Kirby is without doubt one of the best writers ever to have worked in mainstream comics, and by far the best writer ever to have worked in the super hero genre, which isnt a good way of expressing just how great a writer kirby was, because super hero comics are the bottom of the barrel in terms of comic book writing. A few years back, someone noticed this comic book from 1958 with a story about the face on mars. An upcoming talk by kenn thomas, one of the more levelheaded conspiracy theorists, looks at the links between a story written by comic book legend jack kirby, for the comic race for the moon, above and the face on mars the story coming decades before the feature was. Oct 17, 2008 i mentioned in another post that comic book collecting is an investmentdriven hobby, and i want this thread to be a serious discussion about that investment as it relates to jack kirby sigs on marvel comic books. Comic master jack kirby showed us the mysterious face on mars decades before it was imaged by the viking 1 orbiter in 1976 and ultimately became an iconic example of pareidolia or proof of an. Although this book is packed with all the visual delights jack kirby fans expect. This video is a brief history of the genesis of this genre in the 20th century through books like h. However, a 1958 comic book, entitled the face on mars, which is the second issue of harveys comics race to the moon series, author jack kirby tells us how a group of explorers finds an artificial structure shaped like a human face on mars. Jack kirby was a comic book cartoonist who was the true creator of the fantastic 4, the xmen, the hulk and about 90% of marvel comics superheroes. Pages in category characters created by jack kirby the following 200 pages are in this category, out of approximately 290 total. Jul 30, 2015 comic master jack kirby showed us the mysterious face on mars decades before it was imaged by the viking 1 orbiter in 1976 and ultimately became an iconic example of pareidolia or proof of an.
Apr 16, 2012 captain 3d and jack kirby 3d comics by kandou erik. The mysterious face on mars was first spotted in 1959. The mysterious face on mars was first spotted in 1959 boing. This over size companion book to last years exhibition comic book apocalypse the graphic world of jack kirby at california state university, northridge is a musthave for any serious kirby fan. Faces on mars lesson uni scholarworks university of northern. Joe was really fond of the inking that was done on these and other kirby. This list may not reflect recent changes learn more. Jack kirby and the face on mars alien explorations.
Oct 28, 2016 comic book artists comic artist comic books art marvel comics superheroes dc comics art dc comics collection jack kirby art jack king cartoon books an unused licensing pinup by jack kirby, with inks by mike royer, and colors by tom ziuko from issue of the jack kirby collector. When i found out that jack had done two 3d comics books, i thought id like to see that for myself. This issues claim to fame besides having the wonderful jack kirby al williamson art which is one of the many great artist team ups over time is the one story, the face on mars which shows an expedition examining a face on mars years before the nasas spacecraft had taken pictures of the mysterious face on mars in 1976, which nasa later debunked as a natural. In their search for answers at the great wall of the source itself, the new gods encounter the gods of other pantheons, and big barda finds herself locked in combat with the norse god of thunder, thor, in a clash of titans. The above is a great example of collision between pop culture and conspiracy theories. May 27, 2012 to them, kirbys own pages now looked quaint and oldfashioned. Revisiting jack kirbys return to marvel comics scott. But thanks to an innovative new process for creating comic books pioneered at marvel, kirby found himself doing far more. In 1959, kirby wrote a story called the face on mars. One would be forgiven for thinking that the comic story above was inspired by the face on mars formation discovered at cydonia by the viking orbiter in 1976. Jack kirby 101 as surely as elvis presley is the king of rock n roll and michael jackson is the king of pop, jack kirby is the king of comics. Jack kirby 1917 1994 was comic book artist, writer and editor. Nov 01, 2016 this over size companion book to last years exhibition comic book apocalypse the graphic world of jack kirby at california state university, northridge is a musthave for any serious kirby fan. It has all three issues, formatted just for kindle.
In 1958, a full thirteen years before the anomaly was photographed, legendary comic book artist jack kirby actually wrote a story titled the face on mars where astronauts journey to the red planet and discover a giant face left behind by a lost race of martians. The group of four are climbing a gigantic carved statue of a face found on mars. Scientists discover a stone face on mars, in a jack kirby story written two decades before the discovery of the reallife face on mars. Comic book master jack kirby showed us the face of mars decades before it was actually seen for the first time by the viking 1 orbiter in 1976 and became one. One of the mediums most prolific artistic legends, jack kirby, the king of comics, was an artist, writer, and editor whose work spanned the golden, silver, bronze and modern ages of comics. There is no question in my mind that jack kirby was the driving force behind most of marvels top characters. By work, i dont mean the energetic as always images kirby was drawing, but the text he supplied once he was. Simon and kirbys amazing comic book science fiction. In remembering marvel comics legend stan lee we need to also talk about the people he left in his wake. A beginners guide to the king of comics, jack kirby. How jack kirby and dc comics predicted trump with a bloviating demagogue in 1971. Here it is, accompanied by gustav holsts mars, the bringer of.
What better way to introduce a hero clad in the american flag during world war ii than by showing him decking hitler. Aug 12, 2007 one would be forgiven for thinking that the comic story above was inspired by the face on mars formation discovered at cydonia by the viking orbiter in 1976. Opinion jack kirby, a comic book genius, is finally. I got to know jack kirbys work, and remarkable creativity quite well and witnessed his characters and stories as they evolved. In fact it comes from a comic book published in september 1958. Hard to imagine, isnt it, when thats the cover price of a regular comic book today. Obviously, that was a few decades before the infamous viking. Jack kirby, original name jacob kurtzberg, born august 28, 1917, new york, new york, u. Comic book master jack kirby showed us the face of mars decades before it was captured by viking 1 in 1976 and became the most controversial structure discovered on the red planet. Drawnand possibly writtenby famed comic book artist and creator jack kirby, the story predated the actual discovery of a face on mars almost 18 years. The face on mars was published in a comic titled race for the moon.
Fisher steps through an eye socket and finds himself in a lush green city with breathable air and sees giant martians. Most artists have a piece of paper on their drawing board that they use for brush prep. I was surprised to say the least to see a story about the face on mars in a comic book from 1958. What do you get when you cross jack kirby and al williamson. Rock music group monster magnet referenced kirbys cultural impact in their song, melt, which includes the lyrics, i was thinking how the world should have criedon the day jack kirby died. In the segment about jack kirby, an image of galactus appears from 3. This issues claim to fame besides having the wonderful jack kirby al williamson art which is one of the many great artist team ups over time is the one story, the face on mars which shows an expedition examining a face on mars years before the nasas spacecraft had taken pictures of the mysterious face on mars in 1976, which nasa later. Lovecrafts call of cthulhu, chariots of the gods, comic books like jack kirby. Jack kirby jacob kurtzberg was an american comic book artist, writer and editor. The face on mars, penciled by jack kirby and inked by al williamson. Jack kirby was one of the most influential comic book artists and writers of the united states, and one of the innovators of the superhero genre.
What better way to introduce a hero clad in the american flag during world war ii than by showing him. Susan skaar kirby museum quite what kirby would have made of the last 10 years is difficult to say. Over at the kirby museum, robert steibel has something to say about a post i wrote a year back which explained how, when i was working for marvel in the 70s, i disliked the work jack kirby was doing upon his return there, and how i dislike that work still. Stan lee was the showman of marvel comics, but jack kirby. Introduced yesterday before jack kirby continued the story of 2001, he adapted the film into a 70page comic. Although the comic adapts the film it uses jupiter, for example, whereas the novel used saturn it does incorporate some dialogue from the novel. Nov 11, 2017 this video is a brief history of the genesis of this genre in the 20th century through books like h. It can be tough to find the original race to the moon comic books harvey, 1958. It seems appropriate to begin with the front page of the face on mars comic story by the legendary jack kirby.
Sep 01, 2012 7 thoughts on speaking of art, jack kirbys the face on mars odkin september 1, 2012 at 6. Revisiting jack kirbys return to marvel comics scott edelman. Metamessages jack kirby takes some shots at stan lee cbr. The face of mars was predicted and drawn in a 1958 comic. Speaking of art, jack kirbys the face on mars simon and. The offer was perfect, hed only work on his own characters, his art would be left alone and not changed by the office and hed have his pick of titles. It has however made stan the very rich man that he is today. Growing up poor in new york city, kurtzberg entered the nascent comics industry in the 1930s. Background young jack kirby with his parents circa 1920. Nicknamed the king of comics, he has been a driving force behind the industry during both the golden age of comic books in the 1940s and the silver age in the 1960s. As you likely know by now, jack kirby left marvel comics in 1970 after working for marvel on a pretty much exclusive basis for over a decade. A synopsis of the face on mars story can be found towards the bottom of this linked web page, click this stargate. The face on mars was predicted by a 1958 comic youtube.
He grew up in new york city, and learned to draw cartoon figures by tracing. He entered the comic book business from 1939 and remained active to 1984, cocreating numerous characters in the intervening years. It can be tough to find the original race to the moon comic books harvey. But in 2014, a kindle version of race for the moon became available. Aug 28, 2017 when we were thinking of ways to celebrate his tremendous impact on the world of comic books, we realized that one of the easiest ways to visualize kirbys impact was just to list 100 of his coolest comic book creations. Jacob kurtzberg was born in new york city, in a tenement house on essex street in the lower east side of manhattan on august 28, 1917. See more ideas about jack kirby, jack kirby art and comic books art. The 8 x 12 format gives ample room for reproductions of his original art and beautiful, full color collage work. August 28, 1917 february 6, 1994 was an american comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the mediums major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. Oct 01, 2018 comic master jack kirby showed us the mysterious face on mars decades before it was imaged by the viking 1 orbiter in 1976 and ultimately became a controversial structure on the red planet.
You could have purchased the jack kirby portfolio 41 years ago for only four bucks. Jack kirby would have been a giant even if hed stuck only to drawing. A fascinating aspect of the face on mars mystery is the fact that jack kirby, an american comic book artist, writer and editor, years before nasas viking 1 and. The other day, i found an unexpected appearance of mars will send no more in another medium. Soviet lunar colonists suspect an errant american of espionage, but he insists he was fleeing from mooncreatures. Those ink marks on the back as on the other page you mention are not brush practice. But we didnt drag you to this post to discuss inflation. Jacob kirgstein, a character in the authority comic books, is inspired by jack kirby. Featuring art and cover by comics legends jack kirby and al williamson.
Simple and effective, we have joe simon and jack kirby to thank for this one. Published in 1958 this graphic story spookily predates the discovery of the face at cydonia by 18 years. Kirby left high school at age 16 and worked in max. In the case of the iconic comic book artist jack kirby, it happened while he was still alive. Staffers seeded the letters columns of kirbys books with negative commentssome of which were fakein a seeming attempt to spite him, raphael and spurgeon say in their 2003 lee biography.
If lee was the showman of marvel comics, jack kirby was the soul. The face on mars was forseen 18 years before its discovery in. The kirby awards were named in honor of jack kirby. Richard hoagland speculated that the secret space program gave kirby information leading to the artists 1958 comic book story, the face on mars an anomaly that did not become part of the conspiracy lexicon until. Jack kirby mars will send no more comic books, art. Sep 27, 20 dc comics released kirbys new concepts and proudly announced, kirby is here on the covers of his books, damned glad to have stolen marvels main asset. With his partner joe simon, he created the allamerican hero captain. Jack kirbys art has always been described as being so actionpacked that it seems the characters are jump right off the page. Joe was really fond of the inking that was done on these and other kirby pencils from race for the moon and blastoff titles.
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