This video brings back a lot of very pleasant memories from my childhood in the early 60's and reading many of the comics displayed here. I just couldn't wait to get home after school each day and grab one to read (usually Fantastic Four, Thor,or Steve Ditko's rendering of Spiderman)before beginning my regular homework assignment. Kirby's artwork was always amazing to see and especially his action set pieces.The King of comics and an inspiration to many working in the comics field today ...
Jack Kirby was a true master at his craft. With due respect to Stan Lee, I'd have to say that for me... what attracted me to Marvel's comic books in the 1960s were not simply the story lines-but great art by Jack himself! Of course, Jack Kirby also played a key role in that as well. Speaking for many of the baby boomers, we miss you tremendously, Jack!!
i love comics and started reading and collecting them as a kid in the late 70's.i love the art work from the 60's and 70's,especially the covers.they were always busy and so cool looking.the comic covers are very good today,but there almost like paintings today.one of my favorite comic covers and comics to read was the fantastic four and it had the hulk vs the thing locked in mortal combat.as a kid that was my favorite comics rivalry.
I just love this... to me, Jack's 'prime' was the 1960's, so I am less fascinated by anything post-1970 or pre-1960. The magic that happened mid-decade is irresistable to me. Thank you for this video, thank you (and Happy Birthday) Jack.
Jack was happy drawing, he sees drawing and telling the story through it mostly as an enjoyable hobbies throughout his career. I mean, thats the only possible way he can draw 5 books a month and have the motivation to do it: He didnt need any. He wanted to do it.
He is such an inspiration to me; he takes my imagination to levels I never dreamed before. There is just that 'feel' when you look at Kirby's art, that wondrous, spectacular cosmic feel, and with all due respect to current artists, I don't get that with today's comics that look a bit too clean and polished, lacking a potent touch and soul. You can sit at a coin laundromat while waiting for clothes to wash, reading Forth World comics and it feels like diving into a whole other world altogether.
Probably the outfits that most float my boat would be whatever Kevin O' Neill comes up clothing wise with in TLOEG, no rounded fingers or anything approaching a Grey's anatomy textbook, or even superhero spandex all that much, but nontheless fucking mindblowing on a Kirby level of eye pops with a Gillray twist to it.
I might call early Kirby closer to Lou Fine and Mort Meskin myself, Kirby did some work under Eisner though and The Spirit was something Kirby was familiar with and respected, "The best comic of the fourties," Jack called it. "No question" 'Kirby, King Of Comics'
@cha5 Cont Melinda Gebbie, Crumb (especially his Book Of Genesis), Art Spiegleman (Maus), Alex Ross (when he really puts his heart into something) Jack Jaxon, Toth, Bill Watterson, Frank Cho, Dave Gibbons, Charles Vess, Michael Kaluta, Scoli, Mobius, Hugo Pratt, Kevin O' Neil, and a few others. My favorite cross hatcher of all time is Thomas Nast, There's quite a few other artists I've got a passion for but that would be a massive list.
@djerwulfe From what I've heard the pencilling and creating was Kirby's favorite part of doing comics, inking his own work was something he would let others do just because it would have tripled or quadrupled his work load to have inked everything he was drawing, According to Mark Evanier during 1962-1964 Marvel's carrying dates had 3,130 interior pages of Kirby art plus 285 covers-roughly the equivalent of a book a week, even in the late sixties he was working at home about seven days a week.
No more basic than Picasso shapes compared to what had come before Kirby came on the scene and revolutionized it. I gave your statement all the consideration it was worth.
The most creative and impressive thing DC has finally done recently is finally dropping the Goddamn Comics Code at long last, not any costume change, which I have to give them credit for.
Well I can see the Fox influence on The Fantastic Four although Kirby put some of the elemental basics of earth wind and fire into his work and had a cosmic aspect that Fox or even Eisner never approached IMHO. As to Ditko you're quite right about the way he revolutionized comic art plus I think I may have sold some of his DC work a little short, I mean The Creeper while not up there with Dr Strange or Spiderman is visually unique no question.
"It was just a desire to sound like a "professional". "Kurtzberg" didn't sound like a famous writer and artist. "Kirby" he thought did" 'Kirby: King Of Comics'
Actually they're trying to gain the FULL rights to the characters for his estate to make. They've already sent cease and decease letters to Sony, Marvel, Disney and so on. After the Siegal/Superman win it may very well happen. Superman will probably be licensed back to DC so Kirby's relatives may do the same with Marvel.
some of the Batman specialist outfits, and some variations of the various JL groups, show some creative spark, that Kirby held back from using. no one is going to tell me any different, because i've witnessed them myself.
Yeah there's a funny little bit in a comic on comicbook creators that took place back in the early 1940s in which Stan was talking to Joe Simon about changing his name. Simon "So you want to change your name from Stan Lieber to 'Stanley'?!? is that going to be your first name or your last name?" Stan "Which ever you think sounds best Joe" Simon "I think it sounds Chinese"
Variations on Cap's costume like fitting him with leather (Ultimates) or cleavage and a star on his head (Liefeld) don't count. You can also try to come up with a modern costume that comes close to Odin's insofar as lines scales and curves plus complexity and grandeur and also a sense of function. ( by the way his design work is called Kirbyesque, there's nothing in the way of "basic shapes" in Kirby's art, never has been)
not entirely BAD IN THE 80'S... Great atuff compared to most. Mainly, he was so incredible in the 40's thru 70's, it just SEEMED below him but he was 60 something by then. His 'collaborations' were almost always his original idea.
@TheVetoSkreeemer I would say Kirby didn't create his work in a vacuum and there are quite a few artists who were an influence on him, Lou Fine, Will Eisner, Hal Foster, Mort Meskin, and others. As for Kirby having invented the super-hero language well there was Siegel and Schuster, Bob Kane and Bill Finger and others who technically created what we know to be the super-hero comicbook, however IMHO Simon & Kirby were the first ones who really brought it to life.
@cha5 You're right! And seeing how "Marvel" is at the opening credits, you would think Stan and Jack would've been credited. Come to think of it, the supporting characters that they created for "Thor" are theirs too, and their names aren't there, either.
of course he deserves more credit. I never said he didn't. in fact, he should've been getting just as much credit from marvel as stan lee has. the fact that the estate has to FIGHT this at all is stupid
Kirby redefined the comicbook as an artform and brought it to a cosmic scale that no artist prior to him came close to, costumes? see Dr Doom, Galactus, Odin, Captain America, Mr Miracle,imagination? try The Fourth World, the concept of The Silver Surfer & Galactus, The Anti Life Equation, Kirby's impact on this medium will never be equaled. If that's not TRYING, I'd like to know what is.
Stan went on to write the world-famous "Drug Issues" in ASM #96, #97, and #98...he pretty much became Marvel's EIC after that, then moved out to Hollywood and got Marvels cartoons rolling...he later created She-Hulk and Ravage 2099...
Let's just say your favorite artist is like your fave food or music. Everybody differs. However, I'm sure, if pressed, Steranko, Adams and Colan will tell you Kirby showed the ''right way' to do super-hero comics in particular. He invented the 'language'. Ask Alex Ross or John Byrne or Jim Lee. They know.
awesome. i cannot believe anyone could think that stan lee created most of the characters at marvel. it was CLEARLY Jack Kirby. why else did stan call him THE KING? stan is very important.his position as editor allowed jack kirby and the other artists to really stretch out and do more realistic stories. BUT as far as the marvel universe of characters, it almost all comes back to jack. what did stan lee ever create before or after jack was with marvel? NADA!!!
Finally you can notice that the King needed a good army to win, eith that I am saying that for me on his Marvel Run the best inker he paired with was Joe Sinott, others like Chic Stone dint make his work shine as much, so it is a colaboration.
No argument there, I always think it's sad the way people seem to think Spiderman started with Stan Lee and John Romita and that Ditko gets all too often overlooked these days IMHO.
Comic books are a essentially visual art form, and as such the artist should always takes precedence over a writer. It's a shame that Kirby doesn't get more credit as the true artistic creator of the Marvel universe.
Actually a little correction here For mediocre comics of the 1980's that would be McFarlane's Spiderman and Rob Liefeld's X Force which opened the cess pool, The superhero comics of the 1990's were about as revolutionary and innovative as crack cocaine.
Damn straight sunshine, not to mention Galactus, Eternity, Darkside, and countless others that McFarlane and Liefeld will never come close to. How many characters has Toddy created anyways just Spamm, oh yes he also cited Ditko as an influence even.
@puffedhell I've always felt that the way Kirby was treated by Marvel was an example of this industry at it's worst, same as in the case of Siegel & Shuster and Superman. The main thing I'll say about Stan Lee is that he's got a gift for purple prose, and he's second to none when it comes to promoting Marvel comics and himself (he's always made Uncle Walt Disney and P.T. Barnum look like pikers in that regard)
There is a new one by Mark Evanier I believe to be available on Amazon. Of course, all you need do is look at any Marvel or DC comic and you are basically seeing a 'modernized' representation of Jack's work. Same goes for the superhero movies, including STAR WARS! Buy the Masterworks of FF or Thor or the early X-men and get the Fourth World stuff from DC and you should also include the Forever People for the art despite the not so great stories.
@sabinoson Yeah, I hope they at least list somewhere in the upcoming Captain America film "Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby" but it wouldn't suprise me at all if the studio didn't, even though Marvel Comics is at least putting that creators credit on page one of their Captain America books. I just hope Lisa Kirby and her family are getting something from these Marvel movies.
@djerwulfe Cont He was also doing layout pencil art for other new artists to trace over during the late 1960s per Marvel's orders, to try to teach them to draw in the Marvel (Kirby) style so he really couldn't set aside time for inking his flagship titles like The Fantastic Four & Thor, many Marvel inkers during this era IMO really couldn't do justice to Kirby's original art (Vince Colletta) others did a better job Chic Stone, Dick Ayers, and some others, my favorite is probably Joe Sinnott.
I think it's safe to say Steve Ditko wants to be overlooked. He doesn't like to be interviewed nor to be in the movies. He just want to be isolated with the comic creations that he owns. -R78
No Galactus was an embodiment of the creator and how Kirby chose to define Lee's request of "Have the FF fight God" McFarlane and Liefeld could never come up with a concept close to Galactus on their best day.
jack also co-created iron man... it is likely the idea came from jack, but stan as editor was allowed to add or remove whatever elements he saw fit. i do agree that jack is much better with stan than alone. stan is a much better scripter. all i am saying is that kirby was the IDEA guy.
jack kirby was the picasso,michaelangelo,davinchi of the comics world in the twentieth century.a complete original.who REALLY created marvel comics/not stan lee.every character except for spiderman,dr. strange,submariner,iron man&daredevil jack created.also the super-villians and those great atlas monsters.
thank you for posting this, very interesting, and inspiring in this age of Britney Spears'es and no talent hacks, to see someone with huge talent who pushed himself to do great things
Uh no, Ditko is one of the all time greats, and during his 'Spiderman' and 'Dr Strange' heyday he was right up there with Jack but I don't think 'Hawk And Dove' will ever be remembered up there with 'The Fantastic Four' 'Captain America' or even 'The Fourth World Saga', 'Mr A' is interesting though as is 'The Question' and 'Tsk Tsk' is a gutbuster.
Jack Kirby was the better illustrator on the comics 's story on the historry word. Nobody made the future on the comics table. The future of Jack Kirby is not available for the people. KIRBY invented the fourd dimension comic, the Michelangelo of the comics.
A large amount of the major comicbook creators of the 1930s-1940s were poor Jewish kids from New York's Lower East Side, Will Eisner Jack Kirby Joe Simon Siegel & Shuster Bob Kane Harvey Kurtzman Will Elder Bernie Krigstein Stan Lee and alot of others, Kirby's original name was Jacob Kurtzberg. According to Mark Evanier one way to really get Kirby angry would be to suggest he changed his name because he wanted to conceal his Jewish heritage.
You can note that by the influence he hadon other artists, aside Ron Frenz y don t see more influendes from Ditko. To be fair , there were other artists on the sixties that have been neglected and some are superior to the King, first there is Gene Colan, a genius, then there is Neal Adams whose art seems contemporary and trascends his time, and Jim Steranko , another genius, in my humble opinion they were better illustrstors than Kirby.
Now if you want a modern creative team who actually has an IMAGINATION for COSTUMES, Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson beat McFarlane and Liefeld hands down in just about any issue of THE BOYS.
MCFarlane? I have never liked his drawing style, with the exception of some Hulk stories. Jim Starlin is another artist that in my opinion is worth mention, even if he hasn't produced as much material as the others.
Probably my favorite Ditko work would be his 1950s horror comics and Spiderman & Dr Strange, His work from the very late 1960s onward although interesting for me doesn't quite have the same impact.
I like Kirby a lot he has the title of King weel earned, his co creation f Captain America Alongside Joe Simon, his colaborations with Stan Lee on The Fantastic Four, Thor, Hulk, his development of the fourth wold series give him in my opinion a weel deserved spot on comics pantheon. On other related matters i liked the early Ditko, but his artwork dint evolve , his classic material is ok but what he drew in the eightiies say was totally disppointing.
Here's something simple, if you can come up with a patriotic hero's costume from say the 1980's onwards that works as well or better than Joe Simon & Jack Kirby's Captain America costume for sleakness and perfection and iconic imagery, drop a name. PLEASE!
As to the Batman specialist outfits I looked at that comicbook line but it didn't do a thing for me, especially when they threw the baby out with the bathwater by skinning off the Joker's face. When Kirby did that with a face nailed to the wall in The Manhunter it was creepy, bizarre and memorable. As it even was when Neil Gaiman did the same thing in 'The Sandman', When they went that route with The Joker, it was putrid.
No, see, what his estate is trying to do is retain stronger rights to the Marvel characters he co-created, with this Disney sale. In other words, they're trying to create more money for his estate by asking for a bigger piece of the pie (and giving the King more credit).
GREAT post! Would you happen to know if there is a "definitive" Jack Kirby collection (book) with all his best artwork represented? I've been looking for years and have yet to find anything I think is a worthy compendium. Thanks!
i didn't read a lot of superhero comics, either during the 80s, or 90s myself. i stuck to mostly military'vigilante genres. BUT, I DID look at more than a few covers of superhero books, and they DID have damn good costume designs, compared to the boxed-in crap, that Kirby would only bother to draw. those COOKIE-CUTTER faces, don't make a good defense for him either.
obviously you didn't, for the SECOND time. too-close similarity is STILL a sign of substandard effort to TRULY be considered revolutionary/innovative, compared to the comics of the 80s and beyond, which ACTUALLY used curves and straight lines in unexpected ways, which yielded worthwhile results. another thing, i like my characters with ROUNDED fingers/toes, not little block in gloves, or bricks in socks.
@TheVetoSkreeemer No disrespect to Colan, Steranko, or any other artist intended there, all of the names you've mentioned are giants in their own right.
I just saw the X Men First Class movie, it was a fun film, but there was no screen credit like "co-created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby" anywhere in the credits, kind of a downer really.
i KNOW THE DIFFERENCE, between a costume that is stuck in a 30s and 40s timeloop, where kids could make those designs, with cereal box scraps, and INTRICATE details, that actually takes some cloth, molded parts!
Doctor Doom's costume was like nothing that had ever been seen before for a super villain costume, and as a character who was a sympathetic character and a megalomanaic who concealed his features, Galactus's costume was nothing like The Red Skull's costume, Captain America's costume was nothing like Iron Man's costume. I'm waiting for but not expecting something substantial from you.
Yes I I am well aware that Kirby has a great influence, and that artists like Byrne and Miller adore him, he is a legend in his own right, a cretor of concepts, characters, etc, but that doesnt make him my favorite classic artist, for me Colan, and Steranko are better,. And as for inventing the super-hero language, that is an arguably statment, Siegel and Shuster were there before, and althogh not in costiume Alex Raymond s Flash Gordon, is a big influence.
