Showing posts with label Kirby Splash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kirby Splash. Show all posts

21 August 2017

It Came From Command D! (King Kirby 080)


When Jack Kirby made the jump over to DC, i eagerly read everything he put out. But my favorite of the bunch was easily the kid from Command D - Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth.
The King's wild take on then (and now again) popular Planet Of The Apes movies was its own world, separate from any constraints of sharing an active reality with other titles. This allowed Kirby to let his imagination run free and the joy of that freedom seemed to show in the work.
And none of that messing around for the big reveal that we've been on Earth all along at the end. Jack wants you to know right up front, on the cover -


But don't misunderstand - when i say it let his imagination run free, that doesn't mean he just scribbled down whatever came to mind. Kirby created worlds & mythologies whole cloth, and he knew far more of his worlds than he could share in the books. He once said that he had already lived his stories, and he knew where they were going long before we got there.
Kamandi was a fine example of this. In the very first issued, he mapped out where the book would go for the next 30 issues - literally!


The original map is the center image. Those little boxes are some of the splash panels over the next 28 issues to show story locations. Don't worry - they're all right below, in timeline sequence, so you can enjoy the Kirby goodness:














In issue #29, however, it seemed we had hit world's end...


No need to worry, though. Shortly thereafter, Jack just expanded the map:


I have not read any of what's been done with Kirby's creations in recent years. I wonder if the Kamandi Challenge takes us into any of these map areas? There's some for which i'd purely love to see what Jack had planned. I enjoyed participating in round robin challenges back in APA days, so i'll probably check that one out soon.

all page art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer or D. Bruce Berry from Kamandi #s 1-32 (1972-1975)

05 August 2017

Fun With Stunts (King Kirby 019)

Stuntman may not be the most recognizable Simon & Kirby creation, but damn - sure had some nice work in it at times:


That sweet center-spread comes from Thrills Of Tomorrow #19, from 1955.
Ostensibly it was a Harvey Comics release, but their presence is only felt in one advertisement and a single Harvey Comics News text page. Harvey published and distributed, but the book was an independent Simon & Kirby production in most respects. The indicia lists it as published by Witches Tales, Inc. I'm guessing that publishing name was chosen because of Black Magic's success, but that's pure conjecture with no knowledge of any sort in the matter. Just the first thing that jumped into my head when looking to see who the publisher was since that information was strangely absent from the cover. Perhaps they were trying to build different 'brands', such as A THRILL Adventure to see what stuck?

Anyway, Jack & Joe were jamming tons of fun into their work here, happily dancing that tightrope line between light-hearted and silly with the skill of their cover character. See what i mean with the rollicking conclusion to the tale above, including a right proper skull conking:



On the silly front, the character is in his 10th year here (assuming it's not a reprint) and this poor girl still hasn't figure it out. Seriously - here's the last panel from the first story in the book:


Note the mustache. That means he's doubling as the actor for whom he stunt doubles, and she doesn't realize it's him... twice.


Bonus feature! Here's the splash page for the first story in the book:


Stuntman fun by Simon & Kirby from Thrills of Tomorrow #19 (1955)

04 August 2017

Everybody Loves The King (King Kirby 016)

More than anyone else, it seems, Artists love Jack Kirby. I'm perhaps biased in this, as being an artist and creating this King Kirby 100 might give me a slightly skewed perspective in the matter.
I'll tell you one thing though, Alex Ross loves The King:


Damn, that's sweet. (As always, click on the image for a better view) This painting, of course, is Alex Ross's take on Kirby's full page panel in New Gods #6, entitled Glory Boat. If you've tragically never read the tale, Kirby's page should convey enough to appreciate the Glory of the Boat:


Meanwhile, back on Earth:


Here's The King's original pencils Mr. Ross was painting from:


...and, just for s&g, here's a look at how closely Alex was following Jack, while giving it his own special touch:

Unfortunately, Alex Ross's signature is cut off at the bottom.


Glory Boat by Jack Kirby from New Gods #6 (1972) and by Alex Ross (2007), Captain America also by Kirby & Ross(?-20th Century)

Zero - He's Our Hero (King Kirby 015)

Jack Kirby, as most know, was incredibly prolific. With all the amazing thing he created, both alone and with partners, there's still the tantalizing appeal of the things almost created - those many gems left unpolished due to time and monetary constraints.
One of those potentially great looking projects was Starman Zero, created by the famous Simon & Kirby team back in 1947. The proposed series never went into production, but the concept sheets look terrific:

So cool looking. Check out that sleekly modern space suit design and then remember - this was 1947 when they were attempting to sell this strip! Great styling on the tech, plus time jumps, "atomic knights" and far out aliens. This two page concept art just begs the classic question - What If?

What If Jack & Joe had produced a Starman Zero comic? What would it be like?
Let's look and see, shall we?









For those of you WTFing at the monitor, wondering how this exists when there was no Starman Zero comic - it's a trick!

This tale actually comes from Fighting American #4. The story opens with him going to bed and he promptly drops into this "dream of the future" where we switch to an unused Starman Zero story, then come back to wake up on the next page following the above. I just cut out the first caption transitioning from dream to story in the presentation above and added the story credits to fill the space.

The story has a full page splash introduction, using mostly Starman Zero artwork, with the Fighting American overlooking:

It's nice to have those What If?s answered on occasion.

Starman Zero concept art by Simon & Kirby (1947), Homecoming by the same culprits in Fighting American #4 (1954)

03 August 2017

Missed it by THAT much! (King Kirby 012)

Looking back through Jack Kirby's days telling monster stories before Marvel shifted gears, you'll start seeing some very familiar looking names. (Sometimes very familiar looking concepts, but - another day)

I mean, sure, Groot's famous for having roots in the monster comics:


I guess it really shouldn't be any surprise to see this name used again... 


...but, they were having a bit of trouble working out the spelling for another:


This guy was so close, but just a commoner:


Of course, if Van Doom is close, how about-
Sarring Doctor Droom?
Yep - he's our hero. A rather unconventional hero... almost like victor might have been on different path? Let's look at just the beginning and end of his first story:


It seems the got the arrogant attitude right, at the very least.
And, with this guy, they got a lot more than the name right. You can almost see him thinking, "I need a helmet."


I'm sure there were more, and please do fill in the gaps in my ignorance.
Meanwhile, Jack will help us all and cure our ignorance of how to stop Groot if he were to go rampaging here:


Note that all of these occurred within just a year or two of the Marvel reinvention with the launching of the Fantastic Four. No point to that, just note it.

Kirby covers & pages from Amazing Adventures #s 1,2,3&4, Strange Tales #s 79 & 84, Tales ToAstonish #s 13, 16, & 17 (1960-1961)