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...
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| Cover art by Joe Kubert |
These Losers comics from Kirby's run are tight, action-packed little stories. The art and pacing are just fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
That's a powerful double page spread!
ReplyDeleteGot 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