Jack Kirby's 97th Birthday

In honor of what would have been Jack Kirby's 97th birthday, let's take a look at--ahem-- Fantastic Four #97 (1970), one of the later Lee-Kirby collaborations from that comic's historic run. 

FF #97's  "The Creature From the Lost Lagoon!" features a sympathetic alien "monster" who adopts a human guise for much of the story.  To illustrate the obvious, check out these panels (l. and r.) of that human form:

But check out these pages from Fantastic Four #97, Kirby-Giacoia art: 

To achieve freedom, he busts loose in true Kirby style.  

Was  #97 Kirby's way of expressing his dissatisfaction and frustration with the House of Ideas? As we know, less than 6 months later and as officially announced in Fantastic Four #102, the King left Marvel (though he'd return in 1975). Why was the alien silent in his human form? Did Stan notice the resemblance? 

Jack "King" Kirby  

August 28 1917- February 6 1994

If you'd like to read more of FF #97, you can purchase it from an online vendor or check your LCS, they may have this classic issue. Plus the story's been reprinted in Essential Fantastic Four Volume 5 and Marvel Masterworks Fantastic Four Volume 10. 

By the way, when this same alien creature made another appearance a few years later in Fantastic Four #124-5, in the flashback scenes John Buscema drew the creature's human identity with a longer, ess stocky body instead of the more compact Kirby physique shown in #97.

Happy 91st Birthday, Stan Lee!

It's that time of the year again--yep, it's HIS birthday.   Happy Birthday to the Man!

Stan Lee over the years

Jack Kirby's 96th Birthday

Taking a break from our Medusa marathon to post a belated commemoration of Jack Kirby's birthday. As I'm sure most of you already know, on this past August 28th he would have been 96.
Here, a few of my favorite faces by the King:

Captain America #109

Thor #175

As many have noted, here Reed seems to be a Kirby self-portrait.

Fantastic Four #79

Neal Kirby Writes About His Dad Jack

"In 1961, I was the luckiest damn kid on my block — or maybe any block. My father worked at home. Everyone else’s dad had to drive into Queens or Brooklyn or take the train into Manhattan. And it was not some boring, old desk job; my father was Jack Kirby, the King of Comics, and — though his humble personality would have him cringing to hear this — he is regarded as the greatest comic book artist and creator – ever."

These are the opening words of Growing up Kirby: the Marvel memories of Jack Kirby's Son, an LA Times essay by Neal Kirby about his dad Jack "King" Kirby. Now, I don't usually gush but Neal's informative, heartfelt article  is a must-read for any self-respecting comic book and/or popular culture fan.

If for some reason the link doesn't work, just go to the LA Times website and search for "Growing up Kirby" there. You owe it yourself to read Neal's article!