 | |
| Author | Mark Evanier |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Biography of Jack Kirby |
| Published | 2008 ( Abrams Books) |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 978-0-8109-9447-8 |
Kirby: King of Comics is a 2008 biography of Jack Kirby written by Mark Evanier. The book won various award including a 2009 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book and met with mixed reception from critics. It was published by the art book publisher Abrams Books, it is extensively illustrated with Kirby's artwork, including original art comic pages with production notes in blue ink and was re-released in 2017.
It tells the story of Jack Kirby's life and his creative process. The book presents these biographical details informally, with jokes occasionally thrown in.
Summary
It contains original artwork made by Kirby. [1] [2] The book features an introduction written by English writer Neil Gaiman. [3] [4]
Kirby is born into a poor immigrant family and begins to fantazises about becoming an artist. Kirby begins to break into the industry with his first comic Street Code, and is then hired by Horace T. Elmo. Kirby goes on to meet Joe Simon and the pair grow closer and work as a creative duo. They go onto have a following out, causing Kirby to struggling selling his work without Simon.
Kirby then joins Atlas Comics (later known as Marvel Comics) and creates several of the companies flagship characters along with collaborater Stan Lee. Though he eventually grew dissatisfied with Marvel and following unsuccessful contract negotiations leaves, joining their biggest competitor, DC Comics. At DC, he begins to write more complex stories, including The New Gods and Mister Miracle. DC asks Kirby to take over an existing book, he decided to work on Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, their worst preforming comic at the time.
Kirby eventually grows tired of the comic book industry as a whole. After being asked to write the 1970s Fanstastic Four cartoon, he temporarily stops drawing comics. Upon his return to comics he starts writing indie comics for various companies before returning to DC. Jenette Kahn offers Kirby royalties and allows Kirby to continue writing odd and abstract comics, though they under preform. Marvel begins adapting his work leading to him getting frustrated with the company and threating to sue them. Following pressure from various creatives, they returned various drawings to him and gave him an increased royalty amount.
Kirby suffered multiple health problems before dying of heart failure. Following his death, Marvel offers his widow payments until her death.
Release
Kirby: King of Comics was published in 2008 by Abrams Books. [2] After the book's release Mark Evanier attended various fan conventions to promote it. [5] He also attended the event "Live at Kirby Plaza" in London at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in order to promote the book. [1] At the Jack Kirby panel at the 2008 WonderCon, Evanier teased that a sequel was in development and that it would be a "proper biography". [5] In August 2017, Evanier confirmed that he was still working on the biography. [6]
In 2017 to celebrate Jack Kirby's 100th birthday, [a] Abrams Books issued a reprint of the book with new content added. [6]
Development
Mark Evanier had been known to be working on the book for a while prior to its release. In 2004, the books word count was around 250,000 words. Upon its completion Evanier described the book as "the first and only book on Jack 'the King' Kirby". Though this was untrue as Ronin Ro had previously published a biography in 2004. [2] Evanier worked for Kirby giving him lots of insight while writings the book. [1] [3]
Evanier collected art for the book from various comic creators and collectors, and from the family of Jack Kirby. Kirby's family reobtained the art following a public campaign to have them returned and legal threats from Kirby. [7] [8]
Reception
Kirby: King of Comics was met with mixed reviews from critics. [9] [2] Writing for The Austin Chronicle, Rick Claw praised the book on how it was able to tell Kirby's story in a both heartfelt and entertaining way. He noted how the art in the book was well integrated with the text. [10] Writing for The Guardian, Micheal Faber was far more negative on the book. Faber felt that the book felt "empty" and "disjointed". He criticized the formatting and overall tone of the book. [2]
In 2009, the book won multiple awards, [11] [12] an Eisner Award for "Best Comics-Related Book". [13] [14] The book won two Harvey Awards one for "Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation" along with a special award for "Excellence in Presentation". [15] [12]
Notes
- ^ Kirby died in 1994.
References
- ^ a b c Hunt, James (April 17, 2008). "Live at Kirby Plaza". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Faber, Michael (May 2, 2008). "The marvel of comics". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ a b Bianculli, David (May 21, 2008). "Biography Details the 'King of Comics'". NPR. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Evanie, Mark (August 1, 2017). "Kirby: King of Comics (Anniversary Edition)". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ a b C. B. R. Staff (February 23, 2008). "WonderCon: Kirby – King of Comics". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Dueben, Alex (August 28, 2017). "INTERVIEW: Mark Evanier Celebrates Legacy of Kirby: King of Comics". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Evanier 2008, p. 220.
- ^ Evanier 2008, p. 203.
- ^ Gravett, Paul (June 12, 2008). "Kirby: king of comics, by Mark Evanier; Superheroes!, by Roz Kaveney". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Klaw, Rick (April 4, 2008). "Book Review: Readings". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "The 2009 Eisner Awards: 2009 Winners". San Diego Comic-Con International. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
- ^ a b Winstead, Nick (October 12, 2009). "The Harvey Awards 2009! And the Winners Are..." ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Melrose, Kevin (October 11, 2009). "Winners of the 2009 Harvey Awards". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Staff, C. B. R. (April 7, 2009). "2009 Eisner Award Nominees Announced". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Previous Winners". Harvey Awards. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
Page numbers from
Evanier, Mark (2008). Kirby: King of Comics (1st ed.). Abrams Books. p. 220.
|
| |
| Author | Mark Evanier |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Biography of Jack Kirby |
| Published | 2008 ( Abrams Books) |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 978-0-8109-9447-8 |
Kirby: King of Comics is a 2008 biography of Jack Kirby written by Mark Evanier. The book won various award including a 2009 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book and met with mixed reception from critics. It was published by the art book publisher Abrams Books, it is extensively illustrated with Kirby's artwork, including original art comic pages with production notes in blue ink and was re-released in 2017.
It tells the story of Jack Kirby's life and his creative process. The book presents these biographical details informally, with jokes occasionally thrown in.
Summary
It contains original artwork made by Kirby. [1] [2] The book features an introduction written by English writer Neil Gaiman. [3] [4]
Kirby is born into a poor immigrant family and begins to fantazises about becoming an artist. Kirby begins to break into the industry with his first comic Street Code, and is then hired by Horace T. Elmo. Kirby goes on to meet Joe Simon and the pair grow closer and work as a creative duo. They go onto have a following out, causing Kirby to struggling selling his work without Simon.
Kirby then joins Atlas Comics (later known as Marvel Comics) and creates several of the companies flagship characters along with collaborater Stan Lee. Though he eventually grew dissatisfied with Marvel and following unsuccessful contract negotiations leaves, joining their biggest competitor, DC Comics. At DC, he begins to write more complex stories, including The New Gods and Mister Miracle. DC asks Kirby to take over an existing book, he decided to work on Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, their worst preforming comic at the time.
Kirby eventually grows tired of the comic book industry as a whole. After being asked to write the 1970s Fanstastic Four cartoon, he temporarily stops drawing comics. Upon his return to comics he starts writing indie comics for various companies before returning to DC. Jenette Kahn offers Kirby royalties and allows Kirby to continue writing odd and abstract comics, though they under preform. Marvel begins adapting his work leading to him getting frustrated with the company and threating to sue them. Following pressure from various creatives, they returned various drawings to him and gave him an increased royalty amount.
Kirby suffered multiple health problems before dying of heart failure. Following his death, Marvel offers his widow payments until her death.
Release
Kirby: King of Comics was published in 2008 by Abrams Books. [2] After the book's release Mark Evanier attended various fan conventions to promote it. [5] He also attended the event "Live at Kirby Plaza" in London at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in order to promote the book. [1] At the Jack Kirby panel at the 2008 WonderCon, Evanier teased that a sequel was in development and that it would be a "proper biography". [5] In August 2017, Evanier confirmed that he was still working on the biography. [6]
In 2017 to celebrate Jack Kirby's 100th birthday, [a] Abrams Books issued a reprint of the book with new content added. [6]
Development
Mark Evanier had been known to be working on the book for a while prior to its release. In 2004, the books word count was around 250,000 words. Upon its completion Evanier described the book as "the first and only book on Jack 'the King' Kirby". Though this was untrue as Ronin Ro had previously published a biography in 2004. [2] Evanier worked for Kirby giving him lots of insight while writings the book. [1] [3]
Evanier collected art for the book from various comic creators and collectors, and from the family of Jack Kirby. Kirby's family reobtained the art following a public campaign to have them returned and legal threats from Kirby. [7] [8]
Reception
Kirby: King of Comics was met with mixed reviews from critics. [9] [2] Writing for The Austin Chronicle, Rick Claw praised the book on how it was able to tell Kirby's story in a both heartfelt and entertaining way. He noted how the art in the book was well integrated with the text. [10] Writing for The Guardian, Micheal Faber was far more negative on the book. Faber felt that the book felt "empty" and "disjointed". He criticized the formatting and overall tone of the book. [2]
In 2009, the book won multiple awards, [11] [12] an Eisner Award for "Best Comics-Related Book". [13] [14] The book won two Harvey Awards one for "Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation" along with a special award for "Excellence in Presentation". [15] [12]
Notes
- ^ Kirby died in 1994.
References
- ^ a b c Hunt, James (April 17, 2008). "Live at Kirby Plaza". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Faber, Michael (May 2, 2008). "The marvel of comics". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ a b Bianculli, David (May 21, 2008). "Biography Details the 'King of Comics'". NPR. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Evanie, Mark (August 1, 2017). "Kirby: King of Comics (Anniversary Edition)". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on February 28, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ a b C. B. R. Staff (February 23, 2008). "WonderCon: Kirby – King of Comics". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Dueben, Alex (August 28, 2017). "INTERVIEW: Mark Evanier Celebrates Legacy of Kirby: King of Comics". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Evanier 2008, p. 220.
- ^ Evanier 2008, p. 203.
- ^ Gravett, Paul (June 12, 2008). "Kirby: king of comics, by Mark Evanier; Superheroes!, by Roz Kaveney". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ Klaw, Rick (April 4, 2008). "Book Review: Readings". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "The 2009 Eisner Awards: 2009 Winners". San Diego Comic-Con International. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
- ^ a b Winstead, Nick (October 12, 2009). "The Harvey Awards 2009! And the Winners Are..." ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Melrose, Kevin (October 11, 2009). "Winners of the 2009 Harvey Awards". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ Staff, C. B. R. (April 7, 2009). "2009 Eisner Award Nominees Announced". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "Previous Winners". Harvey Awards. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
Page numbers from
Evanier, Mark (2008). Kirby: King of Comics (1st ed.). Abrams Books. p. 220.