Showing posts with label DC Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DC Comics. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Recently Read: Old Gods & New: A Companion to Jack Kirby's Fourth World
Author and publisher John Morrow's 160-page book on the origins, publication and aftermath of Jack Kirby's Fourth World series for DC Comics is as complete a picture of the chronology as we'll probably ever get. Liberally and beautifully illustrated and packed with quotes from those close to the project at the time, Old Gods & New tells the tale of how one of the most visionary and audacious comic book ventures was shot down midstream.
Especially nice is the reproduction of the eighteen concept drawings Kirby drew while still in Marvel's employ, in the late '60s, printed in color on - as with the rest of the book - non-glare paper. Also appreciated in a deep delve into the '80s series Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers, in which Kirby deliberately yet surreptitiously brought some of the Fourth World's character conflicts to a resolution. New to me was information on Kirby's attempt to negotiate a return to Marvel halfway through his contract with DC.
For readers of Kirby's New Gods, Forever People, Mister Miracle and Jimmy Olson series, this trade paperback is essential for your library.
Sunday, February 13, 2022
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Monday, February 24, 2020
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Recently Read: The Complete Sky Masters of the Space Force, by Jack Kirby
Publisher Greg Theakston's black and white collection of the complete Sky Masters of the Space Force syndicated comic strip by Jack Kirby is a treat. The strip was ostensibly written by Dick and Dave Wood (though later stories in the series were clearly written by Kirby) and inked by Wally Wood, Dick Ayers and Kirby himself. It's a very of-its time pageant of U.S. space exploration, comprising sixteen stories. Both Kirby and Wally Wood play to their strengths here, with cosmic vistas, shadow-drenched machinery and costumes and heavily researched tech details.
The main character, Sky Masters, isn't particularly interesting, but the scenarios are, even when, towards the end, Kirby's clearly losing interest and the art becomes as minimal as possible (think: silhouettes whenever possible). The tales of greed, fear, heroism, the supernatural and scientific possibilities are all entertaining.
Theakston rounds out the book with plenty of supplementary material, including art from an early prototype for the series, art from other Kirby/Wood projects, pencils, newspaper ads, and a detailed history of the strip, including affidavit transcripts from Kirby's legal battle with Jack Schiff, then an editor at DC Comics - a battle which would result in Kirby leaving DC for the next ten years (thus making possible the '60s Marvel revolution).
Monday, June 12, 2017
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Recently Read: The Secret History of Marvel Comics
Blake Bell and Dr. Michael Vassallo's exhaustively researched and meticulously compiled record of the transition between Martin Goodman's publishing of pulp magazines and what were (for all intents and purposes) the earliest Marvel comics makes for fascinating reading and is an important document.
For those like me interested in the history of 20th century magazine publishing, pulp magazines and the earliest comic books, The Secret History of Marvel Comics is pure gold. It details the complex and convoluted relationships between the earliest publishers of what became DC Comics, Archie Comics and Marvel, and breaks down Goodman's cynical but effective business strategies publishing books and magazines of all stripes, of which comics were only a part.
Goodman's lack of interest, bordering on contempt, of most of his creative teams had echoes which still reverberate today (such as in the Jack Kirby heir's recent legal battle with Disney over Kirby's creations for Marvel).
Half the book is given over to illustrations drawn by Goodman's employees for his pulp magazines, including much work by Kirby, Joe Simon, Alex Schomburg, Bill Everett, Syd Shores and many more.
A few anecdotes and facts are given too many times, and I wish the book had given more information on Goodman's later days (especially his involvement in the '70s Atlas comics). I understand that, given the title of the book, that was probably out of the scope of the project. And yet, how many books are written about Martin Goodman? This would have been a perfect opportunity for that.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Sunday, November 22, 2015
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Recently Read: The Green Arrow, by Jack Kirby
The Green Arrow, by Jack Kirby, reprints all of the late '50s DC Green Arrow stories drawn by Kirby, assisted by his wife, Roz. Mark Evanier writes an informative introduction.
Truth is, this is a book only for Jack Kirby and Green Arrow completists. With most of the stories being written by Dave Wood and Ed Herron, the tales are typical DC stories of the period: simple plots revolving around the heroes' arrows, with no characterization in sight. If you want to read about the Arrowcar, the Luminescent Arrow, the Vine Arrow, the Boomerang Arrow, the Arrowplane - in short, if you're positively obsessed with arrows, you'll love this book. Others will want to pass.
The art is worth seeing, especially since Kirby did much of his own inking here, a rarity in his later years. Most of the art is as perfunctory as Kirby art ever (rarely) became. Only in the last story, "The Green Arrow's First Case" does Kirby really come alive. There's a four-page sequence, set on an island, that is expressed with such boldness it looks more like a 1967 Captain America sequence than a late '50s DC story. Whether Kirby was taking such risks because he knew it was his last Green Arrow story, or whether it could have been the beginning of a new and better artistic direction for the series, we'll never know.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
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