Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Decent Comics: "Ivan" by Kirby and Royer

What's up, Groove-ophiles! In Our Fighting Forces #160's (July 1975) "Ivan" by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer, we're given two of the most vile and frightening characters in the King's entire run on the Losers: Ivan and his mother. A pair of Russian Nazi sympathizers living like vultures by toying with the lives of  those hunted by the Nazis, Ivan and his mother are a reminder that the lowest form of humanity can come in any form. Naturally, this being a Kirby (and Comics Code approved) mag, they get theirs in the end...

Cover art by Joe Kubert















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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 16, 2017 at 6:07 PM

    These Losers comics from Kirby's run are tight, action-packed little stories. The art and pacing are just fantastic.
    I was fascinated by this character study of a psychopath who's found that the war gives him an opportunity to indulge his dark nature. And I enjoyed seeing his ironic, brutal fate.
    Kirby's depiction of Ivan's face on the first page is downright creepy. A powerful, raw comic.

    M.P.

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  2. AnonymousMay 17, 2017 at 5:42 PM

    That's a powerful double page spread!
    Got to agree with my pal MP, except I'd be more specific about the psychopathology under examination - Ivan is very much a study of fascism, a subject that Kirby returned to a number of times. Hardly surprising given his personal history.
    A stone classic, perhaps more relevant in the current climate than it was when it appeared in the mid-70s.

    -sean

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Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!


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