Jack Kirby has done so many cool things over his career that i've forgotten half of the ones that i even knew about. Digging through my Kirby archives, i'm constantly delighted by one find after another. But one that tickled me in particular was a piece he did for the Los Angles Times' West Magazine supplement back in 1972.
Back in those days, NASA was launching their Pioneer probes, expected to be the first man made objects to leave the solar system. In a big PR move, they decided to place a plaque on the probes that looked like this:
The plaque shows a Hydrogen atom, drawings of humans with the probe for scale, what is basically an astrogation fix for our star, and indications for what planet we call home.
This made my face scrunch and head hurt to look at it. Jack explains why below, but first...
West Magazine contacted Alex Jones, Jack Kirby, Peter Max, James McMullan, Victor Moscoso, and Virgil Patch seeking each artist's notion of what plaque should have been sent instead.
Here's Jack's idea:
In a letter sent with the artwork, Kirby explained:
"It appears to me that man's self image has always spoken far more truthfully about him than does his reality-figure. My version of the plaque would have revealed the exuberant, self-confident super visions with which we've clothed ourselves since time immemorial. The comic strip super-heroes and super-heroines, in my belief, personify humanity's innate idealism and drive. However, I would have included no further information than a rough image of Earth and its one moon. I see no wisdom in the eagerness to be found and approached by any intelligence with the ability to accomplish it from any sector of space. In meetings between 'discoverers' and 'discoverees' history has always given the advantage to the finders. In the case of the Jupiter Plaque, I feel that a tremendous issue was thoughtlessly taken out of the world forum by a few individuals who have marked a clear trail to our door.
My point is, who will come a-knocking -- the trader or the tiger?"
Or, as he summarized verbally - "I would rather have aliens believe that we are a race of super-beings. I'd also leave out the map. Why ask for trouble?"
That exactly covered my reaction. Why are we telling potential conquerors or exploiters (y'know - like us) how to find us? And why weren't the rest of us consulted on this?
I'm a huge fan of science and exploration, but have terrible problems with the ... let's say galactically provincial thinking of so many of the decision makers.
Anyway... I love his design for the plaque. Here's a version prepared to look like it's on the plaque:
There's a bit of mystery about the two versions - note the different colour schemes on the uniforms. Mike Royer, the inker for the West Magazine art, indicates that the white background image is the original he worked with. But the other was restored by Mark Evanier, one of Kirby's two primary assistants (among other things) over the years. How it came into existence to be restored is a question that none have answered to my knowledge.
Jupiter Plaque by Jack Kirby with Mike Royer for LA Times West Magazine (12 Sept 1972)
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