1 82658 00098 1 The JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR FALL 2016 FALL $10.95 #69 All characters TM & © Simon & Kirby Estates. THE Contents PARTNERS! OPENING SHOT . .2 (watch the company you keep) FOUNDATIONS . .3 (Mr. Scarlet, frankly) ISSUE #69, FALL 2016 C o l l e c t o r START-UPS . .10 (who was Jack’s first partner?) 2016 EISNER AWARDS NOMINEE: BEST COMICS-RELATED PERIODICAL PROSPEAK . .12 (Steve Sherman, Mike Royer, Joe Sinnott, & Lisa Kirby discuss Jack) KIRBY KINETICS . .18 (Kirby + Wood = Evolution) FANSPEAK . .22 (a select group of Kirby fans parse the Marvel settlement) JACK KIRBY MUSEUM PAGE . .29 (visit & join www.kirbymuseum.org) KIRBY OBSCURA . .30 (Kirby sees all!) CLASSICS . .32 (a Timely pair of editors are interviewed) RE-PAIRINGS . .36 (Marvel-ous cover recreations) GALLERY . .39 (some Kirby odd couplings) INPRINT . .49 (packaging Jack) INNERVIEW . .52 (Jack & Roz—partners for life) INCIDENTAL ICONOGRAPHY . .60 (Sandman & Sandy revamped) OPTIKS . .62 (Jack in 3-D Land) SCULPTED . .72 (the Glenn Kolleda incident) JACK F.A.Q.s . .74 (Mark Evanier moderates the 2016 Comic-Con Tribute Panel, with Kevin Eastman, Ray Wyman Jr., Scott Dunbier, and Paul Levine) COLLECTOR COMMENTS . .92 (as a former jazz bass player, the editor of this mag was blown away by the Sonny Rollins letter...) PARTING SHOT . .94 (never trust a dwarf with a cannon) Cover inks: JOE SINNOTT from Kirby Unleashed Cover color: TOM ZIUKO If you’re viewing a Digital Edition of this publication, PLEASE READ THIS: This is copyrighted material, NOT intended Direct from Roz Kirby’s sketchbook, here’s a team of partners that holds a for downloading anywhere except our website or Apps. If you downloaded it from warm place in our hearts—the Boy Explorers. another website or torrent, go ahead and read it, and if you decide to keep it, DO THE RIGHT THING and buy a legal down- load, or a printed copy. Otherwise, DELETE The Jack Kirby Collector, Vol. 23, No. 69, Fall 2016. Published more or less COPYRIGHTS: Blue Bolt, Boy Explorers, Boys' Ranch, Captain 3-D, Fighting American & Speedboy, Race For IT FROM YOUR DEVICE and DO NOT quarterly by and © TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, The Moon, Strange World of Your Dreams, Stuntman TM & © Joe Simon & Jack Kirby Estates • Incredible Science-Fiction TM & © EC Comics • Space Ghost TM & © Hanna-Barbera • Johnny Reb & Billy Yank TM & SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS OR POST IT Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. 919-449-0344. John Morrow, Editor/Publisher. © New York Herald Tribune, Inc. • Abdul Jones, Battle For A Three Dimensional World, Beast Rider, Galactic ANYWHERE. If you enjoy our publications Single issues: $14 postpaid US ($18 elsewhere). Four-issue subscriptions: Bounty Hunters, Jacob & The Angel, Lone Rider, Micro-Car, Secret City Saga, Silver Star, Sky Masters, Socko enough to download them, please pay for the Seadog • Batman & Robin, Blue Beetle, Boy Commandos, Challengers of the Unknown, Darkseid, Demon, them so we can keep producing ones like $45 Economy US, $58 Expedited US, $67 International. Editorial package Dingbats of Danger Street, Dubbilex, Flash, Forever People, Goody Rickles, Green Arrow, Guardian, Jimmy this. Our digital editions should ONLY be © TwoMorrows Publishing, a division of TwoMorrows Inc. All characters Olsen, Kamandi, OMAC, Mister Miracle, Mr. Scarlet & Pinky, Newsboy Legion, Oberon, Orion, Sandman, downloaded within our Apps and at are trademarks of their respective companies. All artwork is © Jack Kirby Sandman & Sandy, Shazam, Super Friends, Super Powers, Superman, Tales of the Unexpected, The Losers www.twomorrows.com Estate unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter is © the respective TM & © DC Comics • Avengers, Black Musketeers, Black Panther, Captain America & Bucky, Daredevil, Devil authors. Views expressed here are those of the respective authors, and Dinosaur, Dr. Doom, Dr. Strange, Falcon, Fantastic Four, Galactus, Giant-Man, Hulk, Hulk, Iron Man, Machine Man, Mad Thinker, Mole Man, Moonboy, Odin, Rawhide Kid, Red Skull, Sandman (villain), SHIELD, Silver Surfer, not necessarily those of TwoMorrows Publishing or the Jack Kirby Estate. Sub-Mariner, Taboo, The Nightmare, Thing, Thor, Warriors Three, X-Men TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. First printing. PRINTED IN CHINA. ISSN 1932-6912 1 Start-Ups Kirby’s First Partner? Bob Farrell’s role in Kirby’s development examined, by Jean Depelley e know that between late 1937 and July 1938, determined to be rapidly (below) Some of the while Jack was working for Eisner & Iger’s successful. Our 21-year-old “teaser” strips Jack W Universal Phoenix sweat shop, he was also search- artist was hooked. did for Lone Rider. ing for publishers and syndicates—to finally succeed Born Izzy Katz in (next page, top) Comicscope ad from with Associated Features Syndicate in 1939, where he 1908, Farrell was a former attorney, as Joe Simon writes Daring Mystery drew The Lone Rider strip. Knowing Jack’s lack of ability in his Comic Book Makers book. Actually, Farrell had to Comics #7 (April to communicate with publishers, how did he end up at stop his studies in Law, as his father lost his job. He 1941). Farrell and Fox in early 1940? It appears someone helped him. started a new career as a freelance writer, scripting for Victor Fox would’ve gotten this image of After leaving the Max Fleischer Studio in early Eisner & Iger. But he was ambitious enough to consider Cap and Bucky at 1937, Jacob Kurtzberg was still working for the Lincoln launching his own syndicate, which he was to do in least a month before Syndicate. In late 1937, he showed his portfolio and got 1938 with Associated Feature Syndicate (according to Captain America a job at Eisner & Iger’s Universal Phoenix Syndicate, at Ron Goulart’s The Funnies). And he likely dragged Kirby Comics #1 hit the the corner of Madison Avenue and 40th Street. along with him—probably thanks to his work on Wilton stands. At Universal Phoenix, while producing Diary of Dr. of the West, Jack followed Bob Farrell and left the Eisner (next page, bottom) Blue Beetle 1/15/40 Hayward, The Count of Monte Cristo and the western & Iger Studio in July 1938. strip by Kirby, under Wilton of the West, Jack was to meet a freelance writer He signed with Associated Features Syndicate and, the house name who must have had a great impact on him. His name under the pen name Lance Kirby, started the Lone Rider “Charles Nicholas.” was Bob Farrell. The man was educated, confident, and western series, which was to grace newspapers’ comics sections starting January 3, 1939. The strip was sold to a limited number of newspapers. After six “teaser” strips, it started in earnest on January 8, scripted by Robert W. Farrell (who also wrote the Yankee Girl comic strips for his syndicate). A few weeks later, on February 18, 1939, Jack lost his assignment on Lone Rider, as Farrell preferred young Frank Robbins’ art to his. Robbins would eventually leave the art one month later (the equivalent of 24 strips) to the mediocre Geo Brousek. Jack’s involvement on the Lone Rider could have ended there, but the strips were collected and published six months later (retitled Lightning and the Lone Rider, certainly to avoid problems with The Lone Ranger’s copyright holders) in Easter Color’s Famous Funnies, successfully sold to the comic book publisher by Bob Farrell. The series was published in colors, two pages with four strips per issue, starting with issue #61 (August 1939). Kirby’s daily strips were reprinted up through #66, followed by Robbins’ (but Brousek’s strips seems to have been ignored). It’s worth noting that Famous Funnies publisher Max Gaines had Kirby’s zip-a- tone removed along with the coloring, damaging the art in the process. Quite surprisingly, Jack was given the opportunity to continue his adventure strip in early 1940, from issue #72-76 of Famous Funnies, with nine full-pages of beauti- ful new art, having Lightning and the Lone Rider redirect- ed toward science-fiction, with weird Doctor Chuida from an ancient race, one of the first (if not the first) big-headed Kirby characters. Then, with no explana- tion, the series was discontinued, Jack’s workload at Timely Comics at that time being the most likely cause. But let’s go back to early ’39 and to a disappointed Jacob Kurtzberg, dismissed from Lone Rider and still looking for a job… In a 1976 interview in Italy, reprinted in TJKC #48, Jack stated: “I did assist Frank Robbins for a while, doing Scorchy Smith, in which I wrote and drew several sequences.” The Jack Kirby Checklist Gold Edition (p. 86) 10 PROSPEAK Kirby’s Fab Four Close Kirby associates interviewed by Jon B. Cooke ince this issue focuses on Jack’s partners, collaborators, MIKE ROYER: It is my concerted opinion that Jack’s best (below) We used the and close associates, we sought out some reflections work happened when he was left to his own creative below Superman Sfrom his inkers, an assistant, and even Jack’s own instincts. Solo! pencil drawing as the daughter: cover of TJKC #31 STEVE SHERMAN: I don’t think Jack needed anyone’s (our first tabloid-size • Joe Sinnott (most acclaimed inker from Jack’s 1960s help. Given enough time, he could have inked and col- issue), with inks by Marvel era) ored his own work. But with the amount of pages he Neal Adams. In 2009, Joe Sinnott took a • Mike Royer (prolific inker who tackled most of Jack’s needed to turn out to make a decent living, other hands shot at it for a fan. 1970s DC work) were necessary. I know that on Sky Masters, Jack was oe says, “I felt Jack more than willing to accept the Wood brothers’ input.