Just a quick note that while looking through Amazon's listings, they have a book called CAPTAIN AMERICA: BICENTENNIAL BATTLES due next summer. These early listings on Amazon are always subject to change, and there are no content listings, but I would imagine this will include the tabloid format book of that title, along with some issues of the regular run of CAP from that era (maybe ANNUAL #3).
Other upcoming books noticed that hadn't been announced elsewhere, ESSENTIAL FF v4 and a paperback edition of Ronin Ro's TALES TO ASTONISH.
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Greatest Golden-Age Stories - The Siege of Krovka
THE GREATEST GOLDEN-AGE STORIES EVER TOLD was a 1990 DC hardcover collection various stories from the 1930s and 1950s DC comics (plus those of other publishers they acquired). Simon&Kirby are represented by a reprint of the 12-page Boy Commandos story from DETECTIVE COMICS #69 (1942), "The Siege of Krovka".
After a great opening splash of the Commandos on a fanciful ice sled (and I have to say, the splash-page logo use for BC stories is excellent), we get the mood of the times with a scene of Hitler ordering his troops to take Russia, never mind the cold. This speech is nicely delivered as Hitler exits "Der Fuehrer's Steam Bath". We're then told that "the fear of their Fuehrer's wrath drives the brutal, moronic Nazi legions forward". Moving from the Nazis, we see the brave Russian defenders, as epitomized by one particular group, the Vanin family. FDR also makes a cameo, with a radio speech. When the town is under siege, young Tanya sneaks out to send a message, getting shot in the process. Struggling on, she gets found by Rip Carter and the Boy Commandos with their sled. After getting her message, Rip and three of the boys go off with a plane and glider to help hold Krovka until reinforcements can arrive, while Brooklyn and Tanya get left behind and take the sled, blowing up some German munitions convoy.
Tanya earns Brooklyn's respect thanks to her skill with a tommy-gun on the way over, and she seems taken with him as well, although she does give him language instruction book so she can understand him. A book on learning English, that is.
Very fun story, although focussing a little bit less on the boys than usual. The art is excellent, very well rendered and fast-moving.
Author bios in the back also have a short blurb about S&K as well.
As far as I know, there was only a hardcover edition of this book, unlike most of the books in DC's GREATEST... STORIES EVER TOLD series.
Published 1990
After a great opening splash of the Commandos on a fanciful ice sled (and I have to say, the splash-page logo use for BC stories is excellent), we get the mood of the times with a scene of Hitler ordering his troops to take Russia, never mind the cold. This speech is nicely delivered as Hitler exits "Der Fuehrer's Steam Bath". We're then told that "the fear of their Fuehrer's wrath drives the brutal, moronic Nazi legions forward". Moving from the Nazis, we see the brave Russian defenders, as epitomized by one particular group, the Vanin family. FDR also makes a cameo, with a radio speech. When the town is under siege, young Tanya sneaks out to send a message, getting shot in the process. Struggling on, she gets found by Rip Carter and the Boy Commandos with their sled. After getting her message, Rip and three of the boys go off with a plane and glider to help hold Krovka until reinforcements can arrive, while Brooklyn and Tanya get left behind and take the sled, blowing up some German munitions convoy.
Tanya earns Brooklyn's respect thanks to her skill with a tommy-gun on the way over, and she seems taken with him as well, although she does give him language instruction book so she can understand him. A book on learning English, that is.
Very fun story, although focussing a little bit less on the boys than usual. The art is excellent, very well rendered and fast-moving.
Author bios in the back also have a short blurb about S&K as well.
As far as I know, there was only a hardcover edition of this book, unlike most of the books in DC's GREATEST... STORIES EVER TOLD series.
Published 1990
Marvel Spectacular #1 - The Power of Pluto
In 1973, MARVEL SPECTACULAR picked up the Thor reprints from SPECIAL MARVEL EDITION left off the previous year (with enough of a gap that they added an apology for it on the first page). "The Power of Pluto" is reprinted from THOR #128. As we open, Thor is recovering from the battle with Seidring. I find it amusing that his bed is in the shape of a viking ship, as it makes me think of those race-car beds made for five-year-old boys. Anyway, proud papa Odin visits, actually feeling guilty for weakening Thor, leading to his injuries, and dispenses ironic Odinic justice to Seidring. Meanwhile, on Earth, Hercules proves to be as smart as a bagful of hammers, as he lets Pluto convince him to sign a "movie contract" that really consigns him to rule the netherworld in Pluto's place (although, to be fair, that movie set Pluto built for the ruse was spectacular). After recovering with some hunting and dueling in Asgard, Thor seeks out Hercules to avenge his honour from his defeat two issues before, only to see Herc under seige from the denizens of the netherworld, and comes to his aid.
They're victorious after Pluto departs, but Hercules knows he'll still have to deal with Pluto taking his contract to Zeus, which even Thor knows is a bad thing.
This whole sequence with Hercules is rousing good fun, with some of the best fight scenes Kirby ever did. I've got it all in scattered formats, so I'm looking forward to seeing it straight through in black and white (and I find Colletta somewhat improved without the colour, as long as they're able to get a solid reproduction source) in the upcoming ESSENTIAL THOR v2.
They also pick up the "Tales of Asgard" reprints, which were running a year behind, so this issue has "The Challenge" from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #116. This is one of the stories where Loki tries to trap Thor, this time by encouraging King Hymir of the ridiculously big crown to challenge Thor to various tasks. Thor almost fails, but thanks to his charm with the ladies and his willingness to kill the King he triumphs, much to Loki's frustration. And I have to say, those Asgardians let Loki get pretty far before they finally realized he was a villain.
This was one of those eras where they apparently thought word balloons on the cover were what sold comics, so this issue reprints the original cover from THOR #128, but with some superflous dialogue and much brighter colours.
All inks by Colletta.
Published August 1973
They're victorious after Pluto departs, but Hercules knows he'll still have to deal with Pluto taking his contract to Zeus, which even Thor knows is a bad thing.
This whole sequence with Hercules is rousing good fun, with some of the best fight scenes Kirby ever did. I've got it all in scattered formats, so I'm looking forward to seeing it straight through in black and white (and I find Colletta somewhat improved without the colour, as long as they're able to get a solid reproduction source) in the upcoming ESSENTIAL THOR v2.
They also pick up the "Tales of Asgard" reprints, which were running a year behind, so this issue has "The Challenge" from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #116. This is one of the stories where Loki tries to trap Thor, this time by encouraging King Hymir of the ridiculously big crown to challenge Thor to various tasks. Thor almost fails, but thanks to his charm with the ladies and his willingness to kill the King he triumphs, much to Loki's frustration. And I have to say, those Asgardians let Loki get pretty far before they finally realized he was a villain.
This was one of those eras where they apparently thought word balloons on the cover were what sold comics, so this issue reprints the original cover from THOR #128, but with some superflous dialogue and much brighter colours.
All inks by Colletta.
Published August 1973
Saturday, January 01, 2005
The Conversion of Tegujai Batir
In the 1995 anthology DAVID COPPERFIELD'S TALES OF THE IMPOSSIBLE, you'll find the short story "The Conversion of Tegujai Batir", which was "extrapolated" by Janet Berliner from Kirby's unfinished novel THE HORDE, one of two such stories published (the other was in a sci-fi magazine called GALAXY in 1994). If you want to know more about the complicated history of the novel and the various attempts by others to complete/expand/adapt it, check out the 32nd issue of THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, or this page on the TwoMorrows website.
This chapter isn't really an easy story to read. I got the book several years ago, and it took me a while to get past the first few pages. After that it opens up a bit, either because I got used to the rhythms of the writing or because the plot moved to more interesting things. This story tells how the Mongolian youth, Tegujai Batir, came to be possessed by a jinn, then exiled from his home to join the Russian army in WWII, returns home to conquer as part of the Chinese army after the war, and began his plans for conquest that involve tunnels under the earth.
I'm not sure how much of Kirby's own version of the story is in this extract, but it does have a few moments that seem to distantly echo themes he explored in other ways in his comic book work. Hopefully, if/when any of the attempts to complete the story reach fruition, we'll at least get to see the 1979 five-page outline mentioned in the JKC article, or ideally one or more of the complete unfinished manuscripts that Kirby wrote.
The story is 18 pages, plus a short introduction by Copperfield and a chapter illustration by an artist who seems to be uncredited in the book. There's also a brief bio of Kirby in the back.
This chapter isn't really an easy story to read. I got the book several years ago, and it took me a while to get past the first few pages. After that it opens up a bit, either because I got used to the rhythms of the writing or because the plot moved to more interesting things. This story tells how the Mongolian youth, Tegujai Batir, came to be possessed by a jinn, then exiled from his home to join the Russian army in WWII, returns home to conquer as part of the Chinese army after the war, and began his plans for conquest that involve tunnels under the earth.
Out of this hatred was born the concept of the army that he would form., the one that would become known as the great worm. Its guiding will lived with him and among those who surrounded him
I'm not sure how much of Kirby's own version of the story is in this extract, but it does have a few moments that seem to distantly echo themes he explored in other ways in his comic book work. Hopefully, if/when any of the attempts to complete the story reach fruition, we'll at least get to see the 1979 five-page outline mentioned in the JKC article, or ideally one or more of the complete unfinished manuscripts that Kirby wrote.
The story is 18 pages, plus a short introduction by Copperfield and a chapter illustration by an artist who seems to be uncredited in the book. There's also a brief bio of Kirby in the back.
Mister Miracle #13 - The Dictator's Dungeon
The issues of MISTER MIRACLE after the other Fourth World books were cancelled don't get that much attention, as they mostly shy away from the big cosmic over-arching plot and tell simpler adventure stories. They're fun books, for the most part, but seem to show a bit of Kirby trying to figure out exactly what DC wanted from him after they'd responded to two years of some of the best work of his career with multiple cancellations (though that was largely a DC thing, very few books they launched in that era lasted much longer than the average Kirby book).
MISTER MIRACLE #13 is a few months after the companion titles had been cancelled. After Scott Free practices yet another close escape, this time from a train, Ted Brown is captured by a flying ship, piloted by odd man-ape creatures (which Kirby calls "aboriginal", but I'm not certain he's using it in the right sense). Scott and Barda are also accidentally captured by the same ship, breaking in and cleaning house.
The ship takes them to Mount Everest, where we meet King Komodo, a masked man who's taken control of the abominable snowmen of the region, and who turns out to be Nazi war criminal Albert von Killowitz, who Ted had recognized and escaped from in Korea some years earlier. Of course they defeat him and take him in eventually.
It's an odd story, with some promise that it doesn't quite manage to achieve. There are a lot of nice things, especially the characterization of Barda and her interplay with Scott and Oberon. There's a cover layout that's been printed a few times that shows Kirby considered a "Big Barda and Her Female Furies" series, and I'm kind of sorry he never got a chance to do it, as he always had fun with the character even in small scenes.
"That Jockey of the Ink Jars" Mike Royer inks the 23 page story and cover.
Published 1973
MISTER MIRACLE #13 is a few months after the companion titles had been cancelled. After Scott Free practices yet another close escape, this time from a train, Ted Brown is captured by a flying ship, piloted by odd man-ape creatures (which Kirby calls "aboriginal", but I'm not certain he's using it in the right sense). Scott and Barda are also accidentally captured by the same ship, breaking in and cleaning house.
The ship takes them to Mount Everest, where we meet King Komodo, a masked man who's taken control of the abominable snowmen of the region, and who turns out to be Nazi war criminal Albert von Killowitz, who Ted had recognized and escaped from in Korea some years earlier. Of course they defeat him and take him in eventually.
It's an odd story, with some promise that it doesn't quite manage to achieve. There are a lot of nice things, especially the characterization of Barda and her interplay with Scott and Oberon. There's a cover layout that's been printed a few times that shows Kirby considered a "Big Barda and Her Female Furies" series, and I'm kind of sorry he never got a chance to do it, as he always had fun with the character even in small scenes.
"That Jockey of the Ink Jars" Mike Royer inks the 23 page story and cover.
Published 1973
Classic 1950s covers [Hi-School Romance, Love Problems, Wyatt Earp]
HI-SCHOOL ROMANCE #55, 1956. Boy, that guy's in trouble. Very nice, understated cover, which really shows off Kirby's skill with facial expressions.
TRUE LOVE PROBLEMS AND ADVICE ILLUSTRATED #38, 1956. This is one of my absolute favourite of the romance covers, and I just wish there was a Kirby story to go along with it. Heck, I'd like to know if there's a non-Kirby story that fits that cover in the issue.
WYATT EARP #24, 1959. And more western fun for all. I like how in a composition like this Kirby manages to capture a key moment, with Earp just ready to move, frozen in a classic Kirby pose.
TRUE LOVE PROBLEMS AND ADVICE ILLUSTRATED #38, 1956. This is one of my absolute favourite of the romance covers, and I just wish there was a Kirby story to go along with it. Heck, I'd like to know if there's a non-Kirby story that fits that cover in the issue.
WYATT EARP #24, 1959. And more western fun for all. I like how in a composition like this Kirby manages to capture a key moment, with Earp just ready to move, frozen in a classic Kirby pose.
Friday, December 31, 2004
New Kirby - Smithsonian Book...
Just confirming the recent release of the previously mentioned anthology, THE NEW SMITHSONIAN BOOK OF COMIC BOOK STORIES: FROM CRUMB TO CLOWES (ISBN 1588341836). As promised, it has a reprint of "The Hate-Monger" from FF #21, in black and white. Looks very sharp, though I again question the choice given the less than stellar story and one of the lesser Kirby inkers
Amazon and presumably other online sellers have a pretty decent discount on it right now, and it should be showing up in most library systems.
Amazon and presumably other online sellers have a pretty decent discount on it right now, and it should be showing up in most library systems.
Year-end weblog tally
I know I've gotten some new readers recently thanks to plugs at Fred Hembeck's site and others, and I wanted a quick reference page for posts I'd made, so here it is. To date, for those who care about such things:
178 posts in 111 days
204 Kirby books posted about
(plus two card sets)
116 of those books Kirby just did covers for
88 had Kirby interior content
15 posts announcing new/upcoming publications
19 posts of links to other sites
7 assorted administrative posts, like this one
Main Posts
100-Page Super Spectacular #DC-15
1st Issue Special #6 - Dingbats of Danger Street
2001: A Space Odyssey #7 - The New Seed
A DC Universe Christmas - Santa Fronts For The Mob
Adventures of the Fly TPB
Amazing Heroes #100
Best of DC #22 - The Seal-Men's War on Santa Claus
Black Magic (DC) #7 - "The Cloak" and "Freak!"
Black Magic (DC) #9 - The Woman in the Tower
Black Panther #10 - This World Shall Die
Black Panther #7 - Drums
Blast-Off #1
Brave and the Bold "Annual, No 1" - The Invasion of America
Buried Treasure #1 - The Mad White God of Palm Island
Buried Treasure v1#2 - "Inky" - proposed S&K strip
Captain America #112 - Lest We Forget
Captain America Collectors' Preview #1 - The Case of the Hollow Men
Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #1
Challengers of the Unknown #79
Chamber of Darkness #7 - I Found the Abominable Snowman
Classics Illustrated #35 - Last Days of Pompeii
Comic Reader #100
Dead of Night #10 - I Dream of Doom
Demon #4 - The Creature From the Beyond
Destroyer Duck #1 - It's Got the Whole World...in Its Hand!
Devil Dinosaur #1 - Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy
Eternals #1 - Day of the Gods
Fantastic Four #51 - This Man, This Monster
Fantastic Four #78 - The Thing No More
Fantasy Masterpieces #2 - Fin Fang Foom
Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion #6 - The Psychic Blood-Hound
Forever People #4 - The Kingdom of the Damned
Giant-Size Chillers #3 - The Monster
Giant-Size Defenders #1 - Surfer / Hulk reprints
Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu #3
Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 - On The Trail Of The Amazing Spider-Man
Gunslingers #1
House of Mystery #199 - He Doomed the World
Jack Kirby Checklist
Jack Kirby's Heroes and Villains
Jimmy Olsen #141 - Will the Real Don Rickles Panic?
Jimmy Olsen #144
Journey Into Mystery #59 - I Unleashed Shagg Upon the World
Journey into Mystery v2 #18
Journey into Mystery v2 #19 - When the Mummy Walks
Justice, Inc. #4 - Slay Ride in the Sky
Kamandi #32 - Me
Kamandi #40 - The Lizard Lords of Los Lorraine
Ka-Zar #2
Kirbyverse cards
Kobra #1 - Fangs of the Kobra
Machine Man #1 - Machine Man
Marvel Tales #123 - The Reason Why
Marvel Tales #193 - The Fabulous FF Meet Spider-Man
MGC #43 - Klaw - The Murderous Master of Sound
Mighty Marvel Western #44 - Doom in the Desert
Millennium Edition - Young Romance #1
Monster Menace #3 - Zzutak
Monsters on the Prowl #15 - The Thing Called... It!
New Gods #2 - O' Deadly Darkseid
New Gods #7 - The Pact
Not Brand Echh #3 - The Origin of Sore
Our Fighting Forces #155 - The Partisans
Our Love Story #12 - He Was Perfect - But I Lost Him
Rawhide Kid Special #1
Sandman #1 - The Sandman
Satan's Six #1
Shocking Tales Digest #1
Silver Surfer 1978 Graphic Novel
Strange Tales #120 - The Torch Meets the Iceman
Strange Tales #136 - Find Fury or Die
Strange Tales #145 - Lo! The Eggs Shall Hatch
Strange World of Your Dreams #3
Super Powers v1#1
Superman Gallery #1
Tales of Suspense #19 - The Green Thing
Thor #159 - The Answer at Last
Thor #177 - To End in Flames
Two-Gun Kid #55 - The Outlaw
Unpublished Archives trading cards
Wanted #9 - The Adventure of the Magic Forest
Weird Mystery Tales #2 - Toxl the World-Killer
What If #11 - The Fantastic Four Were the Original Marvel Bullpen
Where Monsters Dwell #27
Where Monsters Dwell #36 - The Impossible Tunnel
Who's Who #15
Who's Who #16
Who's Who #17 - OMAC & Orion
Who's Who #2
World's Finest Comics #187 - The Green Arrow's First Case
Covers
Amazing Spider-Man #35 - Cover
Avengers #157 - Cover
Black Cat Mystery #57 - Cover
Black Goliath #4 - Cover
Defenders #44 - Cover
First Romance Magazine #42 - Cover
Hi-School Romance #54 - Cover
Iron Man #80 - Cover
Marvel Mystery Comics #12 - Cover
Sandman #2 - Cover
Skull the Slayer #8 - Cover
Tales of Suspense #36 - Cover
Tales to Astonish #52 - Cover
Thor #249 - Cover
1940s Covers
1940s Kirby covers
1950s Covers
1960s Covers
1970s Covers
1970s retro covers
A half century of Covers
Ancient Cover Gallery
Another Cover Gallery
Cover Gallery
Cover Gallery - Airboy, Two-Gun Kid, Hulk, Bombast
Cover Gallery - FF, Ghost Rider, 3-D Man
Cover Gallery Decision 2004
Covers to go
Horror/Monster Covers
Late Period Covers
Lesser Villains of the early 1960s
More 1970s Marvel covers
More 70s Marvel Covers
More covers
Number One Cover Gallery
Random Covers
Romance Covers
This Hostage Cover
This Post, This Cover Gallery
Three Covers
Trio of Cover
Various 1960s covers
Various genre covers
War Cover Gallery
Wartime cover gallery
Western covers
Yet Another Cover Gallery
Links
--Link-- 1977 Kirby con program art
--Link-- Ben Grimm and Religion
--Link-- Evanier's Kirby stuff
--Link-- Fin Fang Foom day
--Link-- Fred Hembeck
--Link-- Joe Sinnott website
--Link-- Kirby and Judaism
--Link-- Kirby Collector
--Link-- Kirby in the Marvel Universe
--Link-- Kirby interview video
--Link-- Kirby tribute site
--Link-- Kirby's Legacy at Slate
--Link-- Kirby's Monsters
--Link-- Kirby's NCS bio
--Link-- Kirby's Superman
--Link-- Lords of Light
--Link-- Monster Blog
--Link-- Oddball Comics by Shaw!
--Link-- Upcoming Ayers autobio comic
New/Upcoming book announcements
New Kirby - Adventures of the Fly
New Kirby - Essential Iron Man #2 etc
New Kirby - Jack Kirby Reader Volume 2
New Kirby - Jimmy Olsen v2
New Kirby - Marvel Masterworks Avengers v4
New Kirby - Marvel Visionaries Jack Kirby
New Kirby - Unleashed, Collector, Hulk
New Royer - Radioactive Man #9 [#197]
Upcoming Kirby - March 2005
Upcoming Kirby - March 2005 Marvel
Upcoming Kirby - Marvel early 2005
Upcoming Kirby - Marvel Visionaries Stan Lee
Upcoming Kirby - Modern Arf
Upcoming Kirby - Panther and FF reprints
Upcoming Kirby - Smithsonian Book...
Admin posts
2004 - A Kirby Odyssey
Cheap Attention-Grabbing Contest
Comments
Kirby inking
Taking a break
Welcome
178 posts in 111 days
204 Kirby books posted about
(plus two card sets)
116 of those books Kirby just did covers for
88 had Kirby interior content
15 posts announcing new/upcoming publications
19 posts of links to other sites
7 assorted administrative posts, like this one
Main Posts
100-Page Super Spectacular #DC-15
1st Issue Special #6 - Dingbats of Danger Street
2001: A Space Odyssey #7 - The New Seed
A DC Universe Christmas - Santa Fronts For The Mob
Adventures of the Fly TPB
Amazing Heroes #100
Best of DC #22 - The Seal-Men's War on Santa Claus
Black Magic (DC) #7 - "The Cloak" and "Freak!"
Black Magic (DC) #9 - The Woman in the Tower
Black Panther #10 - This World Shall Die
Black Panther #7 - Drums
Blast-Off #1
Brave and the Bold "Annual, No 1" - The Invasion of America
Buried Treasure #1 - The Mad White God of Palm Island
Buried Treasure v1#2 - "Inky" - proposed S&K strip
Captain America #112 - Lest We Forget
Captain America Collectors' Preview #1 - The Case of the Hollow Men
Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers #1
Challengers of the Unknown #79
Chamber of Darkness #7 - I Found the Abominable Snowman
Classics Illustrated #35 - Last Days of Pompeii
Comic Reader #100
Dead of Night #10 - I Dream of Doom
Demon #4 - The Creature From the Beyond
Destroyer Duck #1 - It's Got the Whole World...in Its Hand!
Devil Dinosaur #1 - Devil Dinosaur and Moon-Boy
Eternals #1 - Day of the Gods
Fantastic Four #51 - This Man, This Monster
Fantastic Four #78 - The Thing No More
Fantasy Masterpieces #2 - Fin Fang Foom
Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion #6 - The Psychic Blood-Hound
Forever People #4 - The Kingdom of the Damned
Giant-Size Chillers #3 - The Monster
Giant-Size Defenders #1 - Surfer / Hulk reprints
Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu #3
Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 - On The Trail Of The Amazing Spider-Man
Gunslingers #1
House of Mystery #199 - He Doomed the World
Jack Kirby Checklist
Jack Kirby's Heroes and Villains
Jimmy Olsen #141 - Will the Real Don Rickles Panic?
Jimmy Olsen #144
Journey Into Mystery #59 - I Unleashed Shagg Upon the World
Journey into Mystery v2 #18
Journey into Mystery v2 #19 - When the Mummy Walks
Justice, Inc. #4 - Slay Ride in the Sky
Kamandi #32 - Me
Kamandi #40 - The Lizard Lords of Los Lorraine
Ka-Zar #2
Kirbyverse cards
Kobra #1 - Fangs of the Kobra
Machine Man #1 - Machine Man
Marvel Tales #123 - The Reason Why
Marvel Tales #193 - The Fabulous FF Meet Spider-Man
MGC #43 - Klaw - The Murderous Master of Sound
Mighty Marvel Western #44 - Doom in the Desert
Millennium Edition - Young Romance #1
Monster Menace #3 - Zzutak
Monsters on the Prowl #15 - The Thing Called... It!
New Gods #2 - O' Deadly Darkseid
New Gods #7 - The Pact
Not Brand Echh #3 - The Origin of Sore
Our Fighting Forces #155 - The Partisans
Our Love Story #12 - He Was Perfect - But I Lost Him
Rawhide Kid Special #1
Sandman #1 - The Sandman
Satan's Six #1
Shocking Tales Digest #1
Silver Surfer 1978 Graphic Novel
Strange Tales #120 - The Torch Meets the Iceman
Strange Tales #136 - Find Fury or Die
Strange Tales #145 - Lo! The Eggs Shall Hatch
Strange World of Your Dreams #3
Super Powers v1#1
Superman Gallery #1
Tales of Suspense #19 - The Green Thing
Thor #159 - The Answer at Last
Thor #177 - To End in Flames
Two-Gun Kid #55 - The Outlaw
Unpublished Archives trading cards
Wanted #9 - The Adventure of the Magic Forest
Weird Mystery Tales #2 - Toxl the World-Killer
What If #11 - The Fantastic Four Were the Original Marvel Bullpen
Where Monsters Dwell #27
Where Monsters Dwell #36 - The Impossible Tunnel
Who's Who #15
Who's Who #16
Who's Who #17 - OMAC & Orion
Who's Who #2
World's Finest Comics #187 - The Green Arrow's First Case
Covers
Amazing Spider-Man #35 - Cover
Avengers #157 - Cover
Black Cat Mystery #57 - Cover
Black Goliath #4 - Cover
Defenders #44 - Cover
First Romance Magazine #42 - Cover
Hi-School Romance #54 - Cover
Iron Man #80 - Cover
Marvel Mystery Comics #12 - Cover
Sandman #2 - Cover
Skull the Slayer #8 - Cover
Tales of Suspense #36 - Cover
Tales to Astonish #52 - Cover
Thor #249 - Cover
1940s Covers
1940s Kirby covers
1950s Covers
1960s Covers
1970s Covers
1970s retro covers
A half century of Covers
Ancient Cover Gallery
Another Cover Gallery
Cover Gallery
Cover Gallery - Airboy, Two-Gun Kid, Hulk, Bombast
Cover Gallery - FF, Ghost Rider, 3-D Man
Cover Gallery Decision 2004
Covers to go
Horror/Monster Covers
Late Period Covers
Lesser Villains of the early 1960s
More 1970s Marvel covers
More 70s Marvel Covers
More covers
Number One Cover Gallery
Random Covers
Romance Covers
This Hostage Cover
This Post, This Cover Gallery
Three Covers
Trio of Cover
Various 1960s covers
Various genre covers
War Cover Gallery
Wartime cover gallery
Western covers
Yet Another Cover Gallery
Links
--Link-- 1977 Kirby con program art
--Link-- Ben Grimm and Religion
--Link-- Evanier's Kirby stuff
--Link-- Fin Fang Foom day
--Link-- Fred Hembeck
--Link-- Joe Sinnott website
--Link-- Kirby and Judaism
--Link-- Kirby Collector
--Link-- Kirby in the Marvel Universe
--Link-- Kirby interview video
--Link-- Kirby tribute site
--Link-- Kirby's Legacy at Slate
--Link-- Kirby's Monsters
--Link-- Kirby's NCS bio
--Link-- Kirby's Superman
--Link-- Lords of Light
--Link-- Monster Blog
--Link-- Oddball Comics by Shaw!
--Link-- Upcoming Ayers autobio comic
New/Upcoming book announcements
New Kirby - Adventures of the Fly
New Kirby - Essential Iron Man #2 etc
New Kirby - Jack Kirby Reader Volume 2
New Kirby - Jimmy Olsen v2
New Kirby - Marvel Masterworks Avengers v4
New Kirby - Marvel Visionaries Jack Kirby
New Kirby - Unleashed, Collector, Hulk
New Royer - Radioactive Man #9 [#197]
Upcoming Kirby - March 2005
Upcoming Kirby - March 2005 Marvel
Upcoming Kirby - Marvel early 2005
Upcoming Kirby - Marvel Visionaries Stan Lee
Upcoming Kirby - Modern Arf
Upcoming Kirby - Panther and FF reprints
Upcoming Kirby - Smithsonian Book...
Admin posts
2004 - A Kirby Odyssey
Cheap Attention-Grabbing Contest
Comments
Kirby inking
Taking a break
Welcome
1st Issue Special #6 - Dingbats of Danger Street
What better way to end a year?
Definitely the oddest piece to come out of Kirby's five year stay at DC in the 1970s (at least among the published works) is his try at an updated kid gang, the Dingbats of Danger Street. This is strange by Kirby standards, and this is a guy who created a flying cosmic surfer.
The Dingbats are Good Looks, Krunch, Non-Fat and Bananas, as they announce to us on the first page. Orphans all, who have formed their own gang to get by on Danger Street. In their debut adventure, the unintentionally help cop Terry Mullins capture the villain Jumping Jack, and in the process Non-Fat almost chokes on the film strip canister Jack was smuggling and hid in his hot dog. And then Jack's partner the Gasser shows up, and things get really kooky.
It all has an odd charm, but I think it does deserve most of the mockery that's been heaped on it over the years. I did find Lt. Mullins kind of interesting, and wonder if he'd have become a gruffer version of Jim Harper to the Dingbats with time.
Mike Royer inks on this one, so that always looks nice.
The job codes (as documented in the JACK KIRBY CHECKLIST) suggest that Kirby drew the first issue shortly after MISTER MIRACLE and THE DEMON were cancelled, while he was also working on the middle issues of KAMANDI and the early issues of OMAC, and he drew at least three issues in a few months (some have suggested even more exist, but I don't think pages have ever turned up). For some reason DC didn't rush it into print, and only published the first issue as one of the "1st Issue Special" one-shots some time later. About half the pages from the other two issues have seen print in the various fanzines, mostly THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, and are actually even more fun than the first, if you can judge based on such a random sampling of pages scattered across a half-dozen books. The second issue had a great two-page spread. I'm sure someday soon we'll see a deluxe hardcover collecting all three issues.
Since I know you'll want more, you can read the Scott Shaw! take on this issue here.
Published September 1975.
Definitely the oddest piece to come out of Kirby's five year stay at DC in the 1970s (at least among the published works) is his try at an updated kid gang, the Dingbats of Danger Street. This is strange by Kirby standards, and this is a guy who created a flying cosmic surfer.
The Dingbats are Good Looks, Krunch, Non-Fat and Bananas, as they announce to us on the first page. Orphans all, who have formed their own gang to get by on Danger Street. In their debut adventure, the unintentionally help cop Terry Mullins capture the villain Jumping Jack, and in the process Non-Fat almost chokes on the film strip canister Jack was smuggling and hid in his hot dog. And then Jack's partner the Gasser shows up, and things get really kooky.
It all has an odd charm, but I think it does deserve most of the mockery that's been heaped on it over the years. I did find Lt. Mullins kind of interesting, and wonder if he'd have become a gruffer version of Jim Harper to the Dingbats with time.
Mike Royer inks on this one, so that always looks nice.
The job codes (as documented in the JACK KIRBY CHECKLIST) suggest that Kirby drew the first issue shortly after MISTER MIRACLE and THE DEMON were cancelled, while he was also working on the middle issues of KAMANDI and the early issues of OMAC, and he drew at least three issues in a few months (some have suggested even more exist, but I don't think pages have ever turned up). For some reason DC didn't rush it into print, and only published the first issue as one of the "1st Issue Special" one-shots some time later. About half the pages from the other two issues have seen print in the various fanzines, mostly THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, and are actually even more fun than the first, if you can judge based on such a random sampling of pages scattered across a half-dozen books. The second issue had a great two-page spread. I'm sure someday soon we'll see a deluxe hardcover collecting all three issues.
Since I know you'll want more, you can read the Scott Shaw! take on this issue here.
Published September 1975.
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Journey into Mystery v2 #18
This mid-1970s reprint book has two Kirby/Ayers classics from the early 1960s. From TALES OF SUSPENSE #31 is "The Monster in the Iron Mask", a 7 page story. In this one, an invading alien race sends an advance scout to soften up Earth before their full force attacks. The alien is first seen by the son of a struggling stage magician, and (seemingly foolishly) announces to the boy that his one weakness is gas, which he's protected from by his mask.
The military keeps trying and failing to defeat him, hoping to get him to remove his mask, including an attack with an A-Bomb (they were pretty cavalier about A-Bombs in these stories). They fail until the magician from the beginning realizes that the alien's announcement was a bit of mis-direction, and he was fully vulnerable to gas and the "mask" was his real face. Those aliens are tricksy.
Cool monster, although coloured a bit silly in this reprint. I also liked the boy's dog who appears throughout this story, even if he didn't have a story purpose.
From TALES TO ASTONISH #30 is "The Thing From the Hidden Swamp", a 6 page story. A plain-looking woman unhappy with the lack of romance in her life goes on a cruise and then goes rowing alone in a swamp, where she finds a space-ship and an alien monster. Nice scene where we have both her and the alien's thoughts for a few panels, as the alien is as afraid of her. She ends up helping the alien, and later finds that he's made her attractive. Not a very satisfying story, but the art has several nice scenes, including the moody opening page.
New non-Kirby cover for this issue, allegedly illustrating "Hidden Swamp", but amusingly completely missing the point of the story on several levels.
Published 1975
The military keeps trying and failing to defeat him, hoping to get him to remove his mask, including an attack with an A-Bomb (they were pretty cavalier about A-Bombs in these stories). They fail until the magician from the beginning realizes that the alien's announcement was a bit of mis-direction, and he was fully vulnerable to gas and the "mask" was his real face. Those aliens are tricksy.
Cool monster, although coloured a bit silly in this reprint. I also liked the boy's dog who appears throughout this story, even if he didn't have a story purpose.
From TALES TO ASTONISH #30 is "The Thing From the Hidden Swamp", a 6 page story. A plain-looking woman unhappy with the lack of romance in her life goes on a cruise and then goes rowing alone in a swamp, where she finds a space-ship and an alien monster. Nice scene where we have both her and the alien's thoughts for a few panels, as the alien is as afraid of her. She ends up helping the alien, and later finds that he's made her attractive. Not a very satisfying story, but the art has several nice scenes, including the moody opening page.
New non-Kirby cover for this issue, allegedly illustrating "Hidden Swamp", but amusingly completely missing the point of the story on several levels.
Published 1975
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