A Post Before Posting

Odds are that folks who read this blog like old comics. One of the groups mentioned here from time to time that helps to preserve and archive the old comics and culture is TwoMorrows Publishing. 

Perhaps it comes as no surprise that they're being hit hard by the economic side of Trump Flu.

Meanwhile, many folks are slowly (and not so slowly) going stir crazy and are in desperate need of entertainment to keep their minds distracted from the Trump Flu furor. 

Well, maybe you folks can help each other out. With distribution channels closed, the only way for TwoMorrows to do business is via online/mailorder. To encourage those orders, John has announced a special 40% Off sale. Visit the TwoMorrows site for more info and to see how you and they can help each other out in these times.

Now i'm off to dive into some of those old comics and i'll be back later with today's post.

Upgrade In Progress

Computer systems here a tied up for another day or so. It takes an insanely long time to mirror a couple of Terabytes to two external drives before the clearing begins. But, if all goes well, i'll be able to upgrade the software and get back into some artwork this weekend.

Meanwhile - a quick promotional blurb:

The latest edition of Jack Kirby Collector (#73) is out!

Oddly enough, 73 is one of my primary use numbers. I have several of them, not just 3. There is 27 (3 to the 3rd power), and then 73 (the balancing percentile to 27). You'll find these numbers embedded throughout my artwork, though often in unseen ways.

But why would one of my primary numbers trigger an "Oddly enough"? This is the first time anything from me appears in the magazine. Remember the King Kirby 100 Challenge crossword puzzle from the KK100 celebration in August? It gets a nice 2 page spread in this issue. And they were even kind enough to observe my personal obsessions and give me the #3 slot in the table of contents. (Thanks, John!)

The issue looks terrific, but i can't really tell you much about it - because i just found it in my mail and i'm savoring it. I haven't seen a new edition of JKC in a few years, and i'm stretching this one out as much as i can. But, to let you know what's in it, here's a primary excerpt from the issue details on the TwoMorrows website:
"In it, we cover Kirby’s best (and worst) short spurts on his wildest concepts: ANIMATION IDEAS, DINGBATS, JUSTICE INC., MANHUNTER, ATLAS, THE PRISONER, and more! There’s also an interview with MIKE ROYER on his work with Jack and elsewhere, a rare Kirby interview, MARK EVANIER and our other regular columnists, panels from the 2017 Kirby Centennial celebration, pencil art galleries, and some one-shot surprises!" 

One surprise for me was that they managed to find a few Valley Girl comic strips i hadn't seen to accompany their piece on Kirby & Zappa, including the full interview with Ahmed from which my KK100 piece on the topic was excerpted. Definitely a cool surprise - but there always is when a new issue is released.


And, of course, here's a link to the book on TwoMorrows.com.

I'll be back soon with more posts after the computers are freed up for use. Hopefully early tomorrow.

cover from Jack Kirby Collector #73 (2018)

King Kirby 101

Got knocked down with dental infection and abscessed tooth for the holiday weekend, so wasn't able to prepare this planned final post on Saturday as planned. But, we're here now thanks to the miracle of Clyndamycin Hydrochloride and Hydrocodone.

If you're a Jack Kirby collector, there's a magazine named for you. The most useful reference for the King Kirby 100 comes from the same people. If you're not already familiar with TwoMorrows publishing, you'll definitely want to visit their site. For comics collecting in general, they're great. For Jack Kirby fans, they're uniquely unparalleled. For almost a quarter century, since the year we lost The King, they've published  the Jack Kirby Collector magazine. It's packed with Kirby features, art, interviews, essays, strips, and surprises on a constant basis. Assuming the site layout hasn't changed by the time you're reading this, here's a direct jump to the magazine.
And then there's this beauty:

If you're looking to collect Kirby, this Jack Kirby Checklist not only lists what comics he worked on, but also indicates which covers, stories, features, etc.,. It denotes when Jack is writing, it lists & cross-references reprints and other related appearances. Here - take a look at the basic entry Key:

There are appendixes with listings of other works by and about Kirby in other media. There are historical annotations to individual issues/stories. They even attempt to index all of Jack's unpublished work.
If you're hunting Jack Kirby, this is your treasure map.

If you're a Kirby Fan and not already familiar with it, there's a Jack Kirby Museum. It's a small organization, but quite dedicated to archiving the history of King Kirby, and are a good way to track ongoing events, such as the recent New York show for Jack's birthday. The site also hosts a few Jack Kirby blogs focusing on different aspects of his career and influence. Being a small organization means they are generally in constant need of funding. That means that you can find new and unique Kirby merchandise offered up for your support. So even if you don't want to study Kirby's effect on modern comics, you still might want to direct a little attention their way.

If you're looking to go hunting through old golden age comics to find your own Kirby treasures, there are a couple of digital archives on the web that may be of interest to you. Comic Book Plus and The Digital Comic Museum. Both archive and index public domain comics with free access to any who register. There are also the un-curated wilds of the Internet Archive, which is a general knowledge pool in which the comics are a small splash. On the other hand, they also archive things like old half-dime pre-pulps from the 19th century, so the digging can pay off nicely if you're interests are eclectic enough.

To close things out, and - for those not really aware - give an idea of the impact that The King had upon the comics industry as a whole, let's go back 21 years to 1986. Amazing Heroes magazine was having their 100th issue and decided to dedicate the entire issue to Jack, creating the first King Kirby 100. They asked industry pros for their thoughts on Kirby, and these next 17 pages are only a part of the response:

(For anyone seeking to track information in that last credits box, 22 was the number of the first page in this sequence.)

We may have lost Jack, but he's still with us, shaping influencing and shaping our dreams through his influence on others. And as we move into the future, he'll be waiting for us there, too.

Jack Kirby Tribute pages from Amazing Heroes #100 (1986), Captain America pin-up by Jack Kirby for Marvel Treasury Special #1 (1976)