IN YOUR LCS 33 YEARS AGO TODAY

SUPER POWERS II #6, with a cover and 22 pages of story art by Kirby/Theakston, was in the shops.

There would not be another comic with more than 8 pages of new Kirby art until PHANTOM FORCE #1 was released 8 Christmas  seasons later. Only 51 pages of new Kirby art, divided among 27 periodicals, would be published from January 1986 to November 1993.

46 YEARS AGO TODAY

What child wouldn't want a comic with a Kirby gorilla cover for Christmas? 

45 YEARS AGO TODAY

Kirby's Christmas treat for his fans was his spin on Watergate.

55 YEARS AGO TODAY

You might have been 1 of the 73 million Americans who watched the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time but if you were one of the more than 100 million that didn't maybe it was because you were busy reading this historic Kirby comic...

ON THE SPINNER RACKS 49 YEARS AGO TODAY

This Kirby-covered comic brought his year-to-date total for 1969 to 24.

  It also has Kirby interior art.

One more comic would ship before Christmas with a Kirby cover (and interior art.)

60 YEARS AGO TODAY

These two Kirby-covered comics brought his year-to-date total for 1958 to 23. Both comics also had Kirby interior art.

One more comic would ship before Christmas with a Kirby cover and interior art.

64 YEARS AGO TODAY

The last three of the 24 Kirby-covered comics for 1954 were available for purchase.

1954 was one of the rare years that Kirby did not dominate the spinner rack. Joe Maneely had triple the amount of covers published. (ADVENTURES INTO TERROR #29, ADVENTURES INTO WEIRD WORLDS #26, 27 and 29, ARROWHEAD #2 and 4, ASTONISHING #30, 31 and 34, BATTLE #27 and 33, BATTLEFRONT #22, 24 and 25, BATTLE GROUND #1. BLACK RIDER #24 and 25, COMBAT CASEY #14 and 15, COMBAT KELLY #20, 25, 26 and 27, CRAZY #3, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #20, JOURNEY INTO UNKNOWN WORLDS #30, JUNGLE ACTION #1 and 2, JUNGLE TALES #1, JUSTICE #44 and 46, KID COLT OUTLAW #40 - 43, MARVEL TALES #120 and 129, MYSTERY TALES #23 and 24. MYSTIC #28 and 29, OUTLAW FIGHTERS #2 and 3, OUTLAW KID #1 and 2, POLICE ACTION #1 and 5, RINGO KID #1, 2 and 4, RIOT #3, SPACEMAN #6, STRANGE TALES #33, SUB-MARINER COMICS #37, TWO-GUN KID #16 - 18, UNCANNY TALES #22 and 26, WAR COMICS #27, WESTERN OUTLAWS #1 and 5, WESTERN THRILLERS #2, WILD #1 and 5, WILD WESTERN #32, 33, 35, 36, 38 and 39, YOUNG MEN #25)

65 YEARS AGO TODAY

The last of the 7 Kirby-covered comics for 1953 was available for purchase.

 

And yes, there was a five page Kirby story that was just as disturbing as the cover!!!
Obviously, other artists had more covers published in 1953
than Kirby. 
Joe Maneely alone had covers published on 17 different titles-  
ADVENTURES INTO WEIRD WORLDS 25 and 26,  
ADVENTURES INTO TERROR #20
ASTONISHING #27 and 30
BATTLE #19 and 22
BATTLE FRONT #11 and 13
COMBAT CASEY #9 and 14
COMBAT KELLY #32
CRAZY #3 
JOURNEY INTO UNKNOWN WORLDS  
MARVEL TALES #116 and 120
MYSTERY TALES #12
POLICE ACTION #1
WESTERN OUTLAWS #1
WEIRD WORLDS #26
WILD #1
YOUNG MEN #25

66 YEARS AGO TODAY

The last of the 16 Kirby-covered comics for 1952 was available for purchase.

1952 was one of the rare years that Kirby did not dominate the spinner rack. Joe Maneely had nearly triple the amount of covers published. (ADVENTURES INTO WEIRD WORLDS #1 and 3, AMAZING DETECTIVE COMICS #13, ARIZONA KID #6,  BATTLE ACTION #5, BATTLE #15, BATTLEFRONT #2 and 7, BLACK RIDER #18, COMBAT #3, COMBAT KELLY #4, 5 and 8, CRIME EXPOSED #8, CRIME MUST LOSE #12, KID COLT OUTLAW #19 - 21, MAN COMICS #16, MARVEL TALES #108, MEN IN ACTION #5, MEN’S ADVENTURES #15, MYSTIC #7, 9 and 15, SPORTS ACTION #10 and 11,  SPY CASES #10, SUSPENSE #13, 15 and 18, TEXAS KID #7 - 10, TWO GUN WESTERN #12 and 13, UNCANNY TALES #2, WAR ADVENTURES #7, WAR COMBAT #3, WESTERN OUTLAWS AND SHERIFFS #71 and 72, WILD WESTERN #20 - 22, YOUNG MEN #15)

67 YEARS AGO TODAY

The last of the 15 Kirby-covered comics for 1951 was available for purchase.

So far Kirby had done all the covers for this title and 80% of the issues, including this one, also had Kirby interior art.

It was one of the rare years that Kirby did not dominate the spinner rack. Kirby inker Chris Rule had twice as many covers published 
(LOVE ADVENTURES #8, LOVE ROMANCES #14 – 19, LOVE TALES #44, 45 and 49, LOVERS #31 – 34 and 36, MAN COMICS #8, MY OWN ROMANCE #14-17 and 19, MYSTIC #1, PRIVATE EYE #1, TRUE SECRETS #4, 5, 7, 10 and 11, WAR COMICS #3, WILD WESTERN #15 )

And the prolific Joe Maneely had more than triple Kirby's amount
(ALL TRUE CRIME CASES #46, APACHE KID #3, ARIZONA KID #4 and 5, ASTONISHING #7, BATTLE #4, BLACK RIDER #12, 16 and 17, CRIME EXPOSED #7, GUNHAWK #13 – 18, JOURNEY INTO UNKNOWN WORLDS #8, KENT BLAKE OF THE SECRET SERVICE #3, KID COLT OUTLAW #12, 16 and 17, LOVE TALES #48, LOVERS #35, MAN COMICS #10 and 11, MEN’S ADVENTURES #10, MY OWN ROMANCE #18, RED WARRIOR #6, SPORTS ACTION #8 and 9, SPY CASES #6 and 7, SUSPENSE #10, TEXAS KID #1 – 6, TWO GUN WESTERN #6  and 11, WAR COMICS #6, WESTERN OUTLAWS AND SHERIFFS #69 and 70, WILD WESTERN #18 and 19, YOUNG MEN #10 - 12)

68 YEARS AGO TODAY

The last two of the 24 Kirby-covered comics released in 1950 were available for purchase.

Both comics also had interior art by Kirby.

75 YEARS AGO TODAY

Kirby's 82nd published cover was in the shops.

It was the 23rd consecutive issue of the title to be Kirby covered - more than any other at that point in Comics History!

All 23 of those issues also had Kirby interior art.

76 YEARS AGO TODAY

 Kirby's 59th published cover was in the shops.

It was the eleventh issue of the title to be Kirby covered - more than any other at that point in Comics History!

All eleven issues also had Kirby interior art.

NEW IN YOUR LCS 7 YEARS AGO TODAY

HISTORY OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE #1: 

the perfect Marvel Kirby primer for the uninitiated?!

 

72 YEARS AGO TODAY

The final Kirby covered comic to go on sale for 1946 was either his 15th or 16th for the year.

It depends on if you believe Kirby or Swan drew the cover for STAR SPANGLED #60

73 YEARS AGO TODAY

The newest Kirby covered comic to go on sale MIGHT have been his 10th, 11th 12th, 13th, 14th or 15th for 1945.

     It depends on whether you believe Jack Kirby or Curt Swan drew the covers for STAR SPANGLED #43, 48, 49 and 51.

     It depends on whether you believe Kirby or Cazeneuve drew the cover for BOY COMMANDOS #11. 

     It depends on whether you believe Kirby or Ray drew the cover for STAR SPANGLED #50 

75 YEARS AGO TODAY

If you were collecting Kirby covers you would now own 81 comics

More than one quarter of them would be STAR SPANGLED COMICS.

71 YEARS AGO TODAY

 Only two Kirby-covered comics were shipped the month of  November 1947.

This brought the year-to-date total of new Kirby-covered comics for 1947 to 22. And the 21 pages of story art in each of these issues swelled his year-to-date total to more than 500 pages.

77 YEARS AGO TODAY

If you were collecting all of Kirby's published covers your collection would now consist of 25 comics.

60 YEARS AGO TODAY the Kirby/Rule Era of proto-Marvel was in its second month.

This Kirby/Rule covered comic didn't have any interior Kirby art but it DID have a 3 page Rule story.

123 YEARS AGO TODAY Christopher Rule was born. He worked mainly during the Mostly Uncredited Era of Comics so it is difficult to quantify his contributions to the embryonic industry.

Rule inked the first Atlas/Marvel Kirby cover after the company-hopping Kirby returned from his 17 year hiatus.

Rule also inked the seven-page Kirby story that the cover promoted.

33 YEARS AGO TODAY

This Kupperberg/Kirby/Theakston collaboration had been in the local comic shops for a week.

from SUPER POWERS #6 (second series)

65 YEARS AGO TODAY: Greg Theakston - Kirby indexer, inker and colorist was born.

ON THE SPINNER RACKS 61 YEARS AGO TODAY

Kirby's 11th 1957 cover went on sale.

Inside was 24 pages of Kirby art. Kirby would have only 1 more cover published by the end of the year.

So far for 1957 Joe Kubert had 21 covers published and Curt Swan had 37 published but Gil Kane had them all beat with 42 covers. Kane would have 5 more covers published by the end of the year!

ON THE SPINNER RACKS 54 YEARS AGO TODAY

For the second time in Comics History there were three comics on sale with Thor on the cover.

Of course, all 3 covers were by Kirby.

AVENGERS #12 was the only one to not also have interior art by Kirby.

ON THE SPINNER RACKS 47 YEARS AGO TODAY

JIMMY OLSEN #145 not only had Kirby's 26th published cover for 1971, the 24 story pages written and drawn by Kirby made his year-to-date total 677 pages.

But besides all of this great new Kirby brilliance. if you had been reading comics for less than 29 years the reprint of the Kirby cover to STAR SPANGLED COMICS #11 and the 13 page Kirby-drawn story it teased would have also been new to you. 

Kirby/Ditko Vs Kirby/Ayers

Do you know what is special about this issue? In 1972 OVERSTREET didn't.

 Williamson and Steranko rate a mention but not Kirby or Ditko!?

42 YEARS AGO TODAY

1976 was the last best year to be a collector of Kirby-covered comics. Two more hit the shops bringing his year-to-date total to 87.

That was more new Kirby covers than would be released in the next 5 years combined!!!

"KAMANDI was Jack's take on PLANET OF THE APES, a movie he'd heard much about about but had not seen. Asked for something to parallel that film, Jack conjured up what was left of Earth after a good, old-fashioned nuclear holocaust and populated the world with a young human protagonist and a lot of people with animal heads." - Mark Evanier KIRBY KING OF COMICS

"Kamandi's world is a premise of hope. It stems from a "Natural" disaster, not an atomic war." - Kirby (KAMANDI #3 letters page response)

67 YEARS AGO TODAY

Kirby's 14th cover for 1951 was on sale. By this point in 1951 Gil Kane had 15 covers published and future Kirby inker Chris Rule had 17 covers published.

So far Kirby had done all 9 covers for this title. Only 2 of those issues (including this one) did not have any interior art by him.

NEW KIRBY IN YOUR LCS 45 YEARS AGO TODAY

A Kirby/Royer cover and 20 pages written and drawn by Kirby made this the 24th totally Kirby comic for 1973.