You may know him as jolly Jack Kirby (1917-1994), or "King Kirby," famed comic artist and co-creator of nearly EVERY Marvel superhero -- Captain America, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, the Silver Surfer -- the list goes on and on. In the 1970s, he jumped over to Marvel's competitor, DC Comics, and contributed a bit to some of their mainstays (his run on "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" was actually really cool). He also created The New Gods, which was no less than an attempt to create a full-on modern day mythology, with all the majesty and mystery that word implies. People often look to Kirby's comics of the 1970s and wonder at their psychedelic weirdness. He pioneered the use of cutup and collage in mainstream comics, and he also took the helm of DC's adaptation of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Yes, Kirby met Frank Zappa around that time, and probably got well acclimated into the remnants of sixties counterculture...
 |
| Click for your world to get bigger, man. |
From start to finish, however, Kirby's tales were always grounded in the fundamental conflict of good versus evil. In The New Gods, this was phrased as "Life versus Anti-Life," with the latter meaning slavery, coercion, and conformity. Kirby was all about the blossoming of Life, and I'd like to quote David Brothers, who wrote an awesome essay on that topic, on what would have been the King's 95th birthday:
"Kirby redefined good not as a moral issue, but one of freedom. The freedom to love, laugh, share, create, and more. There's the potential for harm, and many of the New Gods struggle with that potential, but just having that potential is vital. It needs to be there. Being able to choose to do wrong is greater than being forced to do good. Free will is everything. The Life Equation is everything beautiful, warts and all."
Cyg, I just sighed reading that outtake by Brothers. What can one possibly add to that except perfect assent?
ReplyDelete"Amen, Brothers." :-) This is kind of what Thelema means to me, too.
DeleteI literally learn something new every day with this challenge. I had never heard of Jacob Kurtzberg before, but I had heard of the cartoon series Captain America. It looks like he was a talented artist. I am not a comic fan, but it is nice to think about a time when people drew things, and did not just use an electronic pad to create images. I still think hand drawings and paintings are the best, or at least my most favorite things to look at.
ReplyDeleteSweetbearies Art Tips
Thanks for stopping by, J. If you get time, please have a look at the Comics Alliance web site on which I found my quote from David Brothers. They post a lot of news items about the comics world, but a few times a week they shine the spotlight on some interesting art and artists.
DeleteLet us not forget his most recent brush with fame, the movie Argo. Jack Kirby was indeed the king of comics.
ReplyDeleteThat's right! I still haven't seen Argo, but I heard about the original cover story to film Zelazny's Lord of Light, with (pre-existing?) storyboards by the King himself. Wild!
DeleteGreat choice! I recently read a funny story about him. Apparently he was a bit of a brawler in his youth. While most artists who were drafted in WWII were diverted to the propaganda poster division, he was sent to the front lines. In his own rendering of the tale, they knew he was too much of a thug to keep out of the fighting.
ReplyDeleteHa! I probably could've guessed it from this picture of him posed with Cap's shield. :-)
DeleteHe definitely achieved legend status :)
ReplyDeleteYou bet, Trisha. Thanks for visiting. I'm likely to spend a lot of time clicking through the songs you're posting this month... so many are new to me. (I've only been Down Under one time, and sadly didn't get to catch any local music when I was there.)
DeleteNot much of a comic reader, and I may not know the man, but I definitely know his characters. That's the true show of his legacy. Interesting stuff.
ReplyDeleteangelinetrevena.blogspot.co.uk