--Link-- New S&K Blog

Long time readers know that one of the biggest gaps in this weblog is my lack of access to the bulk of the Simon&Kirby material, in particular from the post-war period to when the team split in the mid-1950s. Harry Mendryk solves that problem by giving me a new Simon & Kirby blog to point you to, where you'll learn a lot about their work together, as well as the many other fine artists who worked for the busy S&K studio, plus work from other time periods. Harry's got access to some amazing first hand research material, and the first few posts already have a lot on editing in the S&K books and the scripting technique than can be seen on some early 1960s Marvel art.

So give it a read, bookmark it and spread the word.


http://simonandkirby.blogspot.com/

Fantastic Four #97 - The Monster From the Lost Lagoon

Even on vacation, the FF can't avoid challenging the unknown, this time Reed is asked by the navy to investigate some ship sinkings and sea monster sightings. The boys finally end up in an underground tunnel with an amphibious creature, who it turns out is a crashed alien, unable to communicate with them and trying to save his mate. So we learn a lesson about the importance of communication. I have to say, though, Reed is a little unfair to Ben, saying he attacked the alien without provocation, when in fact the alien had sunk ships, almost crushed Reed's arm and almost drowned the three of them. Anyway, the alien leaves, never to be seen again (until Roy Thomas brought him back as part of a sprawling cosmic storyline, then later Mark Gruenwald set a story among his race, Tom DeFalco complicated it all in a story that made no sense and Mark Waid took him back to the basics. Okay, none of that actually happened...).

Still a nice tale with a lot of good character bits (Johnny pining for Crystal and playing with Franklin, Ben saving the others) among a string of single issue stories.



Frank Giacoia inks the 20-page story and the cover.

Published 1970

Invaders #16 - Cover

INVADERS, THE #16, 1977. Inked by Joe Sinnott. Hm, Master Man. There's a Roy Thomas villain for you. I like the Kirby rocks and castle in the background there.

Thor #255 - Cover

THOR #255, 1977. Inked by John Verpoorten, with some re-drawing from the Bullpen. Because what, Kirby's Thor doesn't look like Thor? Weird. Nice to see the Warriors Three. And of course the original Thor foes, the Stone Men from Saturn.

New Kirby - Kirby Collector, Gi/Ant-Man

Now available, THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #45, 80 big pages about the past and future.

Apparently also out now is the Ant-Man/Giant-Man volume of MARVEL MASTERWORKS, containing every full story Kirby did for the character, as well as most of his covers. Some of this is reprinted in colour for the first time ever.

--Link-- Kirby Museum update

A few updates on the Kirby Museum website, including a short video of Kirby's cameo on the 1970s Hulk TV show and the start of their Original Art Digital Archive. Pass the word on the latter to anyone you know who owns any Kirby original art.

Daredevil #5 - Cover

DAREDEVIL #5, 1964. Wally Wood took over (and slightly redesigned, before the big redesign) DD with this issue, and inked Jack Kirby's cover. The Matador looks cool, although like a lot of DD villains he seems to be a result of trying too hard to create a memorable villain like Spidey and the FF had.

Upcoming Kirby - Marvel in June 2006

Crazy month for Marvel on Kirby reprints, with lots of early 1960s westerns in various formats (presumably lots of overlap), the last ESSENTIAL FF and a rather expensive complete ETERNALS hardcover. And that CHAMPIONS collection should have a single Kirby cover, for a more trivial entry.

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MARVEL MASTERWORKS: RAWHIDE KID VOL. 1
Written by STAN LEE
Penciled by JACK KIRBY, DON HECK, DICK AYERS & PAUL REINMAN
Cover by JACK KIRBY
Saddle up, buckaroos! It's time for the Marvel Masterworks to tame the wild, wild West with the one and only Rawhide Kid! Back before Stan "The Man" and "King" Kirby spun stories of sensational super heroes, they told the tale of a young man who bore two Colt six-shooters and his mission to bring law to the American frontier. After his Uncle Ben Bart was killed at the hands of outlaws, Johnny Bart made it his personal mission to bring justice to the town of Rawhide.
Packed full of shootouts and showdowns, renegades and rustlers, guns and girls galore, these Western yarns will be sure to please you in the Mighty Marvel Manner! We guarantee you won't be able to hold on to your ten-gallon hat when you read the tale of the Terrible Totem, the Kid's battle against the bank robbing Bat, and the war with Wolf Waco! Lasso your copy today, True Believer!
Collecting RAWHIDE KID #17-25.
248 PGS $49.99
ISBN: 0-7851-2117-X

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ESSENTIAL FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 5 TPB
Written by STAN LEE
Penciled by JACK KIRBY, JOHN ROMITA, JOHN BUSCEMA
Cover by JACK KIRBY
Lee and Kirby spin the classics with characters and concepts that remain among Marvel's mainstays today! After being lorded over in Latveria by Doctor Doom, the FF face a new level of grudge match when the Thing is tapped for the fighting arena of gangster Skrulls! Featuring the enigmatic Inhumans, the Frightful Four, the Mad Thinker and other enduring opponents! Guest-starring Magneto and the Sub-Mariner! Plus: classic invasions from under the earth and under the sea!
Collects FANTASTIC FOUR #84-110 and ANNUAL #7-8.
568 PGS $16.99
ISBN: 0-7851-2162-5

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ETERNALS BY JACK KIRBY HC
Written by JACK KIRBY
Penciled by JACK KIRBY
Cover by JACK KIRBY
"The Gods Are Coming Back!" Jack Kirby reveals a secret history of heroes and horrors as humanity's cousins, the Eternals and the Deviants, vie to inherit the Earth! It's a time of Titans, Terror and Time Travel - as only the King could conceive! Guest-starring the Incredible Hulk (or at least an unreasoning facsimile thereof)! Collects ETERNALS #1-19 and ANNUAL #1.
392 PGS. $75.00
ISBN: 0-7851-2205-2
Trim Size: Oversize

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MARVEL MILESTONES: RAWHIDE KID & TWO-GUN KID
Written by STAN LEE
Penciled by JACK KIRBY & DON HECK
Cover by JACK KIRBY
Is the Rawhide Kid really a cold-blooded killer? Why do they fear his guns from Abiline to Tombstone? See how the Kid became an "outlaw" in RAWHIDE KID #17 (August 1960). Plus: What is the strange secret of Matt Hawk? Find out in TWO-GUN KID #60 (November 1962).
48 PGS. $3.99

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MARVEL WESTERNS: THE TWO-GUN KID
Written by DAN SLOTT
Penciled by EDUARDO BARRETO
Cover by ERIC POWELL
"TOOTH & CLAW"
A modern day adventure with SHE-HULK reminds the TWO-GUN KID of one of his most fraught-filled yarns of yesteryear! So saddle up, pards, and ride with the Wild West Avenger as he sets his sights on some rustlers, but finds himself face-to-fang with critters that are neither man nor beast! It's a timeless twin-barreled tale a' terror comin' your way courtesy a' Dan Slott and Eduardo Barreto! Plus! A classic Kirby RAWHIDE KID tale!
48 PGS. $3.99

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CHAMPIONS CLASSIC VOL. 1 TPB
Written by TONY ISABELLA, BILL MANTLO & CHRIS CLAREMONT
Penciled by DON HECK, GEORGE TUSKA, VINCE COLLETTA, BOB HALL & JOHN BYRNE
Cover by GIL KANE
Okay, a god, a demon, a spy and two mutants walk into... resulting in some of the strangest scenarios of the '70s! It's gods vs. heroes in the City of Angels! With mad scientists, Russian super-spies, and guest-stars from Marvel's western and horror eras! Plus: the secrets of the Black Widow! Featuring Hawkeye! Collects CHAMPIONS #1-11.
208 PGS. $19.99
ISBN: 0-7851-2097-1

Tales to Astonish #64 - Cover

TALES TO ASTONISH #64, 1965. Dick Ayers inks on this one. I'm not a big fan of the split-cover design in general, so I'm not surprised that it only lasted for a year on ASTONISH and SUSPENSE before going to alternating leads. This is one of the more effective ones, the Giant-Man half in particular is a nice bit of Kirby foreshortening, and I always like Attuma.

Avengers #22 - Cover

AVENGERS #22, 1965. A nice Wally Wood inked cover, from when Wood was briefly the interior inker on the book over Don Heck pencils. Great image of the Enchantress there. Not a lot of major female villains from Marvel in the 1960s, but she's probably the best of them.