kirbymuseum.org 2014 Comic Con Season has begun!

Newsletter

TJKC Edition Summer 2014 The Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center is organized exclusively for educational purposes; more specifically, to promote and encourage the study, understanding, preservation and appreciation of the work of Jack Kirby by: • illustrating the scope of Kirby’s multi-faceted career, • communicating the stories, inspirations and influences of Jack Kirby, • celebrating the life of Jack Kirby and his creations, and • building understanding of comic books and comic book creators.

To this end, the Museum will sponsor and otherwise support study, teaching, conferences, discussion groups, exhibitions, displays, publications and cinematic, theatrical or multimedia productions.

Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center PO Box 5236 Hoboken, NJ 07030 USA Telephone: (201) 963-4383

Board of Trustees Randolph Hoppe rhoppe@kirbymuseum.org

As of this writing, the Jack Kirby Museum has been represented at London Super Comic Con, East Bay Comic Con (in Concord, California), Comic Art Showcase (in Secaucus, NJ), New York City’s MoCCA Art Festival, and the Asbury Park Comicon. Current near-future plans include appearances at Wondercon Anaheim, Calgary Comics & Entertainment Expo, Lisa Rigoux-Hoppe at the Asbury Park Comicon New York Comic Fest, and Florida Supercon in Miami. We love talking about Jack Kirby, so we hope either we’ve made contact with you at one of these shows, or a future event— and be sure to pick up some of our cool Kirby swag, when you make a donation to the Mother Box at our booth (see below)!

Can you feel it?

We’re still feeling the love from our One Week Pop-Up Jack Kirby Exhibit “Prototype: Alpha” back in November, and thanks to your support of our Brick and Mortar fund, we are in the early planning stages of doing something like this again! Stay tuned to our web site, Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr for more information as it develops.

What it’s all about...

Here’s a Jack Kirby piece recently discovered while scanning items for the Museum’s digital archive. It was too big to scan, so Rand took a snapshot on his phone. It’s clearly a presentation board, likely for a proposed TV show. Thanks to your contributions, the Museum is able to continue tracking down and archiving lost treasures like “Angel Face!.”

We thank our new and returning members for their support: Alex Adorno, Alex Cox, Andrew Bonia, Andrew Kolasko, Andrew Richmond, Antonio Iriarte, Bernard Brannigan, Bill Kruse, Brittany Murphy, Dusty Miller, Christopher Boyko, Christopher Harder, Christopher Horan, Corinna DeJong, David Schwartz, Don Rhoden, Eric Klopfer, Glen Brunswick, Glenn Garry, Jim McPherson, Kevin Goring, Kris Reiss, Laura Knechtel, Melvin Shelton, Patrick Markee, Paul Gleave, Philip Botwinick, Richard Pineros, Russell Payne, Steve Coates, Tom Brevoort.

For their help with our programs, thanks to Eric Ho and MiLES, Ellen Karl, Lisa Rigoux-Hoppe, Cliff Galbraith and Robert Bruce of the Asbury Park Comicon, Bechara Maalouf, Richard Howell, Steve Coates, Russell Payne, Richard Annual Memberships Bensam, Mike with one of these posters: $40* Cecchini, Brittany Murphy, Paul T. Bianca, Alex Jay, Tom Morehouse, and the Biehler and Kirsch families of East Greenbush, NY. Of course, Rand thanks fellow Trustees Tom Kraft, John Morrow, and David Schwartz, and many thanks to the Kirby Estate for their support!

Captain America—23” x 29” 1941 Captain America—14” x 23”

Strange Tales—23” x 29” Super Powers—17” x 22” color

with one of these posters: $50*

David Schwartz Tom Kraft John Morrow twomorrow@aol.com All characters TM © their respective owners.

*Please add $10 for memberships outside the US, to cover additional postage costs. Posters come “as-is” and may not be in mint condition.

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Marvel—14” x 23”

Galactic Head— 18” x 20” color

Incan Visitation—24” x 18” color 48

Mark Evanier

Jack F.A.Q.s A column of Frequently Asked Questions about Kirby

In lieu of Mark’s regular column this issue, we proudly present his 2008 Kirby Tribute Panel, featuring three key players in the early Marvel Universe: Roy Thomas, Joe Sinnott, and Stan Goldberg.

made enormous sense. To this day I am amazed how many times I’d be walking down the street and suddenly something Jack said to me in 1973 pops into my head, and I just suddenly go, “Oh, yeah, I get it now. It applies now.”

Roy, come on up! You all know Roy Thomas, everybody. [audience applauds as Roy joins panel] Around 1972 or ’73 Jack said when we were at the San Diego convention, “Someday the San Diego convention, it’s going to take up the entire city of San Diego, and it’s going to be huge. And it’ll be where Hollywood comes every year to sell the movies they made last year, and to find all the movies they’ll make next year.” And that’s what’s happened.

2008 Jack Kirby Tribute Panel Held November 1, 2008 at the Big Apple Comic-Con in New York City. Moderated by Mark Evanier, and featuring Roy Thomas, Joe Sinnott and Stan Goldberg.

Transcribed by Steven Tice, edited by John Morrow and copyedited Mark Evanier.

The full video of this panel can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xIyH3rwdCQ&feature=related

(right) On the back of a stat of his art from Strange Tales #138 (Nov. 1965—sent to him by Marvel to help him keep up with issue-to-issue continuity), Jack scribbled these cryptic words in pencil (apparently during a bout of research).

After a bit of detective work, we discovered that these are the names of four gods of Norse mythology, which Jack used in Thor Annual #2 (1966).

(below) Kirby poses poolside at the 1973 San Diego Comic-Con. Photo by Shel Dorf.

MARK EVANIER: I’m always surprised by the number of people whose lives Jack touched, including people in other lines of work. Right after he died, I got this letter from a kid, going on and on about how Jack influenced his work. The guy was a spot welder. And he actually said that Jack Kirby had encouraged him to be the best damned spot welder in the world. I think Jack would have liked that. He would have been proud, probably much more proud than if the kid had gotten into comics. As many times as I am made aware of Jack’s impact, I still continue to be surprised by who I hear from, and how many people, and how intense their feelings still are towards this man.

We’re now at the point, at the stage, where Jack has now been gone for fourteen years, so there are a lot of people who are very heavy into comics who’ve never had the chance to meet Jack. How many people here met Jack? [About a tenth of the room raises its hands] There was a period of time, if you went to a San Diego convention, and cared enough to wait twenty minutes, you could meet Jack. He was the most accessible guy in the world. All these people got to meet him and shake his hand, and say how much they loved his work, and hear some completely incoherent comment from him that they would pretend was normal. [audience laughter] And then, three years later, they figure it out.

“Oh, that’s what he meant.” But we’re now to the point where people are coming up to me and saying, “I never had a chance to meet Jack.”

They want to shake my hand because my hand shook Jack’s.

You know, I met Groucho Marx, and I felt privileged that way. I met a lot of very important people who are no longer with us, people who affected others’ lives, and it’s the same way with Jack. It’s something that we will always carry around. It doesn’t make us any better. It just makes people envious. [laughs] And they all say, “What was he like?” He was like Jack. He was this sharp little tough guy with a New York accent whose mind raced from—I tell people, most people’s brains, they start with A, they go to B, and they go to C. Jack would start with C, then he’d do A, then he’d do R, then he’d do W, then he’d be On Beyond Zebra. He would have all new letters to get to. And at some point it all

ROY THOMAS: Literally?

EVANIER: He said that. Yes, he did. And you all know Joe Sinnott, ladies and gentlemen, [applause as Joe and Stan Goldberg join panel] and Mr. Stan Goldberg. [audience applauds] Can somebody stick another chair up here in case Dick Ayers shows up?

All right, good afternoon. I’m Mark Evanier. That makes this officially a Jack Kirby panel. [applause] People in the back, if you can’t hear someone, would you wave to me and tell me that you can’t hear?

Otherwise, I’m going to presume you hear. I keep doing these panels at conventions about Jack because—I go to conventions and people talk to me about Jack all the time. So it’s nice to get everyone together, and all the Kirby fans in the building, because we are, after all, the classiest, smartest ones at the convention. It’s great to talk with some of the people who had the pleasure of working with Jack, contributing to his life and his career, and being a part of all that. I think you all know what all of these gentlemen have done over the years.

Roy’s going to have to leave early, so I’m going to talk to 49

with Jack—maybe a couple of times. I was there for one of the more infamous things that ever happened to Stan and Jack—the reporter for the Herald Tribune article that time, I was there for a lot of that, and I saw Jack just sitting there being Jack and not doing anything, and Stan just being agitated, but not jumping on any tables or belittling Jack. When the article came out a week or two later, Stan was almost as livid as Jack—especially once Jack let him know how livid he was, understandably, I think—because it made it look like Stan was the prince and Jack was this clown, and that’s not what Stan intended or what actually I think was there. This reporter was trying so hard to make Stan and Marvel look good that Jack—you know, the idea of thinking of Jack as somebody who just stood there not contributing anything, it just shows how little the guy knew, right? He obviously couldn’t see anything past what he wanted to see. So I don’t know if I’m happy or sad to have witnessed that, because I consider it one of the real nails in the coffin of their relationship.

But it was such a thrill that I’d occasionally get lucky enough to be at a lunch with Stan, and Jack, and Romita, and Sol Brodsky, five or six of us. I wasn’t at many of those. I do remember one thing Jack said at one of them that came back to remind me later. I think he was talking to Romita or Sol, and he was saying, “I know this. One of the next big things when somebody turns around and really revolutionizes comics, it’s not going to be Marvel, or it’s not going to be DC. It’s going to be a couple of guys in a garage somewhere that come up with an idea.” I thought of that when the Ninja Turtles became so big. That was almost a classic case of what Jack was talking about. He was not an organized thinker, I don’t think, but he was a visionary, and you had to make all the allowances for crazy genius, you know, that you made for anybody; well, you had to make them all for Jack. Stan was sort of a genius in his own way, but he was organized. The two of them together, I think, were even better than the two of them apart, and that was pretty formidable.

Sol Brodsky (we assume) vents his frustration on the original art to Thor #146 (Nov. 1967); it appears Jack had a tendency to leave the wrong amount of space for the indicia on splash pages.

him first, and I’ll tell you a little bit later about some of the new Kirby projects that are coming up. If you’re one of those people who feels they have to buy everything Jack did, boy, are you going to be spending a lot of money in the next few years. Briefly, the reason I am in New York is on Monday I am meeting with Joe Simon to finalize the contents of a book that Harry N. Abrams Publishing is going to bring out, the first volume of Simon and Kirby material. In my book we printed a Fighting American story off original art: whiteout, smudges, paste-ups, and all, and they’re putting together a book. It’s going to be 350 pages of Simon and Kirby artwork printed off the original art on a little larger page size. Joe has all this stuff in storage, plus I’m borrowing some from collectors. It’s going to be the first of several volumes. Before that, Titan Books is putting out a book which I’m also writing a Foreword to, which is kind of a Simon and Kirby story showcase, some of the best Simon and Kirby stories, including stuff they did for DC and Marvel. The book from Abrams is going to be all stuff from Black Magic, Fighting American, all the non-DC/Marvel stuff, and the Titan book is going to include some DC and Marvel stories and be a history of Joe’s work with Jack, and some of the stuff that Joe did also on his own, in both cases, and so there’s this new flurry of books. Everything Jack did is going to get reprinted in the next few years, with the possible exception of something like 2001, where there’s a rights encumbrance. Maybe even that will turn up someplace.

Let me ask each of these people a couple questions, briefly. Let’s start with Roy, here. Roy, you were witness to an enormous part of Marvel history, and were there when Jack and Stan were doing what is arguably their finest work together. What can you tell us about what went on in that office when those guys were plotting stuff together? Sol Brodsky used to claim that Stan would actually jump up on the desks and strike poses. Is this true?

THOMAS: I myself never saw Stan jump up on a desk, but Sal Buscema saw him, and a lot of other people did. Maybe Stan Goldberg, he can tell you. I mean, he would be very agitated and go around. He was getting a little older by this stage, so it might have been a couple years after I got there— he was only in his forties—but he jumped up, he clicked his heels with his wife at a dinner, and he terribly sprained an ankle or something. He was walking around on crutches for a couple of weeks. But, you know, he was kind of irrepressible. I don’t think I ever really witnessed Stan and Jack talk about a story—or not at length; maybe a few words here and there. They’d typically do that in cars on the way home, or over the phone. I used to have to sit down in a couple of meetings with Romita and so forth, but not so much 50

EVANIER: Now, you started as an assistant editor to Stan, and graduated to editor of the company. In between there, there was a period where you were kind of editor without the title, at least of your own books, if not many others.

THOMAS: Yes. EVANIER: Now, you had working for you at that time a lot of pretty dependable guys. How often was Joe Sinnott late with stuff? [scattered laughter] THOMAS: Well, I thought that Joe Sinnott was probably this band of elves out on the island somewhere, because the work came in like clockwork. And Stan Goldberg and others, [and] Jack. These were people that were so dependable that when something happened, and anybody except Frank Giacoia was late, it was really cause for amazement. The only one you could ever depend on to always be late was Frank Giacoia, because he would commit himself to five jobs and he could only work on two or three at a time. Jack was, you know—like John Romita was talking on the other panel—you would say you needed something done, and a couple of days later, you had it. The joke I had about the Fantastic Four was that Martin Goodman said, “I want a team book.” Stan went home, and then he thought about that stuff, and then he tells Jack Kirby about the Fantastic Four, and then, two days later, Stan had the book on his desk. It would have been one day, but Jack’s pencil broke. [laughter] That’s about the way they worked. It was just amazing. And it was good. There was nobody ever faster, as fast at doing great work other than Jack, than I ever saw except, maybe, to some extent, John Buscema; but of course he wasn’t the imaginative genius, good as he was, that Jack was.

EVANIER: Joe, were you ever late with anything in your life?

JOE SINNOTT: Fifty-eight years I’ve been in the business, fifty-eight years for Stan, and not once was I ever late on anything. I almost missed a deadline when I was on something with Jim Steranko one year. He was just starting out at Marvel, and I worked Christmas Day, and that was one day I would never work, but I had to work on one of Steranko’s stories. It could have been Captain America or Agent of SHIELD, I forget, but I worked Christmas Day on it. But, no, I’ve never been late or never missed a deadline.

(above) Jack’s notes on this Tales of Suspense #78 splash page (June 1966) show that Stan utilized Jack’s suggestion for the name of his “Shock Rollers”; another example of the inventive touches he constantly added to his work.

EVANIER: Sol said that frequently what would happen is Jack would come in and they’d talk over an issue of Fantastic Four, then they’d send Jack home to draw an issue of Fantastic Four, and Jack would go home and draw an issue of Thor. [laughter] And back would come the story, and it wouldn’t hook up with the end of the previous continued story.

THOMAS: My wife would never let me work on Christmas Day. I begged her to, but… [scattered laughter] EVANIER: Joe, tell us about inking Jack. How different was inking Jack from anybody else? What was there about his work that…?

THOMAS: Oh, many is the time that Stan would call—I remember, it was a “SHIELD” story [Strange Tales #142, left], in which he starts off with this Wild West robot, and he’s moving around and his guns are shooting, and Stan said, “Look at this! That son-of-a-bitch! He draws this beautiful page of this robot on page one, and you turn the page, and he’s nowhere. Jack throws away all these ideas and doesn’t follow through.” Of course, once Jack had drawn that one page, he didn’t really have much interest. It wasn’t really part of the plot.

And, somehow or other, either Stan would love what Jack did, or he would not understand how Jack could possibly have done this because he “misunderstood everything we talked about,” he’d done this whole story. And then Stan would try to write the story he wanted to do, and he would just make Jack mad because he was not writing the story that Jack wanted. It’s just amazing, that partnership—I always say, the only thing you know about partnership is that, when you ask them, each partner did ninety percent of the work. [laughter] And that was true with Stan and Jack, as much as it was with Simon and Kirby, or Siegel and Shuster, probably, or almost any team.

SINNOTT: Well, the reason I liked working with Jack, he did—for many years we worked on the big pages, and Jack would do maybe four panels to a page, and each panel was like a splash page, and it gave me a chance to use a brush. I used to love working with a brush, and on Kirby’s stuff you could really just knock the stuff out, and I was very quick on Jack’s work. I did about three pages a day, unless there was a machine that took an hour or two hours to do. [scattered laughter] But Jack’s stuff was very easy to ink, the easiest of all the pencilers I’ve ever worked with, and, like I said, especially when we worked on the big pages, because I could work with a brush.

But he was just a pleasure to work with. His stuff was so simple. It was very cartoony, but it was so bold, which I liked, especially working with a brush.

EVANIER: Now, I know the answer to this: how much contact did you have with Jack during your work on the Fantastic Four?

SINNOTT: All the work I ever did with Jack, he never once ever 51

called me, never once commented on what I was doing, never once criticized my work, never once said, “Joe, you’re doing a good job.” I just never communicated with Jack at all in all the years I ever worked with him, and I think I only spoke to him maybe twice on the telephone, even after he had gone to California and was semiretired, actually.

Jack as an artist. When Frank [Giacoia and I] would go out to lunch sometimes, and Jack would join us for lunch, lunch could be a crazy thing. He would come up with ideas while I’m eating my hamburger, that [were] kind of strange. You always thought it was strange, but you got it from Jack, and you believed that it could be done. And the story goes, with going out with Frank Giacoia and Jack Kirby, we’d go back down Lexington Avenue to have some lunch, and there the traffic went north and south. And we were kidding around and knew how valuable an artist Jack was to the company, and I would say to Frank, “You stand on the left side so we can protect him if any cars are going downtown, and I’ll cross over on the right if the cars are going uptown; so if a car hits us, it’ll hit us first and we’ll protect Jack while crossing the street.” [laughter] And we had fun with that, and there’s so many other stories that came out.

I remember one Monday morning Stan had me there for a whole week for something, but there was Jack bringing in some art. And like I’ve always called his stories “the end of the world” stories— there was nobody living at the end of the world, but everybody was still around at the end of the world in Jack’s stories. But then he’d tell me his house was going to be painted. They were painting his studio or wherever he worked, and he had set up his drawing board on the banister, on the railing, and the railing was up on top. He just put his drawing board on top of that railing. I don’t even know if there was a light on the ceiling, or light coming from the bedroom, or whatever. And he did another one of the “end of the world” stories, and you look at this and—you know, again, I couldn’t compare him at that time. I’ve been in business a long time, and I know a lot of artists, a lot of great artists, but then one person comes along who proceeds to take over in so many respects. And Jack was just one of them. You know, I can compare this artist, I love how this guy draws this, and this guy draws this, but Jack can do everything. His romance stories, I mean, they’re not as pretty as a Don Heck romance story, or a John Romita great romance story, but they were Jack Kirby’s romance stories, and they stood out by themselves. They were just marvelous drawings. I loved the style, I never get tired of it, and the book that Mark did this year, and the book that came out of TwoMorrows—I mean, I take it with me when I’m having my breakfast and lunch. I devour a couple of pages, then I’ll put it aside, put a mark in it, and know where I am and where I can start next time looking at it again a hundred times over. Of all the books that I’ve gotten—it’s good to be an artist, you get these free books all the time. [scattered laughter] But the book on Jack is a book on Jack, and that’s just about it. He did something—I don’t know if it was in your book or the one that came out of Marvel. He did this sixpage story of him growing up on the Lower East Side.

Was that yours?

EVANIER: When I met Joe in 1970, I relayed a couple of comments between the two of them, and Jack just said, “I don’t have to tell Joe anything. He does everything right.” [laughter] When did you finally meet Jack?

SINNOTT: I remember he called me one time. It could have been you. And he asked me if I would ink a Fighting American for him, and, of course, I couldn’t turn him down. I loved working on his stuff. So I did the Fighting American, and he called me up, or maybe you did?

EVANIER: I dialed the phone and put him on.

SINNOTT: Right, and he wondered how much I was going to charge, and I said, “Nothing, Jack. Just do a drawing—.” My son Mark was about eleven years old, and he’s 47 today. [smattering of applause] Hi, Mark! So, in any case, I said, “Do a Thing for Mark during your lunch break.” So he did Mark a nice Cisco Thing, cowboy outfit and everything on, in pencil, and it was so good that I had to ink it, and I colored it. And Mark’s got a lot of things, but that’s his treasure. He wouldn’t get rid of that for [anything]. So little things like that.

EVANIER: That Fighting American drawing was done for the Kirby Unleashed portfolio we did in 1971. It was a color insert drawing.

Now, those of you who don’t know, Stan Goldberg is one of the top artists for Archie, has been for many years, and at Marvel in the sixties, he did Millie the Model and a lot of those kind of books. But he was also Marvel’s colorist for a long time on many of their books, and he colored all the early issues. This is the man who decided to make the Hulk green and many other things. [applause] Now, Stan, you got to observe the Lee and Kirby team in action occasionally up at the office. Tell us what you remember about those guys.

STAN GOLDBERG: [In] San Diego a few years ago, I was on a similar panel, and there’s one story I told, at that particular time, and I think I told it a few times after that. But it’s a story I love to tell, because it’s really a true story, if you think about it, how you relied so much on

Unused pencils from Thor #109. Unused pieces like this were kept in the Marvel offices to use for new inker tryouts.

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EVANIER: That was in my book, yes. It’s called “Street Code.” [Editor’s Note: It was ten pages long.]

GOLDBERG: Yeah, that book. I keep looking at that artwork. I think that is the best pictorial scene of a period in New York history, that no photograph could ever capture. What he captured was pencil, and maybe, I heard he never used an eraser. I was never aware of that.

But I see something in an old photograph that goes back to the turn of the century when the Lower East Side really existed, the tenements, the streetcars, the pushcarts, and all that, and the gangs that existed then. And he did all of it in six pages. It was a true history, and it was six pages. It just blew my mind.

John Buscema is another dear friend and one of the best guys. Not one of—I sometimes said the best guy. And then I think of Jack. And John Buscema would always say, “Well, he’s the best. No question about it.” So if John said that, I agree with him. It was a great time.

THOMAS: I think that’s one of the reasons that he could never do corrections. Stan used to say, “I can’t get Jack to do corrections.

Whether he was on the East Coast, the West Coast, he’d say he’ll just do the same drawing again,” and that’s probably why. I used to discuss it with Gil Kane, who was an inveterate Kirby watcher and fan, and he would say, “You know, when Jack draws, he’s already seen it in his head. He’s just putting down on the panel what he sees.”

Which is what a lot of artists do. With Jack, you got the feeling it was almost exact. And therefore, if he didn’t like it, he wasn’t going to be able to draw an arm a little differently, or a leg a little differently. He may as well start over, because he’s already drawn what’s there, and anything else would be a falsification, so he would just start all over.

EVANIER: Yeah. You know, for years people used to come up to me and say, “Let’s do a book of Jack’s preliminary roughs.” And I’d say, “There really aren’t very many.” In my book I printed a cover rough he did for the cover of Tales of Asgard #1, a Thor cover. That’s I think the only cover sketch I’ve ever seen from that period. He did a bunch of them for DC in the Seventies because Infantino insisted on cover roughs, and frequently what Jack would do is he would draw the cover, then he’d draw a rough and send it in. [laughter] Then he’d send the cover in. He just saw the picture.

Jack liked doing covers the least of any part of his job because it was never the right time to do the cover. If you asked him to do the cover before he did the inside of the issue, he hadn’t figured out the story yet, or figured out the visuals for it yet, so there’s no point in doing the cover then. If you asked him to do it after the story was done, he couldn’t remember the story. If Jack finished a story at two o’clock in the afternoon and started another one at three, he could not tell you what he had drawn and finished at two to save his life. And if you asked him to do a cover in the middle of the process of the story, you were interrupting his story. So there was just no good time to do them.

He was actually pretty happy when they started having other people design the covers or do them.

It didn’t bother him that much to have somebody else have that big problem, because he saw himself as a storyteller more than as an artist.

Stan, this may be a stupid question, but I’m entitled to a few. Did you color Jack’s work any differently than you might have colored somebody else? Did the work demand a certain coloring approach?

EVANIER: Jack did use an eraser, and the most often place he used it was to take out an entire panel and do an entirely different panel. He would see it done and go, “That’s not the picture I wanted to draw. I can draw a better picture.” And he’d take the entire thing out. He didn’t usually use an eraser to fix an arm or a leg. He just used it to erase the whole panel.

Stan Lee was enamored with John Romita’s female faces (deservedly so), and chose to have him rework the Sharon Carter/Agent 13 faces in Jack’s Tales of Suspense stories. This reference page was sent to Jack.

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GOLDBERG: You know, this industry has changed, and some artists have become prima donnas or superstars. Jack was never a superstar, not in his life, and not in our lives. He was Jack Kirby. He just brought in what he was bringing in, and sometimes we said, “Wow, look at this,” or, “Look at that,” and sometimes he was just, “Okay, what else is coming in the next batch of books?” Some months, 51 books came out on the schedule. That’s a lot of books, and sometimes we got away from 64 pages; it was 48 pages, 32, or whatever, but it was all a month to do one big package of books, and you never thought of it. You’d come to expect Jack to do the job.

The answer’s “no.” Ditko was another one; whether you had a Ditko story, a Don Heck story, and right down the line. There were some books that had three or four different artists in the books, the mystery books. I go back to 1949 or ’50, when

half of the books weren’t signed, and the monsters started coming— the covers with all those guys coming up out of the ground—and they all had strange names, and you didn’t know how things happened. I know sometimes I would do something, and then I’d think I’d have to give them this particular number of drawings just off the top of my head. “I should have given him two. This one took thirty seconds. I’ll give him forty-seconds’ worth.” The forty-second one works, and that’s the one I thought was going to be put in the package. It’s hard to say that what we did, what we’d work on, “that’s going to be the big star,” and what we do as a throwaway becomes the super… I can’t think of it any other way.

Stan was telling me “Marie’s coming.” I said, “Great! You know, I love those books.” But then when she started doing some coloring, she was doing [it like] the books that came out at EC, all the great Severin books, and Davis books, and Kurtzman, and people like that. [Stan] hated the coloring. He hated it, because our art couldn’t take that style of [coloring]. It was much more “in your face.” And our stuff was different than DC, also. DC crossed every “t” and dotted every “i,” and our books, half the artists crossed the “i’s” and dotted the “t’s,” I think. [laughter] And it was fine. I think that’s what made our books successful; they were “down home” books, and I loved them.

So Stan says, “She’s not doing any more coloring, you’re getting your books back again.” “Thanks a lot.” Fifty-one titles, I thought I would get a break and start drawing some Marvel Tales books, which I really wanted to do. And he told me, “I want you to do a teenage book,” and somebody was looking down on me in 1957 and I said, “I’ll draw a teenage book, but you have to give me a horror story to draw after I draw a teenage book.” And I drew a teenage book, and I’ve been drawing teenage books since, but that’s another story. But that’s Goldberg. One of these days we’ll have a panel up here talking about Goldberg. [laughter, applause] So that’s—I forget where I was going. But it was a different time. The only thing similar is that it’s pictures, and it’s words, and it’s a comic book. It’s a comic book. It’s not a “graphic novel,” it’s a comic book. Call it whatever you want. People meet me after forty, fifty years, and they say to me, “Are you still drawing funnybooks? Are you still drawing joke books?”

You know, that’s what they called them. When I grew up, I was reading joke books. Even though it was Young Allies or books like that, it was “drawing joke books.” And Jack had been drawing them forever. As you’re talking about Simon and Kirby, I can’t wait to see that book, just stuff from that era, with both he and Joe Simon. I appreciated them a lot.

EVANIER: During the Sixties, the Marvel superhero books were generally colored brighter than the DC superhero books. More yellows, more bright, warm, colors. You guys stayed away from the olive greens.

GOLDBERG: I was just reminiscing about the EC books, the war books that came out of EC drawn by…

EVANIER: Jack Davis?

GOLDBERG: Not Davis, the other guy. Kurtzman. And Marie Severin was the colorist there. So Stan was able to hire Marie, and

EVANIER: I want to just ask Roy a few more questions before he has to leave. Roy, when you went to work for Stan, you had worked for Mort Weisinger for a whopping week-and-a-half or something like that, and you wanted to be at Marvel. You wanted to be over there.

THOMAS: No, I wanted to be at DC. It was just that Mort Weisinger was there, and if I had been working for Julie Schwartz or somebody, maybe it would have worked out. But the luckiest thing that ever happened to me was that Mort was what he was, because otherwise I would have never had the nerve to leave. But I was so miserable there that when Stan met me, and Stan’s looking out the window and he says, “What would we have to do to hire you away from DC?” After I take his little writer’s test—which we never discussed—I said, “You just have to offer me a job for the same sum that—.” I did lie, I told him the sum that Mort had offered me, which he then reneged on by ten bucks when I got to New York. And I would have gone for either of them. And he said, “Okay, that’s it.”

And I had to go back and tell Mort that I was quitting. I always wanted to work for DC, but then it looked like Stan was writing everything, and who knew that he wanted to— you know, he had ten books. Who knew that he didn’t want to write them all? So I was content to work for DC, but once I got in [Marvel], I was really lucky, because there were only five or six of us, so it was a nice, pleasant, different kind of situation, and I think I kind of thrived in it, and I was very lucky.

Compare Jack’s pencil work here (from Fantastic Four #44, November 1965)...

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EVANIER: Now, when you came on staff there, Stan had tried other people out writing stories, and some of them had lasted a whopping two or three stories. Some of them didn’t last any.

About half a dozen people had failed at that job before you clicked at it. What did you get that they didn’t get?

and we’d go over Jack’s pencils. You talk about, did you look at Jack’s work different from the others? A lot of us—and Marie was one, anytime we got a chance—it always went directly to Stan, but if we got a chance to look at Jack’s pencils that came in—. Nobody was going to look at Steve [Ditko’s] pencils because they didn’t look like anything; there was nothing there because he was going to ink it. But with Jack, you could look at those full pencils and just love it. And once in a while, Stan would complain that Jack didn’t follow the story, he felt— whatever it was—or introduced too many characters, but mostly he was really in awe. I remember the time he called me and said, “Look at this crazy character that Jack just threw into our story here about this guy, Galactus. He throws in this guy he called “The Surfer,” just flying around in space. It’s a great character.” I’m sure he said just “The Surfer.” And Stan made that the Silver Surfer: Mostly Jack’s creation, visually and conceptually, but Stan was the Number One fan of Jack. It’s just that he also had to be the boss, and sometimes those two things get in the way. But we were—I was just in awe of Jack’s work when it would come in. In a way I never felt otherwise, as much as I liked other artists, except once in a while he’d call me in a lot in the early days with [John] Buscema. Those were the guys that you just wanted to see everything they did that came in, as good as the other guys were.

EVANIER: On another one of these panels years ago, John Buscema was talking about how he kind of learned how to do Marvel comics from Jack. Jack sat him down, gave him some pointers. His first few jobs were rough, and he finally caught on. And Don Heck talked extensively about how Jack taught him. What did you see around the office of Jack teaching other artists, directly or indirectly?

THOMAS: It must have all taken place in a closet. No, it probably happened at Jack’s house or their house, because I never saw him talk to anybody about anything. Gil Kane always said, when Jack came back in ’75, that there were some people at Marvel that didn’t really want him back. ...to Steve Ditko’s from Amazing Spider-Man #31 (December 1965). The basic story is all there, but And Stan called me in and says, “Do you think Jack ought Ditko preferred to add the detail during the inking stage, since he usually inked his own work. to come back?” I said, “What do you mean?” “Well, I’ve (bottom right) Jack views his unused version of the Spider-Man Marvelmania poster. got a couple guys around here who really don’t think I should let Jack come back.” I said, “Well, don’t let him THOMAS: I don’t know. I really don’t. Because the people before and write.” He said, “Well, I don’t want him to write, but if he’s going to after were really bright. The person who was there for two weeks come back, he insists on writing.” I said, “Well, then have him come before me, Steve Skeates, did a lot of fine work. The next one that I back and write. Those other guys are idiots.” He said, “Yeah, that’s got in there was Denny O’Neil, certainly a fine writer, but he and what I thought.” So he did. But— Stan never were really on the same wavelength. As much as I liked what was the question? [laughs] Stan and thought Stan’s writing was the best in comics—I had no EVANIER: Jack’s influence doubt about that, at that stage—my interest was those old stories by on other artists.

John Broome, Kanigher, Gardner Fox, and people like that. You know, I’d never thought about writing comics quite that way. I enjoyed THOMAS: Oh, yeah. reading them, but I didn’t think in terms of writing them. I tend to Well, it was prothink more like a Gardner Fox or a John Broome, and now suddenly found, but it was I had to start thinking in whole different terms. It was kind of a chalkind of indirect, lenge, but I had this great teacher. Because here I was, I’d been and when he came teaching high school for four years and hated it. My idea of a horror back, I remember movie is to wake up as a high school teacher; my wife likes to do it, I he was talking about don’t. But Stan, who had to go to work right out of high school, was “sharing is what I’m a really good teacher. He’d tell me why he did this, or why he did all about” in some that. Sometimes he’d be a little stern and would lose his temper, like interview that was in anybody else—don’t think it was idyllic—but I was really lucky. I’d FOOM or Marvelmania, be standing there, Sol Brodsky on his right hand and me on his left, and Gil used to say—I don’t 55

think he was right—but Gil said, “What are you talking about, sharing? Jack wouldn’t even tell you what kind of pencil he used,” but I think Jack—.

but I’ll let you do a lot of the plotting and everything.” I don’t think we ever got around to discussing the monetary arrangement, but we’d work that all out. I said, “And since you’ll be doing the plotting, it can say your name first and my name second,” and this and that, I thought maybe I had it worked out, because his name would even come first. And I’d be the editor, as well, but, you know, I was probably going to be much more likely to accept what Jack did than Stan would have. I wouldn’t have made these changes, because I wouldn’t have wanted to tee Jack off, and, of course, Stan never noticed he was doing anything. But the thing is, Jack said, “Well, I’ll do it as long as you’ll break it down panel by panel for me.” I said, “You know, if I do that, I may as well get somebody else to do it.” But I was really disappointed that all that we ever got, out of that whole period, was the “What If the Marvel Bullpen had Become the Fantastic Four?” And he double-crossed me on that one. [laughter] But it came out better. The idea was for me to be Johnny Storm and Flo to be in it, but he made Sol Brodsky the Torch. And it was much better because Sol was around at that stage where I wasn’t, so it was actually a good decision.

EVANIER: He didn’t know what kind of pencil he used. [laughter] THOMAS: Yeah, right, because I don’t think Jack was really interested in teaching anybody. If he did any teaching or telling anybody, it was because the person asked for it, or Stan asked for it, because he didn’t feel he should be teaching somebody else, because then he’s teaching them to be Jack Kirby, and he didn’t want to teach people to be Jack Kirby, and he didn’t feel good.

He was just himself, and they could all draw their kind of things. But what he did teach them was how to do an exciting story, and John Buscema and these others benefited tremendously from that. If you couldn’t get it all by osmosis, well, John Romita worked over him on a couple of Daredevils and got it. John Buscema talked to him a little and looked at it. All of a sudden, the stories just became alive. And Stan never really wanted anybody to have to draw like Jack. He just wanted that excitement. I guess the guy who took the least from him was probably Gene Colan, and Stan loved his work, as long as it was exciting and full, and that’s all he was looking for.

EVANIER: Yeah. Jack had reached the stage in the Seventies, I think— in 1970, he was having trouble working Marvel Method. It didn’t

SINNOTT: Do you think Jack wanted to go back on the FF when he came back?

THOMAS: I think Jack felt he had done the Fantastic Four.

Just like Ditko wouldn’t do Spider-Man. EVANIER: Ditko wouldn’t do Spider-Man again because he felt he’d been screwed over on things they had promised him on that character. Jack didn’t want to go back to the Fantastic Four in the Seventies because he didn’t want to go back to anything. Jack didn’t want to go backward on anything he did. He wanted to create new characters, but also he wanted to be left alone. He wanted to do books—if he did the Fantastic Four, he’d have to cross over with everything. And also Marvel did not feel that disposed towards taking whoever was on Fantastic Four at that time—it may have been you— off. Captain America was without a creative team. Fantastic Four was not. So they put him on that. They didn’t really want to have Jack write Fantastic Four. He wanted to either— Jack’s deal was, essentially, “Either I write it myself or somebody else gives me a full script. I’m not going to plot and have somebody else dialogue it.”

THOMAS: Somewhere in the middle Seventies when I became the writer, I called up Jack and I offered him to do the Fantastic Four. I knew that Jack didn’t want to, you know, get involved in the same way as he had with Stan. He felt Stan maybe grabbed too much of the credit and this and that, so he didn’t want to do that. But I had figured out a way in advance and I thought it would work. I said, “Look, Jack, we’ll talk it over,

Kirby was a big influence on John Romita, having drawn layouts for Romita’s first Daredevil issue (#13, finished art shown above). An example of Jack’s layouts from that issue are shown on next page, top left. While true “roughs,” they broke down the story and camera angles, for any competent illustrator to complete. Jack also designed the character The Plunderer (top left).

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because he felt, “That’s not what the person is supposed to say. The picture doesn’t match the dialogue.” So he reached a stage where it didn’t really work for him on a personal level. It also didn’t work for him on a monetary level, because he had discovered that people treated the guy who filled in the balloons as the writer, period, and gave him no credit for the plots.

When Jack went over to DC in 1970, a prominent writer in the comic book field wrote Jack this long letter which essentially said, “I want to be your Stan Lee at DC. Send me the first issue and I’ll write it. You draw the first issue and send it to me and I’ll write it, and I won’t change a thing you do.” And Jack thought, “Oh, you’re going to be the writer of a book that you would have no input into the plots, no input into the characters? I’m going to decide what everybody says in every panel and you’re going to be the writer?” Well, that didn’t work, for obvious reasons, either. So the system just didn’t play. So when he went to DC, he put in his contract either somebody else would be the writer, period, and write everything, or he would be the writer. And the two would not mix. And that’s kind of the way he tried to keep it for the rest of his life, and the

work for him creatively because he couldn’t separate the writing and the penciling in his mind. People used to ask Irving Berlin, “Which do you do first, do you write the lyrics, or you do you write the music?” Because he did both.

And Irving went on to say, “Neither. I write a song. The music and the lyrics come together.” So when Jack was doing any comic in his history, he basically wrote it in his head. He wrote every panel out, and what people said, and then along comes somebody else to write dialogue, and the problem becomes if the person writes something very close to what Jack did, then Jack feels, “My God, somebody else is getting the writer credit and the money for my work.” If the person deviates completely, well, he didn’t like that, either,

From What If? #11 (October 1978), here are Jack’s pencil depictions of himself, and (bottom tier) Stan Lee, Flo Steinberg, and Sol Brodsky. Above are photos of each Bullpenner from the 1960s era of the story, to compare likenesses.

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few times he deviated from that, he wasn’t very happy. It didn’t work for him creatively.

Joe, I think you’ve answered this question many times: would you take us through the process— again, because people are interested in this. You go to your mailbox, the man hands you a package. You open it up and there’s the new Fantastic Four. What’s the first thing you do? It’s all penciled, it’s all lettered.

What do you do?

SINNOTT: Well, the first thing, every page I ever got from Jack I was in awe of, especially when I did Fantastic Four #5. I couldn’t believe it. I had never seen the book. I didn’t even know they existed. And I said, “Gee, there’s something special here.” See, back in those days Stan was always trying something new, and we never expected anything. Spider-Man, we never expected things to materialize like they did, and even the Fantastic Four, I’m sure—when I saw those characters, I said, “Gee, this is really something special.” At that time we were so used to doing the monster books and whatever, that Stan, as you know, was always looking for a new trend to make some money for Marvel. But when I saw Fantastic Four #5, especially Jack’s—I had done a few little things with Jack previous to that, a couple of monster books, I think. But, in any case, the characters were so great, I just couldn’t wait to get into inking the story in #5. It had Doctor Doom, of course, and it was just terrific.

But, Mark, every time that I got Jack’s pages, even right up to the time he left the Fantastic Four, I was always in awe, and you couldn’t wait to open up his packages. And once in a great while there were little things that I had to change, but that was only normal. And Stan expected it. Stan called me one time.

Above is Stan Lee’s plot synopsis for what became late 1966 Marvel releases. First is Thor #134-135 (Nov.He said, “Joe, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it,” Dec. 1966), followed by Fantastic Four #57-60 (Dec. 1966-March 1967), and finally the Captain America he said. “We like what you’re doing on the Fantastic feature in Tales of Suspense #82-84 (Oct.-Dec. 1966). You have to assume this was given to Jack, prior to him beginning work on any of these stories, and it’s fascinating to see how he took these basic ideas, and Four.” So I would add a little bit here and there, but built multi-issue arcs out of them—great stories, but they aren’t regarded as his most pivotal work. that was early on. Then it got to the point where I Interestingly, these immediately follow Jack’s most epic creative bursts on each series: FF #44-52 (ending said to myself, “You know, that’s not being fair to July 1966) with all the new character introductions; Thor #125-130 (ending July 1966) with Thor and Jack.” So I started inking Jack more like Jack had penHercules battling Pluto in Hades; and TOS #79-81 (starting July 1966), with Cap vs. the Red Skull over the ciled. You know, originally I’d say to myself, “Gee, Cosmic Cube. So July 1966 issues would seem to point to some kind of a creative turning point here.

Jack doesn’t know how to draw ears. I’ll give them Jack was a “pack rat” who saved everything, but very few of these synopses have surfaced. What does the Alex Raymond ears, you know, how ears should really lack of ones for earlier issues indicate about Lee and Kirby’s working relationship, both before and after these late 1966 issues? We’ll have a greater examination of this theme in TJKC #66 next summer. look.” But, of course, then it wasn’t Kirby. Kirby had a way as we know, with his muscles, they didn’t exist only problem was that—if Frank had been able to ink more, a little the way he drew them, but it certainly told the story. And everything bit, he could have done the books that Joe didn’t do. But, unfortuJack did was so dynamic that you didn’t have to change a bit, actually. nately, he was just never organized enough to do that. So we were Although we couldn’t help but change a little bit here, a little bit really lucky in having such wonderful inkers. But even Vinnie Colletta there. Add a little bit here and a little bit there. And I think, all those that everybody dumps on, the readers just loved it. Of course, it was things that I did with Jack, if I did anything, I enhanced Jack’s work a Jack, but somehow or other that had a different approach and that little bit, made it a little slicker. And a lot of people liked the period looked great. But Joe and Frank were the guys. that I was working with Jack, [Fantastic Four issues in] the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s. But, then again, they were great characters. I mean, the EVANIER: I think there was one other guy. Bill Everett.

Silver Surfer, the Inhumans. That was a great period that Stan was THOMAS: Yeah. Gil always thought he was one of the best. He did a writing and creating these great characters. So it was a great period couple of Thors, Bill Everett, yeah. to be working with Jack, and I’m glad I was part of it, really.

EVANIER: Would you thank Roy Thomas for spending this time with us? [applause, Roy leaves] I’m going to go to questions from the audience in a moment, but first, Joe, I want you to tell me now, you get a package of Jack’s in the mail. You open it up. It’s an issue of Fantastic Four. What is the very first thing you do? Do you read the story first?

THOMAS: I just want to say one other thing before I leave. I don’t think that many people, at least, that went through that period, thought that anybody except Joe Sinnott was the best inker that Jack had for almost anything. There was only one other person, I think, who could have perhaps wrangled him, and whose work I liked about as much whenever I saw it, but there was very little of it. That was Giacoia, who when he would do those few Captain Americas they did, it was different. It was probably a little closer to Jack. The

SINNOTT: Never. I never read a Fantastic Four story. Can you believe 58

that? [laughter] I didn’t have to. I mean, Jack told everything in pictures.

And I worked on I don’t know how many. Mark [Sinnott] could tell you.

together. But the small stuff, he adjusted to it, but I always felt his work was never the same after that, you know. It was still great, but those big pages; what do you recall was the last one?

MARK SINNOTT: Two hundred.

EVANIER: FF #72 or #74, somewhere around there. The difference is most obvious on “Captain America.” I think the very first thing that Jack did was a Captain America story. There’s one issue of “Captain America” that is all heads. It’s a story in the back of Tales of Suspense, and the lines are very thick on it, the lettering is very large, and I think it was the first one they did. If you want to see an example of how the original art size changed artists, look at Spider-Man Annual #5 by Larry Lieber and Mike Esposito. The first twenty pages are drawn large size, the last twenty pages are drawn small size. Someplace in the middle of the book the whole storytelling technique changes, and suddenly it’s big panels and big heads.

SINNOTT: Two hundred? Yeah, I never made one more. [laughter] EVANIER: We’re surrounded by Marks. Okay, now, you sit down at your drawing table. Do you start on the first page? Do you start on the last page? Do you start on the most interesting page?

SINNOTT: No, I would start on page two. I always did the splash page last, because, well, a number of reasons. I wanted to get into the story, the characters. In fact, I heard you talking about Jack’s covers before. I always thought Jack did better splashes than he did covers.

I mean, he did some tremendous covers, but Jack’s splashes, I can’t remember any that weren’t just the greatest. Even if there was nothing going on in them, his splashes were just terrific. But no, I’d start number two, three, four, right up—not necessarily in order, but the only thing I did hold off, I did the splash last.

SINNOTT: Of course, the worst thing that could happen to an artist is to get some of the writers who thought they were writing War and Peace, you know? [laughter] No, really, they wouldn’t leave any room for the art. But Stan was good that way. He kept things to a minimum, I always felt. And the artist appreciates that because the artist wants

EVANIER: And you start on page two, panel one, did you ink the entire panel and then go to panel two?

SINNOTT: Oh, yeah. Usually I wouldn’t work from—well, in those days I used an awful lot of brush. I didn’t have to use too much pen. Like, when you’re using a pen, you have to work on two pages at once because you let one dry while you’re working on the other. But when you work with a brush, you can do the whole page, actually, and just maybe a little touch-up here and there with a pen. But I would start at the bottom of the page so I wouldn’t smear the top panels, and I’d ink up. Do the bottom panels, then the next row of panels, then the top row. Because if you start at the top, panel one, two, and three, so to speak, you’ll smear it maybe and ruin some of the detail that you may be having a problem following later on.

GOLDBERG: Did you ever smear it?

EVANIER: Did you ever smear anything?

SINNOTT: Oh, sure. It’s much worse dropping ink on your work. [laughter] GOLDBERG: Marie Severin once told me she thought there was a bug crawling on top of a page and went to wipe it off, and it was a drop of ink on the page. She smeared the whole page.

SINNOTT: There’s nothing worse than dropping ink on it.

It’s not so bad dropping it on the artwork, but to drop it on the lettering… that was really bad.

EVANIER: Yeah. Marie Severin in the office used to have a bottle of disappearing ink, and she would every so often, when an artist was in the office and he had spent a lot of time on a page, she would spill disappearing ink on the page, and go, “Oops, I’m sorry,” and then watch them scream and cry and rant and stuff like that. Joe, when the original art sized from 12" x 18" to 10" x 15,” did it make your life easier or more difficult?

SINNOTT: A little more difficult. In fact, I didn’t think Jack would be able to adhere to the smaller size, but he did.

EVANIER: Did you change tools because of it?

SINNOTT: A lot of Jack’s style was really lost, though, when he went to the smaller pages, because in his panels, you could get a hit, it was like a splash panel. And Jack loved the big pages, I know that. And we did some great panels

A page from Tales of Suspense #95 (Nov. 1967), the first issue done on the new, smaller art size.

This is the one that is “all heads” due to the size change (the lettering is much larger as well). Inks

by Joe Sinnott, with Sharon Carter heads redrawn by John Romita.

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this smaller.” And since he was inking himself, DC said “fine,” and he drew an issue 10" x 15". Then the people at Chemical Color Plate called up DC and said, “Hey, that’s great. If you did all the books that way, you could save $1.10 a month” or something like that.

And, in the history of comics back then, there was never a case of, “Oh, no, let’s not do that, it makes the books look crummier.” If it’s cheaper, we do it. If paper can be cheaper, we do it. If printing plates can be cheaper, we do it. And all of a sudden this was cheaper. And it also saved money on postage, and lugging the pages around, and it made it possible for artists to buy smaller portfolio cases.

GOLDBERG: The first artist that I saw [with a] piece of art that size, 10" x 15", was a John Severin story. Now, John Severin, I guess, worked well because he put down a lot of lines. It didn’t lose anything at that size, either, reducing it that size. I remember the big size, and I figured that was it. And then the smaller size came along, and I don’t think it cut the time drawing it or whatever. A bottle of ink was probably forty cents at the time, so it didn’t matter how much ink you were buying. But this was a very easy transition. Millie the Model, I have hundreds of pages of art in the house at the large size, and I look at that and it seems like something out of the Dark Ages. Then Severin’s pages come in at small size, and then we all kind of went that way. And it was fine.

EVANIER: John Severin drew the stories he did for the EC Two-Fisted Tales almost printed size. I own the originals to one of them and the amazing thing is the letterer had to correct his lettering size. It fit perfectly, you can’t tell in the printed book. Jack Davis did at least one Rawhide Kid story he did for Marvel at 10" x 15".” He was the first guy I know at Marvel to do it. I don’t know why. Since he was inking himself, they let him do it. But it became the standard size in ’68 for everybody, and people like Joe wrestled with it. What would you like to ask, sir?

AUDIENCE MEMBER: I was going to ask Roy Thomas why he didn’t like Mort Weisinger.

as much drawing space as possible, and I’m sure Kirby wanted that, that’s for sure.

EVANIER: I think everybody who worked with Mort Weisinger didn’t like him, including Mort Weisinger. Mort was—do you know the phrase “self-loathing Jew?” If you look in the dictionary, he’ll be there.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Why did they change the size?

EVANIER: Oh, this is kind of technical. Prior to 1968, comics were drawn 12" x 18,” most of them anyway, and then afterwards it was 10" x 15". This was kind of invented by Murphy Anderson, in case you’re interested. Chemical Color Plate was doing all the color separations for both DC and Marvel at the time. When the pages were 12" x 18", they had the following problem. Comic book presses accommodate four pages at a time. It’s called a “flat.” It’s four pages, and then they fold it over, and then they fold it again, and trim it. But, as far as the printer is concerned, he’s printing sections of four pages. When the pages were 12" x 18", they wouldn’t fit under the stat camera, all four of them at the same time, so they put two under the stat camera, photograph them, strip up the negative, put two more under the stat camera, photograph them, and they’d take the negatives and paste them together, and reduce them and combine them to make a negative that had four pages on it.

When they went down to 10" x 15", it was possible to lay the four pages under the stat camera at once, and with one film, one step, shoot the whole thing. That meant that, first of all, what was being printed was two generations less, because the art was going directly onto the negatives as opposed to the artwork going through a couple of inter-negatives, and also because the art was going through two fewer steps, so it cost less money to do it. Did I explain that so it made any sense at all? So when Murphy Anderson was doing an issue of the Spectre for Showcase, he said, “I want to try drawing

AUDIENCE: I’d like to ask Mr. Goldberg to describe the process. How Kirby’s art for a Marvelmania Hulk t-shirt.

(top) When Gene Colan got the flu two pages into his Sub-Mariner story in Tales To Astonish #82 (Aug. 1966), Marvel called Kirby in to finish the story. Jack then drew the continuation of the story in Tales To Astonish #83, and shown are notes he jotted down during a conference (by phone, most likely) with someone at Marvel (either Stan Lee or Sol Brodsky).

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exactly do you go about making the decision to color the Hulk green?

GOLDBERG: Well, we all know that he was gray at first, and I think that might have been the first time that maybe Stan suggested it, but, I said it’s not a good color. It’s the worst color. The next worst color is brown, because you get a lot of different colors that make up the grays and the browns, and it’s not even an equal amount of blue, an equal amount of yellow, an equal amount of red, so it’s the worst color to use on a character that’s going to be your main character for 32 pages. But it just didn’t work. I’m sure if you pick it up, you’ll see red tones coming through, yellow coming through, or whatever. It just wasn’t good. And I think it was just one issue that he was gray, and then he died, and about six months later the green character came out? I kind of forget about it.

EVANIER: It was the second issue.

GOLDBERG: He was still gray?

EVANIER: No, no, no. The first issue he was gray, the second issue he was green.

AUDIENCE: Was it the same logic to Iron Man? GOLDBERG: Iron Man was yellow at first.

AUDIENCE: He was gray in the first issue.

GOLDBERG: Well, iron is gray, so then we tried to get creative. [laughter] EVANIER: Stan, what he wants to know is if you decided to make the Hulk green. You suggested it to Stan, right?

GOLDBERG: Yeah, we were kind of limited. I mean, we really were limited in those days on color. You just quickly look at all the books, every one of the superheroes is red, yellow, and blue. And the bad guys are magenta, burnt umbra, green, gray. [laughter] They were green. Wasn’t one of the—in the Fantastic Four, there was a green, big head—The Watcher? Is the Watcher gray?

AUDIENCE: The Leader.

Kirby provided layouts for Don Heck on the SHIELD story in Strange Tales #147. On the bottom right corner, Kirby left this note for Heck:

GOLDBERG: Aren’t you glad you asked me to talk about the coloring? [laughter] It was getting the books in, getting the books out, and basically, hopefully, getting it right. But I would get the book back, and I went to the company, Chemical Color, that did the coloring, basically they used to call me once a month to check things out, and they would buy us lunch. And I would get the book, and we got the proofs back on the covers all the time, so that was great. We were able to correct them. The insides never got corrected. And you’d see Millie the Model would get brown hair, or she would get red hair and Chili would get blonde hair. There was a roomful of people, I remember, the separators, I think they were getting twelve dollars a week, so what are you going to say to somebody making twelve dollars a week? It happened, and people would complain, and we’d get letters. And we went on to the next book. Fifty percent sales one month, and then the next month it goes to 25%, then you come in and you have one less book to draw. That’s the history of comic books.

Dum-Dum, Fury and sitwell are blown up by jet of air from hole -adjust perspective so dum-dum is closest -- fury is smaller and sitwell smallest so they seem to be blown out in succession instead of together -- fury yells "Wind is 'In' this year, boys -- and you're out!"

Though Stan chose not to use Jack’s dialogue suggestion, Jack probably didn’t read the published issue, and assumed it was used—which could explain why Jack mistakenly claimed dialogue credits in interviews later in life.

Jerry Robinson was the best guy at making things look real, and I went to the public library on 42nd Street, and we got reference, I started doing it, and sometimes it would come out, and it was bad.

So Stan says, “Well, there’s one thing to do. Just kind of throw that out the window. I’m just exaggerating, but if you could make it all red tanks fighting yellow tanks, I’d be happy.” And we put them on the newsstands, and DC was doing these great war books, coloring by realistic colors, and my red and yellow tanks looked better than their books.

AUDIENCE: I read somewhere that the reason colors like brown were not chosen, was because of fears that it would be seen as some type of racial stereotype. Is there any truth to that?

AUDIENCE: You mentioned that the Hulk, that the villains were often colored things like green. Was the Hulk seen initially as a villainous character by you or by Stan?

GOLDBERG: You all know Bill Mauldin, the great artist in the second World War, the combat artist, who stayed a private the rest of his life because he fought General Patton, and he fought everybody. This guy could draw mud better than anybody else, and if you were coloring that, what would you make it? If Stan and I were doing it, to make it stand out, we would make it yellow, or red, and blue. Of course, he figured that’s how you attract young kids’ attention to buy the book.

Certainly we were all conscious of DC and what these guys drew.

GOLDBERG: Well, you guys could help me out. I just knew there was another monster, that’s about it. The Thing in the Fantastic Four, he was naturally, he broke away from that red color and we made him orange.

EVANIER: We’ve got time for about three more questions.

AUDIENCE: When Jack did the photo collages—what was the reaction 61

at Marvel when that stuff started coming in, and how did you work around that?

the way it printed. Around ’69 or ’70, the covers just sort of went to flat color again, so the FF costumes were just light blue—that rich, purplish color on Spider-Man, too. I was wondering what happened, production-wise, that had such a big change in the covers.

EVANIER: Joe worked on those pages where Jack did those collages—.

SINNOTT: Oh, I didn’t like them at all, Mark. I didn’t like them at all. I don’t know why he just didn’t draw them, you know? Because they didn’t reproduce well. Right, Stan?

GOLDBERG: I don’t think—I started coloring in 1949, 1950, and I stopped coloring in 1958 or ’59.

[Editor’s note: He probably meant GOLDBERG: Of course. Of course.

1968 or ’69.] I was called in to do They were muddy, yeah. some special new things that were coming up, things that had to be EVANIER: Jack was always trying to colored and they would shoot right urge Marvel to go into something from my color that was on the paper, fancier with the package, better if there wasn’t an indication of the printing, more deluxe things, and color, exactly, what I did, but I was he had this idea about doing the able to do rendering on those parcomics in photo collage. In fact, the ticular books. There was a cover of Negative Zone was kind of created G.I. Joe, special big books that had to be a world of photo collage at one to be colored a certain way. Before point, and it was an experiment. It the other stuff, I was busy doing (above and background) Before coloring his own art, Jack would test out his was something Jack liked to do to Dr. Marten’s dyes on whatever paper he had handy—in this case, the back of other things, and it was fine when unwind, he’d do the collages.

Strange Tales “SHIELD” stats. Below is a Thing pin-up from Marvel’s Greatest someone, Danny Crespi would call They’re wonderful in person. They Comics #24, and (left) a stat of it that Jack hand-colored for fun. me in to do something, and the (This page’s dedicated to you, Tom Ziuko!) just never looked good in the books, money was good. That’s the bottom and it just—it’s one of the many line of anything, and to get $75 to color this that they’re going to projects he never managed to take to its realization. Yes, sir? shoot right from the color, so I’d be very careful. You could do two AUDIENCE: Two-part question. Did Jack ever comment to you, pages a day if you’re lucky, coloring a book, and I could maybe color looking back, how his style evolved and changed over the years? And three books in one day. the second part is when he came back to Marvel in the midSeventies, did Stan say of Jack’s style, “Can you go back and draw more like you did in the late Sixties?”

EVANIER: The first part of the question was did Jack ever comment to me about how his style developed over the years. The answer is no.

Jack thought his style was the same all the time. The second question was did Stan ask Jack to change his style when he came back in the Seventies. I don’t believe he did. I believe that they were so happy to have him back and functioning that they didn’t really have a problem.

Jack was having eye problems at the time, and Marvel was aware of it.

Some of the changes in his artwork that happened in the Seventies were a result of eye problems, so they weren’t necessarily something he could do to correct it. He also wasn’t very happy back then, working for Marvel again. The gentleman back here, yes?

AUDIENCE: In the Sixties, the covers at Marvel Comics had very different coloring characteristics to them, very rich, lots of tones, very different from the inside coloring, 62

AUDIENCE: There was something in the printing press. Did they change printers?

EVANIER: There was a change in the printing press. In ’68 World Color Press made a strong press, no pun intended, to get all the comic printing business in the country. Western Publishing was printing Gold Key comics themselves, and World Color went to Western and underbid Western’s own printers and took over printing their own comics. Except for Charlton, it all came out of World Color Press, which was fine until about the mid-Seventies when their presses started to break down, and they never replaced them. Anyway, we can have one or two more questions.

inspired, and what he looked at, and that pop culture was a part.

But they asked him, “What did you look at?” And he said—these were his exact words, because I own the video. He said, “I’ll tell you what I swiped from.” They’ve got this big, long table with a big pile of books, and he was looking for something very specific. He finally found something underneath this pile, the hand came out with a book, and it was a Millie the Model that I had drawn. [laughter] The camera went onto this book and took over the whole screen, and somebody was turning the pages on the big, full screen. And it was my art done in a realistic pop art style, my sense, it’s his interpretation of that. And he saw something in there, and it just happened.

Jack always had something that always comes through that’s, “There’s Jack. There’s Jack’s work.” And I’m sure he realized that when he was working, and that’s fine, but some people get upset about it, and you can’t copyright something like that. I sit back and I look at that situation and I’ve seen that film a number of times.

Some people get very upset. Unfortunately, it’s not so many of the artists, but the artists’ wives. [laughter] Because on this particular video, it starts off at an auction at Sotheby’s and one of his paintings was going for seven million dollars. But I felt really good about that for a number of reasons; I was very honored that he chose mine, and I corresponded with him, and we had some letters back and forth.

And, at the end of the story, he’s dead, and I’m alive. [laughter, applause]

AUDIENCE: When I saw Hellboy II, The Golden Army, and I see a stone man, I always think of Jack. But you can’t see Star Wars, for example, without seeing Dr. Doom, Orion, and Darkseid—even the names. Did Jack ever say anything about that, that he saw his properties being lifted?

EVANIER: Yeah.

Jack didn’t charge plagiarism so much as, like, “Gee, I found gold and somebody else exploited it. I knew this was a good idea. Damn it, I wish I had been able to get it to the right venue in time.” And when he saw Star Wars, he didn’t walk out of Star Wars thinking, “They shouldn’t have ripped me off.” He walked out of Star Wars thinking, “Gee, I knew that was great material. I wish I had been able to do that. I should have done that movie.” Or, “Somebody should have let me do that movie.”

GOLDBERG: To draw on that, just quickly, because this is the perfect analogy to your story.

You all know Roy Lichtenstein, and you know his pictures that he stole from combat comics and romance pictures. They did a marvelous movie at the Guggenheim, a documentary on his life a number of years ago, it almost took up the whole museum, and it was a great film. They were showing this big, big studio, with a long picnic table when the guy was talking, and we all know how Roy was

EVANIER: Okay, that is about as good a way to end this thing as I can think of. Join me in thanking Mr. Stan Goldberg [applause], and Mr. Joe Sinnott [applause]. ★ (top) The esteemed panel from the 2008 Big Apple Kirby Panel.

Stan Lee, as art director, was responsible for making decisions about the finished look of the 1960s Marvel books.

In addition to having Romita redraw women’s faces on Kirby’s work, he felt at one point that Alicia (in the Fantastic Four) was looking too similar to the Invisible Girl. So the above example was sent to Jack for reference. Also (center above), on this stat from Fantastic Four #85, Stan leaves a note for Sol Brodsky to contact Kirby about adding more detail in the large, circular “buttons” that held Dr. Doom’s cloak to his armor, saying: “In close-ups such as this, I think the big “buttons” should have more detail, pattern, or modeling. They look too unfinished, too cartoony this way.”

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Barry Forshaw

Titan’s S&K “Horror” volume is out now, with stories from Black Magic and Strange World of Your Dreams published from 1950 to 1954—320 pages, with more great art reconstruction by Harry Mendryk.

“Prison 2000 A.D.” was only reprinted in Strange Tales Annual #2. “The Hole In The Sky” has not been reprinted—so there, Barry Forshaw, there’s still a need for this column!

Obscura among S&K enthusiasts. Ever since we announced the library, people have been clamouring for it. And this will be the only place fans can get all of Joe and Jack’s material from Black Magic, due in large part to Joe Simon’s ability to think ahead. Because Joe copyrighted several issues of Black Magic in the Simon and Kirby name, meaning that no one can release it without formal authorization. These are key issues, too—some of the most influential stories they produced. All together, this volume includes all of the stories Joe and Jack themselves illustrated. In the interest of being complete, we even included stories where Jack only contributed part of the artwork, then handed it off to other guys in the studio. This is the best of the best.

“Black Magic and Strange World of Your Dreams were unique on the horror scene of the 1950s, when lurid gore was capturing all of the headlines. Joe and Jack—along with Mort Meskin, Bill Draut, Bruno Premiani (Doom Patrol), George Roussos, Marvin Stein, and the rest of the S&K Studio—favored a subtler, more sophisticated approach. No less frightening, it didn’t rely on cheap tricks to the degree other comics might.

“That’s likely what causes such loyalty among the fans— the sense that they’re not just reading examples of ’50s horror. They’re reading the best of ’50s horror. I’ve long claimed that, with stories about the beautiful young woman among the freaks, the thing outside of the plane, and the evil living doll, Black Magic must have been read by someone who went on to produce The Twilight Zone—perhaps Rod Serling, perhaps someone on his staff. And even if that’s not the case, the fact that we can compare Black Magic to The Twilight Zone shows how high the bar was set.

“This was material that struck dread into the hearts of Joe and Jack, though not in the way you might think.

“Like everyone in the comic book industry, they were glued to the television in 1954, watching the Kefauver hearings into the relationship between comics and juvenile delinquency.

They watched as, in Joe’s eyes, William Gaines fell apart under cross-examination. But that was nothing compared to the moment when a copy of Black Magic #29 was held up— the famous “Beautiful Freak” cover. Though there were no dripping hatchets, or severed heads, or bloodthirsty zombies—even though the horror was largely psychological— their work was being condemned on national television.

“Black Magic only lasted four more issues in its original incarnation. It was revived a couple of times, but never with the quality presentation it deserved. Until now. Thanks to Harry Mendryk and, of course, Joe Simon himself, fans will be able to pore over some of the finest comics in the history of the industry. And wherever he is, Joe will be able to watch as, one more time, he and Jack scare the crap out of us.”

A regular column focusing on Kirby’s least known work,

by Barry Forshaw

THE SIMON & KIRBY LIBRARY: HORROR! I don’t care if your roof has collapsed or that the ground floor of your house is devastated by floods. I don’t care if your younger brother needs money spending to help cure his drug habit. I don’t care that there is an expensive new restaurant you want to try. Here’s what you should spend your money on: the latest, amazing addition to the Simon & Kirby library (following the deluxe edition of the science-fiction stories), Simon and Kirby: Horror! Put together by the same elite team as that volume (Steve Saffel and Harry Mendryk), it is not only a relatively inexpensive way to acquire a conflation of several pricey books, but the restoration (in larger format and with perfect color placings by Mendryk) has the artwork looking better than it ever did on the stories in the original issues.

What’s more, once again matte paper has been used so that the feel of the original books is sensitively reproduced rather than the glossy stock used in many reprint volumes, which makes the colours look garish. The contents? Well if you’re reading this magazine, you don’t need me to extol the virtues of such Jack Kirby masterpieces as Black Magic and its ilk. Not that such considerations have stopped me in the past—several times in this column you might remember that I’ve praised this memorable title, which unlike many American horror comics of the 1950s enjoyed a reasonable run in Great Britain in 68page black-and-white editions. And just as in the States, it was cited in various attempts at comic censorship—and who needs a better reason to read it than that? Rather than tell you just how good these stories are again, I decided to ask senior acquisitions editor Steve Saffel again (who I’d spoken to about the Simon & Kirby ScienceFiction Library) and art restoration maestro Harry Mendryk to tell me just what working on this book meant to them. So... Steve? Harry?

Harry Mendryk: “I originally started doing restorations of the line art of Simon and Kirby covers. This was sometime in the mid-to-late ’90s, and even at that date, using bleach to remove the colors from old comic books was financially out of the question. I already had some experience with Photoshop and so I devised a procedure to digitally bleach scans of the covers. It was by no means perfect and would require some touching up, again using Photoshop. I finished

Steve Saffel: “The Simon & Kirby Library: Horror! may be the most anticipated volume in the series— for some reason, the material from Black Magic inspires some of the most intensely fervent interest 64

Sinnott and Burgos, all imaginatively written. But let’s face it, the centerpiece of the issue is Jack Kirby’s cover story which is full of the kind of imagery at which he had no peer—such as the rocky terrain of the asteroid on which an escaped criminal languishes, the bizarre purple-and-grey beast he kills, the midget atomic explosions that destroy his spaceship, and even the strange organic-looking cave in which he rests. Not enough striking images for you? What about the plant-like clothing that the human inhabitants of the asteroid wear? Or the strange dart-birds with a deadly strike from which the reformed criminal saves a boy? Or the engineering tools wielded by the criminal when he gets a job? Or the final revelation (no spoilers!) of the contents of the room into which he was pulled struggling on the cover? All are rendered with the kind of panache that was firmly under Kirby’s belt, and frankly, see off all the other highly capable illustrators in this issue. On a personal note, I had read this comic as a boy, but considered that it was an issue of Race for the Moon which was how it was published in a bumper edition in the UK. Having exhausted the threeissue US run of the latter, the British distributors Thorpe and Porter simply overlaid the rest of the Moon logo on the World of Fantasy logo, and called

that project around the year 2000 and by that time color printers had become affordable and provided good results. Of course, old comics have pages that have yellowed to a varied extent. This not only affected the page color but the colors printed as well. Once again I developed a procedure using Photoshop to remove the yellow and correct the colors. The procedure was not perfect but it was the basis with which I have done all my restoration work.

“I want my restorations to be accurate, particularly when it comes to the line art. The line art should be Simon and Kirby’s and not some modern recreation, or reconstruction as Marvel refers to it. However the printing used for old comic books often had defects that are not always very noticeable in the original comics, but become very obvious when printed by the higher quality modern printers—defects like small areas where the ink did not take to the surface of the paper. No matter what approach is taken, these defects can only be fixed with patient effort. Not surprisingly, the older the comic book is, the more likely it has suffered the browning effect of age. As a general rule, the printing of comic books was best during the Golden Age and got worse as time went on. Therefore, depending on the age of a comic book, somewhat different restorations problems would be encountered. Sometimes I was fortunate enough to have a comic book with a low financial value that I could afford to submit to chemical bleaching.

However even in those cases, the decision to use chemical bleach or not was based on what I believed would provide the best restoration results. For older comic books the use of chemical bleach simply was not financially possible. There was one Blue Bolt story that my comic book copy had aged so seriously that I was having trouble doing the restorations. I considered bleaching it but fortunately Steve Saffel had a copy in better condition that I scanned for the restoration.

“I have been fortunate that Joe Simon kept so much original art or flats (proofs of the line art). These have been used in some of the restorations in the Superheroes and Science Fiction books.”

BACK TO THE FUTURE IN PRISON 2000 A.D. The year 2000 which once seemed so far distant in the future is now 14 years in our past, so tell me which of the following things you remember about it. Did we wear purple outfits with yellow piping, while the police wore orange helmets and brandished ray-guns? When were interstellar rockets introduced—rockets that might be stolen by criminals to fly to the asteroids we had colonized? One can hardly blame Jack Kirby and Stan Lee for visualizing such wonders for that year in the story “Prison 2000 A.D.” in the short-lived Atlas/Marvel book World of Fantasy. This was, after all, created in 1958, when 2000 A.D. was in the very far future. The book itself—up to its final few issues—was a boilerplate post-Code Atlas/Marvel title; in other words, some nice artwork (from the likes of Joe Maneely) and efficient but unexciting stories. But then something happened with the final few issues; and that something was called Jack Kirby. The presence of the King on these final issues (along with fellow luminaries such as Al Williamson and Steve Ditko) inspired Stan Lee to produce some imaginative writing, and this particular issue (which boasts a Carl Burgos cover, showing a prisoner being pulled towards a futuristic-looking room where a scientist waits patiently) boasts all of the above (e.g. Ditko and Williamson) plus splendid work by Joe

it issue #4. British schoolboys such as me simply accepted this—who knew?

After all, there was the fantastic artist (whose name we didn’t know) establishing a continuity with the earlier issues, but it was intriguing to discover the actual publication history when I began to buy the American originals. See how lucky we Brits are? We were onto the Beatles first, and we have the serendipitous pleasure of tracking down the original American comics that we had seen crisp black-and-white reproductions of!

NO LONGER A SECRET I’m waiting for the day when John Morrow, the editor of this prestigious magazine, says, “How can we continue to have a column called ‘Kirby Obscura’?” There’s less and less ‘Obscura’ left these days, and the issues of difficult-to-find magazines that I spent years tracking down (and then paying for them a price I could barely afford) are in the past, as such material is 65

design we never see again in the tale, so prolific was his invention). In fact it is the centre section of the tale with the hapless hero trapped in this alien world which distinguishes the piece—rather in the way that the classic ’50s SF film This Island Earth (so unfairly maligned as a turkey in the Mystery Science Theatre series) is perhaps most memorable for its scenes on the planet Metaluna in the film’s final 5 minutes. So; the original book or the reprint? Actually, it doesn’t matter, so long as you give yourself the opportunity one way or another to sample this piece of vintage Kirby Art.

now readily available in reprint form—and, what’s more, in splendidly reproduced, touched-up editions which do far greater justice to the Jack Kirby artwork (see the S&K SF Library discussed above). But wait a minute— it’s not quite that simple! There are those who will accept no substitute for the original comics, and even if they have certain stories in reprint form will still pursue the originals. And who can blame them? Perhaps the availability of the reprints will drive down the prices of the originals—who knows?

Case in point: DC’s anthology book (edited by Jack Schiff): House of Secrets #12 (from September 1958). You may possess the recent handsome paperback collecting all Kirby’s DC standalone SF/Fantasy 6-pagers—but unless you’ve picked up the original books, you won’t have the other items contained in this collectable issue. For a start, there is Bernard Bailey’s stylish “Three Doors to Doom,” an unremarkable fantasy piece utterly transformed by this much-underrated illustrator’s immense skill at panel design (something he shared, of course, with Jack Kirby), and also a brilliant application of crosshatching (not one of the King’s specialities, although he could certainly do it when the occasion demanded). This is followed by a piece by another utterly reliable DC staffer, Bill Ely, “The Spirit Sculptor,” and then a particularly memorable tale drawn by another underrated artist, Lou Cameron, whose “The Man with the Magic Touch” has all the characteristics (both bad and good) we associate with this unconventional talent. Yes, there is the usual rather fitful grasp of anatomy and unmarked inconsistency with the figure drawing, but Cameron’s striking surrealist vision lifts the piece above the rut (the unlikely plot involves a man whose Midas touch involves turning objects not to gold, but increasing them massively in size).

Interestingly, reading this original version brought back memories of reading it in a British shilling black-andwhite reprint—the way in which I first encountered most of this material. Looking at the issue recently for this column brought back that rush of memory from childhood that Marcel Proust identified with a madeleine biscuit dipped in tea (it’s Jack Kirby and comics for me that brings back the past, rather than soggy biscuits).

And then we get to the Kirby story, “The Hole in the Sky,” in which aliens tempt greedy men for abduction by dangling precious objects from the heavens. As usual, the story (though clearly knocked off speedily by Kirby) is full of delights such as the dynamic figure drawing to be found throughout the tale, then (on page 2), the fantastically realized interior of a room on a strange other-dimensional world with futuristic equipment (which, as usual, looks like nothing else that Kirby created, while still being clearly the product of his imagination) and grotesque elongated aliens (page 3 has one of those full-panel close-ups of one of the aliens with bizarre enlarged eyes, stretched grinning mouth and tiny snub nose—as with the machinery, it’s the kind of

THE SILVER AGE OF DC COMICS Sometimes, one simply needs to treat oneself, right? And if you’re an aficionado of the Silver Age of comics, DC-style (the late 1950s to the early 1970s)—as well as an admirer such formidable talents as Jack Kirby, Julius Schwartz and Gil Kane— you should do yourself a favor and invest in this handsome and strikingly designed book with text by Paul Levitz.

In fact, the design is very much at the service of the material showcased here; unlike the eye-catching comics volumes put together by designer Chip Kidd, Paul Levitz and his editors and designers have opted for handsome, oversized reproductions of some of the most stunning artwork that appeared in the years 1956 to 1970 (superhero and otherwise), with many dazzling covers such as the iconic first Silver Age appearances of Green Lantern, the Justice League of America and The Flash, reproduced at larger size here than the original books, allowing the viewer to see all of the delicious detail that the gifted artists incorporated.

Of course, the DC Silver Age revolution grew out of the science fiction books of the era, notably the two signature titles in the field, full of ingenuity and imagination, Mystery in Space and Strange Adventures, which showcased the talents that subsequently produced the superhero revival—notably the doyen of comics editors, Julius Schwartz, his key writers Gardner Fox and John Broome, and his star artists Gil Kane and Carmine Infantino. This team’s astonishingly inventive work on these SF books (which often feature the Earth in some massively menacing scenario) are comprehensively represented here.

Paul Levitz’s text throughout is economical, but is always informed and lively.

Needless to say, the King of Comics, Jack Kirby, is represented here in his brief, unhappy but influential pre-Marvel period with DC, with a striking cover from House of Mystery (“The Stone Sentinels of Giant Island”), his transformative stint on Green Arrow and, most memorably, his immensely influential launch of the Challengers of the Unknown, with some of the very best work he did represented here by the cover of the fourth (and best) issue in the series (“The Wizard of Time”), which is treated to a four-stage demonstration of color separations alongside a large reproduction of the cover. The whole Taschen DC series (excerpted from Paul Levitz’s massive one-volume history) will be catnip to any admirer of the genre, but personally if I had to choose just one volume, it would be this one. Sheer pleasure. ★ Barry Forshaw is the author of British Gothic Cinema and The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction (available from Amazon) and the editor of Crime Time (www.crimetime.co.uk). He lives in London.

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An ongoing examination of Kirby’s art and compositional skills

tell, but he certainly channeled it into his vital and energetic artwork, particularly with combative characters like the Thing.

In 1933, a film appeared that must have exploded like a rush of primordial energy in the impressionable brain of the then sixteen-yearold Kirby. The impact of King Kong is difficult to appreciate today, but suffice it to say that nothing like it had ever been seen before. The cutting edge technology of stop-motion animation allowed the filmmakers to create the illusion of a gargantuan creature in a primeval lost world, and then see him transported to 20th century New York City.

King Kong has been analyzed extensively, yielding interpretations running the gamut from a metaphor for the subjugation of man’s primitive instincts, to that of the enslavement of African-Americans. What is certain is that Kong’s treatment at the hands of a callous humanity makes him an extremely sympathetic and tragic figure, and it is easy to identify with his plight.

Since over the years, Kirby has based several stories on the King Kong template, one can easily imagine that the film had a profound impact on him. When Kirby returned to Martin Goodman’s Atlas line in 1959, he and Stan Lee embarked on a series of monster stories.

One of these, appearing in Tales To Astonish #12, bears a striking resemblance to King Kong. In this story, Gorgilla, a giant jungle dwelling primate, is discovered in a remote location in Borneo. After the requisite battle with a T-Rex, Gorgilla stows away on a ship and comes to New York. Here (left) in the first panel on the third page of the story, is a powerful image of the creature moving towards the vessel that will carry him to America. Unlike Kong, Gorgilla was a willing immigrant who went seeking some sort of bond with his distant fellow primates, as emphasized in Stan Lee’s text.

Of course, Gorgilla’s intent is completely misunderstood and he is instead seen as a threat, until the very end of the story.

Of particular interest is that in the story’s climax, Gorgilla climbs the Statue of Liberty, the symbol of America’s willingness to embrace the immigrant, in order to apprehend a villainous saboteur. There is great poignancy in the wide panel (shown on next page) where the creature is shot while clinging to his perch that is the crown of the statue. The visual impression is that he is impaled on the spikes of the crown. As he, like Kong, tragically falls to his death, one can see in panel two that he mimics the statue’s pose by raising aloft the hand holding the spy. What is even more tragic here is that the humans harassing Gorgilla have been unaware

Thing Kong (below) Gorgilla, from Tales To Astonish #12 (Oct. 1960).

irby has said on several occasions that he identifies with the Thing, the grumpy orange-skinned monster he co-created with Stan Lee in the first issue of the Fantastic Four. The son of Austrian Jewish immigrants, Kirby grew up on the mean streets of New York’s Lower East Side. The area was teeming with rival street gangs, and as the artist details in his “Street Code” story, he often fought to assert himself or just to survive. Just how much anger Kirby carried inside him is difficult to

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empathy for the brutish anti-hero made him more human. Given the nature of their “Beauty and the Beast” relationship, Alicia can easily be seen as the Thing’s version of Ann Darrow/Faye Wray.

Still, occasionally the Thing’s submerged rage was given outlet as a result of the mischief of nefarious characters with fiendish mind control devices. One such example was the Mad Thinker’s takeover of Ben Grimm’s brain in Fantastic Four #69. Enraged by his perceived betrayal by Reed Richards and pursued as

a fugitive by the authorities, the Thing proceeds to ape Kong by climbing a high tower to do battle with a squadron of jet fighters.

In what is possibly one of my favorite Kirby covers, Kirby paid homage to Kong big time in issue #69 of the Fantastic Four (above). The cover is one of his most dramatic, with a composition that uses figures strategically positioned in a sort of architectural framework. One of the things we notice first is the strange scale of the figures. In proportion to the buildings, they are far too large, creating that towering King

that he is acting out of feelings of warmth and protectiveness towards them. It is only when he dies that they realize Gorgilla’s altruistic motivations. Although he is initially perceived to be a monster, Gorgilla is human enough to be concerned for the safety of humanity, and even for the life of the spy whom he protects from the impact of the fall.

Of course, in this story there is no blonde object of the creature’s affection as Faye Wray’s Ann Darrow personified in King Kong.

A year or so later, when Kirby started work on the Fantastic Four, he had the ultimate misanthropic outcast hero with which to express his inner turmoil. Gradually, the Thing changed from threatening terror to loveable bear, and part of his transformation was encouraged by the strawberry blonde-haired Alicia (right), whose 68

retelling the King Kong story.

A giant gorilla named Tiny (left), who sees him as a desirable doll-sized toy, pursues Kamandi, a teenage boy with shoulder-length blond hair. Kamandi is an obvious stand-in for Anne Darrow, the woman Kong falls for in the film.

Naturally, Tiny climbs to the summit of a high tower, carrying Kamandi in his huge fist. Kirby has consistently used hands almost figuratively to convey emotion and intent. As the girl in the huge fist is one of the filmic Kong’s most iconic symbols, Kirby takes full advantage of that image, here at the top of the tower, as Tiny drops Kamandi in a safe place before confronting his enemies.

Then, shot by anthropomorphic Tigers flying vintage bi-planes, Tiny falls to his doom. Kamandi’s closing comment on his horrific experience, “Even the ancients with their imaginative movies couldn’t have produced anything like this!” is obviously meant to be ironic, which he of course doesn’t realize. In fact, such events would occur regularly on film as well as in Kirby’s fertile and derivative fantasy world. A good portion of the genius of Jack Kirby was his knack for the appropriation of popular imagery and iconography, and King Kong was something that he obviously took great pleasure in adapting again and again. ★ (below) Columnist Norris Burroughs took his favorite FF cover, and painted it with spectacular results.

Kong effect. Then too, the angle of the drawing gives us a sense of extreme vertigo, as if the building were swaying in a quake. Johnny and Reed in particular are framed by the building. The latter clings to it for dear life lest he topple to the gridwork below, and the former swoops diagonally, also accentuating the downward momentum.

Above them, the Thing rages at the sky above him, and its openness accentuates the claustrophobic close-knit structure of the cityscape below. As do many of Kirby’s compositions, this drawing relies on the circular arrangement of the figures within it, and details like the shape of Johnny’s flame trail serve to accentuate that circularity.

My eye refuses to settle on any one figure for very long, continually moving from the enraged Thing, to the diving Torch, to the pathetic figure of Reed Richards, and then back upwards again.

When we see the Thing in this situation, we realize how much he resembles Kong, with his low forehead, prominent brow ridge and pug nose. Inside the comic, we see Ben, even more Kong-like, being fired upon by the jets as he roars his contempt at his attackers despite the devastation of the explosions surrounding him.

Kirby wasn’t finished with Kong yet. When he left Marvel for DC and his Fourth World saga was cancelled, The King decided to have a bit of fun with a series called Kamandi, set in a post-apocalyptic future where animals had evolved to the stage of possessing higher intelligence. In issue #7 Kirby would carry his Kong fixation to the logical extent of satire. Although satirical, this comic book is the closest Kirby came to 69

Isn’t it sometimes hard to believe that people can be so passionate about the same subject, yet have such diametrically opposite views on that same material? Such was obvious as I read Mark Alexander’s “Lee and Kirby: The Wonder Years” in TJKC #58. I think I disagreed with his views almost as often as I agreed with them; entertaining and perplexing at the same time. One statement of his in particular immediately got my little brain ticking over. Hence, these fannish ramblings, which I’ve entitled:

If What?

By Their Enemies Shall Ye Know Them

by Shane Foley (below) It’s tough to fear a man in a skirt, but easier than a guy in a toga. Good job, Jack!

n page 44, Mark writes that “Jack and Stan’s strong suit was creating noble, dignified heroes....”

How true! But then a sentence later, he writes, “Likewise, the duo’s greatest failing was their inability to concoct the antithesis of these heroes—menacing villains, evildoers and bad guys.”

Failing? I couldn’t disagree more.

To my mind, that line should read, “Likewise, the duo’s similar success was their ability to concoct the greatest villains and evil doers and bad guys ever assembled in one comic, anywhere.”

Certainly, a huge chunk of the Kirby FF’s status in comic book history comes from that supporting cast of ‘dignified heroes’ which no other strip came close to matching. And more often than not, these, rather than true ‘baddies’, were the antagonists. And why not? Time and again, Marvel showcased conflicts that weren’t always about ‘good vs evil’, but about misunderstanding, differing perspectives and the like.

That’s why the FF fought Sub-Mariner and the Thing fought the Surfer and so on.

But even if we remove all these wonderful characters—SubMariner, Watcher, Inhumans, Silver Surfer, Black Panther, and perhaps the Wanderer and Him—we still see what I think is the greatest baddie line-up ever.

As a young reader in the ’60s, that’s certainly how I felt. And I still do.

Right from the word “go,” when I was a young reader, it seemed the whole Marvel

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Universe, except in Ditko’s books, was filled with villains with some Kirby DNA. DC couldn’t compare. I liked Batman as a hero, but, to me, his rogues gallery of riddling, giggling, party-dressed buffoons didn’t hold a candle to Kirby’s power-charged, thundering super-villains. The fact that these early Marvel villains have kept being rehashed and returned to, over and over for the last 40 years, surely means there are many others who think as highly of them as I do. (And yes, I know many think just as highly of Batman’s Rogues Gallery—but not me.)

I’m not only thinking Dr. Doom or Galactus. Their place as two of the best villainous creations in comic book history is certain. It’s the rest of the FF’s baddies that concern me.

Why do I love them? A couple of reasons.

Many were, by today’s standards, undeveloped character-wise. Back in the ’60s, who was? But during that time, these colorful characters bounced off the page with a life that other companies’ baddies didn’t have, and made the Marvel world alive! These were comics that made no apology for being comics—yet added just enough humor and characterization to stand out from the others. And we loved it!

Lee and Kirby together were dynamite.

Stan Lee provided the glib and witty dialogue that stood head and shoulders above others.

But more often than not, it was Kirby who did it for me! Why? His baddies looked terrific! And they came from or lived in an environment that looked terrific!

It was, and still is, the unique and powerful designs that Kirby gave each of them that screams ‘potential’ to a superhero reader. Combine this with the evocative places Kirby put many of them in (and sometimes the character that arose from the interplay with the FF during their conflict) and that potential just oozed out!

(A side thought for a moment about Galactus: I wonder if he would have the status he has today if he looked different.

What if that wonderful page 2 shot in FF #49 had Galactus looking very similar to the Watcher—both giants in togas, as shown at left? Would he have returned as often as he has? Or would someone have tried to create a better character? After all, it’s not like the name is anything special—‘Galactus’ is as corny as ‘Dr. Doom’ or ‘Mr. Fantastic’.)

Most of the best known and most used Kirby FF villains are those that were featured in his ‘cosmic’ era (from about the FF mid-40s up)—either villains that were created then, or older villains that Kirby returned and revamped.

Doom is the greatest example, of course, of an older becoming ‘upgraded’. But as the ‘cosmic age’ dawned, others, like the Frightful Four, were right there too.

Suddenly, after Galactus, the Surfer, the Wanderer, Klaw and the Panther had all been introduced, and when

Kirby Krackle started filling the FF Universe, there were the Sandman and the Wizard again. Jack, at least, must have liked them. I certainly did.

FF—at the Mercy of the Madness of the Wanderer!” See “The Tragedy of Avalon!” (below).

(Aside: FF #54, page 18, panel 4—John hadn’t pressed the ‘safety button’? Safety button? He’d been standing there yakking—and he hadn’t pressed it yet? C’mon, Stan (or Jack)—better that ‘no novice can safely control the eye’s power’ or the like. Safety button? Sheesh?)

I always loved Kirby’s depiction of the Wizard.

What a beautifully balanced ‘big-head’ design he has. He’s just a rotten guy through and through, with little character development or subtle motivation anywhere given, but the power in his appearance

by Kirby transfixes me. Especially his first panel in costume in FF #36, then even more, the later appearance in FF #78! (And he was even colored almost ‘pink’! Gasp! But it worked.) I liked the way in that issue, he was beaten by the Torch, who was his first foe. Nice touch, that.

I wanted to see more of this guy. I didn’t give a damn about simple-comic-book-mad-genius Lex Luthor over in Superman, but I did give a damn about simple-comic book-mad-genius Wizard in the FF. Why? Mostly, because of the way he looked. That’s Kirby’s doing!

I mentioned Blastaar! Wonderfully designed by Kirby in the ‘Ulik/Troll’ tradition. He was on a destructive, conquering spree—drawn brilliantly—but it was his observations about the differences in life in SubSpace and Earth that added a wonderful veneer of depth to his character and made him fun to read. Stan and Jack brilliantly placed him in partnership with the down-to-earth Sandman, getting great mileage out of the interplay between the two. Adding that to the banter with the FF made issue #63 a delight to read. Who knew he was another creation Kirby would never return to?

The intoxicating feeling of otherworldliness so well crafted and drawn by Kirby got yet another boost in the very next issue with the advent of the Kree. What more could any FF fan want than the Sentry, then the Accuser Ronan, complete with hints of previous

(A Frightful Four Aside: Medusa had left the Frightful Four to return to the Inhumans while her teammates went to jail. We’ve no idea if Jack knew what he was doing here, but Stan, writing the script, sure didn’t. Medusa’s story, like the rest of the Inhumans’ plight, made no sense at all.)

In the first Galactus issues, the FF fought the Punisher, Big G’s rottweiler bully boy. There’s no ‘characterization’ going on here of course, but what we have is the Kirby speciality of presenting ‘otherness’! Unearthly power! The threat of the silent unknown! It’s these qualities that Kirby was able to draw so evocatively that make so many of these villains great. And the FF, despite their power, seem so human and vulnerable next to them.

Probably one reason so many of these characters don’t work so well in many other writers’ and artists’ hands is that sometimes the writer attempts to expose too much of the creature’s personality (trying to create character, but therefore losing its ‘otherness’) and the artist lacks the ability to create the atmosphere Kirby does. Kirby’s lack of ‘real’ anatomy works mightily in his favor for alien characters. The Punisher is totally silent. This was perfectly apt, helping to reinforce the very alien threat the FF are involved in.

(Aside: More evidence that it is the design of a villain’s appearance that is the major factor in his success comes when glancing at Marvel’s time-traveling baddies. Rama Tut first turned up in the FF, was linked to Dr. Doom, then became Kang. What a comic book history Kang has had. A bit earlier, Thor ran into the Tomorrow Man. To my mind, ‘Tomorrow Man’ is a better name than ‘Kang’, yet the TMan has never been developed—while Kang has returned and had his character explored again and again. Why? Because T-Man doesn’t have the exotic appearance of Kang, surely.)

The Wanderer from FF #54 is interesting, because we as readers at the time had no idea that he would never be featured

by Lee and Kirby again. And we had no idea if he would return as a goody or a baddie. With his history in super-techno-Avalon and seeing its destruction, he had great potential for a terrific return.

Characters like him, and Klaw, and Blastaar, simmered away in the FF’s world and filled it with possibilities. Who knew we weren’t going to get an issue that screamed on the cover: “The

Prester John was certainly deserving of a second FF outing, or even a shot in Thor.

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alien visitation on Earth, and with the startling and nightmarish dreamscape with the Intelligence Supreme?

These fabulous villains were comic book heaven.

Immediately then back to Earth, and the wonderfully addictive Kirby-weirdness continued; not from an extraterrestrial source this time, but from the nightmares that unrestrained scientific endeavor can bring. No matter the behind-the-scenes tensions in crafting this story, the scientists who inhabited the Beehive were well realized— their fears, tensions and disagreements made them anything but cardboard baddies. The Beehive itself and the spooky caverns beneath, with the creature in them, is Kirby at the top of his game, and made these guys standout adversaries.

I love the fact that not all the FF’s villains wore ‘costumes’. The FF themselves wore uniforms/jumpsuits rather than decorated costumes. And so did these guys.

And so did the Thinker, in the next issues.

Not many fans would count the Thinker as a ‘great’ villain, but I liked him—at least at this point in the FF’s career. Why? When he first appeared, he was a cackling, would-be leader of the underworld. But he soon improved. In his next showing in FF #28, he was more the brooding loner, with a longer crop of unruly hair, which Jack then drew to wild perfection on the cover of Strange Tales #126. By FF Annual #4, he was the true mad scientist in his hidden laboratory, surrounded by wonderful computers like Quasimodo. As always, the surroundings of Jack’s characters were evocative and made them live.

As is often pointed out, the plot of FF #68-71 echoed an earlier one, but, just like #51 compared to #62 (two other issues with similar plots), I don’t think this meant a thing. It was a great story, drawn with a tension and drama that showed Kirby was not bored. This time around, the Thinker, drawn to perfection, skulked first in Reed’s lab, then in his own dim, hidden hallways, and was a first class, creepy evil-to-the-core villain. The silence of his androids contributed to the reader feeling the hostile, inhuman atmosphere of the Thinker’s haunts. The finale with the giant, super-powerful android, was a well crafted desperate struggle for the FF, and, for me, a very satisfying read.

A much more compelling menace for the FF, as rendered by Shane Foley, with color by Randy Sargent.

At this point in the FF’s career, the Thinker getting a Kirby update was rare. Usually, new ground was forged again and again, like in the 5th FF Annual with Psycho-Man—or ‘Psychon’ as we know Jack called him. He was one eerie guy, well balanced out by his human henchmen’s reactions to him, and his ability to manipulate emotions. As always then, he had a formidable design by Kirby.

When we find out he’s from Sub-Atomica (what a great name!) we realize the FF’s world can now be threatened from yet another unearthly place. Had Jack remembered FF #16’s MicroWorld? Was this one of his terrific updates of an old idea? Who knows—but Jack’s visuals gave Sub-Atomica an atmosphere of interesting dread cranked up significantly from that of the Micro-World.

revealed was awesome. Cold, scary, very alien—not a place you’d like to be (though the perfect place to put our heroes!). Why was it such?

The FF had been running through space and other dimensions for years.

Johnny had been to the Fifth Dimension—why didn’t we feel the same about it? The answer, of course, was the way Jack drew this new place, and the way the comics now took extra space to write about them, building the atmosphere of mystery and foreboding, rather than just taking them for granted. It’s all in the way it was done. And because of that, I think Sub-

(Aside: By this time in the series, poor Alicia must have developed quite a complex. Of all places in New York, it’s her window that Dragon Man smashes into in #47, it’s her roof the Surfer crashes through in #49, it’s her place that the Psycho-Man’s dudes drop stuff accidentally in Annual #5. What a trouble magnet she was! Then the Beehive guys come knocking in #65....)

A similar situation to Sub-Atomica was with Sub-Space/the Negative Zone. The feeling surrounding that place when it was first 72

Space/the Negative Zone is one of the FF’s greatest ‘villains’.

As Sub-Space became the Negative Zone almost exclusively, we arrive at one of Jack’s greatest visual creations!

Annihilus—the Living Death that walks! I remember actually having a nightmare about running into this creepy guy. (What was he doing lurking behind our shed amongst Mum’s cacti and bromeliad collection? Scared the daylights out of me!) A dictator in his own world, he was even better than Blastaar. Why, oh why, didn’t Kirby bring us a clash between those two? When he decided to give away no more concepts and mostly just recycle old baddies, surely this battle could have been a given. (Though, come to think of it, how come we got Annihilus at all? He arrived 12 months after Jack put the brakes on. Why didn’t Jack just redo Blastaar in the 6th Annual? Seems he just couldn’t help himself.)

Other baddies from the FF’s early days that were given a ‘cosmic Kirby’ makeover were the Mole Man and the Skrulls. The Skrulls, especially, changed, from ’50s type BEMs to big, Kirby-style nasties. The Super Skrull got his updating in Thor #142, while the ‘regular’ Skrulls looked better than ever when they talked and plotted with the gaming gangsters in FFs #89-93. Now, they could hold their head high next to the Kree. (And Roy Thomas saw the potential in that one!)

Other early baddies, like Gideon and Attuma, needed no update. Gideon’s was a powerful story which was all about character. Attuma was the undersea barbarian who was never revisited by Kirby, but was perfect the first time around and has rightly survived by being returned by others time and time again. Great villains! And Diablo, evidently derided by his creators, is a fine addition to the FF’s long line of evildoers and has all the potential that others have. I don’t see why some readers have to say he was rubbish just because Stan and Jack did.

Some other baddies never got the Kirby cosmic update and suffer in hindsight for it. I’ve read folks deriding Kurrgo (FF #7) and Molecule Man (FF #20) as poor foes for the FF. But I reckon that if Kirby had gone on to ‘update’ them, these earlier issues would be looked at much more favorably.

FF #7 was actually a terrifically drawn story, told of course in the simpler early ’60s style. But what if Jack brought Kurrgo back? Surely we would see him redesigned looking very much like ‘Modok’—and he would be taken much more seriously.

What if Jack looked at the Molecule Man and said “Ha! Here’s a guy to challenge the best of them! I’ll re-present him!”

Would not then FF #20 be treated with the same respect that Dr. Doom’s FF #5 gets? Perhaps the cover would have looked something like this (at left)…?

(Aside: FF #20 has to have one of the greatest howlers in the FF’s history. Reed looks at the space rock on page 2 and says “This is proof of life in outer space.” What? Skrulls, Kurrgo, Ovoids, Impossible Man, the Watcher and the dead city of the moon are not proof enough? Reed is one skeptical guy!)

And to conclude—just for fun (right)—what would have happened if Jack had one of his best ideas a bit too early—and threw it in here? Would it have survived?

To my mind, the FF had the greatest array of baddies anywhere in a comic. I think it’s clear I think that. Back in the ’60s, I guess it all depended on what readers wanted from the FF. Some fans of the earlier issues, which concentrated more on the characters, difficulties and hijinks of the FF, were disappointed with the ‘cosmic’ turn Kirby had. After that, the villains and locales took centre stage, with the characterization of the heroes taking more of a back seat. There are a number of letters published to that effect.

But for my money—and many others’ it seems—the new cosmic Kirby was simply the best.

And in the FF, he and Stan created the best lineup of villains ever conceived!

To quote Hellboy... BOOM! ★

If Jack had gone fully cosmic by the time of FF #24, would we have all missed out on one of his greatest creations? Or would this guy have grown on us the way the Surfer did?

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Retrospective

Key Late Career Moments

by John Morrow, with Richard Kolkman and friends

ontinuing our look at key moments in Jack’s life and career from TJKC #59 (which covered Marvel in the 1960s) and #62 (which covered 1970-1975), we present this timeline of key moments that affected Kirby’s tenure after he left DC Comics in 1975. Of invaluable help were Richard Kolkman (who sent me an extensive list to begin work from), Eric Nolen-Weathington, Ray Wyman, Tom Kraft, Glen Gold, and Rand Hoppe, as well as Mark Evanier’s book KIRBY: King of Comics and Sean Howe’s Marvel Comics: The Untold Story.

This isn’t a complete list of every important date in Kirby’s later career history, but should hit most of the main ones. Please send us additions and corrections.

Next issue, I’ll work on pivotal moments in Jack’s 1940s1950s career with Joe Simon.

My rule of thumb: Cover dates were generally two-three months later than the date the book appeared on the stands, and six months ahead of when Kirby was working on the stories, so I’ve assembled the timeline according to those adjusted dates— not the cover dates—to set it as close as possible to real-time.

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• Mighty Marvel Con (March 22–24). Marie Severin spots Kirby going into Stan’s office, and yells down the Marvel halls, “Kirby’s back!”

• March 24: Kirby signs a three-year contract with Marvel (valid through April 30, 1978), and appears at the Mighty Marvel Con held at the Hotel Commodore in New York City.

Kirby stuns MMC attendees with the announcement of his return, and in regards to what he will be doing for Marvel, Kirby says, “It’ll electrocute you in the mind!”

• May: Barry Alfonso’s fanzine Mysticogryfil #2 features an interview with Kirby.

Early 1970s • May 30, 1972: Kirby signs an agreement with Marvel, effectively relinquishing any claim he might have to the copyright on Captain America. This document is used against Joe Simon’s efforts to secure the copyright on Captain America Comics #1-10.

• Late 1972: Rocket’s Blast Comic Collector #94 features an erroneous newsflash titled “Kirby Leaves DC,” which speculates what might happen if Kirby returned to Marvel. The article creates quite a stir in fandom.

• Summer 1974: Neal Kirby asks Roy Thomas to meet the Kirbys for coffee at the San Diego Comic-Con, to determine Marvel’s possible interest in having Jack return. Roy tells Jack he and Stan would be glad to have him back.

1975 • Early 1975: It is presumed that Kirby talks with Stan Lee regarding the possibility of Kirby returning to Marvel.

• May 25: Wings’ album Venus and Mars featuring the song “Magneto and Titanium Man,” is released (the cover of the 45 rpm single is shown above, which featured repurposed non-Kirby art from Marvel).

• June 2: Menomonee Falls Gazette V4, #181 features an interview with Kirby.

• July: Mediascene #15 features a preview article entitled “The King Returns.”

• August (October cover date): The Marvel Comics Bullpen page announces, “The King is Back! ’Nuff said!” and lists his future projects as 2001, Captain America, and a giant Silver Surfer book.

• September (November cover date): New Kirby covers hit the stands: Fantastic Four #164, Invaders #3, Iron Man #80, Ka-Zar #12, Marvel Premiere #26 (featuring Hercules), Marvel Super-Heroes #54 (featuring Hulk), Marvel Two-inOne #12 (guest-starring Iron Man), and Thor #241.

• September: Captain America #192 features a next issue promo with art by Kirby and Frank Giacoia (next page, top).

• February 20: Longtime Marvel letterer Arthur “Artie” Simek dies.

• September: FOOM #11 features a preview of 2001: A Space Odyssey, cover art for Captain America #193 and #194, and “Kirby Speaks,” an interview with Kirby.

• March 18: Kirby visits the Marvel offices for the first time since his departure in 1970. The visit takes place on the Monday before the 1975

• September: Kirby ignores editorial pleas to integrate the rest of the Marvel Universe into his Captain America series.

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• November (January 1976 cover date): Captain America #193 is published, beginning the “Madbomb” storyline, which is timed to end on America’s bicentennial.

• May (July cover date): Eternals #1 published.

• June (August cover date): Captain America #200 is published.

• June 8: The treasurysized Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles is published.

• June 22: Kirby and his family meet Paul and Linda McCartney backstage at a Wings concert at the L.A. Forum via Gary Sherman. Kirby gives McCartney a drawing of Magneto (right, referencing McCartney’s song) to commemorate the occasion.

• November 15: Jack completes the first draft of his Silver Star screenplay.

• December: FOOM #12 features preview art for an “Ikaris the Eternal” series, later to be renamed The Eternals.

1976 • Kirby visits Lucca, Italy as Guest of Honor at the Lucca Comic Art Festival, his first international comics convention appearance.

• January (March cover date): The Bullpen Bulletins page features the blurb, “Who Is He?” with an image of Ikaris.

• July (September cover date): Bullpen Bulletin page announces that Roy Thomas is to join “Marvel West” along with Kirby and Mike Royer.

• February (April cover date): Kamandi #40, featuring the last of Kirby’s 1970s art for DC, is published.

• July: The Marvel Treasury Special 2001: A Space Odyssey movie adaptation is released.

• February: The Comic Reader #127 announces a new Marvel series Return of the Gods (ie. The Eternals) along with Kirby’s cover art for the first issue.

• August (October cover date): Hulk Annual #5 is published. The story features a bevy of Jack’s Atlas-era monsters, such as Groot, Titan, and Goom, with a new cover by Kirby.

• September (November cover date): Fantastic Four #176 is published featuring a Kirby/Joe Sinnott cover with Impossible Man. Kirby, along with the Marvel Bullpen, appears as a character in the George Pérez-drawn story inside (left).

• October (December cover date): 2001: A Space Odyssey #1 (a new ongoing series) is published.

• November (January 1977 cover date): Black Panther #1 is published. As with his Captain America stories, Kirby isolates the title from the rest of the Marvel Universe.

• December: FOOM #16 features a preview of the Marvel 1977 Calendar, featuring artwork by Kirby.

1977 • January: “Stan’s Soapbox” announces the Silver Surfer graphic novel is to be written by Lee and drawn by Kirby.

• February 1: Kirby submits his art for The Prisoner.

• March (May cover date): Marvel Two-in-One #27 is released, featuring a Kirby/Sinnott cover with Deathlok.

• March 14: Kirby hands in concept art and plot concept for the Silver Surfer graphic novel to “Stanley” Lee, and Lee begins scripting.

• May (July cover date): Bullpen Bulletins page announces The Prisoner.

According to Mediascene (Nov.–Dec. 1977), Marvel’s Prisoner series began as a proposal by editor Marv Wolfman, followed by a Steve Englehart and Gil Kane effort which Stan Lee rejected. Lee then gave the series to Kirby to write and pencil. Kirby penciled one 17-page issue, which was partially inked by Mike Royer, before Lee cancelled the project altogether.

• May (July cover date): 2001 #8 is published, introducing Mister Machine. Ideal Toys, having rights to the name (right), convinces Marvel to rename the character, 75

and Kirby redubs him “Machine Man” in the first issue of his solo series.

• May (July cover date): “Bullpen Bulletins” announces an adaptation of the forthcoming Star Wars movie, which would open to general audiences on May 17. Though not known at the time, Star Wars would feature themes and characters remarkably similar to Kirby’s Fourth World series.

• May 12: The Star Wars movie premieres.

• May 20: Kirby works on concept art for Devil Dinosaur under the working title Devil Dinosaur of the Phantom Planet. An earlier working title was Reptar, King of the Dinosaurs.

• June (August cover date): Eternals #14 is published, featuring a cosmic-powered Hulk, in a feeble nod to tying the series to the Marvel Universe.

1978

• July (September cover date): 2001 #10 is published, announcing Machine Man will receive his own title.

• February (April cover date): Machine Man #1 and Devil Dinosaur #1 are published.

• August (October cover date): Captain America #214 is published, marking the final issue of Kirby’s run.

• Early 1978: DePatie-Freling begins development of a Fantastic Four halfhour cartoon to air in 1979, with Kirby drawing storyboards.

• October: Pizzazz #1 features a page of Kirby artwork for “2001 Computea-Code” (below). It is the only published artwork Larry Lieber would ink over Kirby pencils.

• Spring: FOOM #21 introduces H.E.R.B.I.E. (earlier named Charlie and Z-Z-1-2-3), a robot member of the Fantastic Four team designed by Kirby for the DePatie-Freling FF cartoon (above). The rights to Human Torch were tied up with another production company, so DePatieFreling used H.E.R.B.I.E. as a stand-in.

• November (January 1978 cover date): Eternals #19, the final issue of the series, is published.

• November 19: Longtime Marvel production staffer and occasional Kirby inker “Jumbo” John Verpoorten dies at age 37.

• March: Ballentine Books publishes Sorcerers: A Collection of Fantasy Art, featuring an essay by Kirby, showcasing several unpublished pieces of his personal art.

• April: The Comics Journal #39 features an article titled, “From Dinosaurs to Rockets: Kirby Strikes Out Again.” The article—along with letters printed in the Marvel letters’ pages and petty cruelty from members of the Marvel Bullpen staff—adds to Kirby’s growing discontent.

• April 30: Kirby’s contract with Marvel expires and he decides not to renew it, and instead focuses on his animation career.

• Late Spring: Kirby begins development on Captain Victory and His Galactic Rangers, including concept art and co-writing a screenplay with Steve Sherman.

• July: Kirby begins working on concept art for The Lord of Light movie and theme park (based on Roger Zelazny’s novel of the same name).

This artwork would later be used as part of a real-life CIA operation to rescue kidnapped diplomats, as depicted in the 2012 film Argo.

• August (October cover date): What If? #11 is published. Written and penciled by Kirby, the story, titled “What if the Fantastic Four Were the Original Marvel Bullpen?” features Kirby, Stan Lee, Sol Brodsky, and Flo Steinberg as the FF. • August: The Comics Journal #41 features an article titled, “Kirby Quits Comics.”

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• June (August cover date): Fantastic Four #209 is published, introducing the Kirby-designed H.E.R.B.I.E. to comics.

• September (November cover date): Fantastic Four #200 is published, the cover of which being Kirby’s final work on the FF in comics.

• September 2 (through January 13, 1980): Kirby’s adaptation of Walt Disney’s film The Black Hole appears in Sunday newspapers across America, and is later translated for foreign publications as well.

• October (December cover date): Machine Man #9 and Devil Dinosaur #9 are published—Kirby’s last ongoing series work for Marvel.

• Fall: The Silver Surfer graphic novel is published by Simon & Schuster. Kirby and Lee share the copyright.

• Late 1978: Development begins on the unrealized “Jack Kirby Comics” line of titles: Bruce Lee; Captain Victory and His Galactic Rangers; Reptar, King of the Dinosaurs; Satan’s Six; Silver Star (based on the existing screenplay co-written with Steve Sherman); and Thunder Foot.

1979 • Kirby produces an unfinished 224-page version of his novel The Horde, which is edited by Janet Berliner.

• The Jack Kirby Masterworks portfolio is published by Privateer Press.

• January: The Marvel 1979 Calendar features a Kirby Hulk drawing inked

by Joe Sinnott (left). It is Kirby’s final published artwork for Marvel.

• Early 1979: Stan Lee options the Silver Surfer graphic novel movie rights to producer Lee Kramer.

The film is set to have a $25 million budget, with Olivia NewtonJohn attached to play the role of Ardina (as related in Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, pg. 215).

1980 • Kirby continues working as a storyboard and concept artist in the animation industry, particularly for Ruby-Spears Productions on Thundarr The Barbarian (example shown below). Kirby receives some of the best pay of his career, and for the first time, health insurance benefits.

• October 11: The first episode of Thundarr The Barbarian airs, starting a highly successful syndication run for the series.

• March 30: Kirby appears in a cameo role on the Incredible Hulk TV series as a police sketch artist (below).

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• January (March cover date): Kirby’s unpublished 1975 story for DC’s Sandman #7 is finally published in Best of DC Digest #22 (left). It had previously only appeared, for copyright purposes, in DC’s Summer 1978 in-house ashcan inventory book Cancelled Comics Cavalcade, of which only 35 copies were produced by photocopying.

1981 • September (November cover date): Captain Victory and His Galactic Rangers #1 is published through Pacific Comics.

• September (November cover date): Fantastic Four #236—the 20th anniversary issue—is published. Kirby demands the removal of his name from the cover, citing unauthorized use of his Fantastic Four storyboards inside for nefarious “celebratory purposes.”

• October 28: Kirby is interviewed on the TV show Entertainment Tonight by Catherine Mann (below).

• Kirby works with Steve Gerber on the unused Roxie’s Raiders newspaper strip, comic book, and animated series for Ruby-Spears. An example of concept art is shown below.

• December (February 1983 cover date): Silver Star #1 is published by Pacific Comics, based on Jack’s 1975 concept.

1983 • Kirby is commissioned by Richard Kyle to draw the autobiographical story “Street Code” (detail below).

1982 • Battle For A 3-D World is published, with Kirby pencils, Mike Thibodeaux inks, and 3-D conversion by Ray Zone. The 3-D glasses that come with the comic state “Kirby: King of the Comics,” which is later misconstrued

by Johnny Carson when he uses a pair as a prop on The Tonight Show, and inadvertently insults Jack on the air. He publicly apologizes to Jack on-air two weeks later.

• January (March cover date): Destroyer Duck #1, featuring Kirby pencils, is published in an effort to raise money for Steve Gerber’s lawsuit against Marvel for the rights to Howard the Duck. Kirby also donates the cover art for the F.O.O.G. (Friends of Old Gerber) benefit portfolio (below).

• February: Will Eisner’s “Shop Talk” interview with Kirby is published in Spirit magazine #39, featuring controversial comments by Kirby. Below is an Alan Light photo of Eisner with Jack and Roz Kirby from the San Diego Comic-Con in Summer 1982, around the time of the interview.

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Powers (series two) #1 is published, with pencils only by Kirby.

• October (December cover date): Destroyer Duck #5 (Kirby’s final issue) is published. Pacific Comics would publish one additional issue, without Kirby art.

• July: The Kirbys’ legal dispute with Marvel over the ownership of original artwork plays out publicly, in the first of several issues of The Comics Journal to bring public awareness to the issue.

Issue #105 (February 1986, shown at left) is pivotal in its coverage of the situation.

• November (January 1984 cover date): Captain Victory #13 and Silver Star #6 (the final issues) are published.

1984 • April (June cover date): New Gods reprint #1 is published, beginning a full reprinting of the 11 original New Gods issues.

• August 2: Kirby appears on a panel at the San Diego ComicCon with Jim Starlin, Greg Theakston, and Gary Groth, to discuss the situation of Marvel Comics not returning his original artwork.

• May (July cover date): Super Powers #1 (first series) is published by DC Comics, featuring a Kirby cover, and Jack’s plotting (Kirby plots and draws only covers for #1-4). Jack agrees to tackle this series, in appreciation for DC retroactively making him eligible for royalties on the creation of the New Gods characters that appear in the Super Powers toy line.

• December (February 1986 cover date): Super Powers (series two) #6 is published, featuring Kirby’s final penciled story in comics.

• August: Kirby receives a 4-page legal document from Marvel Comics, drafted especially for him, that contains numerous excessive stipulations around the possible return of his 1960s artwork—including denying him the ability to sell the artwork, and with no guarantee of how many pages he would receive if he did sign the document. Kirby refuses to sign, and attempts to negotiate behind-the-scenes with Marvel, with no success.

• September (November cover date): New Gods reprint #6 (above) is published, containing the new story “Even Gods Must Die” which attempts to bridge the narrative between the original New Gods #11, and Jack’s upcoming Hunger Dogs graphic novel.

1986 • New World Entertainment acquires Marvel Comics.

• September (November cover date): Super Powers #5 is published, the final issue of the first series, featuring Kirby plot, cover, and full pencils.

1985

• Heroes Against Hunger is published by DC Comics to benefit famine relief, featuring a 2page sequence donated by Jack (right).

• The Hunger Dogs graphic novel is published, giving Kirby a chance to put a pseudo-ending to his New Gods saga.

• February (April cover date): Who’s Who #2 is published by DC Comics— the first of numerous issues to feature single-page illustrations by Kirby, of his DC characters.

• March 6: A Cannon Films ad in Variety magazine erroneously credits Stan Lee as the creator of Captain America.

The Kirbys’ attorney contacts Marvel Comics about the error.

• August: The Comics Journal #110 includes a petition signed by numerous industry professionals, appealing to Marvel Comics to give Kirby back his original art.

• August 3: Kirby appears on a panel at the San Diego Comic-Con with Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Marv Wolfman, and Gary Groth, to discuss the situation with Marvel Comics and the return of his original artwork. Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter was in the audience, and spoke briefly from the floor to clarify Marvel’s position.

• June (August cover date): DC Comics Presents #84 is published, featuring a Kirby-drawn story teaming Superman and the Challengers of the Unknown.

• September: Marvel Age Annual #2 (left) is published, reprinting a ½-page text piece by Kirby titled, “Jack Kirby by Jack Kirby,” reprinted from the Merry Marvel Messenger newsletter of 1966.

• July (September cover date): Super 79

• controversial interview with Kirby, including derogatory comments about Stan Lee, and Jack’s own involvement in the creation of Spider-Man.

1987 • Kirby appears on Ken Viola’s Masters of Comic Book Art documentary,

• May: Robin Snyder’s fanzine The Comics Vol. 1, #5 prints a 4-page essay/rebuttal by Steve Ditko entitled “Jack Kirby’s Spider-Man,” giving • Ditko’s recollection of what Kirby’s involvement on SpiderMan was prior to Ditko taking over. It includes a Ditko sketch of what Kirby’s version looked like.

offering many fans their first chance to actually hear and see Kirby speak about comics.

• January (March cover date): Last of the Viking Heroes #1 is published by Genesis West, featuring a Kirby cover.

• Pure Imagination publishes Jack Kirby’s Heroes & Villains, reprinting the Valentine’s Day pencil sketchbook Jack drew for his wife Roz in the late 1970s.

• November: Kirby’s 1983 “Street Code” story finally sees print in Richard Kyle’s Argosy magazine, Vol. 3, #2 (left).

• Summer: Kirby is inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.

• December: Marvel Age #95 is published, featuring “Birth of a Legend,” an interview with Kirby (as well as a separate interview with Joe Simon) to commemorate Captain America’s 50th anniversary.

• Summer: Under pressure from comics creators and the fan community, Marvel Comics sends Kirby the standard form other artists signed, and upon Jack signing it, finally returns approximately 2,100 of the estimated 13,000 pages Kirby drew for the company.

1992 • January: Marvel publishes a collection of Simon & Kirby’s Boys’ Ranch, including a two-page introduction by Kirby.

• August (October cover date): Kirby’s half of a “jam” cover with Murphy Anderson for DC’s Secret Origins #19 (above) sees print.

• The Art of Jack Kirby is published. Jack and author Ray Wyman conduct a book tour from November 7-December 12, at five stores in California and Tucson, Arizona.

• November: Marvel begins their hardcover Marvel Masterworks collection of early Lee/Kirby stories.

1988 • December (February 1989 cover date): Action Comics Weekly #638 (left) is published, featuring a Kirby Demon cover—his last new work for DC.

1989 • Monster Masterworks Vol. 1 is published, featuring “Monsters of the Shifty Fifties,” a text piece written by Kirby.

• Marvel publishes a collection of Simon & Kirby’s Fighting American, including a two-page introduction by Kirby.

• Glen Kolleda releases a pewter sculpture based on Kirby’s “Jacob And The Angel” drawing (right). It comes with a print of Jack’s illustration; a second sculpture and print (Beast Rider, next page) was planned, but never produced.

Photo by Honey Manko

1990 • February: The Comics Journal #134 (left) is published, featuring a 80

1993 • January 22: Kirby appears in a cameo as himself, on the shortlived Bob Newhart sitcom Bob (below).

• February (April cover date): Topps Comics begins publishing their “Kirbyverse” titles—Bombast, Captain Glory, Night Glider, and Jack Kirby’s Secret City Saga—based on unused Kirby concepts from the 1970s. They also publish Satan’s Six #1, which includes a previously unpublished 8-page Kirby sequence from the ’70s.

• March 14: Jack and Ray Wyman appear at Comics & Comix in Palo Alto, California (poster below) to promote The Art of Jack Kirby. A lengthy fan video of Jack’s appearance exists.

• September (December cover date): Phantom Force #1 is published

by Image Comics.

The Image founders form a sort of solidarity around Kirby.

• October (January cover date): Monster Menace #2 is published, featuring a ½-page text piece by Kirby titled “Jack Kirby, Atlas Comics and Monsters”—Kirby’s final work of any kind for Marvel.

1994 • January (April cover date): Phantom Force #2 is published—Kirby’s final comic book work published during his lifetime.

• February 6: Kirby dies at his home in Thousand Oaks, California at age 77.

• March 4: Comics Buyer’s Guide #1059 (below) begins coverage of Kirby’s passing, including the first part of a revealing personal recollection by Mark Evanier.

• Dr. Mark Miller starts an industry petition to persuade Marvel Comics to credit Kirby on his creations. His behind-the-scenes discussions with Marvel’s Terry Stewart would play a role in Marvel granting a pension to Jack’s wife Roz in September 1995, which lasted until her death on December 22, 1997.

• June 18: Sotheby’s Auction House auctions Kirby cover recreations produced prior to his death.

• July: A 9-page excerpt from Kirby’s unfinished novel The Horde is published in Galaxy Magazine #4. To date, two others excerpts have been published: in David Copperfield’s anthology Tales of the Impossible (1995), and the anthology book Front Lines (2008) (all shown below).

• Summer: Chrissie Harper publishes Jack Kirby Quarterly #1 in the United Kingdom.

• September: John Morrow publishes The Jack Kirby Collector #1. ★

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It’s not easy...

...being green!

Incidental Iconography An ongoing analysis of Kirby’s visual shorthand, and how he inadvertently used it to develop his characters,

by Sean Kleefeld

ne of the many reasons why Jack’s run on the Fantastic Four is considered by some to be his best work, is the ongoing inventiveness he put on display every month for nearly a decade. New characters and ideas were thrown out on a regular basis and, considering how much was put into each issue, it’s a wonder Jack was able to keep track of any of it! It’s in that light that I want to bring up Triton of the Inhumans.

Triton was, from the start, something of an outcast of the group, needing his body to be almost constantly submersed in water in order to survive. As he was also able to breathe underwater, he was often used as a scout, using local waterways to access areas others could not. So he was frequently at a physical distance from the rest of the Inhuman Royal Family—almost as much as Crystal was. This separation seems to have spurred an interesting series of design changes by Jack that he didn’t apply to the other Inhumans.

Interestingly, Jack devised a solution to Triton’s hydration problem before the character even debuted!

When readers first see Triton in Fantastic Four #45 (top), he is shrouded in what looks like a large cloak. We do see a glimpse of his scaley arm, though, so I think it’s clear that Jack did not design this outfit without knowing what the character looked like underneath. In a fight in the very next issue, in fact, Triton’s “sealed moisture bag” gets torn up, revealing him to be a merman of sorts as he

dives into the harbor.

Once the Seeker captures him, we’re able to see some more details, notably his seaweed-like eyebrows and fins on his arms.

(Although the cover of the issue does somewhat spoil the surprise of his appearance.)

The following issue provides an even closer look on the opening splash where we see his webbed fingers. This seems to be the design Jack intended from the outset, despite not providing a clear image of it until FF #47.

When we see Triton again in FF #54 (left), Maximus has created a circulation system to provide water to Triton’s body without the cumbersome moisture bag. The system consists of cuffs on Triton’s ankles and wrists with a hose system running up his arms and shoulders. Strangely, there’s no comparable hose running down his legs, nor is his new belt, which looks to be a small water pump, connected to anything.

But more tellingly, as far as Jack’s design sensibility goes, Triton seems to have lost his dorsal and arm fins. Further, his webbed feet are now drawn as scale-covered boots, complete with a distinct heel and sole. This is a Triton now more streamlined for a superhero story, one that does not have to be encumbered with awkward running poses or potentially tricky perspective down his back. I doubt Jack had those specific issues in mind when he was drawing those pages, but I think it falls more naturally within his oeuvre when those concerns don’t need to be brought up. As I repeatedly try to point out in this column, Jack’s sense of iconography in his

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character designs is more incidental than deliberate in many cases.

But Jack wasn’t done with Triton yet!

The final change occurs within Fantastic Four Annual #5. Throughout the main story, Triton is shown the same as he had been appearing in the regular FF book earlier that year, but also on occasion possessing full boots with the tops rolled over. Jack seems to waffle back and forth here, as Triton is a fairly incidental character to this story and doesn’t appear much.

However, the Triton pin-up (left) towards the back of the issue not only makes use of those boots, but also changes the wrist cuffs into full gloves.

It’s clearly not just a coloring error, either, as the foreshortened glove in the foreground even displays seams.

Although I’m sure not a rationale for the change, it does cover up that Jack had been increasingly remiss in drawing Triton’s fingers as webbed.

From that pinup onward, that was how Jack drew Trion. In his remaining issues of Fantastic Four, his backup stories in Thor (below), his Inhumans tales in Amazing Adventures…

Triton’s look was further cemented with repeated appearances in Sub-Mariner, in issues drawn by John Buscema or Marie Severin, and later in The Avengers drawn by Neal Adams. But even though Jack had left Marvel by that point, his final design for Triton stuck with the character for many years. In fact, he didn’t seem to receive any appreciable changes until the 1998 Inhumans series drawn by Jae

(above) Jack’s pencils for page 2 of Fantastic Four #47, featuring everyone’s favorite fish-man.

This was sent with a letter to a fan in the 1960s by Denny O’Neil (during Denny’s tenure at Marvel).

Lee almost three decades after Jack left Marvel. It’s interesting that, while Jack spent a great deal of time toying with the character design for Triton, other Marvel artists largely took Jack’s latest version as the final one. It wasn’t a design that Jack had necessarily made iconic, but rather more like an in-process design that became iconic because others reiterated whatever Jack was doing when he last touched the character.

We see here again that Jack’s design work was frequently done on the fly, making adjustments and changes as befit his personal sensibility. It was a constant evolution from Jack’s perspective, and it only became standardized when he simply left off for something else, and let others use his most recent work as that incidental standard. ★ 83

Cut ’n’ Paste

FF #110: The Lost Collage

by Richard Kolkman

he (almost) complete list of Jack Kirby’s published collage art in TJKC #59 is of great help when exploring his innovative cut-andpaste visions (only the cover of Fantastic Four #33—vs. SubMariner—was overlooked). Which prompts the question: is there one more undocumented Kirby collage lurking in the Marvel universe?

Take a careful look at Fantastic Four #110; is that an unused Kirby collage on the (un-numbered) page four? It’s known that a pile of “orphan” pages of unused art by Marvel artists was kept in the production department of the “House of Ideas.” It’s possible an unused Kirby collage page intended for Fantastic Four #76 sneaked its way into this post-Kirby FF comic book. (Note: the FF #110 collage page could also have been intended for FF #75, page 12.) While the Fourth World was powering up and lifting off at National (DC), perhaps the half-story (intended for FF #102) remaindered for FF #108 wasn’t the final original Kirby art to be published in Fantastic Four’s first era.

Who created the collage in FF #110 [shown at left] ? Stan Lee? John Romita? John Verpoorten?

Joe Sinnott is on record as disliking the collage pages, and John Buscema (to my knowledge) never created a collage page for comics. So it is likely FF #110 features an unused Kirby collage. It even looks like Kirby’s style of collage art.

The large, symbolic (carbon molecule) structures and rocky planetoid surfaces match the art in FF #76. When Reed (and his dialogue) are replaced with the Silver Surfer’s dialogue from FF #76 [page 6, shown on next page] and a tiny (speculative) Kirby Surfer figure is photoshopped in, an interesting page appears [as shown in the large graphic on next page].

Visually, a tiny Surfer in a limitless space (collage) page portrays freedom. That would have worked better than the claustrophobic, cluttered page that was published in FF #76. This was at a point where Kirby was discontented at Marvel and was losing control of his creation—the Silver Surfer. Suppose Stan Lee disliked the portrayal of a small Surfer on the intended collage page in FF #76—especially since the heralded roll-out was underway for Silver Surfer #1 (Aug. 1968). Maybe Stan asked for a re-draw of page six— requesting a large Surfer. Compare the full-page figure of the awkward, akimbo Silver Surfer in FF #76 (right) to the elegant portrait of the Surfer in FF #72 (page 6, above). It’s “goofy” (FF #76) vs. “graceful” (FF #72). The clumsy and claustrophobic Surfer as published in FF #76 is practically saying, “I’m here—but I’m not graceful.” Here, Kirby is definitely filling the page with Surfer (and space clutter) from corner to corner! The Surfer’s pose recalls “Silver Burper” from Not Brand Echh.

Kirby’s anger was growing, resulting in disinterested Kirby—and disinterested Kirby always shows. Fantastic Four #76 falls squarely in the four-issue “Microverse” story arc that was incisively detailed by Glen Gold in TJKC #61 (“Where Kirby Stopped”). If it is an unused Kirby art page in FF #110—was Jack paid for it? And finally; it’s odd that no readers’ letters about FF #110 were ever printed on the

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(next page, top right) Kirby’s depiction of the Microverse is a dead ringer for the collage in FF #110 (below).

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FF letter pages. FF #113 is still printing letters about FF #107’s “masterpiece”—and by the letters page in FF #116, Marvel was soliciting plot ideas from readers!

Yes—Jack Kirby was persona non grata from Marvel’s past, and he was sorely missed. Perfect Film & Chemical Corporation may have known their film and chemicals, but they let “the Great One” slip from their imperfect grasp. ★ WORKS CITED • Fantastic Four #72 (March 1968); “Where Soars The Silver Surfer” page 6 (Marvel) • Fantastic Four #76 (July 1968); “Stranded In Sub-Atomica” page 6 (Marvel) • Fantastic Four #110 (May 1971); “One From Four Leaves Three” page 4 (Marvel) • The Jack Kirby Collector #59 (Summer 2012); “The King of Collage” (TwoMorrows) • The Jack Kirby Collector #61 (Summer 2013); “Where Kirby Stopped” (TwoMorrows)

[Richard Kolkman lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is the caretaker of The Jack Kirby Checklist, and is the purveyor of comics research and production at: www.seriocomics.com] 85

Adam McGovern Know of some Kirby-inspired work that should be covered here? Send to: Adam McGovern PO Box 257 Mt. Tabor, NJ 07878

As A Genre A regular feature examining Kirby-inspired work, by Adam McGovern

Victory Orbit (right) Benjamin Marra’s monumental offering to the New Gods in this theoretical cover image. (below) Fiffe’s design is killing it in this MODOK sketch. (next page, top) A bit of Jack’s own 1980s Captain Victory magic. (next page, bottom) Second-generation Kirbytech and female fury from Fiffe’s self-published phenomenon Copra.

Jack Kirby may have been the most conceptual of comic artists—his system of squiggling, krackling texture and tangles of monolithic tech being a kind of hieroglyphic of the epic struggle to exist, no matter what surface or character they took shape as. And Joe Casey may be comics’ most visual writer—his radical rephrasings and visionary ideas being like the coordinates of worlds that spring full-blown into your imagination like gods being summoned or Matrixes falling away.

It’s a fine event horizon to meet at, and Kirby and Casey have come close many times, most famously in the cosmic gospel of Gødland, the co-creation of Casey and artist Tom Scioli, in which both Kirby’s dynamic way of seeing and his monumental method of looking at the world (and what’s beyond it) were taken forward by two creators continuing the transcendent journey Kirby projected himself on.

More recently Casey has been rewriting the fundamental formula and revisiting the genetic code of several of the storytelling forms most basic to modern comics—from the macrocosm of The Bounce’s multiple realities to the vividly felt close focus of SEX’s dystopian soap-opera of fallen former superheroes (each book a fitting successor to the way Watchmen messed with the conventions of the form while finding new stories to tell), and the visceral, mythic parables of power, citizenship and our place in the world (and, again, beyond it) in the trilogy of series that make up Catalyst Comix.

Casey’s firstever direct collision with a Kirby creation is happening this year, as the hyperimaginative Captain Victory falls into his hands. Part of the Kirbyverse properties currently docked at Dynamite Entertainment, this adventure of a galactic police force will enlist an honor role of some of comics’ most individualistic voices to tell it—including the endlessly versatile pop-history style-channeler Jim Rugg, neounderground martial-art maestro Ulises

Farinas, auteur scribble-saboteur Connor Willumsen, fantasy-vérité genius Farel Dalrymple, sketchand-burn visionary Jim Mahfood, and art-grindhouse sensation Nathan Fox, as well as the surreal prophet Michel Fiffe (whose biologic tech does for the organic what Kirby did for the hard-edged), and the pulp superstar of indie sci-fi and action, Benjamin Marra.

The series should hit around the time you’re reading this (July 2014), and while the new book’s universe was still being built at the time we went to press, even with no art yet materialized we thought Casey, Marra and Fiffe could paint a mental picture that will have you warp-driving to the comic shop. THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR spoke with them by e-mail from March 11-13, 2014.

THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR: It may be easier to be “Kirbyesque” when you’re working on series Kirby himself didn’t do—a book like Gødland extends him whereas picking up where he left off on one of his own books could repeat him. Is it a matter of instead tapping the same things he was (certain speculative physics and primal sagas) and carrying those forward in different directions?

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JOE CASEY: Well, we’re not simply doing “issue #14” and just picking up where he left off. Not at all. We’re not “reimagining” the concept or the material, either. Basically, we’re telling a brand-new story and we’re utilizing the concepts that Kirby laid down in his 13 (plus 1 special) issues.

The creative kinship—I hope—is the scope and the scale of the story we’re telling. The thing about Kirby’s best work is that it dealt with big ideas while still tapping into the deeper emotions of the human condition. It sets a pretty high bar. And, obviously, it takes a pretty big team of us to try and even get close.

TJKC: Captain Victory seems one of the comics closest to Kirby’s id—a kind of classic space-force setup to let his language and ideas run wild, almost Oz-like in its strange menagerie of species and shapes for its characters, and like Rube Goldberg or Little Nemo in its hallucinatory tech.

Did that field of possibility have a particular attraction for you among Kirbyverse concepts?

CASEY: In terms of something I’d actually write, I’d never had to consider other “pure Kirby” concepts, since I’d never really been offered them before, at Marvel or DC or anywhere else. Having said that, there are definitely aspects of the Captain Victory concept that are interesting to me as a writer (aside from my simple love of the comics from when I was a kid). In my case, I’m not trying to “cover” his material or his style. But there’s a vibe there that I’m trying to tap into...a theatricality to the material that we’re attempting in our own way. Big stakes. Big emotions. At the same time, it’s really a hardcore sci-fi comicbook. Just crafting a series in that vein has been fun and challenging.

TJKC: A lot of Kirby’s linguistics—that kind of self-aware scripture and scientific speaking-in-tongues—appear in your own work; Catalyst Comix in particular seems a laboratory for the role text can play in a kinetic and emotional way in a visual medium. Artists have a clear roadmap for how to continue on from Kirby, but his writing is too often de-emphasized; for a scripter, it must be a primary concern. What is your relationship to Kirby the writer, and how do you see that writing’s role in the visual spectacle?

word choice. It all works together and creates a certain tone.

[At this point the two artists patched into the subspace conversation:] TJKC: It sounds like the selection of artists will as much depart from Kirby’s look as re-create it, as he probably would have preferred; what can we expect for how the lessons of Kirby will be relearned in this book?

CASEY: Personally, I love Kirby’s writing, probably for a lot of the same reasons that some critics have taken shots at it over the years. And I like it more as I get older (and hopefully wiser). He had as singular a voice in his writing as he did in his artwork. No mean feat, that. It’s a grand, almost ecstatic style of writing. So I didn’t want to emulate it, but come up with my own brand of “ecstatic” writing.

And that kind of writing does play a part in the “look” of the series.

Bombastic, over-the-top dialogue has a certain appearance on the page... it’s very pop art in its own way. Burst balloons. Heavily bolded words. Lots of exclamation points. Specific

CASEY: Honestly, I have no idea. On my better days, I’d like to think that the true Kirby ethos is for creators to do their own thing in their own style.

That’s what we’re doing. That could be the greatest lesson of them all.

MICHEL FIFFE: Kirby is a language we all interpret differently. We all channel Kirby in our own way, his influence being more deep-rooted than surface-level to most of the artists in the line-up. But y’know, it’s less about drawing a pack of sausages for a fist and more about the attitude and confidence in drawing your ass off.

BENJAMIN MARRA: As comic book artists, Kirby is father to us all. The lessons Kirby taught me as an artist which I hope to emulate in my Captain Victory story are threefold. First, to honor Kirby’s effective and efficient storytelling using the six-panel grid. Second: within each panel to create the illusion of depth into another world as Kirby did. Third: attempt to re-create a similar reading experience [to what] Kirby’s bold visual imagination portraying radical narrative concepts succeeded in delivering. The lessons of Kirby are alive in every printed page of his which still exists, which are everywhere and easily accessed. However, I don’t see much of Kirby’s teachings in the majority of most mainstream books. Most of what I see is art inspired by artists who were in turn inspired by Kirby. There is a trickledown effect of influence [from] Kirby over the decades of comic book art which has watered down his teachings. With my work, I hope to mainline lessons we can relearn from Kirby and his comic book-art philosophies.

TJKC: What are the possibilities pointed to or passed by in the original 87

unconscious choices that only become clear after the work is done, which, put together, will make my work look very different.

Captain Victory that you want to fill in or build out? How does the Kirby look or the particular design palette of Captain Victory play to your strengths or play against your comfortzone in ways that will energize the series?

CASEY: Like I said, I didn’t want us doing a cover band version of Kirby’s material. His design sense is part of his style, it’s part of who he is. If anything, I went out and recruited artists who had their own styles to bring to the party. Most of them definitely have a deep respect and appreciation for Kirby, especially from that particular period. At the same time, the spirit of Kirby is all about pushing the envelope as far as possible, given the parameters of the material and, I suppose, the physical limitations of the package. I’m always interested in trying out new storytelling techniques, trying new approaches to familiar tropes, and trying to mine new depths of emotions in the characters themselves. With this concept in particular, there are a few characters that were, at best, only roughly sketched out in the original series. Especially in terms of their personalities. Normally, I’m a much more naturalistic writer than Kirby was. But, with this, I’m pushing myself to some new histrionics, a higher level of dramatic interaction... not only between the characters, but between the elements of the story events themselves.

FIFFE: The wisest approach is to make it personal, make it unique to you. That in itself is a comfort zone. And that’s what will set this series apart from any other Kirby homage.

TJKC: The “choral” relationship of the art styles on the three separate subMARRA: [Thematically,] series of Catalyst Comix makes it feel like one great mural of storytelling I believe Joe Casey is even considering how individualistic the different artists are; in what ways better suited to answer will the even bigger gallery of art styles interact on the single narrative of this question. His hand Captain Victory (if it is a single narrative)? is on the till of the ship and I go where he directs me. It’s his vision of and ideas for the series CASEY: The main difference is that Catalyst Comix was an anthology which will inform most of what I draw, [if] it expand[s] on Kirby’s original series and this is simply a team of creators pitching in to tell one, big, Captain Victory concepts. As far as filling in or building out the overall aessprawling story. Some of them are coming in to draw specific “chapters” thetic of the series, I don’t anticipate going beyond the ideas already of the story, others are really contributing significantly to the main plotline. established by Kirby’s distinct visual language, which can be seen in all his And, let’s be honest, there’s a “jam comic” vibe to this project that you work, not just Captain Victory. That’s not to say I plan to totally emulate don’t see a lot of anymore, at least in the mainstream. That makes it fun, Kirby’s style of drawing but I’m comfortable in the Silver- and Bronze-Age too. Like I said, it takes a village to even get close to the amount of imagiaesthetics. I plan to employ the same approach Kirby had to gesture, the nation that Kirby alone displayed so effortlessly. We’re busting our balls to way he depicted gravity on forms, movement, the way he approached renmake a good comicbook, something he might’ve been proud of. That’s the dering volume in space, the clarity of human form in that space, the way hope, anyway… ★ he illustrated technology, his visual indicators for power and energy, etc., without copying his methods. I’d rather capture the “feel” of Kirby’s work. The way my work will differ visually is equal parts intentional and unintentional. Employing large shadow effects is what I would consider one of my strengths in my comic book art. I will probably try to render big shadows with feathery edges the way Wally Wood did (I believe Kirby was inspired by Wood’s shadows and space-ship technology when he drew his 2001: A Space Odyssey movie adaptation Treasury Edition), or the way Joe Sinnott inked Jim Steranko (which I believe to be the natural evolution of Kirby’s ideas in comic book art), than Kirby’s abstract, (top) Cosmic prophecy: Captain Victory gets cleared for relaunch! And lest we forget, above is a reminder of Kirby’s quantum wonderment from organic [areas] of shadow. his original Captain Victory series.

There will always be the 88

Unearthed

The Lone Survivor

by Glen Gold

(below) Glen Gold’s stunning acquisition; the last remaining Kirby Galactus pencil splash.

wenty years ago, when the first issues of the Kirby Collector came out, John Morrow printed all the obscure Kirby he could find, and asked if anyone could tell him what it was and where it came from. In issue #3, he printed some great images that turned out to be part of the Marvelmania Portfolio, which was printed up when Kirby left Marvel in 1970. (This is not to be confused with the Gods Portfolio, which will figure in with this story soon enough.) I had never seen these amazing images before, and I was hooked—it was my first glimpse of undiscovered Kirby hiding more or less in plain sight, meaning it was Out There somewhere, just not in the comic books I’d read as a kid.

The Marvelmania Portfolio consisted of a handful of unpublished pencil Thor and FF pages, some of them part of the rejected Thermal Man storyline—you’ve seen these around, if you pay obsessive enough attention— uninked, showing the Warriors Three in Manhattan (see next page). But there were also some other startlingly handsome splash pages: For instance, one of Odin, another of Loki and the Norn Queen. These weren’t rejected by Marvel, it turns out. In 1968, Roz told Jack to never give Marvel another Silver Surfer. Then she started pulling pages out of his finished books and saying “These are too good for Marvel. Kirby, draw something else.” So some of the Marvelmania images were those he’d withheld from publication.

Now, about that Gods Portfolio. If you’ve seen it, it’s four Asgardian warriors, redesigned by Kirby in 1966 or so to have all the colors and costuming of Fourth World characters. The portfolio cover was the inked version of a pencil piece found in the Marvelmania Portfolio. It’s in original art dealer Albert Moy’s gallery. It’s an unpublished Thor page from the storyline where Thor is learning Galactus’ origin.

I’ve been researching Kirby’s 1968-69 work at Marvel recently.

My articles in the Kirby Collector have focused on the weirdness of FF #74-77 and Thor #158-169, two storylines that seem to have had more stops and starts and detours than Beijing traffic. I think Jack turned in stuff that Stan turned down, Jack learned about the Surfer being co-opted, he tried to give Galactus an origin, Stan shut

T

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it down... then apparently Jack recycled some of those FF pages into the later Thor story, but it’s unclear how that exactly worked.

But one thing is pretty clear: he started doing a storyline in the FF that he then tried to do in Thor. And while he was attempting the impossible (coherence in the face of an inhospitable work environment) his wife was yanking pages that were too good for Marvel. That’s a roundabout way of saying that I don’t know if a certain unpublished image in the Marvelmania Portfolio—my favorite—was intended for Thor or for the earlier FF storyline. This is the piece of art I now own.

Here’s all the reasons I love this: I feel like Kirby only drew Galactus in action, the way he meant to, once, in the original FF #48-50 trilogy. The later FF appearance was truncated, and if you read it, Galactus never leaves his ship and never fights the FF or interacts with the Surfer. I suspect Kirby had originally meant to build up tension until the final confrontation, which never ended up happening. When Galactus meets Thor, it’s a weird, anticlimactic thing—Galactus versus Thor in a talkfest that the mid-career Brian Bendis would shake his head at as too much dialogue, and not enough action.

It’s not 100% clear where this would have fit—probably Thor #162, given the battle with Ego that Galactus ultimately takes on. But there would probably be a page before it, at least, to set this up—a page I haven’t seen. Did Jack rework it again and fit it in somewhere else? How far did he get with this more exciting and aggressive fight scene? There are no margin notes. The space for a page number is blank. It’s a mystery.

This splash is 100% action, 100% power, overwhelming in its detail and its passion. Jack was firing on cylinders he didn’t even know he had when he drew this. It’s from his period of peak creativity and he drew it not to show off a pin-up, but to forward the action, be part of continuity, keep the pots boiling. He drew a total of eight splashes featuring Galactus, including this one. Had Roz not pulled it, and had Stan not gotten in the way, this might have eventually been inked by Sinnott, Klein (possibly ghosted by Everett), or Colletta. That’s a mighty coin flip, and I’m glad no one ended up inking it, as it’s now the only surviving Kirby Galactus pencil splash known to exist.

I’m glad I ran into this piece as an adult and could evaluate it without the childhood goggles on. I’ve been lucky in my collecting career to find stuff that’s—to me—beautiful, historically interesting, little known and inspiring. Some of the art I own might be more expensive than this, but none is more valuable. Thanks for looking at it. ★

Above is the last page of Stan Lee’s Fantastic Four #76 lettering script; the note at bottom says to send a copy to both letterer Artie Simek and Jack Kirby. But Marvel always waited and sent Jack copies of fully lettered stats (sometimes fully inked too) to remind him of each issue’s previous continuity. So why did Stan rush to have Jack sent a copy of the lettering script right away, along with his designation of where balloons went, instead of waiting till it was lettered? There’s not another example of a lettering script in Jack’s files that we’re aware of.

The next issue of FF would’ve appeared the same time as Silver Surfer #1—the book that so disheartened Jack, since it co-opted his creation. And Stan was already working on that Surfer solo book at the time he was sending this reference to Jack.

Was #76 late due to changes Marvel insisted Jack make, to keep from circumventing the storyline he planned with John Buscema in Silver Surfer #1? And could Glen Gold’s Galactus splash have originally been part of Fantastic Four #76?

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Send a letter, typed in the font (Marvel) Univers Extra Bold.

(You can’t get by without a little help from your friends, to paraphrase the Beatles, and that’s sure true about this magazine! Since I have to fit in my work as TJKC editor/planner/designer around all the other books and magazines I publish, I often end up doing this mag at the last minute, in a 3-4 week frenzy of non-stop Kirby Krackle. As such, I tend to drop some pretty short-notice requests on kindred Kirbyites, for artwork, articles, even caption help on our galleries. If I didn’t have buds like Rand Hoppe, Tom Kraft, Shane Foley, Jerry Boyd, Jean Depelley, and Jon B. Cooke, you might be staring at 96 blank pages right now. Thanks, guys!)

I noticed on page 6 of TJKC #62, the following: “Plans are made to include Kirby’s unpublished SANDMAN #7 story in KAMANDI #60, but that title gets cancelled in the “DC Implosion,” and SANDMAN #7 is finally published in THE BEST OF DC #22 (1982).” I archived the entire issue of SANDMAN #7 for the Jack Kirby Museum several years ago and took a look.

Though KAMANDI was cancelled after issue #59, the original art to SANDMAN #7 indicates that it was planned not for issue #60, but #61.

Tom Kraft, Arlington, MA In the “X-Files” (Jack’s art production list at DC Comics) in TJKC #62, SANDMAN #1 (Winter issue, 1974) is incorrectly listed as being drawn in March 1974. In the “Behind the Scenes at DC Comic World” page in August 1973 issues of DC Comics, Sandman art is reproduced with an announcement of the UPCOMING special. August 1973 issues, such as KAMANDI #8 were published in May 1973. This probably means that SANDMAN #1 was drawn no later that March 1973. (I would place SANDMAN #1, job #SK-1/2 between X-411 and X-412 in “The X-Files”). I remember purchasing SANDMAN #1 off the newsstand on the same day I bought KAMANDI #15 and MISTER MIRACLE #18. These contemporaneous March 1974 issues were published in December 1973. All of the ads in SANDMAN #1 match the other March 1974 DC issues.

Richard Kolkman, Fort Wayne, IN After reading TJKC #62, I started re-reading the Fourth World Saga, and I have to say that all the background information from all the JACK KIRBY COLLECTORs falls into place. It is really a different read, knowing about (in no particular order): the differences between the original art and the published art with the paste-up faces, the big concepts of Kirby which were withheld in the final years at Marvel, the differences in the Stan Lee editing at Marvel and the lack of editing at DC, the poor inking by Vince Colletta and

the big improvement after Mike Royer took over, the knowledge that the first 3 issues of the Fourth World saga were already drawn before the actual publishing started of JIMMY OLSEN, the insight that Colletta showed the original DC art in the Marvel office before publication, the arguable sales figures and the subsequent cancellation of the series, the re-re editing of the HUNGER DOGS issue, the fact that some characters were based on people in the surroundings of Kirby, that the comeback of the Newsboy Legion was pleaded

by Joe Kubert, etc. Yes, with all your background information, you’ve added a few extra levels and made reading the Fourth World Saga a “Total Kirby Experience.” Thanks a lot!

Ruud Lambert, NETHERLANDS (And now to the inevitable comments on Stan Lee from #61 and #58’s “The Wonder Years”:) I enjoyed the article “That is Strong Talk ...

Whoever You Are” by Mike Breen in #61, and found it convincing. Some extra reasons it really rang true for me: In JIMMY OLSEN #133, p. 13, Superman uses his heat vision in a way I don’t think he ever did before or since (as far as I know): to detect, rather than emit, heat. This is very like the improvising with Namor’s powers in FF #6.

In JIMMY OLSEN #134, p. 8, as soon as the Outsiders enter the Zoomway, one of them yells, “GO! GO! GO!” In “Even Gods Must Die,” p. 9, an Apokolips kid says to Orion, “That ‘Grabber’ didn’t mess you up, did he, soldier?”

Mike Cagle, Bloomington, INDIANA I thoroughly enjoyed Mark Alexander’s “The Wonder Years,” and am glad that he was able to see it’s completion as his legacy before passing.

Despite this, I find myself in profound disagreement with Mr. Alexander’s views most of the time. Perhaps this speaks to the greatness in Jack Kirby’s work, that even reading a perspective of it in sharp dichotomy to one’s own still brings pleasure.

His argument concerning the Stan Lee synopses for FANTASTIC FOUR #1 and #8, for example, are not the iron clad “gotchas” that he or even Roy Thomas imagine they are. Oddly, Alexander more than once in this work exhibits evidence that disproves his assertions. He admits that Stan might have discussed the books prior to writing the outlines. He even admits that Stan admitted it. Then, although these possibilities make all the difference in the world with regard to any and all Stan synopses, he immediately dismisses the issue.

We know that Stan in later years had someone else take notes and draft an outline after the fact. Historically Jack insisted he never worked from an outline, that “we never worked that 91

way.” While Alexander characterizes Kirby’s “outright lie” response to the FF synopses as Kirby saying they are fakes, I don’t believe that’s what he’s saying at all. I doubt very few people are inclined to believe the synopses are forgeries, merely that they didn’t hold any significance in how Jack worked. We know he never worked from one in the later years. We know that Jack had a history of disregarding scripts before he even formed a partnership with Stan. What conclusion would Sherlock Holmes adopt as the most reasonable? Doesn’t even Alexander quote Stan as saying there was no need for a script with Kirby, that “all that was necessary was to discuss the basic plot with him and turn him loose and wait until he brought me the penciled drawings”? C’mon, people! You want the obvious, you’ll get the obvious.

As for the notion that FF #8 synopsis proves Jack tended to follow Stan’s direction verbatim, once again it requires the assumption that the contents of the synopsis was written by Stan alone and not a document of a cumulative plot devised eyeball to eyeball by Stan and Jack together. Mark errs greatly when he states that “Kirby follows Lee’s direction as written, right down to the number of pages.” Roy Thomas made the same error when he analyzed the document stating “Stan Lee laid out more than half the story for Jack Kirby in 3 to 5 page segments.” Both Mark and Roy show sloppy detective work in their willingness to take these synopses at face value. In a yet unpublished piece I’ve been working on which I call “The Kirby Code” I demonstrate how Stan and Jack adopted a chapter layout for their books that was independent of any particular story. Was it Stan’s idea, Jack’s or both? There is no way to tell, though Jack did demonstrate a fondness for and return to chapters in his later solo efforts at DC. In the early days of the FANTASTIC FOUR, a chapter breakdown in pages (the same one used on “Prisoners of the Puppet Master”) of 5-5-3-55 was used beginning in FANTASTIC FOUR #3.

There were other chapter breakdowns used on FF and other books, but the 5-5-3-5-5 seemed to have been the most consistently used and the one most likely agreed upon as a template.

Fluctuations in that division appear to have been affected by the overall page count for the book and probably Jack’s tendency toward distraction and deviation from course. What does this prove exactly? It proves that drawing conclusions about Stan and Jack or Stan versus Jack’s contributions based on the existing synopses is a colossal error.

Finally, I take great exception to Mr. Alexander’s labeling of “Lee-Bashing Kirby-centric Zealots and Anti-Stan Legions with a warped view of reality.” I have no doubt that Mr. Alexander would characterize myself as one of them, and that would be a gross misrepresentation. No one appreciates better than I do the considerable talents of Mr. Lee. What he contributed to Marvel in his time was immense, both

to the contents of the books and public perception of the product. His fingerprints are all over the Marvel creations. That Stan added the “silver” to the Silver Surfer, as Roy Thomas always likes to trumpet—well, of course he did. Just as the “fantastic” in Fantastic Four, is a recognizable Lee flourish in his love for alliteration. But my admiration for Stan doesn’t extend far enough to rob Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko of the EQUAL credit and monetary rewards that should have been their due. And no, I can’t “forgive him for failing to understand either the nature or the depth of Jack Kirby’s discontent.”

Adrian Day, Nashville, TN I thought that the article by Mike Breen on Jack possibly writing dialogue on FF #5 was interesting and thought provoking. Reading the dialogue now I can imagine a sergeant in the army shouting “The word is go! Go!! Go!!!” as he urged his troops into battle. Were sick children where Jack grew up known as shut-ins? Were soldiers in the hospital known by that term? Were any other comics published that month which potentially had writers other than Stan?

If it was Jack providing the words, then the fascinating thing is the difference between this and his later work over at DC and then back at Marvel.

The language is far more functional and naturalistic in FF #5 than his later work, but so was Stan’s compared to what he did when Marvel became a massive success, and he could indulge himself in the multi-part stories with fewer panels per page.

Just as Jack’s art evolved and became far more powerful during the 1960s, so also did Stan’s writing evolve as he became more confident that reader’s liked it.

Kevin Ainsworth, London, ENGLAND I can’t tell you how sick of—and sickened by—I am of the continuing “Stan did nothing and Jack did everything.” Did Jack do more than half the work on most of the stories he did with Stan? Yeah, sure, certainly. But did he do any by himself? No, outside of a couple in 1970 just before he left— where he got full billing, by the way.

Jack could not have built Marvel into what it became alone. Maybe Stan couldn’t have without Jack, but he had a better chance than Jack by himself. This was a case of the sum being greater than its parts, period. It’s sad and frustrating to see that many of the articles in TJKC don’t reflect this.

Also, it seems to me, based on numerous articles that I’ve read in your magazine, that Martin Goodman was more the cause of Jack’s problems at Marvel than Stan ever was. Yet Stan continues to get the lion’s share of the blame for Jack’s dissatisfaction.

Jeff Deischer, Aurora, CO I find it hard to consider setting the record straight regarding correct co-credits as “bashing” Here’s a tentative list of upcoming themes, but we treat these themes very loosely, and anything you write may fit somewhere. So get writing, and send us copies of your art! GOT A THEME IDEA? PLEASE WRITE US! #65: “ANYTHING GOES AGAIN!” Another potpourri issue, with anything and everything from Jack’s 50-year career, including a head-to-head comparison of the genius of Kirby and Alex Toth!

anyone. If parties had consistently told the truth, from the start, there would be no need for clarifications and corrections at this late date.

In examining public statements, are they consistent? Do they make sense? Are there any contradictions or discrepancies?

Considering the working method, where the artists supplied story ideas and, in effect, did a portion of the writer’s job, in plotting and pacing, how they can be seen as anything less than vital equals in the collaboration is beyond me.

Who tossed out a name first is meaningless in that both men worked on defining and developing the various cast members. If any one man is claiming it all, solo, they exceed the boundaries of the working method, as it was, and create an injustice to their partner at the time.

Are inconsistent retellings and solo assertions simply a spotty memory, or something far worse?

Joe Frank, Scottsdale, AZ On your reply in the #61 letters column to Dr. Frank Burbrink, did you intend to say: “But I do try to only present Stan in a negative light...”? Is the word “don’t” supposed to be in there? “Not” is the most dreaded omission of all editors...

Jon B. Cooke, Providence, RI (Seriously, of all the boneheaded typos in this world, I had to go and make THAT one? With some fans accusing this mag of having an anti-Stan bias, that probably added fuel to the fire, and was 100% unintentional—just the result of doing this letter column very last in the production process, when I’m rushing to complete the issue.

As you can see from the comments above, some people feel we’re too generous to Stan, and others think we don’t give him enough credit—which I guess means I’m hitting a good balance in presenting OTHER people’s opinions. But I guess it’s time to finally go on record on where this publication stands. So be here for our special “Kirby & Lee: ’Stuff Said!” issue coming up in #66, where I attempt to go in with no preconceived notions, and try as objectively as I can to examine as many of Stan and Jack’s comments as possible, in chronological order, and put them in the context of where they were in their lives and careers at the time they said them. I’ll also examine margin notes, scripts, letter columns, Bullpen Bulletins, legal documents—all in the hope that we’ll get a clearer understanding of how their relationship worked— and didn’t work—and better insight into how much “creating” each guy was doing at different stages of Marvel’s output. There are a lot more revealing details out there than just Stan’s CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN interview, and Jack’s angry one in COMICS JOURNAL #134, and Shane Foley’s already at work helping me wade through years of data.

Joe Frank’s questions above are EXACTLY what I hope to find answers to in #66. Look for it next summer—more details are below.) #66: KIRBY & LEE: ’STUFF SAID! Like #50 (Kirby Five-Oh!) and #58 (The Wonder Years), issue #66 will be a double-length Trade Paperback, with the most objective look ever at the Lee & Kirby phenomenon. The centerpoint is a chronological examination of both men’s comments about their role in the creation of the Marvel Universe, a look at where credit was (and wasn’t) due, margin notes, and more, all in an attempt to get a clearer picture of how their relationship evolved.

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#63 Credits: John Morrow, Editor/Designer/Proofreader Rand Hoppe, Webmaster, Kirby Museum-er Tom Kraft, What If Kirby-er Tom Ziuko, Colorist Supreme SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OUR CONTRIBUTORS: Mark Alexander • Norris Burroughs John Butler • Jean Depelley • Shel Dorf Mark Evanier • Shane Foley • Barry Forshaw Mike Gartland • Glen Gold • Stan Goldberg David Hamilton • Rand Hoppe Sean Howe • Tracy Kirby • Sean Kleefeld Richard Kolkman • Tom Kraft • Alan Light Honey Manko • Adam McGovern Harry Mendryk • Eric Nolen-Weathington Philippe Queveau • Steve Saffel Randy Sargent • Joe Sinnott • Roy Thomas Pete Von Sholly • Ray Wyman • Tom Ziuko and of course The Kirby Estate, the Jack Kirby Museum (www.kirbymuseum.org), and whatifkirby.com If we’ve forgotten anyone, please let us know!

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THOR ISSUE! Never-seen KIRBY interview, JOE SINNOTT and JOHN ROMITA JR. on their Thor work, MARK EVANIER, extensive THOR and TALES OF ASGARD coverage, a look at the “real” Norse gods, 40 pages of KIRBY THOR PENCILS, including a Kirby Art Gallery at TABLOID SIZE, with pin-ups, covers, and more! KIRBY covers inked by MIKE ROYER and TREVOR VON EEDEN!

“HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE KIRBY WAY!” MIKE ROYER interview on how he inks Jack’s work, HUGE GALLERY tracing the evolution of Jack’s style, new column on OBSCURE KIRBY WORK, MARK EVANIER, special sections on Jack’s TECHNIQUE AND INFLUENCES, comparing STAN LEE’s writing to JACK’s, and more! Two COLOR UNPUBLISHED KIRBY COVERS!

“HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE KIRBY WAY!” PART 2: JOE SINNOTT on how he inks Jack’s work, HUGE PENCIL GALLERY, list of the art in the KIRBY ARCHIVES, MARK EVANIER, special sections on Jack’s technique and influences, SPEND A DAY WITH KIRBY (with JACK DAVIS, GULACY, HERNANDEZ BROS., and RUDE) and more!

Two UNPUBLISHED KIRBY COVERS!

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

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(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

KIRBY COLLECTOR #39

KIRBY COLLECTOR #40

KIRBY COLLECTOR #41

KIRBY COLLECTOR #42

KIRBY COLLECTOR #43

FAN FAVORITES! Covering Kirby’s work on HULK, INHUMANS, and SILVER SURFER, TOP PROS pick favorite Kirby covers, Kirby ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT interview, MARK EVANIER, 2002 Kirby Tribute Panel (DICK AYERS, TODD McFARLANE, PAUL LEVITZ, HERB TRIMPE), pencil art gallery, and more! Kirby covers inked by MIKE ALLRED and P. CRAIG RUSSELL!

WORLD THAT’S COMING! KAMANDI and OMAC spotlight, 2003 Kirby Tribute Panel (WENDY PINI, MICHAEL CHABON, STAN GOLDBERG, SAL BUSCEMA, LARRY LIEBER, and STAN LEE), P. CRAIG RUSSELL interview, MARK EVANIER, NEW COLUMN analyzing Jack’s visual shorthand, pencil art gallery, and more! Kirby covers inked by ERIK LARSEN and REEDMAN!

1970s MARVEL WORK! Coverage of ’70s work from Captain America to Eternals to Machine Man, DICK GIORDANO & MARK SHULTZ interviews, MARK EVANIER, 2004 Kirby Tribute Panel (STEVE RUDE, DAVE GIBBONS, WALTER SIMONSON, and PAUL RYAN), pencil art gallery, unused 1962 HULK #6 KIRBY PENCILS, and more! Kirby covers inked by GIORDANO and SCHULTZ!

1970s DC WORK! Coverage of Jimmy Olsen, FF movie set visit, overview of all Newsboy Legion stories, KEVIN NOWLAN and MURPHY ANDERSON on inking Jack, never-seen interview with Kirby, MARK EVANIER on Kirby’s covers, Bongo Comics’ Kirby ties, complete ’40s gangster story, pencil art gallery, and more! Kirby covers inked by NOWLAN and ANDERSON!

KIRBY AWARD WINNERS! STEVE SHERMAN and others sharing memories and neverseen art from JACK & ROZ, a never-published 1966 interview with KIRBY, MARK EVANIER on VINCE COLLETTA, pencils-toSinnott inks comparison of TALES OF SUSPENSE #93, and more! Covers by KIRBY (Jack’s original ’70s SILVER STAR CONCEPT ART) and KIRBY/SINNOTT!

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

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(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

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KIRBY COLLECTOR #44

KIRBY COLLECTOR #45

KIRBY COLLECTOR #46

KIRBY COLLECTOR #47

KIRBY COLLECTOR #48

KIRBY’S MYTHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS! Coverage of DEMON, THOR, & GALACTUS, interview with KIRBY, MARK EVANIER, pencil art galleries of the Demon and other mythological characters, two never-reprinted BLACK MAGIC stories, interview with Kirby Award winner DAVID SCHWARTZ and F4 screenwriter MIKE FRANCE, and more!

Kirby cover inked by MATT WAGNER!

Jack’s vision of PAST AND FUTURE, with a never-seen KIRBY interview, a new interview with son NEAL KIRBY, MARK EVANIER’S column, two pencil galleries, two complete ’50s stories, Jack’s first script, Kirby Tribute Panel (with EVANIER, KATZ, SHAW!, and SHERMAN), plus an unpublished CAPTAIN 3-D cover, inked by BILL BLACK and converted into 3-D by RAY ZONE!

Focus on NEW GODS, FOREVER PEOPLE, and DARKSEID! Includes a rare interview with KIRBY, MARK EVANIER’s column, FOURTH WORLD pencil art galleries (including Kirby’s redesigns for SUPER POWERS), two 1950s stories, a new Kirby Darkseid front cover inked by MIKE ROYER, a Kirby Forever People back cover inked by JOHN BYRNE, and more!

KIRBY’S SUPER TEAMS, from kid gangs and the Challengers, to Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Super Powers, with unseen 1960s Marvel art, a rare KIRBY interview, MARK EVANIER’s column, two pencil art galleries, complete 1950s story, author JONATHAN LETHEM on his Kirby influence, interview with JOHN ROMITA, JR. on his Eternals work, and more!

KIRBYTECH ISSUE, spotlighting Jack’s hightech concepts, from Iron Man’s armor and Machine Man, to the Negative Zone and beyond! Includes a rare KIRBY interview, MARK EVANIER’s column, two pencil art galleries, complete 1950s story, TOM SCIOLI interview, Kirby Tribute Panel (with ADAMS, PÉREZ, and ROMITA), and covers inked by TERRY AUSTIN and TOM SCIOLI!

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) SOLD OUT (Digital Edition) $3.95

KIRBY COLLECTOR #49

KIRBY COLLECTOR #50

KIRBY COLLECTOR #51

KIRBY COLLECTOR #52

WARRIORS, spotlighting Thor (with a look at hidden messages in BILL EVERETT’s Thor inks), Sgt. Fury, Challengers of the Unknown, Losers, and others! Includes a rare KIRBY interview, interviews with JERRY ORDWAY and GRANT MORRISON, MARK EVANIER’s column, pencil art gallery, a complete 1950s story, wraparound Thor cover inked by JERRY ORDWAY, and more!

KIRBY FIVE-OH! covers the best of Kirby’s 50-year career in comics: BEST KIRBY STORIES, COVERS, CHARACTER DESIGNS, UNUSED ART, and profiles of/commentary by the 50 PEOPLE MOST INFLUENCED BY KIRBY’S WORK! Plus a 50-PAGE PENCIL ART GALLERY and a COLOR SECTION! Kirby cover inked by DARWYN COOKE, and introduction by MARK EVANIER.

Bombastic EVERYTHING GOES issue, with a wealth of great submissions that couldn’t be pigeonholed into a “theme” issue!

Includes a rare KIRBY interview, new interviews with JIM LEE and ADAM HUGHES, MARK EVANIER’s column, huge pencil art galleries, a complete Golden Age Kirby story, two COLOR UNPUBLISHED KIRBY COVERS, and more!

Spotlights Kirby’s most obscure work: an UNUSED THOR STORY, BRUCE LEE comic, animation work, stage play, unaltered pages from KAMANDI, DEMON, DESTROYER DUCK, and more, including a feature examining the last page of his final issue of various series BEFORE EDITORIAL TAMPERING (with lots of surprises)! Color Kirby cover inked by DON HECK!

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(168-page tabloid trade paperback) $19.95 (Digital Edition) $7.95 ISBN: 9781893905894

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

KIRBY COLLECTOR #54

KIRBY COLLECTOR #55

KIRBY COLLECTOR #56

KIRBY COLLECTOR #57

KIRBY COLLECTOR #53

THE MAGIC OF STAN & JACK! New interview with STAN LEE, walking tour of New York where Lee & Kirby lived and worked, re-evaluation of the “Lost” FF #108 story (including a new page that just surfaced), “What If Jack Hadn’t Left Marvel In 1970?,” plus MARK EVANIER’s regular column, a Kirby pencil art gallery, a complete Golden Age Kirby story, and more, behind a color Kirby cover inked by GEORGE PÉREZ! (84-page tabloid magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

KIRBY COLLECTOR #58

STAN & JACK PART TWO! More on the co-creators of the Marvel Universe, final interview (and cover inks) by GEORGE TUSKA, differences between KIRBY and DITKO’S approaches, WILL MURRAY on the origin of the FF, the mystery of Marvel cover dates, MARK EVANIER’s regular column, a Kirby pencil art gallery, a complete Golden Age Kirby story, and more, plus Kirby back cover inked by JOE SINNOTT!

“Kirby Goes To Hollywood!” SERGIO ARAGONÉS and MELL LAZARUS recall Kirby’s BOB NEWHART TV show cameo, comparing the recent STAR WARS films to New Gods, RUBY & SPEARS interviewed, Jack’s encounters with FRANK ZAPPA, PAUL McCARTNEY, and JOHN LENNON, MARK EVANIER’s regular column, a Kirby pencil art gallery, a Golden Age Kirby story, and more! Kirby cover inked by PAUL SMITH!

“Unfinished Sagas”—series, stories, and arcs Kirby never finished. TRUE DIVORCE CASES, RAAM THE MAN MOUNTAIN, KOBRA, DINGBATS, a complete story from SOUL LOVE, complete Boy Explorers story, two Kirby Tribute Panels, MARK EVANIER and other regular columnists, pencil art galleries, and more, with Kirby’s “Galaxy Green” cover inked by ROYER, and the unseen cover for SOUL LOVE #1!

“Legendary Kirby”—how Jack put his spin on classic folklore! TONY ISABELLA on SATAN’S SIX (with Kirby’s unseen layouts), Biblical inspirations of DEVIL DINOSAUR, THOR through the eyes of mythologist JOSEPH CAMPBELL, a complete Golden Age Kirby story, rare Kirby interview, MARK EVANIER and our other regular columnists, pencil art from ETERNALS, DEMON, NEW GODS, THOR, and Jack’s ATLAS cover!

LEE & KIRBY: THE WONDER YEARS! Traces both men’s history at Marvel Comics, and the events and career choices that led them to converge in 1961 to conceive the Fantastic Four. Also documents the evolution of the FF throughout the 1960s, with plenty of Kirby art, plus previously unknown details about Lee and Kirby's working relationship, and their eventual parting of ways in 1970.

(84-page tabloid magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(84-page tabloid magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $3.95

(160-page trade paperback) $19.95 (Digital Edition) $7.95 ISBN: 9781605490380

94

KIRBY COLLECTOR #59

KIRBY COLLECTOR #60

KIRBY COLLECTOR #61

KIRBY COLLECTOR #62

KIRBY COLLECTOR #63

“Kirby Vault!” Rarities from the “King” of comics: Personal correspondence, private photos, collages, rare Marvelmania art, bootleg album covers, sketches, transcript of a 1969 VISIT TO THE KIRBY HOME (where Jack answers the questions YOU’D ask in ‘69), MARK EVANIER, pencil art from the FOURTH WORLD, CAPTAIN AMERICA, MACHINE MAN, SILVER SURFER GRAPHIC NOVEL, and more!

FANTASTIC FOUR FOLLOW-UP to #58’s THE WONDER YEARS! Never-seen FF wraparound cover, interview between FF inkers JOE SINNOTT and DICK AYERS, rare LEE & KIRBY interview, comparison of a Jack and Stan FF story conference to Stan’s final script and Jack’s penciled pages, MARK EVANIER and other columnists, gallery of KIRBY FF ART, pencils from BLACK PANTHER, SILVER SURFER, & more!

JACK KIRBY: WRITER! Examines quirks of Kirby’s wordsmithing, from the FOURTH WORLD to ROMANCE and beyond!

Lengthy Kirby interview, MARK EVANIER and other columnists, LARRY LIEBER’s scripting for Jack at 1960s Marvel Comics, RAY ZONE on 3-D work with Kirby, comparing STEVE GERBER’s Destroyer Duck scripts to Jack’s pencils, Kirby’s best promo blurbs, Kirby pencil art gallery, & more!

KIRBY AT DC! Kirby interview, MARK EVANIER and our other regular columnists, updated “X-Numbers” list of Kirby’s DC assignments (revealing some surprises), JERRY BOYD’s insights on Kirby’s DC work, a look at KEY 1970s EVENTS IN JACK’S LIFE AND CAREER, Challengers vs. the FF, pencil art galleries from FOREVER PEOPLE, OMAC, and THE DEMON, Kirby cover inked by MIKE ROYER, and more!

MARVEL UNIVERSE! Featuring MARK ALEXANDER’s pivotal Lee/Kirby essay “A Universe A’Borning,” MARK EVANIER interviews ROY THOMAS, STAN GOLDBERG and JOE SINNOTT, a look at key late-1970s, ’80s, and ’90s events in Kirby’s life and career, STAN LEE script pages, unseen Kirby pencils and unused art from THOR, NICK FURY AGENT OF SHIELD, and FANTASTIC FOUR, and more!

(104-page magazine with COLOR) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95

(104-page magazine with COLOR) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95

(100-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95

(100-page FULL-COLOR mag) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95

(100-page FULL-COLOR mag) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95

JACK KIRBY CHECKLIST: GOLD

Lists EVERY KIRBY COMIC, BOOK, UNPUBLISHED WORK and more!

(128-page trade paperback) $14.95 (Digital Edition) $5.95 ISBN: 9781605490052 Diamond Order Code: MAR084008

CAPTAIN VICTORY: GRAPHITE EDITION

KIRBY’s original CAPTAIN VICTORY GRAPHIC NOVEL presented as created in 1975 (before being modified for the 1980s Pacific Comics series), reproduced from his uninked pencil art! Includes Jack’s unused CAPTAIN VICTORY SCREENPLAY, unseen art, an historical overview to put it in perspective!

(52-page comic book) $5.95 (Digital Edition) $2.95

SILVER STAR: GRAPHITE EDITION

KIRBY COLLECTOR #64

First conceptualized in the 1970s as a movie screenplay, SILVER STAR was too far ahead of its time for Hollywood, so JACK KIRBY adapted it as a six-issue mini-series for Pacific Comics in the 1980s, as his final, great comics series.

The entire six-issue run is collected here, reproduced from his uninked PENCIL ART, showing Kirby’s work in its undiluted, raw form! Also included is Kirby’s ILLUSTRATED SILVER STAR MOVIE SCREENPLAY, never-seen SKETCHES, PIN-UPS, and an historical overview to put it all in perspective!

KIRBY COLLECTOR #65

SUPER-SOLDIERS! We declassify Captain America, Fighting American, Sgt. Fury, The Losers, Pvt. Strong, Boy Commandos, and a tribute to Simon & Kirby! PLUS: a Kirby interview about Captain America, MARK EVANIER and other columnists, key 1940s’50s events in Kirby’s career, unseen pencils and unused art from OMAC, SILVER STAR, CAPTAIN AMERICA (in the 1960s AND ’70s), the LOSERS, & more! KIRBY cover!

ANYTHING GOES (AGAIN)! A potpourri issue, with anything and everything from Jack’s 50-year career, including a head-tohead comparison of the genius of KIRBY and ALEX TOTH! Plus a lengthy KIRBY interview, MARK EVANIER and our other regular columnists, unseen and unused Kirby art from JIMMY OLSEN, KAMANDI, MARVELMANIA, his COMIC STRIP & ANIMATION WORK, and more!

(100-page FULL-COLOR mag) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95

(100-page FULL-COLOR mag) $10.95 (Digital Edition) $4.95

AND #66, COMING SUMMER 2015: “KIRBY & LEE: ’STUFF SAID!” COLLECTED JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR Each book contains over 30 PIECES OF KIRBY ART NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED!

JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR SPECIAL EDITION

(160-page trade paperback) $19.95 • (Digital Edition) $7.95 ISBN: 9781893905559 • Diamond Order Code: JAN063367

Compiles the “extra” new material from COLLECTED JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR VOLUMES 1-7, in one huge Digital Edition! Includes a fan’s private tour of the Kirbys’ remarkable home (with photos), and more than 200 pieces of Kirby art not published outside of those volumes. If you already own the individual issues and skipped the collections, or missed them in print form, now you can get caught up!

(120-page Digital Edition) $5.95

KIRBY UNLEASHED (REMASTERED)

VOLUME 2

VOLUME 3

VOLUME 6

VOLUME 7

Reprints JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #10-12, and a tour of Jack’s home!

Reprints JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #13-15, plus new art!

Reprints JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #23-26, plus new art!

Reprints JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #27-30, plus new art!

(160-page trade paperback) $17.95 ISBN: 9781893905016 Diamond Order Code: MAR042974

(176-page trade paperback) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905023 Diamond Order Code: APR043058

(288-page trade paperback) $29.95 ISBN: 9781605490038 Diamond Order Code: JUN084280

(288-page trade paperback) $29.95 ISBN: 9781605490120 Diamond Order Code: DEC084286

95

The fabled 1971 KIRBY UNLEASHED PORTFOLIO, completely remastered! Spotlights some of KIRBY’s finest art from all eras of his career, including 1930s pencil work, unused strips, illustrated World War II letters, 1950s pages, unpublished 1960s Marvel pencil pages and sketches, and Fourth World pencil art (done expressly for this portfolio in 1970)!

We’ve gone back to the original art to ensure the best reproduction possible, and MARK EVANIER and STEVE SHERMAN have updated the Kirby biography from the original printing, and added a new Foreword explaining how this portfolio came to be! PLUS: We’ve recolored the original color plates, and added EIGHT NEW BLACK-&-WHITE PAGES, plus EIGHT NEW COLOR PAGES, including Jack’s four 1972 GODS posters, and four extra Kirby color pieces, all at tabloid size!

(60-page tabloid with COLOR) SOLD OUT • (Digital Edition) $5.95

Parting Shot

With Agents of SHIELD all the rage on TV (and in movies) this season, here’s an interesting artifact. It’s an unused SHIELD pencil page, which like many rejected Marvel pages, was kept in the offices to be used for trying out potential new inkers. We’re not entirely sure who attempted to tackle inking this page, but they did a pretty nice job. That guy talking to Fury in panel one sure looks like Jack...

96

SAVE

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SUMMER 2014 AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES: The 1950s

BILL SCHELLY tackles comics of the Atomic Era of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley: EC’s TALES OF THE CRYPT, MAD, CARL BARKS’ Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge, re-tooling the FLASH in Showcase #4, return of Timely’s CAPTAIN AMERICA, HUMAN TORCH and SUB-MARINER, FREDRIC WERTHAM’s anti-comics campaign, and more!

NOW SHIPPING! (240-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $40.95 (Digital Edition) $12.95 • ISBN: 9781605490540

1965-69

JOHN WELLS covers the transformation of MARVEL COMICS into a pop phenomenon, Wally Wood’s TOWER COMICS, CHARLTON’s Action Heroes, the BATMAN TV SHOW, Roy Thomas, Neal Adams, and Denny O’Neil leading a youth wave in comics, GOLD KEY digests, the Archies and Josie & the Pussycats, and more! NOW SHIPPING!

Ambitious new series of FULLCOLOR HARDCOVERS documenting each decade of comic book history!

(288-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $41.95 (Digital Edition) $13.95 • ISBN: 9781605490557

ALSO AVAILABLE NOW:

The 1970s

JASON SACKS & KEITH DALLAS detail the emerging Bronze Age of comics: Relevance with Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams’s GREEN LANTERN, Jack Kirby’s FOURTH WORLD saga, Comics Code revisions that opens the floodgates for monsters and the supernatural, Jenette Kahn’s arrival at DC and the subsequent DC IMPLOSION, the coming of Jim Shooter and the DIRECT MARKET, and more!

1960-64: (224-pages) $39.95 • (Digital Edition) $11.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-045-8 1980s: (288-pages) $41.95 • (Digital Edition) $13.95 • ISBN: 978-1-60549-046-5 COMING SOON: 1930s, 1940-44, 1945-49 and 1990s

(288-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $41.95 • (Digital Edition) $13.95 • ISBN: 9781605490564 • SHIPS AUGUST 2014

DON HECK:

(192-page full-color hardcover) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $11.95

SHIPS SEPTEMBER 2014!

MATT BAKER

LOU SCHEIMER

CREATING THE FILMATION GENERATION

THE ART OF GLAMOUR

Biography of the co-founder of Filmation Studios, which for over 25 years brought the Archies, Shazam, Isis, He-Man, and others to TV and film!

Biography of the talented master of 1940s “Good Girl” art, complete with color story reprints!

(192-page hardcover with COLOR) $39.95 (Digital Edition) $11.95

(288-page trade paperback with COLOR) $29.95 (Digital Edition) $13.95

O C OM IC B

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FEVER houry

rge K

by Jo

it in Catc0h14!

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All characters TM & © their respective owners.

A WORK OF ART

DON HECK remains one of the legendary names in comics, considered an “artist’s artist,” respected by peers, and beloved by fans as the co-creator of IRON MAN, HAWKEYE, and BLACK WIDOW, and key artist on THE AVENGERS. Along with STAN LEE, JACK KIRBY, and STEVE DITKO, Heck was an integral player in “The Marvel Age of Comics”, and a top-tier 1970s DC Comics artist. He finally gets his due in this heavily illustrated, full-color hardcover biography, which features meticulously researched and chronicled information on Don’s 40-year career, with personal recollections from surviving family, long-time friends, and industry legends, and rare interviews with Heck himself. It also features an unbiased analysis of sales on Don’s DC Comics titles, an extensive art gallery (including published, unpublished, and pencil artwork), a Foreword by STAN LEE, and an Afterword by BEAU SMITH. Written by JOHN COATES.

2014 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: (with FREE Digital Editions)

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JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR (4 issues)

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COMIC BOOK CREATOR (4 issues w/Special)

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TwoMorrows. A New Day For Comics Fans!

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