Jack Kirby Day

Thanks to Tom Scioli's website (seriously, if you're not checking out http://www.ambarb.com/ at least once a week, then you're missing out) I discovered that it's Jack Kirby's birthday.  Jack Kirby is the King of Comics.  He's been gone for awhile now, but I don't like to say he was the King of Comics, because that would imply that there has been someone who took his throne.  There has never been, and there will never be a successor to Our King.  Sometimes I get sad seeing people walk around Cons wearing t-shirts that bear Kirby artwork, and I wonder if the person wearing it has ever even heard of Jack Kirby.  I oftentimes feel people are ignorant of who Kirby even was, blinded by the incessant hoopla surrounding that modern day P. T. Barnham, Stan Lee.  But Kirby won't be lost to history.  Most of his work has been collected in fancy collections, there's lotsa books on the King, and a pretty snazzy Wikipedia entry.  Plus, there's lots of guys like me that will toss Jack Kirby's name out there every chance we get.  The King will never die.

So, without further ado, here's my Top 10 Why I Love Jack Kirby List:

10.  He fought in World War II.  He's a Comics Legend AND a War Hero.  Not a lotta guys you can say that about.

9.  He was a 5' tall Fighting Machine.  The stories I've heard about Kirby's life paint him as not only a kindly family man, but also as a rough and tumble brawler who wasn't afraid of nothing.  I like that.

8.  Y'know that Avengers movie that came out a year ago, and everyone's still talking about how awesome it was?  That movie doesn't exist without Jack Kirby.  Kirby had a hand in the creation of every character in that movie (well, except Black Widow and Hawkeye, but they came out of Iron Man's comic, which was started by Kirby, so...).  Kirby also created the original Avengers comics.  And the plot of the movie was somewhat inspired by Kirby's first Avengers comic.

7.  Speaking of things that don't exist with Kirby, THERE IS NO MARVEL COMICS WITHOUT JACK KIRBY.  PERIOD.  Jack "co-created" virtually every worthwhile comic and character in Marvel's stable.  Captain America, the Red Skull, Thor, Loki, Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Thing, the modern Human Torch, Dr. Doom, All the other major Fantastic Four villains, Ant Man, the original X-Men, Magneto, the Black Panther, the Inhumans, the Watcher, the Celestials, and probably a bunch more that I can't think of cause I'm really tired.  Without Kirby, there is no Marvel Universe.

6.  The Eternals.  Issue 7.  Page 31. 

5.  In the 60s, Kirby gave us the Marvel Universe, but in the 70s he went nuts and it was AWESOME.  I love Kamandi.  I love the Demon.  I love the Eternals.  I love Devil Dinosaur.  I would like to build a small alter in my house so I can worship OMAC.  Most insanely beautiful comics ever made by anyone (Honorable mention also goes to The Losers, 2001, Machine Man, and the Sandman revival).

4.  Comics handle the Cosmic better than any other medium, and Jack Kirby basically invented the genre.  I love Cosmic Comics, and I love that I'm at a point in my career where I get to create the kinds of Cosmic style comics I love.

3.  Jack Kirby was the Best Comic Book Artist Ever.  There were better illustrators, better draftsmen, better self-promoters (Kirby was terrible at self-promotion), and better pin-up artists.  But no one before or since has drawn comics and told stories in the comic medium with the skill, passion, or power that the King could.  Also, best costume designer ever.  Also, also, best Monster Maker ever.  Also, best Fight Scene Choreographer ever.  He was the King, man.

2.  The 4th World is my All Time Favorite Comic Book.  New Gods.  Mister Miracle.  The Forever People.  Kirby's Unfinished Masterpiece.  I could ramble for days about how much I love these comics.  I could talk about "Glory Boat" or "The Pact" or virtually any Mister Miracle story or Darkseid or all of that cool stuff he created in the space of a few issues.  Man, I am glad those comics exist.

1.  Jack Kirby created (NOT co-created, this one's not even in dispute) the Silver Surfer and Galactus.  The Silver Surfer was the reason I started reading comics, and ultimately the reason I wanted to start making comics.  Although the character was taken from Kirby by Stan Lee (another reason for my animosity towards Lee...), Kirby still contributed some of the best Surfer stories ever.  Without Jack Kirby, there is no TORC Press, and without TORC Press there is no Joseph Morris. 

Thank you Jack, for everything.