Selected Product:
| Kirby: King of Comics
Hardcover
Edition: 1
Author: Mark Evanier
Publisher: Abrams
Release Date: 2008-02-22
ISBN-10: 081099447X
ISBN-13: 9780810994478
List Price: $40.00
Average Customer Rating:
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Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com
Jack Kirby created or co-created some of comic books’ most popular characters including Captain America, The X-Men, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, The Mighty Thor, Darkseid, and The New Gods. More significantly, he created much of the visual language for fantasy and adventure comics. There were comics before Kirby, but for the most part their page layout, graphics, and visual dynamic aped what was being done in syndicated newspaper strips. Almost everything that was different about comic books began in the forties on the drawing table of Jack Kirby. This is his story by one who knew him well—the authorized celebration of the one and only “King of Comics” and his groundbreaking work.
“I don’t think it’s any accident that . . . the entire Marvel universe and the entire DC universe are all pinned or rooted on Kirby’s concepts.” —Michael Chabon
Surprisingly Moving Biography of Jack "King" Kirby
| Customer Rating: | | I picked this up in my library stacks and started thumbing through it. Five minutes later two hours had gone by and I had relived a substantial portion of my childhood. Some of it brought me close to tears remembering how much Marvel Comics meant to me when I was a kid and above all, how much Jack Kirby's art meant - as for many, I am sure, Kirby was the first comic book artist I recognized by style and name. But just as moving was Mark Evanier's portrait of who Jack Kirby was and what he meant to those who knew him. Some of the reviews on this book seemed to miss the mark to me, complaining that the book wasn't what they expected. I didn't have preconceptions about what it should be and so it took me by the hand and heart on a journey along old paths. (Just as a parting aside, though I didn't agree with much of what Norbert J. Rozek had to say, I must sheepishly confess: Vince Colletta was always my favorite Kirby inker too - it's probably why my favorite Kirby comic was Thor). |
Until a comprehensive bio comes out, this will have to do.
| Customer Rating:  |
Filled with phenomenal examples of Kirby's art, KIRBY: KING OF COMICS is a great primer to the work of one of comics' true legends. "Street Code," Kirby's look at childhood on the mean streets of NY, alone is worth the price of admission, but the book is filled any number of rarely published pieces, often from the original pencils. The text from Mark Evanier, a talented writer and longtime Kirby associate, proves to be a bit of a disappointment. Evanier does a fine job of encapsulating Kirby's life, focusing on the high and low points of Kirby's storied career, but the work is simply lacking in the depth that I have come to expect from current biographies. Simon and Kirby, the Marvel years, the creation of the "Fourth World" are looked at, but it's little more than a cursory glance. Less than half the book is text, and even with the oversize pages, (Great for the art repros!) it still feels skimpy on details. Maybe, at some point in the future a definitive bio will come out; until then fans will have to make due with this loving tribute. |
WOW!!! A great achievement!
| Customer Rating: | I began collecting comics in the mid 90's and didn't start looking backwards to the masters until several years later. I had seen Kirby's work here and there and never really was that impressed with it, but years later I pick up this book and read it (for hours last night and all afternoon today :) and I couldn't put it down. I was really taken with the work and life of this (now I see it) comics "master." Into the first few pages I was hooked on the writing. It moves along at a quick pace and Evanier doesn't get bogged down with the extraneous stuff... he just keeps speeding forward, which complements the art tremendously. His writing is not overly sentimental and yet Evanier clearly admires Kirby and his work and it really shows through with the heart behind the writing. Many passages were really quite moving, and some very funny.
Here's an example of Evanier's words: "The head librarian turned to the man next to her, who happened to be Kirby, and asked him if he thought comics mirrored reality. Jack said, 'No, comics transcend reality.' The answer startled the librarian, and she said, 'If you were to mirror reality, then perhaps others could begin to understand it.' Jack popped a piece of cheddar into his mouth and fixed her with a stare he'd learned either on the streets of New York or on Omaha Beach during World War II. 'Madam,' he said, 'when you mirror reality, you see it all backward. When you start transcending it, that's when you have a real good shot at figuring out what's going on.' Then he went over to Roz and told her her he was ready to leave."
The art itself is grandly reproduced, often completely covering the page and at such a quality that one can see the tones and pencil smudges in the drawings. This quality of reproduction gave me whole new insight into the beauty and power of this man's work. In the end, I've been transformed into a fan and can't wait to get my hands on more of Kirby's work. |
Homage to the King
| Customer Rating: | | A beautifully researched, written and illustrated book. Rare images and insights into the life of this prolific and influential artist. |
King Kirby Lives!!!!
| Customer Rating: | Mark Evanier does a fantastic job paying tribute to the king of comic books.This would make an excellent coffee table book for any Kirby afficianado!The illustrations and uses of Kirby's sketches are also effective.
But the book does have a sad note.Evanier writes of the injustices suffered by Kirby and his widow.This man essentially,except for Spiderman,was responsible for creating Marvel's Silver Age.Yet Marvel begrudgingly paid Kirby's widow a MEAGER pension after his death in 1994.
The book is not only decorative but informative and with Kirby's work being so vast I look forward to a "sequel" by Mr.Evanier.Kudos!Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Comics 1 |
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