Monday, August 20, 2018
Marvel-ous Monday: "Norton of New York 2040 A.D." by Kirby with Royer
Greetings, Groove-ophiles! Here's another sci-fi shocker by Jack "King" Kirby (with inks and letters by Mike Royer, natch) from Marvel's continuation of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Ish #4 (January 1977) is a special fave, 'cause the first chunk of "Norton of New York 2040 A.D." is a comicbook fan's dream world. A world where super-heroes are real, and anyone can be one--IF they get to visit...Comicsville! (Hey, with our comicbook cons and cosplay, we're getting there!) After that, we get another of Kirby's patented looks into the future--and, as usual, he gets awfully close to nailing things that would come between 1977 and now. The King truly was a visionary.
I am guessing that Arthur C. Clarke had not written the sequels to '2001 A Space Odyssey' when Kirby was writing this series and therefore was left to his own devices in continuing the story? Despite it's deviation from Clark's novels, I find Kirby's interpretation fascinating and enjoyable to read. It's a nice stand alone piece and the artwork is incredible as usual.
ReplyDeleteWow, quite good! Kirby had the Truman show first! Thanks, Groove!
ReplyDeleteThat's Tana Nile! I'd recognize that alien cutie anywhere, with that big head of hers. Anyway, With rising sea levels, aliens are gonna be the least of N.Y.'s problems in 2040.
ReplyDeleteM.P.
Man, I love these Kirby 2001 tales. At the time, I remember how much I looked forward to them-the King at his best, always adventurous, always pushing what a comic could have. I have a lot of affection for a lot of the stuff he was at that time: tons of covers to just about every Marvel title, the Eternals, 2001, Devil Dinosaur, Machine Man, Captain America, and the later DC stuff that he had just finished. Most impressive was the fact that the guy was 60 years old at the time, and he was still doing stuff that nobody else could do! Thanks, Groove!
ReplyDeleteWhat a way to start a Monday. Poorly written Kirby topped off with the substandard inking/lettering of Mike Royer. Thanks, Groove.
ReplyDeleteYou want a refund?
ReplyDeleteMaybe just better selection. Free is free, right?
DeleteTheres always one, Groove; personally, I love this issue of 2001 and appreciate you posting it. Its the perfect refutation of all those claims that Kirby couldn't write, or that he'd lost it by the time he returned to Marvel in the second half of the 70s.
DeletePages 12 and 13 in particular are stunning - that long shot of Harvey approaching his apartment, with the housing complex forming a grid filling the background, is the work of an absolute master of the form; the emptiness of his life closing in on him as he touches the hologram "beach" blew me away as a kid when I first read it, and now I'm in my mid-ffties it speaks to me still. How many standard monthly comics of the period can you really say that about?
Cheers, thanks.
-sean
The X-Men, Tomb of Dracula, Howard the Duck, the Defenders, Conan to name a few.
DeleteI love Kirby's 2001. Please post more. Groove
ReplyDelete