Sunday, March 12, 2006
Police Trap #4 - Cover
POLICE TRAP #4, 1955. Boy, that looks dangerous position for a cop to find himself in, doesn't it? One of the books of S&K's Mainline company. I always wondered why they didn't add that "Another Simon/Kirby Smash Hit" stamp until several issues in. Also, that giant comics code stamp blocking the logo sure is an eyesore.
True Bride-To-Be Romances #17 - Cover
TRUE BRIDE-TO-BE ROMANCE #17, 1956. A Harvey romance comic. That guy in the backgound looks like he's going to cause some trouble. Not one of my favourites among the Harvey covers Kirby did, a lot of them seem a bit dull and pretty much by-the-book, though a few work well.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Black Magic #9[v2n3] - Cover
There's an untrustworthy guy if I ever saw one. A nice dramatic cover to contrast with the more explicit horror that's more common on these BLACK MAGIC covers, and a good showcase for the inking on the S&K covers. A bit heavy on the text, though.
Published 1952
Published 1952
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Captain America #203 - Alamo II
Cap's search for the missing Falcon and Leila brings him and Texas Jack Muldoon to an asylum transported to another dimension, where he finds his friends without their memories and the small human colony on an asteroid under attack from alien monsters. Brother Wonderful and the Inquisitor, leaders of the Night People, open up a portal to Earth, planning to send the monsters there, but Cap is able to trick them and return the humans to Earth and blow up the asteroid as the creatures approach.
A minor story during Kirby's final run on Cap, but the art is really pretty, including the alien creatures who look like something out of a 1950s monster masterwork.
Frank Giacoia inks the 17-page story and cover.
Published 1976
This whole story, and much more, was recently reprinted in Captain America: Bicentennial Battles.
A minor story during Kirby's final run on Cap, but the art is really pretty, including the alien creatures who look like something out of a 1950s monster masterwork.
Frank Giacoia inks the 17-page story and cover.
Published 1976
This whole story, and much more, was recently reprinted in Captain America: Bicentennial Battles.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Upcoming Kirby - Check it out
The things that come up when you look up Kirby on Amazon...
I'll post a link to the TwoMorrows site when they have something on that book.
Also, not yet mentioned here, Marvel has ESSENTIAL FF #5, finishing Kirby's run and beyond, the complete ETERNALS (#1-#19 and Annual) in a $75 book, and a second volume completing Kirby's BLACK PANTHER (plus the post-Kirby issue wrapping up the Kiber story) in the coming months.
I'll post a link to the TwoMorrows site when they have something on that book.
Also, not yet mentioned here, Marvel has ESSENTIAL FF #5, finishing Kirby's run and beyond, the complete ETERNALS (#1-#19 and Annual) in a $75 book, and a second volume completing Kirby's BLACK PANTHER (plus the post-Kirby issue wrapping up the Kiber story) in the coming months.
Champions #6 - Cover
Kirby's only cover for the short lived super-team, it's always nice to see another one of those overhead cityscapes by Kirby, as well as a nice drawing of Hercules, plus a very 1970s villain. Inked by Frank Giacoia.
Published 1976
Published 1976
Monday, March 06, 2006
Two-Gun Kid #65 - Cover
This is one of my favourite TWO-GUN KID covers, with a nice feeling of power and menace in the villain and some nice detail over in the fort. Dick Ayers inks this one.
Published 1963
Published 1963
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Thor #175 - The Fall of Asgard
Thor is on Earth, tending to business like rounding up hijackers, while the Warriors Three and Balder are leaving the realm of the Norn Queen. Odin picks this time to go into the Odinsleep that he needs to retain his Odinpowers for another Odincycle, leaving the Odinrealm open for attack by the evil Odinson Loki, who gathers various Odinfoes like the storm giants.
The page after this, a full page of the giants on the rampage, is gorgeous, by the way. Check it out if you have this issue.
Sif is able to contact Thor on Earth and get him to return to Asgard, and he and the various defenders of the realm battle the invaders, but not before Loki is able to get the Ring Imperial from the Allfather and take Sif prisoner, making him Thor and the other bow before him.
Bill Everett inks the 20-page story, the last of his brief run (with some possible assistance from John Verpoorten, see comments). It's kind of uneven compared to his others, although still better than most Thor inking. Some pages are great, but a few others seems stiff, maybe a bit rushed.
The cover is by Marie Severin, replacing the one Kirby did. The likely reason for the replacement is the the Kirby version (shown in TJKC #18) has Thor bowing before Loki, defeated, while the published version has him still defiant, so I guess someone decided the hero should look more heroic on the cover. Both versions do seem to use the same background of Asgard, though, and Severin does do a good Kirby (in fact, the original art boards to both versions shown in TJKC are signed by Kirby).
Published 1970
The page after this, a full page of the giants on the rampage, is gorgeous, by the way. Check it out if you have this issue.
Sif is able to contact Thor on Earth and get him to return to Asgard, and he and the various defenders of the realm battle the invaders, but not before Loki is able to get the Ring Imperial from the Allfather and take Sif prisoner, making him Thor and the other bow before him.
Bill Everett inks the 20-page story, the last of his brief run (with some possible assistance from John Verpoorten, see comments). It's kind of uneven compared to his others, although still better than most Thor inking. Some pages are great, but a few others seems stiff, maybe a bit rushed.
The cover is by Marie Severin, replacing the one Kirby did. The likely reason for the replacement is the the Kirby version (shown in TJKC #18) has Thor bowing before Loki, defeated, while the published version has him still defiant, so I guess someone decided the hero should look more heroic on the cover. Both versions do seem to use the same background of Asgard, though, and Severin does do a good Kirby (in fact, the original art boards to both versions shown in TJKC are signed by Kirby).
Published 1970
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Super Powers v2 #1 - Seeds of Doom
A year after the previous series, Kirby returns to the toy line inspired SUPER POWERS, which I think by this time was also part of the Super Friends cartoon, which I guess explains the Hall of Justice super-hero HQ in this issue. Anyway, Kirby doesn't write this series, just pencils. We open just after the events of "The Hunger Dogs", with Darkseid's rule overturned.
He's able to find some of his most loyal servants, DeSaad, Kalibak and Steppenwolf (actually just "animated bodies" of them that he brought back to life) and escape to the moon, where they plan the conquest of Earth, which is where our various action figures, um, I mean, heroes, come in, splitting into teams to investigate five mystrious seeds which have appeared through the world, which seem to be digging to the Earth's core. J'onn J'onzz goes to England where he meets up with Aquaman to investigate one of the seeds. While there, they encounter DeSaad, and all of them are hurled back in time where they meet King Arthur.
Kind of a dull story, although the art does have a few points of interest, mostly a few of the scenes with Darkseid in the first half.
Greg Theakston inks the cover and 23-page story.
Published 1985
He's able to find some of his most loyal servants, DeSaad, Kalibak and Steppenwolf (actually just "animated bodies" of them that he brought back to life) and escape to the moon, where they plan the conquest of Earth, which is where our various action figures, um, I mean, heroes, come in, splitting into teams to investigate five mystrious seeds which have appeared through the world, which seem to be digging to the Earth's core. J'onn J'onzz goes to England where he meets up with Aquaman to investigate one of the seeds. While there, they encounter DeSaad, and all of them are hurled back in time where they meet King Arthur.
Kind of a dull story, although the art does have a few points of interest, mostly a few of the scenes with Darkseid in the first half.
Greg Theakston inks the cover and 23-page story.
Published 1985
OMAC #3 - A Hundred Thousand Foes
The issue opens with OMAC enjoying some virtual reality entertainment, battling a monster protecting the secrets of the giant talking skulls. He's pulled out of the "movie" to get his official credentials to act as a One Man Army on behalf of the faceless Global Peace Agents, but before he goes on his first official mission he's introduced to a couple applying to act as his parents, OMAC having forgotten his life as Buddy Blank. I'm always unclear on how creepy Kirby meant this stuff to be.
OMAC is then sent on his mission to take down Marshal Kafka, a tyrant who has put together his own army of a hundred thousand. His jet is shot at on the way down, leaving him fighting from his chair until that's shot out from under him. He quickly gets through the Kafka's forces until he finally reaches the Marshal.
Like I said, a bit of a creepy beginning, followed by a quick high-action story. Kirby was throwing out the ideas fast in this series, a lot of which are never returned to.
D. Bruce Berry inks the cover and 20-page story.
Published 1975
OMAC is then sent on his mission to take down Marshal Kafka, a tyrant who has put together his own army of a hundred thousand. His jet is shot at on the way down, leaving him fighting from his chair until that's shot out from under him. He quickly gets through the Kafka's forces until he finally reaches the Marshal.
Like I said, a bit of a creepy beginning, followed by a quick high-action story. Kirby was throwing out the ideas fast in this series, a lot of which are never returned to.
D. Bruce Berry inks the cover and 20-page story.
Published 1975
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