By: Mark Evanier Publisher: Abrams Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Abrams Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 224 Publication Date: February 22, 2008
Jack Kirby created or co-created some of comic books’ most popular characters including Captain America, The X-Men, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, The Mighty Thor, Darkseid, and The New Gods. More significantly, he created much of the visual language for fantasy and adventure comics. There were comics before Kirby, but for the most part their page layout, graphics, and visual dynamic aped what was being done in syndicated newspaper strips. Almost everything that was different about comic books began in the forties on the drawing table of Jack Kirby. This is his story by one who knew him well—the authorized celebration of the one and only “King of Comics” and his groundbreaking work.
“I don’t think it’s any accident that . . . the entire Marvel universe and the entire DC universe are all pinned or rooted on Kirby’s concepts.” —Michael Chabon
Thoughtful and rich in detail What a fine, and fitting, tribute to Jack Kirby! I've had my copy for a while, but after re-reading some of his comics, sat down with the "King of Comics" book, again. And I'm impressed, all over! The people who put this together do Jack proud! It's also an amazing value, considering how expensive some of the Omnibus books can be. Fine, fine.
Kirby's amazing, visual & historic impact Reading about history is fascinating; seeing history spring to life can at times be even better. King of Comics uses words & images of various kinds to *depict* the life of Kirby: visual reproductions, photos, pencils, inks, colors, and original comic art are all represented here.
Highlights here for me... *Vintage photos & scans- check out the early, black & white images on pages 34, 67, and 211. Photos like these go a long way to making history spring to life. *Original artwork- I love Kirby's graphite & cream-colored army drawings on pages 66 & 67. I also like the Sandman sketch on page 10, the Popeye sketch on page 35, Kirby's Marines Toys for Tots poster on page 157, and the many scans of inked original comic pages. The Jimmy Olsen scans on pages 166 & 167 are particularly eye-grabbing & highly stylized. Many images in these pages are rare & highly collectible.
It's virtually a Kirby museum in print, at about 9-1/2"W x 12-1/2"L, and 220+ pages. Famous comics covers are also reproduced, like Action Comics #1, Marvel Comics #1, Captain America Comics #1, Brave & the Bold #28, Fantastic Four #1, New Gods #1, etc. These images are landmarks in comicbook history, and Kirby's impact in comics' Golden & Silver Ages is amazing to say the least. Objectively speaking, as far as I can understand, there can be only one, *real* King of Comics. Jack Kirby certainly gets my vote!
P.S. Similar popular books with a different perspective include: Tales to Astonish by Ronin Ro, and Excelsior! : The Amazing Life of Stan Lee by Stan Lee & George Mair. But I consider King of Comics to be by far the best of the three.
BUY THIS BOOK OR I WILL BE FORCED TO PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE Okay, I won't really do that. But if you're a fan of Jack Kirby, then you NEED this book. I don't need to talk about the art. If you're thinking of purchasing this book, then you probably know all about it. But I will say that there is A LOT of it here, from stuff he did at home before he ever got a job drawing, ranging all the way through to the end of his career. And that's all the reason you should need. But wait! There's more! As an added bonus, this book also has an excellent introduction by Neil Gaiman, testimonials on Kirby's influence from various writers and celebrities (Harlan Ellison, Nicolas Cage, and Michael Chabon are the ones I recall off the top of my head), and a very well written and thoroughly enjoyable biography of Jack Kirby written by his longtime friend Mark Evanier.
Excellent introduction to one of the titans of comics This book is a tremendous homage to the work of Jack Kirby. You will be hard pressed to find many more gorgeous books about a major comic artist, with a wide array of illustrations from every period of Kirby's long and illustrious career. Evanier has outdone himself in selection drawings that put Kirby at his best on display. There are also some wonderful rarities, such as the great and very late "Street Code," based upon his youthful experiences in a local gang. There are a bevy of raw drawings beside the way they eventually appeared in published form. But my favorite has to be a multiple page spread from Kirby's NEW GODS, showing the same drawing first from Kirby's hand, then after the colorer and letterer have their turn, and finally in a version by the great Alex Ross.
The illustrations more of less carry the book. As a documentary it lacks depth. I didn't come away from the book really feeling like I knew Jack Kirby as a person. Many of the major incidents in his creative life feel more gestured at than delved into. And the whole messy relationship and collaboration between Kirby and Stan Lee is not very satisfactory. Indeed, at the end of the book I didn't get a strong sense of of what Lee and Kirby had done with one another. Too much of their relationship devolved into a he said-he said affair.
Still, by the end of the book you have a good overall idea of Kirby as an artist and an outline of his career. It would be nice if someday we got a full length, detailed biography, especially one that untangled the intricacies of his work with Stan Lee. While Evanier rightfully stresses Kirby's longer collaboration with Joe Simon, he will always be best remembered for his work at Marvel. In the meantime, this book gives some glimpse into Kirby's life and a much broader peek into his work as an artist.
Evanier's heartfel tribute to Kirby succeeds on every level There has been so much written on Jack Kirby's work; so many tributes in the past, that I was not prepared to be bowled-over by this one. But then Mark Evanier--who knew and worked for Kirby--is not your average "fan." He's a guy whose own creative credits (Groo, Garfield, etc., etc...) are so impressive that I should slap myself for not realizing that any book he'd do on Kirby would be a sensation. Aside from the lavish reproduction quality and the generously-sized book itself, I'd say that the selection of images impressed me most mightily. Kirby's output was so phenomenal, how do you boil it down to the essentials? And yet, given the space limitations, I think Evanier has done it. His selections not only hit Kirby's high-points, but manage to carry along the biographical narrative. I was also glad that Evanier had sidebars on many of Kirby's inking collaborators whose work became so essential to our enjoyment of Kirby. And of course Evanier gave us probably the most accurate telling of the difficult Stan Lee/Jack Kirby relationship (about which Stan must bear his shame to his grave). If I may be so bold as to inject a moral into the Kirby story, it's probably that creators must take control of their creations--as people like Will Eisner and Walt Disney did-- and not become dependent on publishers, virtually none of whom ever seem to be willing to pay creators their due. Thanks for this ultimate Jack Kirby homage, Mark!
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