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Bronze age works of Jack Kirby
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48 posts in this topic

I wanted to start a thread to give a creative nod the Jack Kirby and his bronze age contributions. I know he has done some undisputed great in the great silver age for the big two but I find his odd and off beat contributions of the bronze.

 

For example the strong direction he took Black Panther in the 1st ongoing series or the lore of the Eternal and Godly Celestia's.

 

Specifically his odd and intriguing creations such as The Demon and Devil Dinosaur. Funny how for many years so many have criticized his latter works for a lack of creativity. I beg to differ. Just look at the newly revamped Devil Dinosaur in the pages of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. Devils many appearances on random variant covers. This is a character that I've heard some same was lazy and badly written. Well we are beginning to see now the true genius of his latter works.

 

I hope we can all peacefully share some thoughts, memories, and opinions on the Kings Bronze age contributions.

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Back in the early 80s, I got my first exposure to Kirby's work. It was his 70s stuff. At first I didn't care for the block fingered, squiggly line style but it slowly grew on me. I think the turning point might have been when I went to my LCS and bought all 16 issues of the Demon series. (for the princely sum of $12)

 

I opened up the first issue and saw the image below

 

 

demon-jack-kirby-1-4.jpg

 

 

I was blown away. Still am today.

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I have little appreciation for the stuff Kirby drew after 1970 when returning to Marvel - I didn't like any of the stuff he wrote that I read, which isn't much (Machine Man, Devil Dinosaur and Black Panther)

 

The only thing I've ever liked when revisiting that era of his work was this book. :grin:

wi11.jpg

Edited by bababooey
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Back in the early 80s, I got my first exposure to Kirby's work. It was his 70s stuff. At first I didn't care for the block fingered, squiggly line style but it slowly grew on me. I think the turning point might have been when I went to my LCS and bought all 16 issues of the Demon series. (for the princely sum of $12)

 

I opened up the first issue and saw the image below

 

 

demon-jack-kirby-1-4.jpg

 

 

I was blown away. Still am today.

 

I consider Kirby as the undisputed King of superhero comics. No one above him. No one beside him.

I take off my hat for Kirby. Now and for the rest of eternity. God bless him!

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I have little appreciation for the stuff Kirby drew after 1970 when returning to Marvel - I didn't like any of the stuff he wrote that I read, which isn't much (Machine Man, Devil Dinosaur and Black Panther)

 

Yeah, most of that stuff seems a little blah to me. His Captain America is entertaining but the rest of it is, eh, whatever.

 

While at DC earlier in the decade though, Kamandi and Demon were pretty darn fun.

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Wow 12 bucks!? Lucky man..I'm still still trying to collect decent affordable copies and it's nearly impossible with all of the speculation around the Demon.

 

I also was not a huge fan as a kid. Funny thing is...Kirby is what got me back into collecting as a n adult.

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Hate to say it, but I thought his DC work (from Jimmy Olsen to Kamandi to New Gods to Mr. Miracle, etc.) was garbage, as was his Captain America run in the 200s.

 

The one exception to this was his incongruously _awesome_ work for DC on the Losers in Our Fighting Forces.

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Wow 12 bucks!? Lucky man..I'm still still trying to collect decent affordable copies and it's nearly impossible with all of the speculation around the Demon.

 

Well, this was probably 30 years ago when no one cared about those books

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Hate to say it, but I thought his DC work (from Jimmy Olsen to Kamandi to New Gods to Mr. Miracle, etc.) was garbage, as was his Captain America run in the 200s.

 

The one exception to this was his incongruously _awesome_ work for DC on the Losers in Our Fighting Forces.

If you cannot argue why you "thought was garbage" I can’t see how good is to say that. I consider a good deal of what he did brilliant, especially the late Black Panther and Captain America runs. Not to mention the New Gods, some episodes of which are among his finest work.

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I have little appreciation for the stuff Kirby drew after 1970 when returning to Marvel - I didn't like any of the stuff he wrote that I read, which isn't much (Machine Man, Devil Dinosaur and Black Panther)

 

Yeah, most of that stuff seems a little blah to me. His Captain America is entertaining but the rest of it is, eh, whatever.

 

While at DC earlier in the decade though, Kamandi and Demon were pretty darn fun.

Devil Dinosaur isn’t much comparable to the Kiber story arc on the Black Panther, or the Arnim Zola and Tiger and the Swine episodes on Cap. It was a "divertissement".

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I agree, however, that the first episodes of the 1977 Black Panther are not "easy" and a bit convoluted. The whole King Solomon Frog story was not the best way to start the title, IMO.

Always loved his biblic references, anyway. The New Gods are a work on his own, but of course there were some Forever People or Mr. Miracle episodes which were weaker. Jimmy Olsen was pretty nice. All in all the Fourth World has been a daring experiment, partially brilliant, partially not so well accomplished. :)

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Back in the 70s, after being used to the FF, Thor, and all the other characters, I found the "new" art on The Demon, Eternals, Cap & Black Panther a bit harsh. Looking at them today, I can see the power & dynamism of the pages. I even went so far as picking up a couple pages of the 70s art (which I thought I would never do).

 

Armed with this new outlook, I decided to try with my newfound vigor to really try to appreciate them. I really, really wanted to like them, but found them almost unreadable. For all the power of the art on the page, the stories themselves kinda bore me...

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I grew up on, and still love, Jack's '70s work for both Marvel and DC.

 

FINGERS LIKE SHOVELS! (worship)

 

At Marvel from '75 on, Kirby generally eschewed Stan's patented "soap opera" super-heroics and Marvel's complex (convoluted?) sub-plotting and often turgid character development in favor of animated action and breakneck, bare-knuckled plotting.

 

No, his stories weren't "realistic", and many of them were often silly or just plain weird. And his dialogue--especially by today's standards--is an acquired taste at best.

 

But...his '70s stuff was largely unfettered, and NEVER less than gloriously imaginative. That's what kept me coming back for more, and keeps me in his corner today.

 

It's not everyone's cuppa, I know. The upside, of course, is that because his '70s work is not widely appreciated, the books themselves tend to be relatively cheap in higher grades.

 

I own precisely TWO 9.8 slabs, both of which are '70s Kirby books. So bring 'em on, I say!!!

 

 

 

 

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The Fourth World books are some of my favorite comics. For those interested the following book is a great read and has some interesting analysis of some of his seventies work.

 

http://www.amazon.ca/Hand-Fire-Comics-Jack-Kirby/dp/161703178X/ref=sr_1_44?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455333663&sr=1-44&keywords=jack+kirby

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I grew up on, and still love, Jack's '70s work for both Marvel and DC.

 

FINGERS LIKE SHOVELS! (worship)

 

At Marvel from '75 on, Kirby generally eschewed Stan's patented "soap opera" super-heroics and Marvel's complex (convoluted?) sub-plotting and often turgid character development in favor of animated action and breakneck, bare-knuckled plotting.

 

No, his stories weren't "realistic", and many of them were often silly or just plain weird. And his dialogue--especially by today's standards--is an acquired taste at best.

 

But...his '70s stuff was largely unfettered, and NEVER less than gloriously imaginative. That's what kept me coming back for more, and keeps me in his corner today.

 

It's not everyone's cuppa, I know. The upside, of course, is that because his '70s work is not widely appreciated, the books themselves tend to be relatively cheap in higher grades.

 

I own precisely TWO 9.8 slabs, both of which are '70s Kirby books. So bring 'em on, I say!!!

 

 

 

 

:applause:

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"Devil Dinosaur isn’t much comparable to the Kiber story arc on the Black Panther, or the Arnim Zola and Tiger and the Swine episodes on Cap." Is your opinion and everybody opinion is valid.

 

I beg to differ. Devil is Kirby's personal creation. Those others you mention are not. I appreciate all works for what they are. There must be something in Devil that is making him (or her) relevant today with modern collectors. :)

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But...his '70s stuff was largely unfettered, and NEVER less than gloriously imaginative. That's what kept me coming back for more, and keeps me in his corner today.

 

That's it in a nutshell I think. Whatever else you may think of Kirby, he was an incredibly imaginative creator. His ideas didn't always work, but no one bats 1000. I just wish he could have stayed with DC to develop his Fourth World stuff more.

 

At a VCC last year, I grabbed the entire Eternals series. Looking forward to reading through that.

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That's some amazing stuff thunderstick! Thanks for that share!

 

As far as wishing he stayed around to expand on his new gods? Yes I think we all kinda wish the same...

BUT...In a way there were some "off-beat creations" to still be made! So he followed his calling.

 

Even though there is much talk about how unhappy he had become with the industry...I think this is a natural course for any hard worker/creator of his time. The "powered that be" will always get to after a while because the "business giant" will never appreciate you in the end. For them it's all about the next money maker.

 

I do not believe this effected his work as others have complained. I just think that whatever evolution he made as a artist and creator was his natural course. There was no good or bad. It was all something special for different people.

 

The reason why I liked Devil so much was because for me it was like an "independent" in an era where there was no such thing. I liked to pick something up that was different and not "superhero" He gave that to me.

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