Jack Kirby Collector Eighty-Seven Summer 2023 (magazine review).

As always, a review of a ‘Jack Kirby Collector’ magazine has to start with the cover. Issue #87 Summer 2023 has a Kirby cover featuring two costume-clad people falling earthwards while three missiles race past them. This must be an early Kirby drawing as I don’t recognise the characters. They are wearing typical super-hero costumes but with gun holsters on their belts which isn’t typical superhero attire. A quick peek inside at the contents page tells me the characters are Sandman and Sandy that Kirby drew for a 1978 ‘Kirby Masterworks’ portfolio. So, although it’s from Kirby’s early work but I haven’t come across these characters before.

While I’m here, I should mention that the contents page has the same drawing but without all the work that goes into it after Kirby releases his pencil drawing to the team that produces the finished article. An interesting little aside here: have a look at the Jack Kirby signature on the cover and on the pencil drawing on the inside page.

In a dramatic change, the ‘Opening Shot’ feature is penned not by editor John Morrow but by guest commentator Robert L. Bryant Jr. It’s an interesting article which considers the epic battle that took place in ‘The Death Wish Of Terrible Turpin’ in New Gods #8, which was released way back in 1972. Bryant wonders what a police report from the incident might look like and so produced one. It is very well done, even down to varying letter spacing and vertical positioning to make it look like it was produced on a typewriter.

Including the ‘Opening Shot’s, this edition of the magazine contains 14 articles and features packed into 79 pages. The second feature I’m going to mention is ‘Jack F.A.Q.s,’ a regular in the magazine. Its subtitle is ‘A Column Answering Frequently Asked Questions About Kirby,’ and to do this, they have republished the transcript from the 2022 Kirby Tribute Panel. This was held at Comic-Con International in San Diego in July 2022. Making up the panel were moderator Mark Evanier, Frank Miller, Jeremy Kirby (Jack’s grandson), Bruce Simon, Rand Hoppe, and Steve Saffel. It’s not really a question-and-answer event but a gathering of people who knew Jack recounting stories about him and the working environment at the comics. It’s quite a long piece, liberally sprinkled with some of Jack’s work. As always, it is fascinating stuff that provides an insight into Jack Kirby but also the working life in the USA for those involved in its creation and publication.

The next thing to catch my attention was the reprint of ‘Phony Racketeers’ from Justice Traps The Guilty #7, published in December 1948. Yes, you read that right – it is from 75 years ago! The heading says it has never been reprinted, so this is a real treat. It is a relatively early Kirby production, so the drawing style isn’t as polished, but that for me adds to the ambiance of the story.

One of my favorite regular columns is ‘Kirby Obscura,’ penned by Barry Forshaw. It focuses on Kirby’s least-known work, which is always an interesting topic. This column starts with how Jack’s earlier work influenced the Thor we all know from the Marvel Comics. It does highlight some similarities which might have been a coincidence, but Kirby did like to reuse a good idea.

The last feature before the letters pages is ‘Kirby’s Silver Kid’ by Tom Morehouse. Kirby drew quite a few western tales, and Morehouse is collecting them. One in particular, which was only printed in Italy and Australia, has been his quest, and he managed to get an Australian one. Now these stories are from the late ’50s and early ’60s, but it did strike me that Doc Masters, the alter ego of The Black Rider, is strikingly similar to a certain Clark Kent.

In total, there are 14 articles in this magazine spread over 79 pages, with an additional two pages of adverts for other magazines available from TwoMorrows. The ‘Jack Kirby Collector’ is always a pleasure to read, as I always learn something new with each edition. Highly recommended.

Andy Whitaker

December 2023

(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 84 page magazine. Price: $10.95 (US). ISBN: 919-449-0344. Direct from them, you can get it for $10.95 (US))

check out websites: www.TwoMorrows.com and https://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_57&products_id=1692