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JACK KIRBY SEVENTY-EIGHT TM&©MarvelCharacters, Inc. COLLECTOR SEVENTY-EIGHT $ WINTER

10.95

2020

Characters, Inc. Characters, TM & © Marvel Marvel © & TM Contents THE

SILVER ANNIVERSARY ISSUE! 25 YEARS ON...... 2 (a quarter century of this mag) JACK KIRBY AT FLEISCHER ISSUE #78, WINTER 2020 STUDIOS ...... 3 Collector (Kirby’s earliest work was ) LINK THORNE, THE FLYING FOOL...... 5 (a forgotten S&K hero) HOW SIMON & KIRBY KICKSTARTED THE SILVER AGE ...... 13 (Challengers or the ?) KIRBY OBSCURA...... 20 MARVEL PRECURSORS. . . . . 22 (he had to start somewhere) SOLID SILVER CONTINUITY. . . .28 (simply the best) A 25-YEAR SEISMIC SHIFT!. . . 31 (at this point in Jack’s career...) MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE FALLEN MONSTER… ...... 34 (heading out the door with ) 2019 WONDERCON KIRBY TRIBUTE PANEL. . . . . 40 ( moderates) THE MYSTERY OF MYSTIVAC. . .53 (the Mister Miracle mystery) SILVER SURFER GALLERY. . . . 55 SILVER : INCIDENTAL ICONOGRAPHY...... 61 (Kirby’s final hero examined) CIRCLE OF FRIENDS...... 63 (stories about meeting Jack) THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR. . .65 (thanks to those who’ve helped us) EVENT HORIZON ...... 66 (Tom Scioli shares his grand design for the Four) GOING MUTTS OVER KIRBY!. . . 70 (Patrick McDonnell’s tributes to Jack) THE JACK KIRBY MUSEUM. . . .73 (visit & join www.kirbymuseum.org) THE MONOLITH...... 74 COLLECTOR COMMENTS. . . . .78 (letters on past issues) Deluxe cover inks: Standard cover inks: STEVE RUDE (new figure), JOHN ROMITA and JOHN VERPOORTEN (main inks from Thor #170, at right) Standard cover colors: TOM ZIUKO

COPYRIGHTS: Ant-Man, , Batroc, Black Panther, , , , , Galactus, Giant-Man, , Him, , , , , , Metallo, , Quicksilver, , , Sgt. , , Silver Surfer, Spider- Man, , , Sub-Mariner, Thermal Man, Thor, Two-Gun Kid, , Volstaag, , , , X-Men, TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. • Big Barda, Blackhawks, , Challengers of the Unknown, Flash, Forever People, , Guardian, , , , Metallo, Mister Miracle, Mystivac, , Newsboy , OMAC, , , , Shazam, Slig, , , The Unexpected TM & © DC Comics • Popeye TM & © King Features • , , Foxhole, In Love, Link Thorne, Night Fighter, Police Trap, TM & © & Jack The Jack Kirby Collector, Vol. 27, No. 78, Winter 2020. Published quarterly by and © TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Kirby estates • Private Strong TM & © Archie Publications 919-449-0344. John Morrow, Editor/Publisher. Single issues: $12 postpaid US ($18 elsewhere). Four-issue subscriptions: $48 Economy US, $70 International, $18 • The TM & © Joe Simon estate • Chip Hardy, Flesh Digital. Editorial package © TwoMorrows Publishing, a division of TwoMorrows Inc. All characters are trademarks of their respective companies. All Kirby artwork Crawl, Green, , TM & © Jack Kirby estate • Duck TM & © is © Jack Kirby Estate unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter is © the respective authors. Views expressed here are those of the respective authors, and not & Jack Kirby estates necessarily those of TwoMorrows Publishing or the Jack Kirby Estate. First printing. PRINTED IN CHINA. ISSN 1932-6912 1 Photo 25 Years On Pivotal Decisions by editor John Morrow

Did I do you toward our 25th Anniversary book, The World of TwoMorrows, which I’ co-editing with Jon B. Cooke. the right If you’ve ever wanted to know the nitty-gritty history thing? of how I started TJKC, and ended up with what fans Make the half-jokingly call my publishing “empire,” WOT should be out at the same time this issue ships. It’s filled with right choices? Will I regret photos, memorabilia, and behind-the-scenes details  this move one day? of how TwoMorrows evolved from a 16-page hand- xeroxed fanzine about Jack Kirby, to what it is today. Here I am in 1996 or a quarter-century (!), I’ve been producing this And now, let’s take a journey through Kirby’s own at one of my earliest history, with stops along the way to see what kind of convention appear- magazine on a regular basis. Since 1994, it’s ances (that’s Joe consumed countless hours of my life, and more than pivotal decisions he had to make. I’ve learned a lot from F Jack’s successes and failures—most notably that, just Sinnott’s hand on my once, I’ve stopped to ask myself, “Self, is this the best shoulder!)... use of your time and the remaining years of your life, like in comic books, even your defeats can come back or should you be focusing on something much more around as eventual triumphs. I hope you can take away lucrative?” something valuable from this trip as well. H Kirby himself must’ve been plagued with that same , but inevitably reached the answer I have: “As long as I can support my family, the satisfac- Kirby’s Bad(?) Business Sense tion I get from my job is just as important as making A lot has been said about how, as good as Kirby was at more money.” creating comics, he was equally bad at the business end So for this Silver Anniversary issue, I’m drop- of things. Sometimes you just make the wrong choice in ping some extra coin on a very satisfying fifth a situation, and other times you have few options when color (metallic silver, of course), and a special silver life throws you a curveball. Over the course of 25 years of sleeve Deluxe Edition for those who chose it over the documenting his history, I’ve found a lot of moments Standard Edition. where things might’ve turned out differently. Here’s a list ...and accepting the Alas, due to the ongoing trade dispute between of some of those instances—decide for yourself if these 2019 for the US and China, the addition of a 30% tariff on our were good or bad choices Jack made: “Best Comics-Related printing means, for the foreseeable future, I’ll have to • Waiting to get drafted into the infantry in WWII, whereas Periodical” for Back cut 16 pages from the usual format to keep our cover Issue magazine, in Joe Simon enlisted in the US Coast Guard and a photo by Kendall price the same. in the Signal Corps, serving stateside Whitehouse. But in spite of some very frustrating business decisions I’ve been forced to make, my day job is a • Forming Mainline Comics with Joe Simon, at a time pretty nice gig. I get to produce work that I enjoy, when comics were in a major sales downturn in the and am immensely proud of—just as Jack did for 1950s twice as long as I’ve been • Signing a napkin contract with for the Sky cranking out this mag. Masters newspaper strip, rather than having a legal I could’ve spent professional handle the negotiations this entire issue doc- umenting my own • Moving to Marvel in the late 1950s and continuing to personal journey that work without a contract throughout the 1960s brought me here, but • Not walking out of Marvel with in 1966 this mag has never been, and never will • Siding with Marvel in Simon’s 1960s Captain America be, about me. It’s lawsuit; was there bad blood between Joe and Jack about Jack Kirby, that kept Kirby from discussing it before taking Marvel the man who influ- owner Martin Goodman’s offer? enced several gen- • Taking a loan from Goodman in 1969 to fund his erations in ways family’s move to California that we’re only beginning to see • Moving to DC in 1970, without written guarantees from now. So rather than deflect any • Burning bridges by parodying Stan Lee as Funky more attention Flashman in Mister Miracle in the away from him, let me • Moving back to Marvel in 1975, without written just point guarantees from Marvel

2 In the 1930s, young Jack Kirby had dreams of being a movie star, hoping to move to Hollywood and become the next John Garfield in gangster films. Thankfully, his mom wouldn’t let him, or he might’ve missed out on a career in comic books. So the closest he got to being on the Big Screen was accepting an offer to use his art talent animating cartoons in 1935— and there begins a long series of pivotal choice made by... Jack Kirby at by Jim Korkis • Originally published online at: http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/in-his-own-words-jack-kirby-at-fleischers/

n a short biography of Jack Kirby written by Jack himself that appeared in the Merry Marvel Messenger I (the official newsletter of the Merry Marvel Marching Society fan club) in 1966, it states: “Frustrated by bad (far right) Jack Kirby, spelling, I turned to bad drawing and improved both enough age 18 in 1935. in my late teens to land a job in a small syndicate servicing weekly newspapers. “From there to Fleischer animation studios— (right) Kirby’s try-out where, for negligible wages, I learned that the human body, (under his given name, Jacob Kurtzberg) to in motion, has value and beauty. When Popeye and Betty do in-betweening on Boop took the initial steps to throw their pies, it was my job the Fleischer Studios’ to complete the movements and of the . This Popeye animated operation was called in-betweening. When comic magazines shorts. blossomed as a field, I leaped in and drew for anyone who two artists met. would let me tell a story.” Around the same time , Harry While most of Kirby’s peers Lampert and , all of whom would make an in his neighborhood saw their impact in early comic books, were also working there. future as policemen, politicians, or Stanley left in 1936 to work with Hal Horne on Mickey gangsters, Kirby wanted to be an Mouse Magazine. artist, but only lasted less than a By that time, Kirby was also gone. He saw there week at art class at Pratt University was labor unrest at the studio and left well before the because his father lost his job. strike of May 1937, and the studio later relocating to Kirby dropped out and needed Miami, Florida in 1938. He was not working there in to find paying work. He started 1939 as many sources state because he would have had doing some artwork for Lincoln to be living in Florida. In the summer of 1940, he and Newspaper Syndicate. his family moved to , New York where he met (above) He also got a job as an in-betweener at the Rosalind Goldstein, whom he would later marry in with Betty Boop. Fleischer Studios in New York sometime in 1935, sup- 1942. posedly earning around fifteen dollars a week. It can Kirby did admit that one of the benefits he got be debated that this was his earliest formal art training from working at the animation studio was that he that taught him about movement and exaggeration. smuggled out large quantities of pencils and erasers, Working in the same room during that exact same which he used for many years drawing newspaper strips time as an in-betweener was John Stanley, and comic books. Certainly his working on Popeye car- who would go on to later fame on the Little Lulu comic toons inspired the work he did on the Socko books among other credits, so it is probable that the the Seadog done under the name of “Teddy” (below).

3 After Kirby met Joe Simon and collaborated on the at Fox Features, the pair decided to form a true partnership, which lasted almost two decades. Following their 1945 military discharges, instead of returning to Marvel or DC (home of their WWII-era hits Captain America and ), they worked for Harvey and Prize Comics, creating strips like...

Here’s a story from Airboy Comics, V4 #5, 1947 (featuring the of the Flying Fool). Restoration and color by Chris Fama. Since Titan never reprinted the “Link Thorne” stories in their Simon & Kirby Archives volumes, we’ll be running them all in chronological order over the next several issues.

5 Simon & Kirby scored big by creating the genre in the late 1940s, but as the 1950s wore on, the comics field was in a slump. In the midst of an anti-comics backlash, Joe and Jack unwisely chose to start Mainline Comics. Their new company failed, and they parted ways. Kirby chose to reach out to DC Comics, picking up whatever work he could, and bringing with him a leftover Mainline concept, that in hindsight shows...

he team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby gets credit for appeared on a lot of firsts, including the first kid gang strips, America’s Texemplified by the ; the first newsstands, successful comics aimed at the love magazine audience the bi-monthly (); and numerous other pioneering Challengers of efforts. the Unknown I want to make a radical proposal. Simon & was already up Kirby also kickstarted the Silver Age of Comics. to issue #6! How can that be, you ask? Run with me here…. It’s clear in retrospect The universally accepted trigger for the Silver that DC was Age was the appearance of the updated Flash in hesitant to #4, September–October 1956. This led to launch new a wave of new incarnations of Golden Age DC super- super- heroes, culminating in the of America, in the early whose sales directly inspired to follow 1950s, a time suit with The Fantastic Four. Yet the character’s revival when the did not result in a Flash comic book until 1959, two- comic book and-a-half years after the new Flash’s debut. industry was By any standard, that’s a slow transition from under from parents’ groups. Launching new titles tryout to established title. More to the point, before The (above) Which was an expensive and risky venture—as resumed its interrupted Golden Age numbering, comic—Showcase final titles emanating from the Simon & Kirby studio, all #4 or #6—really subsequent Showcase of which were painfully short-lived. The Flash appeared launched the Silver features had already broken sporadically four times before DC management felt Age of Comics? If it out into their own books. was the former, the confident enough to award him a title of his own. As important as the Flash sure took his By contrast, Lois Lane was given her own title time getting his own Flash’s revival was to what only six months after her final Showcase appearance. series, as opposed to came afterward, I submit Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane #1 was cover-dated the Challengers, who that “Challengers of the moved with almost March-April 1958, the month before Challengers Unknown,” which first lightning speed! #1. No doubt Superman’s success on TV motivated appeared in Showcase #6, that decision. Even though Lois Lane beat out the cover-dated January–February Challengers by thirty days, DC’s confidence in the 1957, was just as important Kirby strip as the Flash, if not more so, in appeared the comic book comeback that to be much defined the Silver Age. stronger. Two consecutive Challengers tryouts appeared Only three before the Flash popped up again in Showcase #8. The months Flash did not return until Showcase #13, with his last passed from tryout running in #14, a year-and-a-half after the Scarlet their final Speedster’s appearance. Showcase By that time, there had been four Challengers appearance issues, then the feature received its own title, cover- to their dated April-May 1958. That’s right, Challengers beat the first issue. Flash to its own title—and by a solid year. Flash #105 Overlooked was cover-dated February-March 1959. By the time it ...How Simon & Kirby Kickstarted the Silver Age by Will Murray 13 Jacques Cousteau Rocky Marciano Neil Armstrong Edmund Hillary

characters. What the Challengers of the Unknown were saying was, ‘Where are we going now?’ That was a question asked in all those stories. In the Challengers, I put them into new gimmicks and the machines that we already had, but I took them two or three stages ahead as to what we might have. I would take them five years ahead. If we had certain generators, Challengers Inspirations? changing artists yet again and finally I would make a super-generator of some by Will Murray & Mark Clegg putting the foundering crew in colorful kind, and have my story revolve around While I readily recognize the Doc Savage inspiration in uniforms. None of this worked. that. What would it do to human beings? Challengers of the Unknown, I have always wondered if Rip Hunter, Time Master was the first Perhaps it would summon aliens from the strip might not have also been inspired by something to fade away, folding in 1965. Sea Devils some foreign and give us the else, some then-contemporary film or concept. Then one was cancelled in 1967. After being turned power to do that.” day I read the following Facebook posting by researcher Mark Clegg, which I quote with his kind permission: into faux super-heroes in a desperate Consider this as further proof. In “On December 31, 1954, Joe Simon, 41, is probably attempt to salvage their fading fortunes, 1961, when Marvel Comics publisher commiserating with his brother-in-law Jack Oleck, the Blackhawks disbanded in 1968. Martin Goodman instructed editor-writer 40, one of the main writers for both Mainline and EC. Wondering what to do in the future, do they look back I’m tempted to put forth the Metal Stan Lee to emulate DC’s best-selling on the “Silver Spider” proposal they did with C. C. Beck Men as the ultimate expression of the Justice League of America, Lee huddled for Harvey at the beginning of the year, even though adventure team trends, but Metal Men with Jack Kirby. By all rights they should Harvey ended up passing on it? Oh well, maybe some- may be too unique a strip to fall into any have produced something along the lines day. Did he and Jack already have their “Challengers of the Unknown” concept worked out? World Heavyweight convenient category. They popped up of The Avengers, starring their classic Champion Rocky Marciano, 29, defended his title on in Showcase early in 1962 and had their Golden Age characters like Captain May 15, 1953 in a rematch against Jersey Joe Walcott, own book within the year. Reportedly America, the , and the Sub- 39, who this time was knocked out in the first round. On May 29, 1953, Edmund Percival Hillary and Nepalese their Showcase tryouts outsold Superman. Mariner. Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first In their own title, the Metal Men never Instead of copying the JLA model, climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of again achieved those same soaring they produced a super-hero version of Mount Everest. Published in 1953, Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau described his underwater world research in circulation heights, its title fading out at Challengers of the Unknown, which they his first book, The Silent World: A Story of Undersea of 1969. called the Fantastic Four. Discovery and Adventure (Subtitle: A story of undersea Defying that counter-trend, The and basic formula was discovery and adventure, by the first Challengers of the Unknown continued into virtually identical. Four ordinary human men to swim at record depths with the freedom of fish). On December the next decade, finally expiring in 1971. beings survive a near-fatal event, in this 12, 1953, test pilot Chuck Yeager, 30, But the title feature was soon revived, case a failed space launch. They come set a new speed record at Mach 2.44. first with Kirby reprints in 1973, and out rededicated and transformed into The flight though had not gone entirely to plan, since shortly after reaching continued in new stories in Super-Team a global threat-fighting action team. Mach 2.44, Yeager lost control of the Family lasting until 1977. In retrospect, Cerebral paralleled X-1A at about 80,000 ft (24,000 m) the title might be considered the last Prof. Haley. Hotheaded Johnny due to inertia coupling, a phenomenon enduring success to emerge from the mirrored Red Ryan’s colorful personality. largely unknown at the time. With the Chuck aircraft simultaneously rolling, pitch- Yeager Simon & Kirby studios. And what was but a physical ing, and yawing out of control, Yeager Challengers of the Unknown is not twin of Rocky Davis? In that first issue, dropped 51,000 feet (16,000 m) in less than a minute normally considered one of the most their astronaut jumpsuits were colored before regaining control at around 29,000 feet (8,800 m). He did manage to land without further incident.” significant titles of the 1950s, but I’m blue. They switched to wearing multi- their Boy Explorers had grown up to become absolutely convinced that it was a key colored versions when they fought the Chuck (or Neil Armstrong, another prominent flyboy development in the early Silver Age of , so that they resembled the of the day who’s the splitting image of Ace Morgan), Jacques, Edmund, and Rocky? What if they shared a Comics. And it presaged the cosmic trend Challengers, but with individually- flight that had a “severe incident”? From the standpoint of Kirby’s 1960s Marvel work. colored two-toned outfits. In their first of timing, and the unity of Mark’s examples, I must say “Challengers of the Unknown came stories, the Challengers sported two- that this is a brilliant observation, and almost certainly from their own particular time,” he toned outfits before changing to straight true. All four Challengers had real-life counterparts then making headlines. once explained. “They were post- purple. A coincidence? I doubt it! In the In further support of Mark’s premise, I must point out that Jack Kirby seems to have co-created the Fantastic Four in a parallel way. In April 1961, the Soviets sent the first man into space. Less than a month later, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was followed by American Alan Shepard. The world was electrified, and a challenging new profes- sion was : Astronaut. Three months later—precisely the production window for Marvel Comics––The Fantastic Four braved the ulti- mate frontier. The FF were the Space Age successors to the Challengers. 18 Coming back to Marvel Comics was perhaps Jack’s most pivotal decision, for better or worse. But starting with the FantasticSample Four, much of this key HeadlineMarvel Precursors 1960s workby has John distinct... Morrow by Alex Grand

t is important to see what Kirby worked on before his work with Marvel that would I strongly suggest his contributions went beyond simply just drawing, and that he brought many important ideas and concepts into his collaborations with Stan Lee, co-creating Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Ant-Man, the X-Men, Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and villains such as Galactus, Modok, Rama-Tut, the Lava Men, , Impossible Man, Magneto, the Sentinels, Puppet Master, , and Immortus. 3 6 Thor The Mighty Thor was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in 1962 in #83. 1 Although this Thor is the most famous, Jack worked on a couple of other before this version. Jack had a long relationship with the Norse and reportedly loved their stories as a child. His first Thor was for DC Comics, in #75 (1942), “The Villain from .” 2 He would then return to the character 1 in 1957 for DC’s Tales of the Unexpected #16 (1957), “The 2 Magic Hammer.” 3

The Magic Hammer story in 1957 is interesting because we get a prototyp- ical held in Thor’s hand, which matches the hammer Thor held in his 1962 Marvel debut. Another cool precursor from this issue is that Thor’s hammer is tested against a tree in the 1957 DC issue. 4 Jack Kirby would have the Marvel Thor do the same thing in his first appearance in Journey into Mystery #83. 5 The plot of the 1957 DC issue revolved around Loki stealing Thor’s hammer. This 7 8 9 same plot would be used in Journey into Mystery #92 (1963), 6 where Loki would steal Thor’s hammer, causing a great deal of mischief. Another fun fact is that the first villains to fight Marvel’s Thor in Journey into Mystery #83 are the Stone Men from Saturn, 7 and that these Stone Men have origins in Jack Kirby’s fascination with the Easter 4 Island Stone Men which he first used for DC in #85 (1959), 8 then later in 1961 for Marvel’s Tales 10 5 to Astonish #16. 9

22 As the 1960s flowered, Kirby’s imagination had reached new heights, and his storytelling skills were unprecedented. His plotting and page compositions were groundbreaking, telling fully cinematic stories on the newsprint page. This “Silver Age” of comics still stands as the most influential era in comics history, largely because Kirby chose to create a...

by Norris Solid Silver Continuity Burroughs he Silver Age pretty much coincided with my upbringing. I was ten years old in 1962, and began to absorb whatever T aspect of the art world that caught my attention. Being a kid often in a candy store, I started noticing some comics on the racks with images that seemed to leap off their covers. (Nearly everyone who has described Kirby’s work has used that analogy at one time or another.) The first ones were Kirby monster books that seemed a bit intimidating at my tender age. I cautiously read some of these at various friends’ homes. Then, as the TV craze began escalating, I picked up some issues midway through Kirby’s run on Rawhide Kid. I start- ed noticing that the artist had a way with panel transition, very much like the way a film was cut. It was his sense of continuity that was remarkable. A few months later, Incredible Hulk #1 was the book that started my obsession with continuity in earnest. In that series, Kirby was exploring the Jekyll and Hyde aspect of human nature and he was playing with different ways for that transition to be depicted. Kirby had the first Banner-to-Hulk shift happen dramatically at moonrise, and used shadow and light to his greatest advantage. The drama of change back to humanity 1 was just as suspenseful. We see on page 11 of the first issue the Hulk fling young aside like a rag doll, but in the nick of time at sunrise the boy is saved. Banner regains his humanity in a masterful series of  four moment-to-moment panels. 1 Later in the issue, Kirby shows a three-panel tier of only Banner’s hands chang- ing moment by moment into those of the Hulk. 2 He then cuts to the crash of the Jeep and the ominous figure of the creature’s head emerging from the wreckage to 

2

28 By 1965, Marvel Comics was officially a cultural phenomenon, being lauded in newspaper articles, TV, and on college campuses. Kirby’s style was the Marvel style, and even lesser titles had the propensity to become breakaway hits with his involvement. This was a pivotal year for Kirby, as Steve Ditko left Marvel, asking Kirby to join him in solidarity. Jack, with a family to support, chose to stay despite his issues with the company, and proceeded to give comics...

A 25-Year Seismic Shift! by Shane Foley

(below) For this pivotal ccording to ’s Complete Jack Kirby, 25 years after May 1940 brings us to May 1965. At story for Sgt. Fury Volume 1, Jack Kirby’s first art produced intention- this point, Marvel is revitalized and the second phase of #18, Kirby was enlist- A ally for a comic book—as opposed to reprints of the Silver Age was beginning. ed to draw the key newspaper strips reprinted in comic book form—was Not only was Kirby the master of having revolu- first and last pages only, but received no published in May 1940. It was Crash Comics #1 featur- tionized the art of comic storytelling in such areas as credit for it. ing the five-page “Solar Legion.” He was 22. dynamics in art and theme matter; not only was he a So what was Kirby doing exactly 25 years later? joint architect with editor Stan Lee in bringing about the new Marvel style of comics; but he was now poised to revolutionize himself—again! Marvel released twelve new comics dated May 1965—and Kirby was involved with ten of them! • Fantastic Four #38: cover + 20 pages • Thor (Journey into Mystery) #116: cover + 21 pages • X-Men #11: cover + 20 pages • Avengers #16: cover + 20 pages layouts •  #65: cover + 10 pages (Captain America) •  #67: cover • Sgt. Fury #18: cover + 2 pages (1 & 20) • Strange Tales #132: cover •  #122: cover • Two-Gun Kid #75: cover Only Spider-Man and didn’t have any Kirby touch! Ten covers and 93 pages (with only 20 or 22 of those pages being rough layouts)—a massive workload. But in the middle of this massive workload, there was a revolution in both art and storytelling happening. Through Kirby’s career, most stories had been rel- atively short. Even the longer crime stories and love sto- ries usually ran for only fifteen pages. By now at Marvel, the page count per story had increased, with 20 to 22 pages—a whole issue—being the norm. But things were beginning to evolve further. When Ant-Man was changed to become Giant- Man, editor Stan Lee roped Kirby in for the transition. Kirby hung around for the second story as well, but this time (Tales to Astonish #50, Dec. 1963) the story was continued—not just a subplot thread, but a genuine cliffhanger ending: A first for Marvel. Lee must have liked the idea, because later the same month, he did something similar with on Thor (Journey into Mystery #99, then #100). The very next issue of Journey into Mystery (#101), Kirby returned to Thor as a regular assignment. He’d begun the feature in Journey into Mystery #83, but then,  as with Ant-Man/Giant-Man, Iron Man, and the Human  Torch, he did only irregular issues. But now, with this issue, dated February 1964, the strip was his—and he immediately celebrated with another two-part story. The Fantastic Four soon also experimented with a two- 31 In 1968, Kirby took a loan from Martin Goodman to fund a move from New York to California, ostensibly because his asthmatic daughter needed a more conducive climate—but he undoubtedly needed the change as well. Not feeling properly credited, appreciated, or compensated for his creations, he quietly made plans to leave Marvel Comics, and closed out the 1960s with some of his least-inspired work of the decade—serviceable, but nothing groundbreaking. He was saving his best ideas for another time—and another company. But... Mean while, Back At The Fallen Monster…

here’s this book that I keep reading over and Let’s examine these final issues one by one. over—pawing at it, actually, like a curious dog. T It’s a Marvel , The Essential Thor #167, August 1969 Cover Date Thor, Volume 4, reprinting, in black-&-white, Jack A John Romita cover? Signed by JR? It’s clear why Kirby’s final year or so on the book (Thor #167, Lee rejected Kirby’s rather dull version [shown at left], cover-dated August 1969, to #179, August 1970). but it’s a sign of the bumpy months to come. The story It also goes far beyond Kirby’s exit, with fill-ins finds Odin sending Thor on “a mission most grave”— by , into the early issues of John to find the planet-killing Galactus. “It could take an Buscema’s long run, past Stan Lee’s departure as , my love,” sighs Sif in a lovely Colletta-textured regular writer and ending with the first few Gerry splash page. Two pages later, we get another splash Conway-scripted issues. featuring Loki and Karnilla the Norn Queen—it looks The book covers about 29 issues total, span- great, but story-wise, it adds little. (By this point, Kirby ning maybe two-and-a-half years, wrapping up was holding back new ideas and new characters and the 1960s and speeding into the ’70s. Only about using more “pin-up” splashes to pump up the issues.) 29 issues—but what a difference, if you jump The main action here is just as advertised on from the first story in the reprint volume (the Romita’s cover. Loki waits for Thor to transform into Lee-Kirby- “This World Renounced!”) to the last (the Conway- Buscema tale from 1972’s Thor #195, “In the Shadow of !”, in which the only real connection to 1969 is Colletta’s penwork on the inks). It’s fascinating to watch Buscema transition in as the book’s (right and below) Unused page from permanent artist and to see Lee Thor #169. Long after transition out as its permanent it was rejected, Kirby writer (he retains an editor’s credit added much greater on the Conway issues reprinted detail to the back- here). How could Thor survive grounds—either for his own amusement, losing both its captains? By losing or to increase its only one at a time, over a long peri- resale value. od of time. It basically worked the same way on Fantastic Four. What’s most “essential”  about this Essential collection is  that we have, under one cover,  Kirby’s last year on Thor, one of  his masterwork titles. These issues were done when Kirby’s relationship with Marvel was fatally fraying and when he was readying to make his leap to DC. His distraction shows in some of the work; did Lee notice? Whether he did or not… it was an odd year for both the book and the team that produced it.

34 Mean while, Back At The Fallen Monster… by Robert L. Bryant Jr.

Dr. Don Blake upon a rooftop, then attacks with- out mercy, easily grabbing the magic cane, but all-seeing Odin calls foul and zaps Loki back to . Page 18 is another cool splash, this one showing Galactus devouring another world, his great hands clouded with—smoke? Energy?— while the black skies fill with refugee ships. Thor #168, September 1969 “Galactus Found!” proclaims the Kirby cover, as the space god’s hand lunges for Thor and the reader. “Could take an eternity”? Well, I suppose you could argue that for kids, the month-long wait between issues was almost an eternity. But you have to wonder—did Kirby miss an opportunity by not stretching the search over two or three issues? It would have been a chance for Thor to find sidebar-type stories on , or to encounter fleets of ships fleeing Galactus (as the Thunder God did once crash “ages upon ages ago” on a “far-distant planet,” before). The preparation for Thor’s odyssey takes and he spies the plague-pocked, blotchy hand of a dead longer than the mission itself. The Odinship departs crew member. It’s only sort of a teaser, (above) As the Asgard on page 2; Thor is inside the hold of though. More later. Back to Thermal Galactus origin story Galactus’ worldship by page 7. Man! He’s made his way to New York, in Thor #169 was “Could take an eternity”! Takest being developed by interrupted the regular TV broadcasts Kirby, Marvel sent thee a chill pill, warrior woman. and drawn the attention of Thor’s pals these states from But this issue marks a major and the Warriors Three. Fight #168 to Jack to short-term change, because it’s the coming! And more secret origins. follow from. We’re beginning of Colletta’s several- still trying to unravel issue absence as , resulting in # the full story of why Thor 169, October 1969 there is almost a full a far different look for the book for Better men than I have examined, issue of #169 rejected months. The inker here is George in the pages of TJKC, this sort of baf- pages, but more info Klein, whose DNA is closer to Joe fling issue. There may be no answers. can be found in the Sinnott than to Colletta. And some- updated, expanded I won’t rehash what’s been said before second edition of Kirby one—maybe Klein, maybe someone about Galactus’ birth, except to note & Lee: Stuf’ Said, in the Marvel production office—has that the inker here is again Klein, available now from used generous amounts of Zip-A-Tone that someone still has a supply of TwoMorrows. on many pages. (I think it works more Zip-A-Tone in his desk, and that often than not; the looming side of the the cover is a pastiche of photostat- guard’s head on page 1 is a study in ted interior panels from the issue, cross-hatching, a pleasure of textures.) which serve as background for an Much of this issue is devoted apparently Romita-drawn outline to setting up the threat for the next of Galactus, which serves as background for a few books—the Thermal Man, birthed at “a secret definitely Romita-drawn Thor figure. It may be atomic experimental center in the mysterious Orient.” the oddest cover ever done for a Kirby comic. Sounds promising, but it’s really just another Big Bad But yeah, we really do get Galactus’ secret Communist Robot on its way to crush “the accursed origin and a visit to his plague- free world!” Who needs a rampaging robot when polluted planet Taa, a “now-dead paradise.”  we have Galactus, the space god who must be found We see Galactus as he was when he was only even if the quest “would take an age”? We don’t want a man (not yet named in this version of the Thermal Man; we want Galactus. But we must visit origin). And we get that strange panel on page with Thermal Man for five pages while he escapes the 14 in which Galactus seems to be stooped Reds, is recaptured, packed aboard a missile, and shot and wearing Watcher-type robes. Another off to America. panel shows the space god creating “suitable Back to Galactus! He wants to talk to Thor about and unique attire which could regulate his his secret origin—who he is, how he came to be. The energy”—from pure energy he makes his fans are salivating now. Yesssssss. We get six panels of own Galactus helmet, armored tunic and secret origins. In flashback, the Watcher sees a starship boots. (A little too much information here? 35 In 1970, Kirby made two fateful decisions, which would have lasting impacts on his future. One was to leave Marvel for DC Comics, to launch a new concept—an epic tale weaving through multiple comics, which was eventually dubbed the “Fourth World.” The other was hiring two young fans to serve as his assistants—a duo that are still serving as his personal historical raconteurs today, documenting his life and career as recently as at the 2019...

Held Sunday, March 31, 2019 in Anaheim, California. Featuring (as shown on next page top to bottom) moderator Mark Evanier, Steve Sherman, Tom Kraft, John Morrow, Paul S. Levine, and Tom King. Transcribed by Sean Dulaney. Copyedited by Mark Evanier. MARK EVANIER: Hello, I’m Mark Evanier, and this is Steve Sherman, this is John Morrow, this is Tom Kraft over there, and that’s Paul S. Levine. [applause] This is my final panel of the convention. [applause] Thank you. And in many ways, it’s the most fun because it’s fun to talk about Jack. It’s a way of spending more time with him. Actually, you can spend more time with Jack just by wandering through the hall downstairs. I defy you to walk ten yards without seeing some remnant of Jack Kirby somewhere: A character he designed, an artist imitating his style… People with square fingertips. [laughter] Whatever, they’re down there someplace. And it still stuns me—the he has in the artistic community, and how I keep running into people who start talking to me about Jack Kirby without knowing I had any connection to him. This has happened to me…. Every two months or three months, someplace, I’m some- where where I hear someone talking about Jack. They react to a T-shirt design or something like that. I think I told this story on another panel, I was at a Costco one time—they had this thing they were selling, a CD-ROM with the first ten issues of Fantastic Four, Avengers, Hulk, so on… INFANT IN AUDIENCE: Whaa-a-a! EVANIER: Right! [laughter] And I thought, you know, it’s Costco, it’s like eight cents, whatever they charge for these things. I think, “This might be handy to have.” So I have all of my purchases there—I’ve got toilet paper, I’ve got my paper towels; they won’t let you out without one or the other— and this Hispanic kid, about 16-17 years old is boxing up my purchases… [Tom King arrives to join the panel] And this is Tom King, folks. [applause] So, I’m at a Costco, buying a CD-ROM of Jack Kirby’s stuff. It’s got Jack Kirby drawings on it, and this

40 WonderCon Kirby Tribute Panel

kid... [Tom King starts chuckling] And what do you make Jack told us that he was going to be leaving Marvel— your money doing these days? [laughter] ...and the kid which at first we thought was a joke. shows me the CD-ROM before he puts it in the and STEVE SHERMAN: Yeah. Back then, that was a . says, “This is the work of Jack Kirby, the greatest comic Like, “What?!” book artist who ever lived. Marvel f*cked him over.” [laughter] And I immediately looked to see if the kid EVANIER: Yeah. And he said, “I’m going to work for DC could see my credit card or Costco card and had recog- and I need some assistants. Would you guys like to be nized the name, and somehow he made the connection. my assistants?” Steve and I took a long time to say yes. I But no, he had no idea I even knew who Jack Kirby was. think it took, what, a second-and-a-half? [laughter] I told him I had met Jack Kirby, and it was SHERMAN: Yeah. like I’d told him I had met the Easter Bunny. [laughter] It was like, “No, you can’t meet Jack Kirby. C’mon!” EVANIER: At that point, the job was unformed. He [laughter] didn’t talk about what we were going to do, what we There are people on the Internet, if you’re on were going to get paid, if we were going to get paid. It certain forums, who are com- was a decision I have never regretted for one second of plaining that nobody knows my life. I don’t think you who Jack Kirby is. These peo- have either, Steve. ple are wrong, and they are SHERMAN: No. In fact, becoming less and less correct the older I get, the more I as every year goes by, because realize just how lucky we Jack’s fame is spreading. It is were to be able to not only not always spreading at the know him, but to work with expense of Stan Lee’s, and I him and hang around him, resent the people who think because he was just a tre- you have to take from Stan to mendous guy. give to Jack. You have to take a few things from Stan, but… EVANIER: Steve and I will [laughter] now demonstrate for you one Robert Kirkman did this of the main things we did for documentary on super-he- Jack. We would sit in Jack’s roes—it was on some chan- studio—he would be at his nel last year—and I was drawing table and we would interviewed for it for, like, be sitting, in rather uncom- seven hours or whatever, fortable chairs as I recall— and of course they used turning down coffee. Roz was about eleven seconds of always trying to give us coffee, me. And when I left, there which we didn’t like—and Jack was one line I said in it would tell us the whole plot of that I was sure they’d use, an upcoming story he had. And and I was afraid that they’d use it out of context. It’s we would then say, in unison—I something that I very much believe, but you have to would say, “Hey, that sounds great, Jack!” And Steve have some context for it to be a good statement. I was would say… afraid they’d use it without the context and it turned SHERMAN: “...sounds great, good! Can’t wait to see it!” out they didn’t use it at all. But at one point they asked me, “How do you feel about Stan Lee becoming so rich EVANIER: And we were done. [laughter] And then we and famous?” I said, “I begrudge Stan Lee nothing would come out [the] next week and there’d be all except sole credit.” And these guys smiled like, “Ooooh! the pages… for a completely different story! [laughter] We’ve got a good quote here.” And then it didn’t make We’d say, “What happened to the story you told us last it in. week?” and he’d say, “That’s the story I told you guys.” Steve and I had the extraordinary fortune and We’d go, “No it isn’t, Jack.” [laughter] At one point, we good luck to know Jack and get to work with him for were supposed to write an issue of Jimmy Olsen and we (previous page) Jimmy years, and it was an amazing experience. We were came up with this plot about the Loch Ness Monster. Olsen #139 pencils. hired by Jack in February of 1970. He and Roz took us Steve came up with the Loch Ness Monster and I came (center) Original header to lunch at Cantor’s Delicatessen on the 8th or 9th—I up with putting Jimmy Finlayson in it from the Laurel stat for the New Gods can point out the booth we were sitting in. Jack had and Hardy films. So we went out and told Jack the story letter column, which potato pancakes, I had a corned beef sandwich… I don’t we had. We pitched it to him, and he added lots of ideas Mark and Steve com- remember what Steve had, but I remember a lot of to it. We told him this story and he loved everything we piled each issue. completely useless details about things. [laughter] And said. I was taking notes like crazy of his contributions

41 EVANIER: I think I actually have it. It was kind of nice to write a that was pre-rejected. [laughter] He had forgotten we were assigned to do it. He literally forgot. That’s because his brain was off in other universes. JOHN MORROW: There is this really cute Jack drew in that issue, and as a kid, when I saw that picture I thought, “She must be based on some real person.” Do you know the one I’m talking © respective owner about? to it… and we went back EVANIER: I don’t think it was based on anyone—or if it was, it and we wrote the script out, this 23-page story, and we might be based on someone Jack saw for two seconds on the Spanish put our hearts into it. We argued a lot about things—friendly argu- language channel on TV. [laughter] Jack usually watched the Spanish ments. Steve and I, we never had a real argument, did we? language channel on TV. One time I said to him, “What are you watching today?” and he said, “A bunch of crying Mexicans.” [laugh- SHERMAN: No, no. We were just having fun. ter] He didn’t want to have a show on with English in it, because he’d EVANIER: So we brought the script out proudly to Jack. Now what start to pay attention to that, but if it was background noise, it was we didn’t know was that on Monday morning, Nelson Bridwell at music… it was a comfort thing. It didn’t distract him from what he DC, who was Jack’s liaison, called Jack and pointed out to him— was doing because there was no English spoken. nobody had called Jack to tell him that Jimmy Olsen had been SHERMAN: Although, his favorite movie was Gamera, the flying increased from 8 times a year to monthly. They had changed the turtle. He would just crack up when the fire would come out of the schedule, but no one had bothered to tell the editor, [laughter] and turtle’s ass. He thought that was the greatest thing he ever saw. they suddenly [laughter] If the Gamera movie was on, he watched it. noticed they needed an EVANIER: Remember we brought a movie out to show him one issue of Jimmy time? The Valley of Gwangi. Olsen right SHERMAN: Yes. I had a 16mm print. away. So Jack said, “Well, I EVANIER: This was before you could watch a movie on TV. It was a guess I’ve got big novelty to watch a movie in your own home. to write an SHERMAN: Yeah, we had the 16mm projector… issue of Jimmy Olsen!” and EVANIER: We sat and watched The Valley of Gwangi, which I had he sat down seen eleven times and you had seen fourteen times, and Jack was so and he had, excited about it. Someplace, I guarantee you, there is something in vaguely in his that movie that wound up in a comic. head, a story SHERMAN: Well, Devil Dinosaur I would guess. about the Loch Ness EVANIER: Maybe that’s where it came from, yeah. Monster. I’m going to ask Tom Kraft to tell us what’s up with the Jack [laughter] He Kirby Museum. then wrote TOM KRAFT: Lots of things. So, as you may know, The Jack Kirby the story

© respective owner respective © Museum is a nonprofit. We’ve been reaching out to different exhibi- and drew it in five days—23 pages in five days; that’s what he was capable of in his —and we brought out our script. It was the first time in my... I’ve done a lot of scripts that people have rejected, but usually they read them first. [laughter] Jack had already written the issue, and drawn it. SHERMAN: And he didn’t give me sole credit, either. [laughter] EVANIER: We looked it over and it was a great issue. It was fine. It was . And he paid us for the script we did, because Jack believed that people should get paid for the work they do. A couple of times, we would arrange for to ink something or , and Joe would always offer to do it for free, and Jack would say, “No. You’re a professional and professionals should be paid.” [To Steve] Do you have a copy of that Jimmy Olsen script? SHERMAN: No. 42 In 1972, Jack’s Fourth World books at DC Comics are still breaking new ground, but DC, unhappy with their sales, cancels New Gods and Forever People, takes him off the Jimmy Olsen book, and leaves only Mister Miracle on the stands. As he prepares to launch new titles and The Demon, Kirby hastily rearranges his planned stories to get “Himon” into print in Mister Miracle #9 before the series is forced away from his epic vision, and leaves behind...

The Mystery of Mystivac by Glen Gold

(below) Original art aybe the most frustrating question you can ask a fiction writer is, “Is this from Mister Miracle autobiographical?” That’s because the answer sounds swampy: “It’s all #12, courtesy of M made up, but of course my imagination is guided by what I experienced, Heritage Auctions. But unlike what the and I’m not necessarily in control of that process, and now that you mention cover blurb promises, it, that talking rabbit does sound a lot like my dad, but no, really, it’s all made there’s no “Speed up.” Also, sometimes there is no relationship between life and fiction except Trap” in this issue. coincidence. I have written a couple of articles about finding autobiography in Jack’s super- hero work. I think his feelings about leaving Marvel are reflected clearly in Silver Surfer #18 and his depiction of PTSD in Captain America is a pretty obvious nod to the effects of combat on any veteran. But this time I’m not 100% sold on my analysis, which I present in the spirit of finding the face of a saint in your morning toast: It’s there if you squint right. Maybe. Pop quiz, and keep your books closed: Who exactly was Mystivac, the villain in Mister Miracle #12? If your answer was “an alien pretending to be an Asian idol masquerading as a robot working as a chauffeur for Colonel Darby whose power is having his voice obeyed, but also he ‘operates ballistically, like a hand-gun’ and has claws that go SNIK,” I bow down to you for keeping track. One thing he isn’t? “The SPEED Trap,” even though that’s promised on the cover. But if Jack had another five pages, I’m sure Mystivac would have also been a speed trap. Mister Miracle #12 is a great-looking book, but it veers and careens weirdly, even by Fourth World standards. Eight of the first nine pages are about Scott and the engaging with the Navy—first a trap as a publicity stunt, then beach shenanigans when it’s implied that the sailors might have paid a little too much attention to the women bathing without having first asked for consent. But the remainder of the book lurches into a totally different storyline, when the rich Colonel Darby bets (unwisely, of course) against Scott in a battle against the aforementioned Mystivac, almost as if Kirby was going one direction, then something

53 After his DC contract is up, Kirby moves back to Marvel Comics in 1975, producing new series including Black Panther and The Eternals, but office politics cut his stay short. One high point is his final collaboration with Stan Lee: A new of his creation The Silver Surfer. It reaffirms the character’s importance to Jack’s legacy, even as he chooses to leave mainstream comic books for good, and explore the field he started in: Animation.

David Blumberg recalls attending ’s New York at the Commodore Hotel on July 3–7, 1975: “I was a dealer so I had access to being the first one on line when Jack was signing. He signed the program book, with many other famous artists. He also signed my Strange Tales Annual #2 and did not recall that he worked on that book, as it was a Spider-Man . The signature was on the splash page. All I can say is that he was a really nice, down-to-earth guy and had no problems with his ego, which is the sign of a true legend.” David created a tribute piece of the Surfer, titled Jacob Kurtzberg 1968/ Jacob Blumberg 2018, incorporat- ing his background art with Kirby’s foreground figure.

55 During his restless late 1970s stay at Marvel, Kirby was still cooking up new concepts in hopes of finding other avenues to support his family. He developed several properties like Captain Victory and Thunderfoot for his own “Jack Kirby Comics” line which never materialized. But in 1981 when offered a new Direct Market for comic book distribution, and creator-ownership of characters, Jack had several concepts ready to help save the industry.

Give That ...A Silver Man... Star! Incidental Iconography An ongoing analysis of Kirby’s visual shorthand, and how he inadvertently used it to develop his characters, by Sean Kleefeld

ne of the benefits of looking at Jack’s later creations is that we have a great deal more of his work preserved in pencil form, as he began making copies of them before sending them off to be inked. O This gives us some greater insight into his process, as we can compare Jack’s originals against what was ultimately published to see exactly what changes may have been made by an inker or pro- duction artist after the pages left Jack’s drawing table. One such case, of course, is Silver Star. The original Silver Star sketch that Jack made is dated January 1975 and features a very patriotically themed hero. 1 (Hardly surprising with America’s bicentennial the follow- ing year already receiving a fair amount of media attention.) Although the basic form of the hero looks much like how the character ended up (indeed, the very pose is virtually iden- tical to the one ultimately used on the cover of Silver Star #1), he’s colored in a decidedly American flag motif, complete with red and white stripes running across his chest and torso. The “Silver Star” name is almost entirely in reference to the military medal and is not really conveyed through the costume at all, except perhaps by a star

2

emblazoned on the character’s belt buckle. This one concept drawing eventually got worked into a screenplay that Jack co-wrote with Steve Sherman, the first draft of which they finished in 1977. With that treatment, Jack created some additional 1 sketches of the title character. 2 Two of them show how Jack removed the patriotic motif, and started veering towards a more monochromatic look—one fairly light and airy, and the other more covered in shadow with a large star belt buckle. In both these cases, Jack retains some form of gauntlets and some headgear that covers everything but the character’s face. 61 Jack Kirby always chose to treat his fans and fellow pros graciously, at convention appearances, and even hosting them in his own home. So when he ended up fighting a very public battle against Marvel Comics in the 1980s over the return of his original artwork, it’s no wonder the level of public and industry support he received was unprecedented, thanks to his lifetime dedication to his family, fans, and his...

A few Kirby encounters, Circle of Friends recounted MyfamilyknewJackandRozwhenIwasakid;we belongedtothesamesynagogue,TempleEtzChaimin ThousandOaks.Here’sthecardhemadeformeatmyBar Mitzvah.IfirstmetJackwhenIwasaround11or12;ourRabbi tookmetohishomeforavisitsinceIwasaloverofcomic booksandloveddrawing.Hishomewasamazing,fullofhis collagesandartworkeverywhere.Jackbecamefriendswithmy dadandwevisitedhimmanytimesovertheyears.He’dalways takealookatmyartworkandgivemeadvice,autographnew comics,andRozwouldmakeussandwiches.Ineverheard himcomplainabouthowpoorlytheindustrywastreatinghim duringthistime.Insteadhespokeaboutgodsandaliens,the goodnessinpeople,andthatsomewhereoutintheuniverse, “there’salotoftraffic.”HewouldoccasionallyaddthatIshould readlesscomicsandgetanicegirlfriendinstead.Thereisn’ta daythatdoesn’tgobywhenIdon’tthinkofJackandRoz.Jack inspiredmyownsuccessfulcareerindesign,butmoreimpor-IF YOU ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW, tantly,hetaughtmehowtotr CLICKeatotherswithkindnessand THE LINK TO ORDER THIS humility. ISSUE IN PRINT OR DIGITAL FORMAT! Dan Rosenberg ImovedtoThousandOakswithmyfamilywhenIwas10, in1980.Wejoinedasynagogue,TempleEtzChaim,andthat’s whereIattendedreligiousschool.Oneday(itmusthavebeen between1981and1983,asIhadmyBatMitzvahin1983and thennolongerattendedreligiousschool),amancametodraw forthekids.IthinkitwasaSunday,duringSundaySchool.It wasthegrandfatherofagirl,Tracy,whoalsomusthaveattend- edthereligiousschool.Idon’tthinkTracywasinmygrade,soI wasn’treallyfriendswithher,butmymotherandhermother werefriends. Anyway,thismancameand drewKIRBYmypicture.Ididn’treally COLLECTOR #78 SILVERknowwhohewas—remember, ANNIVERSARY! How Kirby kickstarted the Silver Age with Challengers, revamped old characters for the ’60s, and the lasting influencethiswas1980,wellbeforetheInternet,andbeforetheexplosionofwhatMarvelistoday. of his Silver Surfer! Plus: PIVOTAL DECISIONS Jack made throughoutIremembermymothertellingmethatJackKirby,theman,wasafamouscomicbookart- his career, a Kirby pencil art gallery, classic 1950s story, and more! Unused KIRBY/STEVE RUDE Thor cover, and a DELUXE EDITIONist.Idon’trememberanythingelseaboutbeingdrawn—didIwaitinline?Didhemake with a KIRBY/RUDE Silver Surfer outer sleeve. conversationwithme?Ihavenorecall,asIwaslikely(84-page FULL-COLOR magazine) $10.95 11or12,andamnow48! (DELUXE EDITION w/silver sleeve) $12.95 Ihadtha (Digitaltpicturetackedinmyroom,onmybulletinboard,foryears.WhenIleft Edition) $4.95 homein1987togotocollege,itgotboxedupwithallmyotherchildhoodmemorabilia. http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_57&products_id=1520 Thatboxgotmovedaroundtodifferenthouses,andstates,withoutgettingunpacked. Lastyear,myson(nowage15)gotreallyintotheMarvelUniverse,andIremembered thepicture.Idugitoutofthebox.Ican’tbelievehowwellitheldup.Whileit’sfaded (theoriginalpaperwasaskyblue)andtheedgespinprickedfrommyvariouspushpins overtheyears,thedrawingitselfisperfect.IwishIhadrealizedbackthenhowamazing itistohaveapicturedrawnofmebyJackKirby,becauseIwouldhavetakenmuch bettercareofit.Asitis,nowthatIhaveunearthedit,Igotitframedprofessionally withspecialglasstoprotectitfromfurther.Andit’shangingproudlyinmy livingroom. Ilovethepicture—it’smeasasuper-hero.Itoldmysonthatonedaythatdrawing willbehis,andhecantellhiskidsthatitisapictureofGrandmaB eccaasasuper- hero,drawnbythegreatJackKirby. Becca Barr 63