This book is part of a greater collection, originally published in hardback no less, that collects all of Jack Kirby’s early work before he became THE Jack Kirby responsible for (with Stan Lee) Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and a variety of later things that would be important to Jack Kirby fans because they were Jack Kirby things.
This book focuses on summer 1947 and the numerous stories he wrote. He wasn’t THE Jack Kirby then; he was a contract guy for a bottom rung publisher of anthology series, so there are a lot of crime stories in here along with a romance story.
Well.
I’ve already sacrificed a lot of geek comic credibility when reporting on books that deal with Comic Art (see also Comic Art Now). Although some of the work can be elaborate, none of it really rises to the level of great paintings by, say, the Impressionists (although since it depicts things from a single point of view and is therefore comprehensible, comic art rises above Cubism, surely). The work in this book is all black and white, so it’s limited in what it can do to begin with.
So it’s worth a browse if you can find a cheap copy like I did or if you like comics. I mean, amid the history and biography of Kirby, it does have short comic stories in it. It’s definitely worth your time if you’re a real Kirby fan.
And the one thing I learned from the book: Dell and Delacorte originated as comic publishers and only then moved into paperbacks and then hardbacks.
Books mentioned in this review:
