![]() From the X-Men to Devil Dinosaur, these writers still refer to Jack’s source material when crafting projects with the characters he created. Almost every single one of them regards Jack as a huge influence on their work. In a dozen or so creator interviews posted recently on, artists and writers like Mike Allred and Brandon Montclare talk about Jack’s influence. Yet the real star of all these mags is the Jack Kirby shorts that crackle in the back of each issue. A Mister Miracle/Black Racer comic, written by former BET president Reginald Hudlin, is set to come out next week. The Manhunter story, with layouts by Keith Giffen and art by Mark Buckingham, captures Kirby’s penchant for acrobatic choreography. It’s an expected ploy, but an effective one. Sandman’s pages pull on the heartstrings by bringing Jack Kirby himself into the comic as a character. The strongest effort thus far has been the Manhunter and Sandman one shots. Perhaps the most visible celebration of Kirby’s 100th is a series of specials from DC, which venerate some of Jack’s more obscure work. Sandman Oversize Special, cover art by Paul Pope. At the Daily Beast, writer Elana Levin posits that Kirby predicted Trump with the Glorious Godfrey, a posturing blonde supervillain who drives the masses to fascism and gives them special hats. ![]() “ but he was right!” Unfortunately, some of Jack’s visions have been a bit darker. “At the first San Diego Comic-Con he was like, ‘yeah, Hollywood is gonna come to this convention to look for ideas,’ and everyone looked at him like he was nuts!” Rand laughs. Today we see superheroes as our modern mythology, but according to Rand that was always Jack’s vision. While it has been many decades since Jack’s work first hit newsstands, he remains something of a soothsayer. Kirby was insistent that he pencil the first issue. Cap was seen punching Hitler on the cover of Captain America #1 in the December of 1940, a full year before Pearl Harbor and U.S. By the time he served in WWII, Kirby had already created Captain America with Joe Simon. According to Rand, there may be a connection between Jack Kirby’s time as a scout and the character the Silver Surfer, who reluctantly scouts planets for the world eating space god, Galactus. ![]() “He also had some brutal WWII experiences which informed his work.”ĭuring his time in the service, Kirby’s commanding officer assigned him the role of a scout who would go behind enemy lines to draw tank locations a spy of sorts. Perhaps he was trying to find beauty in the industrial bleakness of the early 20th century? “He was a kid from the tough streets of the lower east side” Rand acknowledged. He was awestruck by their largeness and complexity, and it ended up in his artwork.” A dark origin for such a colorful artist, but Kirby’s youth was less than picture perfect. “He saw these looms and the steam generators when he was a little kid. “His Kirby tech-his way of drawing technology-was inspired by visits to the sweatshops where his parents worked on the lower east side,” says Hoppe. Rand revealed how Jack’s life experiences influenced his work. ![]() To get to know Jack better, I spoke to Rand Hoppe, a founding trustee of the Kirby Museum. Kirby’s influence has been so profound that there is even a Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center, which will be hosting a series of parties and talks at One Art Space in New York throughout next week. Other tributes include a panel at Comic-Con last month, and a campaign for a Kirby google doodle. The Kirby Collector, a long-running magazine, will be publishing a special edition, Kirby100, featuring tribute art from 100 comic pros including Jim Lee, Wendy Pini and Alex Ross. Artist Phil Hester has also pledged to draw 100 Kirby’s on Monday, all of which have already sold. This Monday, artist Brent Schoonover will be drawing 100 Kirby inspired artworks at The Source comics and games store in Roseville, Minnesota. “I wanted to do something to honor my grandfather’s legacy,” Jillian commented on the Women of Marvel podcast. Her project, Kirby4heroes, is perhaps most known for their event, Wake Up and Draw, in which artists create and auction off work on Kirby’s birthday. Jack is survived by his extended family, including his granddaughter Jillian Kirby, who raises money for comics professionals in need of financial and medical aid in an often fickle industry.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |