Comic Book Resources

Straight for the art | Mock Inglourious Basterds comics

Inglourious Basterds #1

These have been making the rounds the last couple of days ... CHUD posts a series of faux Inglourious Basterds comic book covers they found on Harry Knowles' Twitter feed that look like they were created in the 1970s. Cool stuff; go check out the rest of them.

Update: The covers were created by Martin Duhovic.

Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes

Stuck in the Middle

Libraries | There's still more follow-up to the removal this week of Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age from two middle-school libraries in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Teachers still have access to the anthology -- it depicts language and sexual reference that at least one parent found objectionable -- and may use it in class.

An editorial in the Argus Leader calls the school board's decision "a reasonable approach that balances the need to provide suitable guidance for kids when dealing with sensitive topics without falling prey to censorship." CBS affiliate KELO, meanwhile, continues its coverage of the story with a look at how books are selected for libraries. Tom Spurgeon also has reaction from two of the anthology's contributors. [Argus Leader, KELOLAND.com]

Creators | Jeet Heer digs up writings by a young Dave Sim expressing, in no uncertain terms, his disdain for the work of Jack Kirby. [Comics Comics]

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Adam Prosser's Kirby-meets-Archie mash-up

The Archon by Adam Prosser

Johanna Draper Carlson points out that Adam Prosser has posted his 24-Hour Comics Day comic on the web. It's one part Kirby's New Gods, one part Archie Comics and all parts awesome -- heck, it's likely the coolest thing you'll see today.

Comics College: Jack Kirby

Welcome to Comics College, a (sort of) monthly feature here at Robot 6 where we provide an introductory guide to some of the most significant artists, writers and creators in comics and offer our best educated suggestions on how to become familiar with their body of work.

Little did I know when I chose Jack Kirby as my second entry more than a month ago that his name would be splayed across the headlines of comics blogs and message boards as his family announced their intention to attempt to win back the copyrights to various Marvel characters. Despite the questionable rancor from some parties, the news provides a perfect opportunity to revisit Kirby's work, as he remains one of the great colossi of American Comics, perhaps its most significant creator, depending upon who you talk to. He's certainly one of the most prolific.

But Kirby can be tough for some folks. Modern readers used to the Image school of exaggeration or a more photorealistic (or PhotoShopped at any rate) style of superhero comics tend to balk at Kirby's blocky, dynamic style, especially in his later period when it verged on outright expressionism. What's more, he was always a better artist and idea man than a writer, and his dialogue when working solo can come off as turgid and forced, especially when he's trying to sound "hip" and "with it." I know as a teenager and young adult I found Kirby's work initially too odd and different from what I was used to as a comic reader to enjoy. It wasn't until I forced myself to sit down and immerse myself into his world that I learned to appreciate his oeuvre and became a devotee.

Keep in mind: Kirby's output was so vast that to try to encapsulate it here in a simple blog post is a mug's game. In other words, there are going to be omissions -- volumes left out and series ignored, either due to the fact that I simply haven't read them yet or because I just didn't have the time and space to include them here. I feel confident enough in my recommendations, but feel free to pick on my negligence in the comments section.

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Comics A.M. | The comics Internet in two minutes

The Avengers #4

Creators | Using the copyright-reclamation bid by Jack Kirby's children as a news hook, Geoff Boucher takes a look at the artist's legacy, his creative partnership with Stan Lee, and his bitter feud with Marvel. "A lot more people know the name Stan Lee than the name Jack Kirby," says daughter Lisa Kirby. “I’m not putting down Stan Lee’s talents but it’s difficult for us to see that he does dominate the credit. That doesn’t reflect the work or the reality. To see Jack Kirby in small letters and Stan Lee in big letters, that’s hard for us.” [Los Angeles Times]

Publishing | Jim Shelley considers what effect the recession may be having on the illegal downloading of comic books. He finds there are more downloads, but they've become more difficult to track. [Flashback Universe, via Kleefeld on Comics]

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Confirmed: Jack Kirby's heirs want a piece of Spider-Man

Amazing Fantasy #15

Spider-Man is, indeed, one of the Marvel characters listed in the 45 copyright-termination notices sent last week by the heirs of Jack Kirby.

With Sony Pictures among the list of recipients -- along with Marvel, Disney, Fox, Universal and others -- it seemed likely that Kirby's four children were seeking a portion of the copyright to the wall-crawler (Sony holds the movie rights to the character in perpetuity). Now The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog confirms that after reviewing termination notices for Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four.

Wait. Didn't Stan Lee and Steve Ditko create Spider-Man? Well ... yes. However, Kirby was clearly involved in the early stages. The nature, and extent, of that involvement isn't quite so clear.

As Borys Kit and Matthew Belloni recount at Heat Vision, Lee initially approached Kirby to help develop the concept and draw the initial story in 1962's Amazing Fantasy #15. For one reason or another -- Lee has said he didn't like Kirby's muscular, or "too heroic," take on Spider-Man -- Ditko was tapped to draw the story, with Kirby providing the cover.

But some accounts assert that Kirby contributed elements from an unpublished character called Silver Spider that he developed in the 1950s with longtime collaborator Joe Simon. Others say Silver Spider became The Fly, a character created by Simon and Kirby for Archie Comics' Red Circle imprint.

According to the Heat Vision report, Kirby's heirs seek to recapture a share of the copyright to characters and story elements that appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 -- Aunt May, Uncle Ben, Flash Thompson, etc. -- plus characters and concepts like J. Jonah Jameson, the Daily Bugle, Chameleon, the Tinkerer and the Lizard, most of which debuted months later in issues of The Amazing Spider-Man. (The Daily Bugle first appeared in Fantastic Four #2.)

If the Kirby children are successful, they would reclaim their father's portion of the copyright to key characters and concepts from the Marvel Universe as early as 2017 for the Fantastic Four. In most cases, that would seem to mean co-ownership with Marvel, as Lee agreed to waive claim to any of the characters.  With Spider-Man, one-third ownership could be possible if the Kirbys were to prevail yet the judge recognized Ditko's interests.

Although Disney asserts it "fully considered" the potential copyright claims before it launched its $4-billion purchase of Marvel, this move by the Kirby children surely complicates matters. If nothing else, it provides additional fuel for those who already had criticized Disney for wading into a tangle of licensing agreements that could prevent the House of Mouse from making movies based on Spider-Man, the X-Men, Fantastic Four and other central Marvel properties for years (last link via Dirk Deppey).

Jack Kirby's heirs seek to reclaim copyrights to some Marvel characters [Updated]

The Avengers #4

In a move that by now should be familiar to comics fans, the heirs of Jack Kirby are seeking to regain copyrights to some of the legendary artist's creations.

The New York Times reports that 45 copyright-termination notices were sent last week to Marvel, Disney, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures and others who have made films and other forms of entertainment based on characters that Kirby co-created.

The heirs, who are represented by Marc Toberoff -- the attorney who helped the wife and daughter of Jerry Siegel regain a share of Superman last year -- intend to reclaim copyrights to some properties as early as 2014.

A copyright dispute that involves many of Marvel's marquee characters obviously adds a wrinkle to the recently announced $4-billion purchase by Disney.

Although the article doesn't say which characters are specified, the movie studios listed may offer a clue: Sony Pictures holds the film rights to Spider-Man; Universal had the Incredible Hulk; Fox has the X-Men and Fantastic Four; and Paramount has the distribution rights to several of the Marvel-produced projects, including the Iron Man movies.

In addition to those characters, Kirby also co-created (with Stan Lee) The Avengers, Thor, the Black Panther, the Silver Surfer, Nick Fury, Magneto, Galactus and Doctor Doom -- to name but a few properties that have recently appeared, or are slated to appear, in film or on television.

Developing, naturally ...

Update (7:09 p.m.): The Los Angeles Times breaks down some of the dates when Kirby's children would be eligible to claim their father's share of copyright: Fantastic Four in 2017, the Hulk in 2018 and X-Men in 2019. (The copyrights would continue for another 39 years under current law.)

The newspaper also manages to get a comment from a Disney spokesperson: "The notices involved are an attempt to terminate rights seven to 10 years from now and involve claims that were fully considered in the acquisition."

Craig Yoe is blogging again, everyone can relax now

Kirby's Mickey

The editorial force behind the upcoming Art of Steve Ditko (to name just one of his numerous projects) has launched a new blog called Super I.T.C.H. (International Team of Comics Historians) and debuts with an appropriate image considering yesterday's news:

Back in 1991, I did a coffee table art book “The Art of Mickey Mouse”, I got artists from around the world to do their interpretation of “The World’s Favorite Mouse.” One of the first people I called was Jack Kirby. He and his wife Roz were very excited about the idea. He sent me two drawings, as I recall, and I chose this one. I colored it “animation style,” with the black line on an overlay and  the background colors underneath. Jack’s contribution was part of a touring exhibit of art from the book throughout Japan. So, Marvel is called by some fans “The House that Jack Built” (not, in my opinion to take ANYTHING  away from the brilliant genius Stan Lee’s more than vital part.) And here’s Jack doing Mickey! Is this weird, or what?

Happy birthday, Jack Kirby

Jack Kirby from New Gods #6

Bully over at Comics Oughta Be Fun! is celebrating Jack Kirby's birthday today by posting every hour a different portrait or video of the King from various comics and TV shows where he appeared, such as the Incredible Hulk TV show.

Jack Kirby, who died in 1994, would have been 92 today.

Straight for the art | Spongebob Superteam!

Spongebob Superteam

Artist Paul Conrad shares a piece he did for the Spongebob 10th Anniversary Celebration issue of Nickelodeon Magazine, which imagines Spongebob Squarepants and company as if they were drawn by Jack Kirby.

Via

SDCC '09 | Titan to publish Simon/Kirby omnibus

Splash page from Fighting American story

According to the Jack Kirby Museum blog, Titan Books, publishers of the recent Best of Simon and Kirby, is going to be releasing a comprehensive, 480-page omnibus of every single superhero comic Jack Kirby and Joe Simon worked together on -- that didn't involve DC or Marvel properties of course.

The Simon and Kirby Superheroes will be released in summer 2010 in the special 11″ x 7-1/2″ oversized format, making it possible to reproduce the comic book pages in their original printed size. “Comics were larger in the Golden Age of the medium,” explained series editor Steve Saffel, “and we wanted to be able to give readers the full experience of these brilliant stories.” As with The Best of Simon and Kirby, the stories will be fully restored by Kirby historian Harry Mendryk, presented on quality matte stock paper in vivid color.

Included in the book will be such colorful characters as the Fighting American, Lancelot Strong, The Fly and the Stuntman, which, I'm sure, bears no relation to the Peter O'Toole movie.

Need more info? Titan has a special site already set up, where they hint at plans to release separate collections of the detective, horror and romance stories the celebrated duo worked down the road.

What are you reading?

The Hunter

Welcome to another edition of What Are You Reading. Our special guest for this week is Chris Butcher, blogger and manager of The Beguiling in Toronto, generally acknowledged as one of the finest comics shops in North America.

Chris is heading off to Japan and taking quite a lot of books with him. What to know what he's packing? Of course you do. Click on the link to find out ...

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Six by 6 | Only the end of the world again

Uncanny X-Men #141

Earlier this month ABC News ran a special report called Earth 2100, which imagined a possible "worst case scenario" if the "perfect storm" of population growth, resource depletion and climate change converge, causing catastrophic effects to the planet. The report featured graphic novel-style sequences by Josh Neufeld, Sari Wilson, Joe Infurnari, George O’Connor, Tim Hamilton and Leland Purvis.

It wasn't the first time that comic book creators have taken a look at a possible future where everything has gone to hell, both scaring and depressing you with its bleak look at what might be in store for us. So in honor of the show, here are six of my favorite apocalyptic doomsday scenarios, as presented by comics past and present ...

1. Death by robots -- Geekanerd recently did a post on possible robot apocalypse scenarios and how to avoid them, using Battlestar Galactica, Terminator and The Matrix as examples. Another story that falls into that category is the classic Uncanny X-Men story "Days of Future Past." First introduced in issues #141 and 142, the storyline focused on a possible future where mutants have been hunted almost to extinction by the Sentinels, with the survivors being kept in internment camps. Giant robots = bad, bad things.

I remember reading these issues as a kid and being genuinely freaked out about the fate of the X-Men. It was bad enough finding out that Cyclops, Nightcrawler and many of the others were already dead, but to see Storm, Colossus and Wolverine meet their fates ... I took it as canon, actually, that one day the X-Men comic would end with a similar scene, once it caught up to the future those issues portrayed. Of course, I thought Jean Grey was really dead, too, so ...

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Straight for the art: The Kirby Project

Hulk art by JR Williams

Surprisingly enough, The Kirby Project is not a blog devoted solely to all things Jack Kirby, but rather an art blog of work by other cartoonists and illustrators inspired by the King. A quick glance reveals some stunning work by folks like Michael Cho, Darryl Cunningham and JR Williams, who did the Hulk pop art piece above. Contributions are sought and encouraged, so feel free to send in your own OMAC homage.

Talking Comics with Tim: Greg Sadowski

Supermen!

Editor Greg Sadowski's new Fantagraphics book, Supermen! The First Wave of Comic Book Heroes 1936-1941, is a spectacular snapshot of a historical period long before comic book company events, crossovers and alternate covers or universes. As detailed by the publisher: "The enduring cultural phenomenon of comic book heroes was invented in the late 1930s by a talented and hungry group of artists and writers barely out of their teens, flying by the seat of their pants to create something new, exciting, and above all profitable. The iconography and mythology they created flourishes to this day in comic books, video, movies, fine art, advertising, and practically all other media. Supermen! collects the best and the brightest of this first generation, including Jack Cole, Will Eisner, Bill Everett, Lou Fine, Fletcher Hanks, Jack Kirby, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and Basil Wolverton." The book sports a foreword by Jonathan Lethem. My thanks to Sadowski for his willingness to discuss his editorial approach on this project and after learning some of what did not make the first volume, I look forward to seeing a second volume down the road as time and other logistics permit.  Fantagraphics also offers folks the chance to download an "11-page PDF excerpt (7.4 MB) featuring an entire story by Will Eisner and Lou Fine starring The Flame!"

Tim O'Shea: How did the foreword by Jonathan Lethem come about?

Greg Sadowski: Someone at Fantagraphics approached him, and Jonathan really came thorough - his foreword starts things off beautifully.

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