I can’t believe that when I was a kid I didn’t like Jack Kirby’s work. I just didn’t like the squared-off fingers, the poorly defined knuckles, the overly simplified anatomy. It all bothered me as a kid. And, from what I have heard elsewhere, other professional comic book illustrators that followed Kirby also didn’t like his work when they were kids. (Except for Walt Simonson. He liked Kirby from a very young age.) It took my going to art school for me to begin to appreciate the greatness of the King.
And I love it now! Especially the work he produced from the mid-60s on through the late 70s. His drawing in the first several issues of the Fantastic Four was crude, but by 1965 he began to really cook. His artwork just popped right off the page. Everything became pure WOW! His characters became more dynamic. His cityscapes and sci-fi machinery became more intricate. His action became grander. And his depictions of energy, outer space, and the Negative Zone began to krackle.
As the title says, he was the king for a reason.
Which brings me to this month’s great cover, Marvel Comics’ Daredevil #43 (August 1968) drawn by Jack Kirby and inked by Joe Sinnott. This cover could be a companion piece to another great Kirby cover I profiled way back in November, 2017. (Ahhh, the before times. Remember them?). Both feature Marvel’s star-spangled Avenger. Both make terrific use of the entire page. Both were produced at roughly the same time.
This cover also places Captain America front and center. As on Captain America #106 (that other great Kirby cover), Kirby deftly manages to turn Cap’s upper body toward the “camera”, so we get a clear view of America’s super-soldier. His fist pops off the page. Why, I almost feel I have to duck out of the way to avoid getting clobbered.
The characters feel a little more stationary on this cover, but it still demonstrates Jack Kirby’s awesomeness. It’s a great cover.
Packing Peanuts!
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Warehouse Find is the official blog of NostalgiaZone.com, where you can find books, games, toys, cards, and a huge selection of Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Modern Age comic books. Jim also has a podcast called Dimland Radio. He’d love it if you checked it out. It’s available on iTunes.
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