Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby (Vol. 1)

Rating:
Summary: Something so wrong about this concept...
Review: As delighted as I am to see this sweeping together of work into a kind of career overview of the comic book genius, the deal-breaker for the project comes, for me, in the truth that every Kirby fan knows: Jack Kirby and Marvel ended their relationship in bitter acrimony, at least from the King's side. He felt deeply, to the end, that someone else at the company took substantial credit for some of the best work he ever did, and he could never get over the fact that thousands of pages of his art, art that was being held in the company vault, were never returned to him. (The eventual grudging return of a tiny fraction of his pages for Marvel before his death raised more questions than it answered-- to where on earth had all this art, under lock and key for "safe-keeping" for decades, disappeared? Most frustratingly, through the period when he campaigned to get his art returned, Kirby said that he kept seeing his vintage Marvel boards for sale at conventions!)

I can, with effort, set aside the way Marvel treated Kirby. --It's a question of keeping the karma good. But, on the other hand, I will never give them another dollar for anything that cashes in on Kirby's name. No way. I have too much respect for the man's work, for his personal memory and for what I would assume to be his wishes in the matter.

Those interested in prime Kirby can check out his Fourth World books for DC, currently available in a nice set of fat trade paperbacks, at very affordable prices. Of course, Kirby's time at DC during his Fourth World period was not always a walk in the garden. But any mistreatment of Kirby by DC at this time seems to have been more like mishandling, the result of the company's growing desperation and panic reaction at the fact that nothing, not even Kirby with his magic hit-making touch, could pull them out of their perpetual number two sales spot. But there was certainly no theft of credit or of his actual boards.

Rating:
Summary: Return of the KING!
Review: See why Jack Kirby became known as the "King of Comics". This archive covers 40 years of Kirby's work for Marvel. It is a good introduction to see how his style and storytelling evolved.

Including the now classic introduction of Captain America, the Fantastic Four with Galactus and Silver Surfer, Thor, and the whimsical take on the "What If" with the Marvel Bullpen.

The Visonaries is a great addition to the Marvel Masterwork library.

Rating:
Summary: Long the live King Kirby.
Review: Would there have been a comics industry without Jack Kirby? Yes, I think there would have, but it might not have been as fun. This book reprints a wide format of stories (see the Amazon description above) in a format worthy of Kirby.

Particularly nice was the inclusion of the "What-If?" story that has
Kirby and Stan Lee becoming members of the Fantastic Four. It is great fun to watch the King of Comics actually join in the action in the comic universe he helped create.