The Daily Kirby

"Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence." HENRI MATISSE

2012-03-07T06:30:00.000-08:00

When the focus is on the foreground why waste time on the background?

2012-03-06T21:12:00.002-08:00

Another backgroundless composition from the King.

2012-03-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

"Art is either plagiarism or revolution." - Paul Gauguin

2012-03-04T17:48:00.002-08:00

PENCILS BY KIRBY/ INKS BY COLLETTA

2012-03-03T10:25:00.002-08:00

*wink wink*

*nudge nudge*

Know what I mean...

I'd comment on the background but...

2012-03-02T00:18:00.003-08:00

Could you guys move? You're blocking the background!

2012-03-01T03:58:00.001-08:00

2012-02-29T17:05:00.000-08:00

DEJAck VU

Longtime readers of this blog will remember these full panel pages from gone, but not forgotten, early Daily Kirby posts. For requesting today's common theme, a tip of the Comic Snobb's top hat to fellow Kirby Watcher Norris Burroughs.

A 1969 KIRBY HIT

2012-02-28T21:19:00.001-08:00

WELCOME TO THE DISTORTION ZONE

2012-02-27T17:44:00.001-08:00

From Captain Victory #9

CONTINUITY IS TRIBULATION

2012-02-26T09:04:00.000-08:00

Battle

Foreplay.

From CAPTAIN VICTORY #13 (1984)

WHEN WARRIORS DATE - KIRBY STYLE!

2012-02-25T05:58:00.001-08:00

From CAPTAIN VICTORY #13 (1984)

CARTOONING 101:

2012-02-24T10:45:00.000-08:00

THE CLOSE-UP REACTION SHOT

KIRBY DRAWS A CROWD

2012-02-23T02:51:00.000-08:00

From 1963

2012-02-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

ODIN'S

BACK

AGAIN.

HEADMASTER JACK

2012-02-21T03:06:00.001-08:00

45 YEARS AGO

2012-02-20T16:34:00.000-08:00

Three comics cover-dated February 1967

had Kirby covers AND interior pencils:

FANTASTIC FOUR #59

THOR #137

and

TALES OF SUSPENSE #86

Gene Colan penciled a 12 page Iron Man tale with two full page panels for TALES OF SUSPENSE #86. This is the only full-pager of the 10 pages that Kirby supplied for that issue

45 YEARS AGO

2012-02-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

All of Kirby's published work dated February 1967 was from Marvel. Kirby was one comic short of having at least some art appear in half of the Marvel books published that month, ranging from cover pencils only for X-MEN #29 to 35 reprinted pages in MARVEL COLLECTORS' ITEM CLASSICS #7.

That same month's FANTASY MASTERPIECES reprinted a 15 page Kirby story from a quarter of a century earlier.

44 YEARS AGO

2012-02-18T10:05:00.000-08:00

Three February 1968 cover-dated comics

had Kirby covers & interior pencils:

FANTASTIC FOUR #71

TALES OF SUSPENSE #98

THOR #149

Kirby also penciled 8 interior pages that month for NOT BRAND ECHH #6

43 YEARS AGO

2012-02-17T20:59:00.000-08:00

Two comics cover-dated February 1969

had Kirby covers and

20 interior pages penciled by the King:
FANTASTIC FOUR #83
and
THOR #173

This full page panel is from one of those comics.

42 YEARS AGO

2012-02-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

Two comics cover-dated February 1970

had Kirby covers and

20 interior pages penciled by the King:
FANTASTIC FOUR #95
and
THOR #173

40 YEARS AGO

2012-02-15T11:25:00.000-08:00

The only Kirby comic cover-dated February 1972 was JIMMY OLSEN #146

ForeverPeople #7 and New Gods #7 were bi-monthly books that were dated February/March 1972. Like JIMMY OLSEN #146 they had Kirby covers and were edited, written and penciled by the King.

38 YEARS AGO

2012-02-14T03:19:00.000-08:00

Kirby did covers for and edited/wrote/penciled two comics cover-dated February 1974:

MISTER MIRACLE #18

and
KAMANDI #14

Besides this double-page spread KAMANDI #14 also has three full panel pages.

37 YEARS AGO

2012-02-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

Two comics cover-dated February 1975

had Kirby covers and

20 pages each of

Kirby written/penciled/edited interior pages:

OUR FIGHTING FORCES #153

and KAMANDI #26

36 YEARS AGO

2012-02-12T12:02:00.000-08:00

Two February 1976 cover-dated DC comics

had 18 pages of interior Kirby artwork each:

Kamandi#38 and
Kobra # 1

CAPTAIN AMERICA #194 also had 18 pages of interior Kirby artwork and was also cover-dated February 1976.

35 YEARS AGO

2012-02-11T06:51:00.000-08:00

Six comics cover-dated February 1977 had Kirby covers; Avengers#156, Captain America #206, Defenders #44, Eternals #8, Ghost Rider #22 and 2001: A Space Odyssey #3 . Half of them also had interior art by the King.

A 2001: A Space Odyssey # 3 full page panel.

The ONLY full page panel in CAPTAIN AMERICA #206

29 YEARS AGO

2012-02-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

Pacific Comics, a publisher that lasted three years during the Direct Market Era of comics, hired Jack Kirby and gave him total artistic control. He created two series for them - CAPTAIN VICTORY and SILVER STAR. The first issue of SILVER STAR had 4 full page panels and this double-page spread:

ODIN HELMET-HOARDER WATCHES A HEAVYWEIGHT MATCH ON ONE OF HIS MANY WIDESCREEN TELEVISIONS.

2012-02-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

Nothing justifies a full page panel more than a Giant attack.

2012-02-08T06:04:00.001-08:00

18 YEARS AGO

2012-02-06T04:21:00.000-08:00

Almost as legendary as the characters he created, as it must to all men, death came to Jack "King" Kirby.

Further proof that nothing succeeds like excess.

2012-02-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

Another day, another variation on Odin's helmet.

2012-02-04T05:02:00.000-08:00

One of Odin's less-ornate helmets is good enough for visiting the Land of the Trolls.

2012-02-03T07:37:00.000-08:00

Odin makes sure that his head fits in this full page close-up by wearing one of his more modest helmets.

2012-02-02T17:51:00.000-08:00

A HELMET FOR EVERY OCCASION!

2012-02-01T11:28:00.000-08:00

How many different helmets does Odin own?

2012-01-31T19:50:00.000-08:00

RIDDLE FOR KIRBYHEADS

2012-01-30T08:46:00.000-08:00

What would you call Odin if he smoked pot?

THE HIGHFATHER!

ALFDAUR (All-father)

2012-01-29T11:22:00.000-08:00

And like all fathers he enjoys watching the news on TV. Fortunately the Asgard Cable Service provides TNN - the Thor News Network.

2012-01-28T03:37:00.000-08:00

Lee and Kirby. Fable and mythology. This self-contained 5 page gem proved to me that both combinations could be more than the sum of their parts.

2012-01-27T12:59:00.000-08:00

Superman revolutionized comics in 1938. His origin had him mature from a Superbaby to adulthood in a mere 8 panels. Seven years later editor Jack Schiff correctly reasoned that a series featuring the icon's childhood would appeal to readers.

Thor's boyhood only lasted for 15 pages, presented in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #100, 101 and 102. Then the TALES OF ASGARD back-up in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #103 told the Norse myth of Mankind's creation.

2012-01-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

Thor had been appearing sporadically in comic books for two decades before his JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY debut. The difference from previous Thor incarnations was that BULLFINCH'S MYTHOLOGY, which had been in print for more than 100 years, was consulted.

"Southward from the world of mist was the world of light. From this flowed a warm wind upon the ice and melted it. The vapours rose in the air and formed clouds, from which sprang Ymir, the Frost giant and his progeny, and the cow Audhumbla, whose milk afforded nourishment and food to the giant. The cow got nourishment by licking the hoar frost and salt from the ice. While she was one day licking the salt stones there appeared at first the hair of a man, on the second day the whole head, and on the third the entire form endowed with beauty, agility, and power. This new being was a god, from whom and his wife, a daughter of the giant race, sprang the three brothers Odin, Vili, and Ve. They slew the giant Ymir, and out of his body formed the earth, of his blood the seas, of his bones the mountains, of his hair the trees, of his skull the heavens, and of his brain clouds, charged with hail and snow. Of Ymir's eyebrows the gods formed Midgard (mid earth), destined to become the abode of man."

The plot synopsis could have read "BULLFINCH, page 357, third paragraph."

A 1969 KIRBY HIT

2012-01-24T20:53:00.001-08:00

A 1967 KIRBY HIT

2012-01-23T13:00:00.001-08:00

Without Stan Lee's caption would you be able to tell that this is the Asgard Sky Ship?

2012-01-21T18:45:00.000-08:00

2012-01-20T18:42:00.000-08:00

Today's Asgard Sky Ship appearance is from the historic JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #121. Tales of Asgard began as a back-up feature 25 issues earlier. Every episode was 5 pages long, starting with a full page panel followed by four pages divided into 3 to 5 panels. This installment began with TWO full page panels. This is the second page. The first page was posted five days ago with the title KIRBY ROCKS.

2012-01-18T11:37:00.000-08:00

Six months after the unscripted appearance of the Asgard Sky Ship in the lead story from JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #113 a very similar vessel is an integral element of an epic quest to save the universe.

2012-01-17T20:28:00.000-08:00

The caption gives the impression that Lee did not mention an Asgard Sky Ship in the plot that he supplied Kirby with. This splash page is from December 1964. The movie THE LONG SHIPS was released 8 months earlier.

KIRBY ROCKS!

2012-01-16T11:07:00.000-08:00

AWESOME ARCHITECTURE

2012-01-15T08:42:00.000-08:00

A close relation to the Hidden Scientific Facility is the Hidden (Power-Artifact Housing) Temple. The only thing more impressive than a Hidden Temple is an exploding Hidden Temple.

FUTURIST KIRBY FIRSTS

2012-01-14T09:22:00.000-08:00

This futuristic facility hidden in the Black Galaxy depicts the first I.S.P. - Intercosmic Service Provider.

Welcome to the

Worlds Wide Web!

MORE KIRBY ARCHITECTURE

2012-01-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

If the High Evolutionary's Tower doesn't rate a full panel page - what does!?

FORTY YEARS AGO

2012-01-11T10:36:00.001-08:00

JIMMY OLSEN #145 also has an example of another frequent Kirby full page panel subject - the hidden futuristic facility.

FORTY YEARS AGO

2012-01-10T20:32:00.000-08:00

This full page panel from JIMMY OLSEN #145 shows that three heads are better than one.

FORTY YEARS AGO

2012-01-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

4 of the 24 new Kirby edited/written/penciled pages in JIMMY OLSEN #145 were full panel pages.

FORTY YEARS AGO

2012-01-08T20:32:00.000-08:00

One of only 2 Kirby comics cover-dated January 1972 was JIMMY OLSEN #145. It was the 13th consecutive Kirby edited/written/penciled issue of the title.

FORTY YEARS AGO

2012-01-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

Only 2 comics were published with new Kirby product cover-dated January 1972. One was the sixth issue of the Kirby created/edited/written/penciled comic that starred a character that was an abused child that upon reaching adulthood hired a midget to regularly restrain him in imaginative ways.

HALF A CENTURY AGO

2012-01-06T19:22:00.000-08:00

STRANGE TALES #92 starts with two Kirby-pencilled stories. The first is an aggressive alien story. It is followed by this villanous time traveller tale.

HALF A CENTURY AGO

2012-01-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

The cover and 13 of the 22 interior pages of the January 1962 cover-dated STRANGE TALES #92 were pencilled by Jack Kirby.
Dick Ayers traced/inked/embellished the Kirby cover and the Kirby interior pages. 2 of them were full page panels.

Don Heck did the art for 5 of the interior pages. Steve Ditko did the art for the remaining 5 interior pages.

The first thing you see when you open the cover to STRANGE TALES #92

HALF A CENTURY AGO

2012-01-03T08:30:00.000-08:00

In 1962 Marvel published 132 comics. 89 of them had
Kirby covers and 78 had interior Kirby art totaling 1165 pages. Every comic with Kirby interior pages had a Kirby cover. Marvel's customers were the only patrons of the 44 year-old Kirby's artwork that year.

WHY ANOTHER KIRBY BLOG?

2012-01-02T05:16:00.000-08:00

There are myriad blogs and websites deservedly memorializing comic book artist Jack Kirby. Each blogger has a unique focus. One explains Kirby's artwork to the visually illiterate, another speculates on Kirby's mistreatment by publishers and another concentrates on original and obscure Kirby artwork that the average comic reader has rarely had access to before.

I learned during my radio days that you should visualize a specific person, not a faceless audience. My soul mate Annie is a Kirby fan. She is my target audience so if you have been enjoying this blog you have Annie to thank.

WHY THE DAILY KIRBY?

2012-01-01T05:35:00.000-08:00

Everybody should devote at least a few minutes every day to pondering Jack Kirby's contributions to consensual reality so he won't be forgotten like all the people I can't remember.
Kirby drew more full page panels and two page panels than any other comic book artist. Jacktaposing these pages is meant to elicit further appreciation of the former Jacob Kurtzberg's vision.

2011-12-30T18:39:00.000-08:00

What is better than a Big Head full page panel?

Answer: A Big Head full page panel with a pretty girl in the foreground and fire in the midground!

89 YEARS AGO TODAY

2011-12-28T03:32:00.000-08:00

The baby that would become Stan Lee and co-create the Marvel Universe along with numerous artists (including, of course, Kirby) is born. Wish Stan a happy birthday at TheRealStanLee.com

"Lee's dialogue was witty and filled with character. Place it over exciting visual storytelling by Kirby or Ditko and you had something very special." - Mark Evanier KIRBY KING OF COMICS

55 YEARS AGO

2011-12-27T07:24:00.000-08:00

"For the first time since 1934, not one new comic-book publisher could be found. It was truly the industry's nadir."

- Mike Benton THE COMIC BOOK IN AMERICA

Kirby depicts television as a will-sapping weapon in YELLOW CLAW #4.

"Television also altered the look of newsstands. In the mid-1950s, PLAYBOY began the nudity revolution. Its success was due in large measure to growing obsolescence of the mass-circulation magazine. Readers could get news more quickly and completely than in still photographs; they could not get pictures of naked women."

- Jeff Greenfield TELEVISION: THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS

55 YEARS AGO

2011-12-26T15:31:00.000-08:00

"In a stroke, half the remaining comics publishers lost their distribution. Most of them went out of business. Martin Goodman was about to close the doors when Jack Liebowitz said Independent would be willing to carry him. Goodman had been famous for churning out comics wildly when the market was hot, until he overexpanded and had to fold up a few of his many companies. Liebowitz put him on a strict regimen of eight comics a month, plus his men's magazines. Liebowitz wanted industrial predictability and control. The Goodman comics stable was reduced to Stan Lee, his brother Larry, and a handful of freelance artists."

- Gerard Jones MEN OF TOMORROW

1 of the 2 full-pagers Kirby did for Goodman's YELLOW CLAW #4.

"Jack Kirby hung on in comics, but the pickings were so few that he and Joe Simon decided they'd have to dissolve their seventeen-year partnership to chase individual gigs."

- Gerard Jones MEN OF TOMORROW

58 YEARS AGO

2011-12-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

"In 1953, Joe Kubert and Norman Mauer, childhood friends who had cartooned together and were now working as comic-book artists, came up with the idea of three-dimensional comic books - images that would jump right off the pages when viewed through blue and red cellophane glasses. They took the idea to St. John Publishing, which achieved the distinction of being the first 3-D comic-book publisher"

-Mike Benton THE COMIC BOOK IN AMERICA

One of the 3 Kirby Full-Pagers in CAPTAIN 3-D #1.

"By September of 1953, there were over five hundred comic-book titles on sale - far more than any previous time in history. The average monthly circulation of the comic books this year was sixty-eight million copies - four times higher than ten years before"

-Mike Benton THE COMIC BOOK IN AMERICA

63 YEARS AGO

2011-12-24T05:48:00.000-08:00

"Boys and young men who'd been able to enjoy cartoons of good guys smashing bad guys during the war suddenly wanted more ambivalent, more titillating stories of bad guys who lived it up at the expense of the good guys until they met a bloody end in the final panel. After years as the only crime comic on the stands, by late 1948 CRIME DOES NOT PAY was just one of forty."

- Gerard Jones MEN OF TOMORROW

"By the end of the decade, there were about forty publishers selling three hundred titles - 50 million comics a month. One study found that over half the readers were twenty or older, that adult readers averaged eleven comics a month, that nearly half the readers were female and that white-collar workers read the most comics of all."

- Gerard Jones MEN OF TOMORROW

64 YEARS AGO

2011-12-22T12:15:00.000-08:00

"By 1947, the team was working sporadically for Hillman Comics, publishers of characters including Airboy and the Heap. Simon and Kirby were settling into new homes in East Williston, Long Island and looking for additional income. Simon had been thinking about changing tastes among readers and had wondered about the potential for new comics targeted at more mature readers, especially women. Sitting in his new home, Simon roughed out a cover image, called the book YOUNG ROMANCE, and rushed across the street to Kirby's house. Kirby agreed with his partner: it was a terrific idea."
- Robert Greenberger MILLENNIUM EDITION: YOUNG ROMANCE COMICS #1.

"The Simon and Kirby comic book studio turned out hundreds of pages of art each month for Prize Publications (Kirby himself drew 147 pages in September 1947)."

- Mike Benton MASTERS OF IMAGINATION

69 YEARS AGO

2011-12-21T05:10:00.000-08:00

"In a two-year period, Simon and Kirby produced over twelve hundred pages of artwork for DC Comics (twice as much as their original contract specified). With his earnings, Kirby moved his parents from the ghetto to a Brooklyn apartment. He met his future wife, Rosalind, in the flat above and they were married in 1942."

- Mike Benton MASTERS OF IMAGINATION

69 YEARS AGO

2011-12-20T03:36:00.001-08:00

"At the beginning of 1942, there were 143 comic-book titles on the newsstands being read by over fifty million people each month. The comic book was no longer a passing publishing fad."

- Mike Benton THE COMIC BOOK IN AMERICA

69 YEARS AGO

2011-12-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

"Taking a cue from YOUNG ALLIES, a comic book they created for Marvel the year before, Simon and Kirby came up with another street-kid gang called the Newsboy Legion for STAR SPANGLED COMICS."
- Mike Benton MASTERS OF THE IMAGINATION

69 YEARS AGO

2011-12-18T06:11:00.000-08:00

"The Gang has been inherent in literature from earliest times. Beowulf and his warriors against Grendel. Robin Hood and his Merry Men, taking to the outlaw holds of Sherwood Forest, rallying against tyranny." - Tom Fagan ALL IN COLOR FOR A DIME

"DETECTIVE COMICS, which had produced the first kid hero, Robin the Boy Wonder, offered what an excitement-craving war-conscious public wanted: The Boy Commandos, creation of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby" - Tom Fagan ALL IN COLOR FOR A DIME

70 YEARS AGO

2011-12-16T08:19:00.000-08:00

"While the Kirby pencil was occupied with its prodigious output, Joe Simon kept busy in his own capacity editing, writing, plotting, handling production details and occasionally penciling and inking." - THE STERANKO HISTORY OF COMICS volume 1

CAPTAIN AMERICA HAD TWO FATHERS!

2011-12-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

R.I.P. JOE SIMON
70 years ago Simon AND Kirby were the Kings of Comics.

2011-12-13T03:30:00.000-08:00

A triptych is a picture in three parts. The component panels may form a single image or they may be a connected group of separate images. One of the earliest documented examples of triptych art is Hans Memling's The Last Judgement. It was painted between 1467 and 1471.
This Kirby triptych, like the five previous examples, is from 1977.

2011-12-12T14:45:00.000-08:00

Rob Liefield, the artist who defined the look of 1990s superhero books was 9 years old in 1977 when this Klassic Kirby Triptych hit the spinner racks. Nineteen years later Marvel would recruit Liefield to apply his craft to CAPTAIN AMERICA and the AVENGERS. For every Liefield detractor there are enough fans supporting Liefield with their money to insure that he will continue to work in comics for as long as he desires. Even in the Cyber-Piracy Era of Comics cash still trumps chatter!

2011-12-11T06:04:00.000-08:00

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY #4 from 1977 was the third consecutive issue of that title to open with a Kirby triptych.

2011-12-10T01:02:00.000-08:00

This 1977 opening triptych features another kommon Kirby komic komponent - a strong female.

2011-12-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

Archetypical

1977

opening triptychs

from

The King.

Fun Fact: 40 comics published in 1977 contained stories that were edited, written and penciled by Jack Kirby.

Bondage Time

2011-12-08T16:28:00.000-08:00

MISTER MIRACLE #11 boasts the archetypical opening for a Funny Book written and edited by the King, the visual one-two punch of a Splash page followed by a double-page spread.

A scantily clad statuesque brunette displays her shackled boyfriend for a cameraman. Adding a caped midget and weapon-wielding masked women guaranteed that the average comic consumer of the Seventies would be satisfied with this product.

Bondage Time

2011-12-07T03:20:00.000-08:00

Today's variation on the theme is also written and edited by Jolly Jack! What is the subtext here?

Bondage Time

2011-12-06T03:16:00.000-08:00

Another thing the King of Comics was known for was finding imaginative ways to restrain the characters that he was paid to depict. Today's example was obviously inspired by the stocks that the Puritans used.

2011-11-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

Day Five's
Find the Earth Challenge
is from 1971's JIMMY OLSEN #141.

2011-11-24T05:16:00.000-08:00

You almost have to be an astronomer to find the Earth on this page from 1977's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY #6.

2011-11-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

If you are seeking speculation or evaluation this is not the place. Here the King's Full-Pagers are jacktapositioned in the hopes of prodding a possible epiphany. Today's example of another necessary comic artist skill, depicting the Earth from space, is one of 7 Full-Pagers from 1981's CAPTAIN VICTORY #1

2011-11-21T04:14:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to Greg Theakston

1980s Kirby collaborator

and indexer.

Theakston's Kirby-Estate-Authorized checklist has been a valuable research resource since 1998.

Here is a rare instance of a non-Kirby scripted comic that starts with a Full-Pager followed by a Double-Pager.

2011-11-20T10:19:00.001-08:00

Today's ETERNALS #1 was released the second week of April 1976 as was CAPTAIN AMERICA #199, which we examined yesterday. As you can see it also opened with a Full-Pager followed by a Double-Pager. These three pages were followed by another Full-Pager. The pages seem to show an H.R. Geiger influence. Geiger's Necronomicon paintings captured the attention of Sci-Fi art fans a year earlier.

2011-11-15T18:40:00.000-08:00

An example of a Menace-From-Off-Panel Full-pager. Kirby was frequently inspired by movies. The Sci-Fi hit ROLLERBALL was released a lttle more than a year before Cap and the Falcon were forced to participate in the Kill Derby.

2011-11-14T14:26:00.000-08:00

A variation on the Big Head Full-pager - the Big Mask Full-pager! Today's fun fact: by the time this page was published Kirby had already partially produced more than 1000 Captain America interior pages.

2011-11-13T03:42:00.000-08:00

We continue our Veterans Week remembrance of America's heroes with another full-pager from the same issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA as yesterday. Today's fun fact: when Jack Kirby was born Veterans Day did not exist.

2011-11-11T10:34:00.000-08:00

On Veterans Day we remember America's heroes.

WW II veteran Kirby and the character he brought to life for four decades symbolizes what is great about the Land of the Free.

Kirby, like most Silver Age artists, was part of the 1% that protected the freedom of the other 99%.

2011-11-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

The similarity that today's post does NOT share with yesterday's full-pager is that it was NOT inked by Ditko.

2011-11-08T04:51:00.000-08:00

This Kirby/Ditko full-pager first appeared in 1960. It would be more than a decade before it would be reprinted. Nearly two decades later it was included in the Ancient Menaces section of MONSTER MASTERWORKS, a book that includes a text "treatment on the subject of monsters in storytelling" by King Kirby.

2011-11-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

Another one of the 160 pages that Ditko finished for the King over a slightly less than four year span.

2011-11-06T16:48:00.000-08:00

The 24 page "Terror of the Toad Men" from a half century ago had only two Kirby/Ditko full-pagers.

2011-11-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

First published in 1960, this Kirby/Ditko full-pager was considered worth reprinting 6 years later at the peak of the Marvel Age.

2011-11-04T18:14:00.001-07:00

Ditko hadn't even been a professional Funny Book artist for five years when he was granted the privilege of tracing the King's pencils.

2011-11-03T09:49:00.000-07:00

From more than 50 years ago. No wonder Stan Lee dubbed him Sturdy Steve Ditko!

2011-11-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

Since it's Steve Ditko's birthday it is a week of examples of possibly the only Silver Age Artist to REALLY be considered Kirby's equal using his skill to add to Kirby's legacy. Whether you call it tracing, inking or embellishing, it pays less than penciling so Kirby didn't do it often. Fortunately there were many artists that were willing to complete the King's pages.

2011-11-01T18:09:00.000-07:00

Today's big head page presents an optical illusion. Is Sonny Sumo's head in the center of the page?