Yesterday would have been Jack Kirby's 91st birthday. There's nothing I can say about the man and his magnificent body of work that others haven't already said, and said better. Instead, I thought I'd share a few mind-blowing memories of Jack's work from the Groovy Age. Now dem's comics!!
Nothing compares to the King.
ReplyDeleteAmen!
ReplyDeleteKirby says: "DON'T ASK, JUST BUY IT !"
ReplyDeleteI was so enthralled with everything Jack Kirby did from the time I began buying comics in 1972, beginning with KAMANDI 1-40, THE DEMON 1-16, WEIRD MYSTERY 1-3, FORBIDDEN TALES OF DARK MANSION 6, O.M.A.C. 1-8, 1st ISSUE SPECIAL 1, 5, and 6, SANDMAN 1-6 (and unpublished 7), RICHARD DRAGON KUNG FU FIGHTER 3, JUSTICE INC. 2-4, and OUR FIGHTING FORCES 151-162.
And as back issues, JIMMY OLSEN 133-148, FOREVER PEOPLE 1-11, NEW GODS 1-11, MISTER MIRACLE 1-18, DAYS OF THE MOB, and SPIRIT WORLD.
I mostly didn't read Marvel titles until Kirby went back there in 1976, and then another flood of great new Kirby material: CAPTAIN AMERICA 193-214 and annuals 3 and 4, ETERNALS 1-19 and annual 1, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY movie adaptation, CAPTAIN AMERICA'S BICENTENNIAL BATTLES treasury, 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY comic series 1-10, MACHINE MAN 1-9, DEVIL DINOSAUR 1-9, BLACK PANTHER 1-12, and WHAT IF 11.
And that's all in less than 10 years, from 1970-1978 !
It was only gradually that I began to explore backward into several decades more of Kirby's earlier work, mostly as reprints of his FF and THOR work, Kirby's pre-marvel monster stories reprinted from the 1958-1963 period, his 50's DC work, his Golden Age material, his 1950's crime comics, his 1950's horror comics.
You started this topic to commemorate Kirby's birthday. And if Kirby were still alive (born 1917), he would be 105 now. And though dead almost 30 years now, his legacy still burns bright, his works are each as dynamic as the day they were created, timeless, fun as hell to read. His influence is still the greatest of any artist in comics history, past or present.
I recall Doug Moench said in the AMAZING HEROES 100 (a Kirby tribute issue), that about 80% of the writers and artists in comics are employed working on characters created by Kirby. And I think many were inspired to become artists themselves by growing up on Kirby's work. That's about as impressive and great a legacy as one could hope for.