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Post by brutalis on Aug 28, 2019 17:30:25 GMT -5
Long Live the KING! At least he is getting some glory and attention as he truly deserves, even if it is for one of his lesser known creations. Myself, I LOVE Eternals the comic book. Pure cosmic and mythological Kirby ideas that could be really great as the basis of a new universe of heroes if Marvel hadn't been dumb enough to connect them to the existing MU.
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Post by Duragizer on Aug 30, 2019 1:59:10 GMT -5
Long Live the KING! At least he is getting some glory and attention as he truly deserves, even if it is for one of his lesser known creations. Myself, I LOVE Eternals the comic book. Pure cosmic and mythological Kirby ideas that could be really great as the basis of a new universe of heroes if Marvel hadn't been dumb enough to connect them to the existing MU. Marvel needs a reverse- Crisis. |
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Post by profh0011 on Sept 21, 2019 10:37:13 GMT -5
Can you imagine a movie featuring set pieces designed by Kirby? I think it's criminal that nobody ever hired Kirby as production designer on a science-fiction movie.
For that matter, I find it absurd that the "Marvel" movies I've seen bear no visual resemblance to anything he did (although at least the BLACK PANTHER film "felt" like it took inspiration from him, even if nothing in there was straight from Kirby designs).
The closest I've seen on film to Kirby designs were the 1967 FANTASTIC FOUR cartoons from Hanna-Barbera, where Alex Toth in many instances used ACTUAL Kirby tech in some of the episodes... and, of course, THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN from Ruby-Spears, where Kirby designed virtually every single thing on the show except for the 3 heroes (who Toth had done before he got there).
I remember going to see the film "THE FIFTH ELEMENT". Early-on in the movie, I kept finding myself thinking, "This looks like it stepped right out of a MOEBIUS comic." Imagine my delight when the end credits came up, and Jean Giraud was lised as production designer. I WAS RIGHT!
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Post by profh0011 on Sept 21, 2019 10:46:12 GMT -5
The adaptation Treasury came out in 1976, eight years after the film debuted. Think about this for a second. That was a very strange time to release an adaptation for a movie, especially when it wasn't playing in theaters and the sequel was still six years away. This was also before the movie gained the critical acclaim that it has today. Most comics adaptations of movies are rushed into production before the films are released, or even edited. Artists may have little to no photo reference. Clearly Kirby loved "2001". The film, which is far more visual experience than story, was designed to be seen in CINERAMA. Which I only managed once. Publishing the comic as a "Treasury Edition" only was the closest one could get on paper to that widescreen movie experience.
The film, incidentally, was regularly REISSUED to theatres about every 2 years after its initial release, and I went EVERY time it came back around! if memory serves, that all stopped in 1976, when ABC decided to run it on their "ABC Sunday Night Movie". That was a criminal thing to do!!
A year ago, I finally got a a (relatively small) widescreen TV, and it was the first time I've been able to watch my "widescreen" videotape of the film with anything vaguely approaching the intented viewing experience.  |
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Post by rberman on Sept 24, 2019 10:49:04 GMT -5
Can you imagine a movie featuring set pieces designed by Kirby? I think it's criminal that nobody ever hired Kirby as production designer on a science-fiction movie. For that matter, I find it absurd that the "Marvel" movies I've seen bear no visual resemblance to anything he did (although at least the BLACK PANTHER film "felt" like it took inspiration from him, even if nothing in there was straight from Kirby designs). Have you seen Thor:Ragnarok? Kirby was all over the building designs, armor, and backdrops.   |
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Post by MDG on Sept 24, 2019 14:21:12 GMT -5
Can you imagine a movie featuring set pieces designed by Kirby? I think it's criminal that nobody ever hired Kirby as production designer on a science-fiction movie. Kirby designed costumes for a stage version of Julius Caesar:
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Post by brutalis on Sept 24, 2019 16:16:24 GMT -5
Whaddya bet Eternals does the MU/Hollywood trend of reinterpreting the Eternals look? NOTHING wrong with Kirby's designs and if they were to utilize them, then Eternals would stand out as different and unique from the "standard" MU hero costumes and be much more mythological than superhero. But how likely is that for occurring?
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Post by tarkintino on Sept 25, 2019 15:17:16 GMT -5
I think it's criminal that nobody ever hired Kirby as production designer on a science-fiction movie. Well, that's likely due to the industry already having some incredibly talented production designers who worked on the biggest aci-fi films. Don't forget Grantray-Lawrence's 1966 Marvel Super-Heroes cartoon, where comic art was faithfully adapted to the serialized production, including a great deal of Kirby's work from Journey into Mystery / Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Tales of Suspense and early Avengers comics. |
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Post by tarkintino on Sept 25, 2019 15:41:35 GMT -5
The adaptation Treasury came out in 1976, eight years after the film debuted. Think about this for a second. That was a very strange time to release an adaptation for a movie, especially when it wasn't playing in theaters and the sequel was still six years away. This was also before the movie gained the critical acclaim that it has today. Most comics adaptations of movies are rushed into production before the films are released, or even edited. Artists may have little to no photo reference. Clearly Kirby loved "2001". The film, which is far more visual experience than story, was designed to be seen in CINERAMA. Which I only managed once. Publishing the comic as a "Treasury Edition" only was the closest one could get on paper to that widescreen movie experience.
The film, incidentally, was regularly REISSUED to theatres about every 2 years after its initial release, and I went EVERY time it came back around! if memory serves, that all stopped in 1976, when ABC decided to run it on their "ABC Sunday Night Movie". That was a criminal thing to do!!
A year ago, I finally got a a (relatively small) widescreen TV, and it was the first time I've been able to watch my "widescreen" videotape of the film with anything vaguely approaching the intented viewing experience. About why Marvel adapted 2001--the film was already considered a classic, one of film's true cultural phenomenons, and in those pre-home video years, was routinely broadcast on TV (not to mention the film enjoyed healthy merchandising from the start, such as the novel tie-in, a soundtrack, two Aurora Plastics model kits, etc.). The first adaptation was a 2001 promotional comic produced for the then-omnipresent Howard Johnson's hotel/restaurant chain in 1968... Howard Johnson's Children's Menu featuring 2001: A Space Odyssey
Title: "Debbie and Robin Go To A Movie Premiere with Their Parents"
Published by the Amuse-A-Menu Company & Howard Johnson's.
Publication date: 1968
Illustrated by Al(den) McWilliams
Samples:
Yes, the hotel/restaurant chain partnered with MGM to promote the then-forthcoming epic in the novel form of comic menu, featuring a family going to the premiere of the Cinerama film, then (one would presume) finish off the evening with a meal at Howard Johnson's. Comic legend Al(den) McWilliams was well suited to the task, as he was a veteran of comic sci-fi for years, with Buck Rogers, Doctor Solar - Man of the Atom, The Twilight Zone and other memorable titles (not to mention going on to illustrate Gold Key's Star Trek after the departure of Alberto Giolitti). For Marvel's part, they were aware of the film's cultural stature, and finally obtained the rights to try their hand at adapting it. It was not uncommon for some film adaptations to come years after the film's release (e.g. The Wizard of Oz, Marvel's version of The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, etc.). In that era, I was reading Marvel, attending conventions--the works, and not only did Marvel make a big deal about Kirby adapting the legendary film (as artist and writer), but many a Kirby fan were excited at the idea of seeing THE sci-fi film (pre- Star Wars) in comic form from a man as associated with sci-fi concepts in comics as he was superheroes, hence the pre-release excitement. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2019 13:55:01 GMT -5
Part 2 of the SyFy Wire Kirby doc dropped today...
-M
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2019 20:51:27 GMT -5
A rare piece of Doctor Strange art by Kirby from the 1969 Marvelmania series...  it was a small drawing, part of 6 characters he did on a 12 x 12 sheet of paper (source Jack Kirby: King of Comics FB feed) -M |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 23, 2019 0:38:11 GMT -5
 -M |
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Post by rberman on Dec 28, 2019 9:34:01 GMT -5
So I recently stumbled into Phantom Force, an Image series that Kirby was involved with. I had no idea this existed, and the thought that there is a 90's polybagged comic with a (very cool) Kirby trading card amazes me. I bought the first couple of issues (dollar bin deals!). It's not Kirby at his peak of course, and probably only made worse by Liefeld and McFarlane inks (although Jim Lee does a great job) but it's still Kirby. If I were to recommend an issue definitely go with Phantom Force #2, which is 55 pages of Kirby pencils! Looks like this issue may have also been one of his last works before he died too. There is also lots of background info, interviews and more about Kirby working with Image. Also some great tribute stuff, down even to the eulogies given at Kirby's funeral. Cross-posted from the Original Art thread since it's germane here: One collecting goal I didn't think I'd easily achieve was to own a Kirby original. But I was able to get this late Kirby pin-up of the character Kublak from his Phantom Force published by Image Comics in 1994. The art seems better than Kirby's 80s output for DC; perhaps he spent more time on a pin-up.  If anybody deserved the creator rights that Image offered, it's Kirby! Sadly, this issue was published posthumously in April 1994; Kirby had died in February. Here's the character in context (in Phantom Force #2), inked by Michael Thibodeaux, who took over pencils in issue #3 and returned the series to his own Genesis West imprint.  Issue #1 contained tributes from Image's founders, with Rob Liefeld providing a lengthy explanation of the project's origins.  |
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Post by electricmastro on Jan 1, 2020 18:43:36 GMT -5
Art of Lightnin' And The Lone Rider from Famous Funnies #61 (August 1939, Eastern Color Printing).  |
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Post by kirby101 on Jan 1, 2020 21:03:50 GMT -5
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