NEW KIRBY HOMAGES IN THE SHOPS 3 YEARS AGO TODAY

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #2 

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT - $3.99

(W) Dan Slott (A) Giuseppe Camuncoli (CA) Paolo Rivera 

ASTONISHING ANT-MAN #1 

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT - $3.99

(W) Nick Spencer (A) Ramon Rosanas (CA) Tradd Moore 

KARNAK #1

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT  - $3.99

(W) Warren Ellis (A) Gerardo Zaffino (CA) Eric Powell 

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #2 

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT - $3.99

(W) Brian Michael Bendis (A) David Marquez (CA) Walt Simonson

SHIELD #11

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT - $3.99

(W) Mark Waid (A) Howard Chaykin (CA) James Stokoe 

UNCANNY INHUMANS #1

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT - $4.99

(W) Charles Soule (A) Steve McNiven, Brandon Peterson (CA) Arthur Adams

51 YEARS AGO TODAY

This was one of the rare months that another Marvel employee had more new covers published than Kirby!!!

Kirby covered twice as many Marvels as George Tuska, Marie Severin, Don Heck, John Romita, Dan Adkins, Dick Ayers, Steve Ditko or Ogden Whitney.

But Gene Colan covered three, making him the Marvel King of Covers for that month.

Fun Fact: October 1967 was also one of those even rarer months when Marvel didn't reprint ANY Kirby art.

42 YEARS AGO TODAY

5 comics went on sale with new Kirby covers.

These two also each had 17 pages written and drawn by Kirby. (Royer did the inking on both)

NOVA #5, AVENGERS #155 and DEFENDERS #43 were the 3 Kirby-cover-only comics

57 YEARS AGO TODAY

Kirby's 23rd cover for STRANGE TALES was in the stores, putting him two STRANGE TALES covers ahead of Bill Everett.

 It was the first STRANGE TALES sequential panel cover.

52 YEARS AGO TODAY

October of 1966 was one of the rare months that Kirby didn't have more new Marvel covers published than anybody else!

He was tied with Gene Colan, Larry Lieber, Stan Goldberg and Gil Kane at two.

 

56 YEARS AGO TODAY

All seven Kirby-covered Marvel comics that were available from your dealer were embellished by a man that considered inker to be a derogatory term.

Kirby and Ayers also teamed up for a total of 68 story pages spread among these five comics.

“Stan told me he was hiring me not to trace. I was to add, to embellish.” – Dick Ayers (from THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #13)

95 YEARS AGO TODAY

Kirby's most controversial inker was born.

   An example of Kirby/Colletta crackle from the first Thor story that I ever read.

Why is Vince Colletta considered controversial?

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT

NEW KIRBY HOMAGES IN THE SHOPS 3 YEARS AGO TODAY

A-FORCE #5 

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT - $3.99

(CA) Chris Samnee 

CAPTAIN AMERICA WHITE #3 

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT - $3.99

(CA) Glenn Fabry 

CIVIL WAR #5 

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT - $3.99

(CA) John Cassaday

                       

GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #1 

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT - $3.99

(CA) Mike Allred 

MS MARVEL #19 

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT - $2.99

(CA) Cliff Chiang

SPIDER-GWEN #1 

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT - $3.99

(CA) Francesco Francavilla 

UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 

KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT - $4.99

(CA) Geof Darrow 

Thanks Disney/Marvel for commisioning these great pieces!

56 YEARS AGO TODAY

The third time TALES OF SUSPENSE featured only two story artists Kirby was NOT one of the artists.

He DID do the cover though 

(with Ayers embellishing.)

Ditko and Reinman were the interior artists.

46 YEARS AGO TODAY did Marvel think that Gil Kane could improve on Kirby?

WHERE MONSTERS DWELL #19 reprinted the entire contents of TALES OF SUSPENSE #24 from 11 years earlier.

The first two of the four stories are penciled by Kirby and embellished by Ayers. 

But the only thing Marvel didn't reprint was the Kirby/Ayers cover!?!

49 YEARS AGO TODAY

 Kirby Dynamics 101

Tilt the background.

Inks by the legendary artist Bill Everett. He also embellished the 20 pages of Kirby art inside. Lee/Kirby/Everett - what a great time to be a Thor fan!!!

50 YEARS AGO TODAY

Marvel's line of books and stable of artists had expanded to such a degree that the evidence points to Lee giving one sentence plot assignments to Kirby suggesting single issue grudge match fights for the issues of FANTASTIC FOUR and CAPTAIN AMERICA that went on sale in October 1968.

“Some artists, of course, need a more detailed plot than others. Some artists, such as Jack Kirby, need no plot at all. I mean I’ll just say to Jack, ‘Let’s make the next villain be Dr. Doom’… " 
        - Stan Lee CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN #12 

For details on the evolution of the Marvel Method go to 

http://nick-caputo.blogspot.com/2012/05/development-of-marvel-method.html

78 YEARS AGO TODAY

The 7th Kirby-covered comic went on sale.

The 10 page story that this cover teases was also drawn by Kirby.

55 YEARS AGO TODAY

The second  Marvel Western that went on sale in October 1963, like the first, had a Kirby cover.

It was embellished by by Frank Giacoia. Unfortunately, also like the first, only the cover was by Kirby. 

53 YEARS AGO TODAY the combined talents of Lee/Kirby fail!!!

"The covers in those days, the covers were the most important thing. Because we didn’t have fans the way we do now. Today, fans go to a book store, Did the latest Fantastic Four come in yet? In those days we sold according to how attractive a book looked on the newsstand. A kid would walk in the news stand, and whatever caught his eye he’d pick up." - Stan Lee

Instead of buying this

 

I purchased this.

54 YEARS AGO TODAY

There was enough new comics on sale with Kirby-penciled covers to fill 20% of a 40 pocket spinner rack.

I had been looking at DC comics at the barber shop for a year and it had finally been revealed how to decipher the symbols that accompanied the pictures. To hone this skill I was allowed to select comics from the drug store to own. Because of my DC indoctrination, instead of buying a King cover, I selected one of the four comics that had a Curt Swan cover...

47 YEARS AGO TODAY

 

 

The equally-sized panel layout perfectly highlights the King's cinematic sensibilities.

Plus the 10 page story from 75 years ago that featured a Pre-Marvel Kirby Thor was reprinted.

73 YEARS AGO TODAY

You be the judge - cover by Kirby or Swan?

Experts DO agree that none of the interior artwork was by Kirby.

76 YEARS AGO TODAY

It was a good time to be a Kirby fan. His 29th cover for 1942 went on sale, which was more Kirby covers than were published in 1940 and 1941 combined!!!

Kirby also drew the 13 page story that this cover teases.