Kirby: King of Comics (Hardcover)

by Mark Evanier (Author), Neil Gaiman (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
As a teenager, future television and comics writer Evanier became an assistant to Jack Kirby, one of the foremost artists in the history of American comics. Kirby played a major role in shaping the superhero genre, not only through his innovative, dynamic artwork but through collaborating with Stan Lee to create classic Marvel characters like the Fantastic Four, the Hulk and the X-Men. Evanier has now written this magnificently illustrated biography of his mentor. Rather than employing the academic prose that one might expect from an art book, Evanier, a talented raconteur, tells Kirby's life story in an informal, entertaining manner. Although Evanier does not delve into psychological analysis, he brings Kirby's personality vividly alive: a child of the Great Depression, a creative visionary who struggled most of his life to support his family. The book recounts how Kirby was insufficiently appreciated by clueless corporate executives and close-minded comics professionals. But the stunning artwork in this book, taken from private collections, makes the case for Kirby's genius. A landmark work, this is essential reading for comics fans and those who want to better understand the history of the comics medium—or those who just want to enjoy Kirby's incredible artwork. (Mar.)
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Product Description

Jack Kirby created or co-created some of comic books’ most popular characters including Captain America, The X-Men, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, The Mighty Thor, Darkseid, and The New Gods. More significantly, he created much of the visual language for fantasy and adventure comics. There were comics before Kirby, but for the most part their page layout, graphics, and visual dynamic aped what was being done in syndicated newspaper strips. Almost everything that was different about comic books began in the forties on the drawing table of Jack Kirby. This is his story by one who knew him well—the authorized celebration of the one and only “King of Comics” and his groundbreaking work.

“I don’t think it’s any accident that . . . the entire Marvel universe and the entire DC universe are all pinned or rooted on Kirby’s concepts.” —Michael Chabon

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Abrams; 1 edition (February 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081099447X
• ISBN-13: 978-0810994478
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #120,658 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbook about a super legend for anyone who loves animation, comics, movies or any major pop culture phenomenon!, March 19, 2008

By	Gregory Ehrbar "mousetracksonline.com" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Like his creation, the Silver Surfer, Jack Kirby was riding the crest of a pop culture wave decades before many realized it was going to break. This book is an excellent way to appreciate the magnitude of his contributions (and in the way he was underpaid and undervalued by the industry until the last ten years of his life, many were like literal "contributions").

Large format, or coffee table, books are sometimes more about the visuals than the text, but Kirby, King of Comics is one of the exceptions. Written with depth and detail by animation/comic/TV writer/uberblogger Mark Evanier, this lavish, 9x12 tome has as much substance as style.

It tells a life and career story that many of us can identify with, whether we read superhero comics or not. But the story of such an astonishing art and story talent could not be told without substantial illustrations that are its heart and soul, and this book never disappoints on either front.

Whether you're into comics or not, your breath will be taken away by the dynamism of every frame -- not to mention spectacular spreads like the one from "Street Code," in which a dozen or more stories are woven into an eye-popping two page scene.

Perhaps most touching and compelling is the constant struggle Kirby fought for recognition for his substantial role in creating iconic characters that made millionaires of others, balanced with his concern for his family's financial security and his devotion for his unfailingly supportive wife, Roz.

Fortunately the story, as Evanier weaves it, has a happy, somewhat bittersweet ending with a wonderful Fantastic Four excerpt in which The Thing (Kirby's alter ego) sums up a truly universal legacy.

47 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kirby Legend Rehashed For Those Who Did Not Pay Attention Earlier, March 5, 2008

By	Norbert J. Rozek (Green Bay WI) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Were a slightly more precise rating system available to me, I'd give this coffee-table Jack Kirby biography 3.5 stars instead of four, but I tend to err on the side of mercy when my favorite artist is involved, thus SO BE IT. And, while, no, I don't regret my purchase, I can't say that I wasn't mildly disappointed at what I perceive to be a lack of separation between this book and others of its ilk -- specifically Ronin Ro's much smaller ((and cheaper)) paperback biography, "Tales To Astonish." As this book was written by one-time Kirby assistant Mark Evanier, I really expected it to be THE Kirby biography -- the definitive, most detailed, most fanboy-obsessed account of the "King" and his Kreations there ever was or could be. As it stands, the text reads almost identically -- in depth, tone, breadth, detail, progression, etc. -- as "Tales To Astonish," except "Kirby: King Of Comics" mentions that Jack was losing sight in one eye during his career and once threatened to punch out the head of Marvelmania, and "Tales To Astonish" mentions that Jack got his friend's brains splattered on a drawing he was making in a foxhole and once threatened to punch out the guy from the towel service. I guess I just expected this book to take it one more level deeper than that -- one level of nerdiness beyond mere boilerplate. I mean, this is JACK KIRBY we're talking about here! Let's see some obsession! Let's have some nerdiness! Let's have some damn KRACKLE already! Furthermore, every book about comics I seem to have read in my life ((that wasn't written by Jules Feiffer, Scott McCloud, or Stan Lee)) seems to be written in the same generic non-voice that Jim Steranko used in his History Of Comics publications. I'd like to see a little less of the "I am a dry, objective reporter" tone used in these types of books, and a little more of the excitement about the subject matter one tends to find in the forewords of books like these. Moving on to the art, OBVIOUSLY it's great -- Kirby says "Don't Ask, Just Buy It!" -- but the overall design is nothing that makes me stop and just sort of ADORE the pages for countless minutes/hours, as is the case in the Kirby Fourth World Omnibus series ((from which it has obviously taken a few visual cues)). Exactly WHY i don't think this book is a full-on five-star visual treat like the Fourth World Omnibuses I cannot rightly say; I can only report on my findings. All in all, i was able to read this book from cover to cover -- with modest time spent adoring the art -- in about three or four hours. Nice, but not the life-affirming necessity I was hoping for.

P.S. Since I actually prefer Vince Coletta's inks on Kirby's pencils over Joe Sinnott's or Mike Royer's, please feel free to completely discount my opinion here and pelt me with rocks and garbage, as is the norm.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-Have For Kirby Fans, March 6, 2008

By	Craig Byrne (Burbank, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is full of artwork and stories about one of the most influential artists in comic book history. Mark Evanier - who has had a valuable association with Kirby spanning decades - included tales and information that I had never even seen or heard before. There's a lot of original art within, also containing some things I've never seen - and this is after being a subscriber to the Jack Kirby Collector in the past. Beyond that, this book in general just looks great. Highly recommended.