Written by a former Jack Kirby assistant, Mark Evanier, who himself has a long history in the industry, this biography also serves as something of a history of comic books across the 20th Century.  Kirby’s career started around the time the pulps were dying and the comic books were taking off.  He was a champion of the so-called Golden Age and even more of the Silver Age.  He also lived long enough for his name and his art to be dragged out of the shadowy past by new generations and celebrated as the luminary he was.

Though obviously a positive view of a man many artists and comic fans hold up as a hero, it isn’t a completely glowing look at Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg).  Nor is it a complete character assassination of some folks who were perhaps for Kirby, antagonists.  I think specifically of Stan Lee, who I’m honestly surprised came out looking if not good, at least not a total villain.  

Through the course of his career, he worked with and against many of the big names in the industry, from frequent partner Joe Simon to industry pioneer Will Eisner.  He worked for the Fleisher brothers, for proto-DC comics and proto-Marvel comics (bouncing between them for decades), as well as plenty of companies that came and went.  He helped create the language of modern comics, as well as half the bloody cast of characters.  Kirby made a lot of friends.  He made a few enemies.  He seemed to fight constantly, against constraints, against the status quo, against his own Great Depression-shaped psyche, and against his WWII given nightmares.  

I kept being reminded of my favorite artist, Frank Frazetta.  Both men were sort of unintentional tough-guys.  Rough & tumble men born in pre-War New York City.  Both with once in a generation talent for capturing power and movement in images, while having absolutely no head for the business side of things.  Both with wives who spent their lives being the rocks that kept these dreamers from getting swept away and crushed in the current, and are probably no small part of why we still remember their husbands’ names.  Roz Kriby is probably as important to the story of Jack Kirby as Joe Simon, Stan Lee, or Captain America.  

There’s a lot of “Inside Baseball” on the comics industry, from its early rise, to its Comics Code fall, to its rise once again in the boom years of the 80s and 90s.  The book came out in 2008, just as the Comic Book Movie phenomenon was just kicking off.  Though it was building, and I’m sure author Evanier could see that.  He mentions several times that Kirby believed many of his ideas were perfect for the medium of film, and I agree.  Not to say they’ve always been perfectly realized there.  

Jack Kirby was a character as rich as any he created.  He put a lot of himself into his work, especially with the character he most identified with, The Thing.  He inspired generations of artists.  Some are more obvious than others.  There are images from Kirby’s pencil that are a part of our greater culture, beyond comic fandom.  

This book makes for a good read, especially if you’re interested in the 20th Century history of the American comic book.  It’s also packed with art by Kirby and others, including some more obscure stuff.  Well worth checking out.

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