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Roy Thomas' Kirby-Krazed Comics Fanzine

IT FINALLY HAPPENS!

JACK KIRBY TAKES OVER ALTER EGO!

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No. 170 July 2021

FEATURING THESE KOLOSSAL KIRBY KLASSIKS: THE SECRET KIRBY HISTORY OF

IRON MAN! by Will Murray

FCA PRESENTS:

“THE KING” AT FAWCETT, 1940-41!

THE SIMON & KIRBY HORROR PICTURE SHOW by Michael T. Gilbert & Peter Normanton

Barry Pearl tells how

STAN LEE

Crowned Kirby “KING”! FROM JASPER SITWELL TO HOUSEROY! Roy Thomas on Jack Kirby—from 1947 to the 1990s!

82658 00440

Thing, Red Skull, & Dr. Doom TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; other art © Estate of Jack Kirby.

JACK & THE EARLY-1960s FANZINES by Len Wein, et al.

Vol. 3, No. 170 / July 2021 Editor

Roy Thomas

Associate Editor Jim Amash

Design & Layout

Christopher Day

Consulting Editor

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John Morrow

FCA Editor

P.C. Hamerlinck J.T. Go (Assoc. Editor)

Comic Crypt Editor

Michael T. Gilbert

Editorial Honor Roll

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Contents

Writer/Editorial: A Jack For All Seasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Secret Kirby Origin Of Iron Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Will Murray on how Kirby, Heck, Lee—& even Ditko—shaped Ol’ Shellhead in the 1960s.

Jack Kirby & The Early-1960s Fanzines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Cover Colorist

The ultimate Marvel artist in the Golden Age of Comic Fandom, compiled by Aaron Caplan.

Tom Ziuko

With Special Thanks to:

Paul Allen Heidi Amash David Armstrong Bob Bailey J. Ballmann Julia BrownBernstein Aaron Caplan Nick Caputo John Cimino Chet Cox Comic Book Plus (website) DitkoCultist.com (blog) Mark Ellis Mark Evanier Justin Fairfax Shane Foley Four Color Shadows (blog) Grand Comics Database (website) Bruce Guthrie Mark Halperin

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Heritage Auctions (website) Rand Hoppe Sean Howe Janet Gilbert Jack Kirby Museum Jim Kealy Mark Lewis Larry Lieber Art Lortie Manny Maris Doug Martin John McShane Robert Menzies Mike Mikulosky Peter Normanton Will Murray Barry Pearl Warren Reece David Saunders J. David Spurlock Dann Thomas Terry A. Thomas Mort Todd Mike Tuohey Mike Vosburg Andy Yanchus

This issue is dedicated to the memory of

Jack Kirby

Not Stan Lee’s Soapbox, But Stan Lee’s Jack-In-The-Box! . 21 The Man talks about The King, 1961-2014—as gathered by Barry Pearl, with Nick Caputo.

The Top 10 Jack Kirby Marvel Slugfests (1961-1970) . . . . . 33

Fantastic Four, Hulk, Thor, Captain America—even Spider-Man—selected by John Cimino.

“The Marvel Age Of Comics Started On September 30, 1972!” 39

That’s definitely true—if you were in the UK and hanging around with Robert Menzies.

From Jasper Sitwell To Houseroy—& Back Again! . . . . . . . . 47 Roy Thomas on being a Kirby fan, colleague, and foil, from 1947 till last week!

From The Tomb: The Jack Kirby Macabre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 On his own or with Simon or Lee—Peter Normanton salutes Kirby as a master of horror!

Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt!: Simon & Kirby’s Recycled Masterpieces . 65 Jack & Joe tried never to waste a drawing—and so does Michael T. Gilbert.

FCA [Fawcett Collectors Of America] #229 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

P.C. Hamerlinck presents Mark Lewis presenting Kirby’s Captain Marvel & Mr. Scarlet!

On Our Cover: We were knocked out when Mark Halperin, co-chairman of Heritage Auctions, through Roy’s manager John Cimino, sent us a scan of this never-published 1990s drawing by the incomparable Jack Kirby, showing Jack himself and the ever-lovin’, blue-eyed Thing surreptitiously menaced by Dr. Doom and The Red Skull. And the Joe Sinnott inking was the icing on the cake! This illo spurred RT into finally doing what he’s been threatening to do for years—namely, devote an issue of A/E to The King. Our thanks to Heritage Auctions (HA.com), the ultimate source for this all-but-unseen treasure. [Thing, Dr. Doom, & Red Skull TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.; other art © Estate of Jack Kirby.] Above: One of the great (and last) co-creations of the deservedly legendary Joe Simon & Jack Kirby team was the hero of Bullseye #1 (July-Aug. 1954), who began life at the pair’s own doomed Mainline imprint, but whose final two issues were published by Charlton after Mainline went under. Bullseye and Boys’ Ranch are rightfully considered classic Western comics of the late Golden Age. [TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.] Alter Ego TM is published 6 times a year by TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Roy Thomas, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Alter Ego Editorial Offices: 32 Bluebird Trail, St. Matthews, SC 29135, USA. Fax: (803) 826-6501; e-mail: roydann@ntinet.com. Send subscription funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial offices. Six-issue subscriptions: $68 US, $103 Elsewhere, $27 Digital Only. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © Roy Thomas. Alter Ego is a TM of Roy & Dann Thomas. FCA is a TM of P.C. Hamerlinck. Printed in China. ISSN: 1932-6890. FIRST PRINTING.

writer/editorial

A Jack For All Seasons

s I say in my article that begins on p. 47, I’ve been a fan of Jack Kirby’s art and concepts since at least 1947, when I was six or seven years old. Back then, of course, his byline was always shared with his partner, Joe Simon, so few people knew just who did what in that talented twosome… nor did we worry much about it. Kirby’s work and influence have been a part of this magazine at least since founder Jerry G. Bails’ third spirit-duplicator issue of the then-hyphenated Alter-Ego [Vol. 1] (Fall 1961), wherein he adapted a “Simon + Kirby 1941” figure to illustrate an essay on the 1944 Captain America movie serial. In addition, Jack became the first pro artist ever to send Jerry a drawing for inclusion in the fanzine: The first photo-offset issue, #4 (Fall 1962), printed a wonderful pencil illo of the Thing (inked by Jerry), holding up a sign that plugged A/E. (See p. 15.) A few years ago, TwoMorrows publisher John Morrow asked me a question that took me aback: “If TwoMorrows didn’t have The Jack Kirby Collector, do you think you’d be featuring Jack more in Alter Ego?” My answer was a resounding yes; the only reason there haven’t already been several issues devoted to the work of the guy Stan Lee dubbed “The King” is that TwoMorrows’ flagship title is totally built around Kirby, and I didn’t figure there was much left for A/E to say about a man celebrated thus far in 80 editions of a mag named for him! Still, I figured that sometime, someway, there should be an Alter Ego that was centered around Jack. But I dillied and I dallied for

years, since so many other pros and concepts vied for attention. The notion of a Kirby issue of A/E was consigned to the back burner of my over-stretched mind. And then my manager and friend John Cimino sent me a scan of a Kirby drawing that was being auctioned off, and which had been brought to his attention by Heritage Auctions co-chairman Mark Halperin. It depicted both Jack and his (to me) greatest Marvel Comics creation, the Thing, sharing a laugh as Dr. Doom and The Red Skull attempted to sabotage them. It was even inked by Joe Sinnott, the ultimate FF embellisher. When I learned that illustration had never been printed, I told John Morrow that I’d like to make that art the cover of an entire Kirby issue. John immediately gave his blessing, and I set about to line up material that didn’t simply duplicate what had already appeared in TJKC. Thanks to the efforts of Will Murray, Barry Pearl, Nick Caputo, Aaron Caplan, John Cimino, Robert Menzies, Michael T. Gilbert, Peter Normanton, Mark Lewis, P.C. Hamerlinck, and a host of generous scan-senders, this became a wall-to-wall Kirby issue. Even more so than #169, this is a one-subject issue—and the subject is the greatest super-hero/ action artist in the history of comicbooks. Yes, we’re sorry to lose, for the second issue in a row, both the letters section and John Broome’s memoirs—but it had to be done. For Jack was an artist for all eras, and it was high time we made certain that everybody knew that we knew it, too!

Bestest,

COMING IN AUGUST

171

PAUL GUSTAVSON An Artist Of QUALITY! (Not To Mention TIMELY & CENTAUR!)

b& [Midnight, Jester, Human Bom

ics.] Plastic Man TM & © DC Com

• Cover by GUSTAVSON, spotlighting some of his greatest artistic creations! • RICHARD ARNDT interviews son TERRY GUSTAFSON (and no, that “F” isn’t a typo!) about his fabled father, who in the 1940s drew The Angel for Timely/ Marvel… Fantom of the Fair & The Arrow for Centaur—and Human Bomb, The Jester, Midnight, Rusty Ryan, Alias The Spider, & even Plastic Man for Busy Arnold’s Quality Comics Group! Profusely illustrated—with some of the most breathtaking art of the Golden Age! • ROY THOMAS on ABRAHAM RIESMAN’s controversial biography True Believer: The Rise and Fall of STAN LEE—the full, unfettered, fact-checking version of the online article carried on The Hollywood Reporter website on Feb. 23, 2021! • Plus—FCA spotlights Fawcett’s Mighty Midget Comics—MICHAEL T. GILBERT on “Frankenstein Unstitched!” featuring BOB POWELL—JOHN BROOME— & several surprise features! (I.e., they’ll even be a surprise to us, as soon as we figure out what they are!)

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THE SECRET KIRBY ORIGIN OF IRON MAN JACK KIRBY, DON HECK, Ol’ Shellhead, & Marvel Comics by Will Murray

Heavy Metal— Early Editions

ow an essential Marvel Universe super-hero, in the beginning Iron Man straggled in late, struggling to find his rightful place in the Marvel Universe, ultimately becoming one of the few spinoffs of Marvel’s fantasy titles whose own comicbook title has run uninterrupted to this day.

The Usual Suspects The Jack Kirby-penciled, Don Heck-inked cover of Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963), flanked by the four men credited with bringing the future “Golden Avenger” to life, as pictured in the 1964 Marvel Tales Annual. Will Murray says that Heck claimed to have done a bit of redesigning of the armor, with editor Lee’s tacit permission, when he inked Kirby’s pencils. Thanks to the Grand Comics Database. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The origins of the character are complicated, and many behind-the-scenes details have either never been fully reported or are in dispute. According to Mark Evanier (friend and early-1970s assistant to Jack Kirby), who got the story from the artist himself, Kirby created the character design for Iron Man and brought it to Stan Lee sometime prior to the creation of Thor, Spider-Man, and Ant-Man. If verified, this` may date from the period during which he brought in the original version of Spider-Man. Little if any thought was given to who the man inside Iron Man’s bulky armor would be. Kirby’s concept sketch ultimately became the cover to Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963).

Mark Evanier in a photo from his informative website www.newsfromme.com. Since the 1970s, Mark has had an enviable career in first comics, then TV.

Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Ol’ Shellhead, & Marvel Comics

The premise was a recycling of a 1961 one-shot Tales of Suspense #16 (April 1961) character, Metallo, who was also dubbed “the Hulk.” That two-part tale was drawn by Kirby from a script (probably) by Stan’s brother Larry Lieber, off (probably) a Lee plot. In the story, a convict agrees to test a giant lead-lined, radiation-proof suit of armor and becomes a destructive, cobalt-colored monster. This story is itself a variant retelling of a Don Heck-drawn tale with an identical premise: “I Made the Hulk Live,” from Strange Tales #75 (June 1960). Lieber quite likely scripted that story from a Lee plot as well, suggesting that the concept of a man in a suit of modern, mechanized armor might well have originated at Timely with plotter Stan Lee. The idea pre-dates Lee, of course. Writer Norvell W. Page had pitted the pulp-magazine hero The Spider against similarly armored criminals in the 1939 Spider pulp-magazine novel titled

“A Giant Lead Hulk” “The Thing Called Metallo!” was the 13-page lead feature in Tales of Suspense #16 (April 1961). At story’s end, the criminal within the power-bestowing armor faces a dilemma: he can only go on living if he doffs the armor and receives radiation treatments… but if he does remove it, he’ll be sent back to prison. In some ways, this foreshadowed the future plight of Tony Stark as Iron Man. Art by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers; plot & script uncredited in comic, but probably respectively by Stan Lee & Larry Lieber. Thanks to GCD & Barry Pearl, respectively. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Satan’s Murder Machines. Stan was a faithful reader of The Spider from its first rough-edged issue. The villain in Page’s story styled himself… the Iron Man. Back to Metallo: The reason he was called both “Metallo” and “Hulk,” I suspect, is that the skyscraper-sized alien monster known as “the Hulk,” pure and simple, had returned in the previous month’s Journey into Mystery (#66, March 1961), after having been introduced four issues earlier. There were a lot of Hulks running around at Timely in those days! Indeed, at the conclusion of his origin story, Iron Man was referred to as “that metallic hulk who once was Anthony Stark….” At this point in the development of the nascent “Iron Man” feature, some context is necessary. Remember that, when the

“I Made The Hulk Live!” In Strange Tales #75 (June 1960), the above statement could’ve been made either by probable plotter Stan Lee, probable scripter Larry Lieber, or positive artist Don Heck. It was an even earlier antecedent of both Iron Man and the ever-incredible Hulk. Thanks to Barry Pearl. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Secret Kirby History Of Iron Man

Marvel Universe was first forming, The Incredible Hulk was introduced into the lineup while Fantastic Four was still a bi-monthly title. The latter status would quickly change during the momentous year of 1962. The Hulk’s magazine floundered in its first year. According to Kirby, publisher Martin Goodman nearly canceled the title with issue #3. As a precaution, Goodman ordered Along Came The Spider… Lee to abandon Rafael M. DeSoto’s painted cover for the Dec. 1939 full-length stories issue of The Spider pulp magazine, which featured in favor of two an armored villain called… the Iron Man! Thanks to David Saunders. [TM & © the respective trademark & shorter “Hulk” copyright holders.] tales in every issue. That way, if The Incredible Hulk folded, the inventory could be used up in one of the fantasy titles. But those anthology titles were fast filling up with new superstars. Spider-Man took the top spot in the retitled Amazing Fantasy. However, that magazine was then abruptly and prematurely canceled, orphaning the unpublished inventory, which included at least one “Spider-Man” story. Thor and Ant-Man took over Journey into Mystery and Tales to Astonish, respectively. The Human Torch spun off from Fantastic Four into his own feature in Strange Tales, probably because the latter comic was the top seller of the surviving fantasy quartet.

Putting Some Iron In The Diet Somewhere during this period, Jack Kirby allegedly offered Stan Lee the new character idea eventually known as Iron Man. Although the Metallo and Heck/Hulk stories had already appeared by then, Kirby may have been inspired in part by Goodman’s learning about the sales success of a new DC series phenomenon, “Metal Men,” which reportedly outsold company star Superman during its Showcase tryouts early in 1962. Goodman may have asked Stan Lee to come up with an original robotic super-hero. According to Kirby, it was common practice in those days for him to bring in concept designs for Lee and Goodman to evaluate. “I came in with presentations,” Kirby once claimed. “I said, ‘This is what you have to do.’ I came in with Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the Fantastic Four.” (It must be stated up front that this version of their working relationship was never confirmed by either Goodman or Lee; and Lee, at least once, positively denied it.) “My understanding is that Iron Man was conceived, and there was a sketch of Iron Man sitting on the shelf, before

there was any thought that the fantasy books would have heroes,” reports Mark Evanier. “Jack’s recollection was that it was going to be a stand-alone book.” Kirby believed that the new character was strong enough to carry his own title. But, given the restrictions that Independent Distribution had then placed on the number of titles Goodman could publish every month, something would have to be canceled to make room for any new title. So the empty shell that was the prototypical Iron Man languished for a time, the personality within the bulky armor as yet uncreated. “Jack’s version of it was that they had talks about doing Iron Man, but the book did not go forward because Goodman wasn’t ready for it,” explains Evanier. “So they put it on the shelf for some indeterminate period. Then the decision was made to add the characters to the anthology titles. At some point, Jack came in and Stan said, ‘We’re doing ‘Iron Man’ in Tales of Suspense with Don Heck.’” It’s entirely possible that, given the timing, “Iron Man” was under consideration to replace the Hulk magazine. Fan David Seigel remembers Kirby once remarking that he preferred the original Iron Man armor to any later iteration because the earlier version was like a “mechanized Hulk.” Meanwhile, The Incredible Hulk lumbered on, while Fantastic Four shifted to monthly frequency. And Goodman, for reasons known only to himself but perhaps motivated by the launch of DC’s “The Atom” in his own title after a very successful Showcase run, began talking about giving Ant-Man his own book. When the Hulk’s solo book was finally canceled around the turn of 1963, Lee assigned Steve Ditko to draw the final issue, telling him that he didn’t want to “waste” Kirby on a canceled magazine. Kirby went on to originate Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos instead. In the interim, sales figures had come in on Amazing Fantasy #15 from the summer of ’62, and Goodman realized that the unlikely Spider-Man was a hit, one deserving of his own title. If Iron Man had had a shot at his own title at that stage, the surprise success of Spider-Man killed that possibility. But the company’s new line of super-heroes were all selling, so Goodman green-lit “Iron Man”—as a half-a-book lead feature in one of the anthologies. Over Kirby’s objections, Don Heck was assigned to draw the first “Iron Man” story for Tales of Suspense from a Larry

Man—Or Monster? The Jack Kirby cover of The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962). Inks attributed to George Roussos. Thanks to Barry Pearl. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Ol’ Shellhead, & Marvel Comics

adjustments in how he portrayed the character in action.

might be found in some of the robot fantasy stories Heck had done in prior years for Stan Lee.

“My approach was that Iron Man needed to be flexible enough to fly around and do the things he was able to do,” Colan said. “The way they had him bulked up, there was no way he could look good. My idea was to thin him down. I tried to make him look as athletic as he could in spite of the armor.”

Absent that lost sketch turning up, we can look at some of his pre-hero robot stories for clues. Characters such as Heck’s pre-hero Hulk, Metallo, Orogo, and similar robotic menaces all have streamlined, sophisticated looks with big square chest or back vents. Otherwise, one can only imagine the possibilities….

Colan struggled to animate Iron Man’s helmet mask: “I thought about his helmet a bit, and I considered how metal can’t move, so I took poetic license with his face mask to show emotion. Not a lot, but just enough to put emotion across.”

But, whatever the details, one element is certain: Iron Man would never have been as blue as his X-Men doppelgänger, Cobalt Man.

Sources:

It was a solution that went back to Jack Kirby’s depiction of the character, which Stan Lee recognized as necessary. “The hardest thing was getting expression on Iron Man‘s mask,” Lee told me. “It looked too dull if it never expressed any emotion such as anger, fear, confusion, whatever. Yet, how do you get an iron mask to change expression? We finally took whatever liberties we could by changing the angle of the eye slits, which helped a little.”

The Art of Jack Kirby. Ray Wyman, The Blue Rose Press, 1992. Don Heck: A Work of Art. John Coates. TwoMorrows Publishing, 2014. “The Goldberg Variations.” Jim Amash, Alter Ego, Vol. 3, #18, Oct. 2002.

Madam, I’m “Adam”! Gentleman Gene Colan’s very first “Iron Man” cover and story were done for Tales of Suspense #73 (Jan. 1966) under his “Adam Austin” pseudonym. Colan’s “crested” look for Ol’ Shellhead largely followed the most recent version by Don Heck and lasted for quite some time. Inks by Jack Abel. Thanks to Barry Pearl. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

The Colan armor lasted all through the Silver Age, and beyond. But it was really just an elaboration of the Ditko design, as refined and finalized by Heck.

Conclusion—& Queries Looking back on Iron Man’s difficult genesis, Don Heck seems to have been a key player in the development of the Golden Avenger, even if his most significant contributions were to tweak the armor designs of others. Jack Kirby apparently agreed. He cited Heck and not Ditko as having been instrumental in developing the character when he observed: “Iron Man was a concept of survival. This guy could not survive without a specially designed suit––so with this suit he made himself more powerful than he could ever imagine himself to be. He was almost like a god, but he was also a prisoner of his own invention. Don [Heck] did an excellent job of interpreting Iron Man. He redesigned the costume and strengthened the character. I think what he did was very professional. A character like this should evolve, and I couldn’t have done the job any better.” One wonders: Had Stan Lee accepted Heck’s early redesign, what would a pure Don Heck Iron Man have looked like? Probably not like The Crimson Dynamo, which was a villain design. Or The Titanium Man, who was the last major Iron Man villain created by the team of Lee and Heck. Those designs were even more bulky and cumbersome than Kirby’s Iron Man. Heck might have kept the bullet helmet that he had redesigned. Clues

1999.

The Illustrated History of Superhero Comics. Mike Benton, Taylor Publishing Company, 1991. “Iron Man: Almost 44 years later, Don Heck Is Still Drawing Comics.” Will Murray, Comics Scene #37, Sept. 1993. “The Iron Man Mystery.” Will Murray, Comic Book Marketplace #72, Oct.

“Monster Master.” Will Murray, Comic Scene, Vol. 2, #52, Sept. 1995. “Origins in Iron.” Will Murray, Starlog #364, April 2008. Son of Origins of Marvel Comics. Stan Lee, Fireside Books, 1975.

JACK KIRBY & The Early-1960s Fanzines by Aaron Caplan

The Golden Age of Comics Fandom

he early 1960s were a period of extraordinary growth for comics fandom. Founded by Jerry Bails with an assist by Roy Thomas in March 1961, Alter-Ego (yes, hyphenated for the first four issues) was not the first comics-oriented fanzine, but it was the first to support the super-hero revivals begun at DC in the latter ’50s. At the tail end of the month, Bails sent the spiritduplicator-printed Alter-Ego #1 to fans whose addresses had been printed in DC comics and to science-fiction fans whose letters had been printed in SF fanzines he happened to see. Shipped just one week after the first issue of Alter-Ego, but doubtless in preparation earlier, Don & Maggie Thompson’s Comic Art #1 was more of a crossover zine focused on funny-animal comics and newspaper strips, and distributed to a more intellectual group of seasoned sci-fi fans (who absolutely hated the term “sci-fi”). Unlike the Thompsons, who restricted the circulation of Comic Art because they lost money on every mimeographed issue distributed (free), Bails wanted to distribute A/E #1 to as many comics

fans as possible and had soon amassed a huge mailing list… and following. The result was explosive: Alter-Ego had a huge, immediate impact, jump-starting comic fandom, with the fanzine itself splintering into Bailscreated offshoots (On the Drawing Board/The Comic Reader for news, and The Comicollector for ads) that became additional key publications of the new fan movement. As the late and great Bill Schelly wrote, “The golden age of comic fandom had begun.”

The Thing Is… The first artwork ever done by a pro artist for one of the 1960s wave of comics fanzines was the above drawing by Jack Kirby of the Thing, from The Fantastic Four. His pencil sketch was apparently inked (and rather well, too) by editor/ publisher Jerry Bails for AlterEgo [Vol. 1] #4 (Fall 1962). All art accompanying this piece, unless otherwise noted, was provided by Aaron Caplan. [The Thing TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Many of these early publications were considered crudzines: amateurish fanzines that were crudely produced by teenagers using a mimeograph or spirit duplicator (a.k.a. “ditto printing”) process, usually with a maximum print-run of 25 to 200 copies. Crudzines (noted for bad spelling and grammar, often-shallow articles, and abysmally amateurish art) were often, nonetheless, charming in their simplicity, honesty, and zeal for comicbook collecting.

Early Fanzines Featuring Original Kirby Art

Them’s Fighting Words! Kirby penciled this striking pose of his and Joe Simon’s 1950s hero Fighting American for the fanzine Super-Adventures #9 (Fall ’68). [Fighting American TM & © Estates of Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.]

As the popularity of the DC (and then Marvel) super-heroes grew in the early ’60s, the number of comics fanzines increased exponentially. And so did fan interest in Jack Kirby. With an estimated 3000+ comic fanzines produced between 1961 and 1972, there were hundreds that featured Kirby-focused material: feature articles, news stories, interviews, and artwork, along with early analysis, reviews, and commentary on his work. The earliest fanzines with Kirby content originated with that first generation of Marvel fans, writing glowing and enthusiastic articles about Simon & Kirby, Fantastic Four, or Golden Age Captain America. As prolific an artist as Kirby was, he rarely contributed to early fan publications. Even the seemingly “inaccessible” Steve Ditko was heavily engaged in fandom at that time; he actively submitted artwork, covers, fully illustrated comic strips, letters, and opinion pieces to fan editors prior to 1968. While many Kirby illustrations

Kirby In The Golden Age of Comic Fandom

And I Quote… Re Greg Kishel’s Marvel Mirror #6 (June 1968): Marvel associate editor Roy Thomas offered a few choice comments of his own on some remarks by California fan (and future fellow pro) Mark Evanier that had been quoted in the preceding issue. Those two guys are on considerably better terms nowadays (and have been for most of their professional careers); and, based on things he’s since said in public, we kinda suspect Mark’s had a sincere change of heart about the talents of not only Jack Kirby but also Marvel artist Marie Severin. Well, it’s no big deal. Roy’s said (and thought) a number of things he regrets, as well. [© the respective copyright holders.]

ROY THOMAS PRESENTS

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“Is Kirby King?” During the ’60s, big name fans incessantly argued whether Kirby was the best comic artist. In Marvel Tribune #9 (Jan. 1969), published by Ron Liberman, fan Don Degenais responded to a piece written three issues earlier by a Mike Robertson that had been less than enthusiastic about Jack’s artwork—and the debate could go on forever! Artist unknown. [Thor TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

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Not STAN LEE’s Soapbox, But STAN LEE’s JACK-In-The-Box! “The Man” Talks About “The King”—1961-2014 by Barry Pearl, F.F.F. Aided and Abetted by Nick Caputo, F.F.F. A/E EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION: The two comicbook professionals with whom Jack Kirby’s name will be forever linked, of course, are the late Joe Simon and Stan Lee—the first his official partner for a decade and a half during the 1940s and the first half of the ’50s, the other his boss but also his de facto “senior partner” for a little over a decade from the late 1950s through 1970 (with a considerably more distant relationship during the latter ’70s). So I recently sent Barry Pearl, who’s spent the past few decades collecting and collating material about the Lee-coined “Marvel Age of Comics,” an e-mail which might (or might not) have been worded precisely as he phrases it directly below....

ood Afternoon, Mr. Pearl:

Stan Lee spoke or wrote about Jack Kirby many times over the years. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to write an article assembling the major instances of these statements and quotes. As always, should you or any of the Yancy Street Gang be caught or clobbered, Ben Grimm will disavow any knowledge of your actions. Please dispose of this message in the usual manner. Good luck, Barry.

Bestest,

Jack Kirby & Stan Lee May I start by explaining why Roy asked me to write this piece? After Stan Lee and Flo Steinberg sent me a stack of comics during a long hospital stay in 1963, I decided to write a book about Marvel. My collecting articles, books, and now videos has never stopped. I didn’t know where to begin on the above assignment, but then I remembered Lewis Carroll, who wrote: “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.” So let’s start at Stan’s beginning:

(top of page) Kirby and Lee both speaking at the 1967 New York Comicon. Photos by Mark Hanerfeld and Andy Yanchus. (Left:) The splash of Rawhide Kid #17 (Aug. 1960), probably the first time their names appeared together in print—albeit on opposite sides of the picture (thanks to Barry Pearl for this scan). (Above:) The cover of Fireside/Simon & Schuster’s Silver Surfer graphic novel (1978), perhaps the last occasion on which the two giants collaborated on masterworks that bore their names inside. Thanks to the Grand Comics Database. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

Kirby’s Greatest Hits—Literally!

spectacular battle that shook the entire industry to its very core. Kirby’s pacing of the fight is nothing short of pure genius. The Hulk eventually throws Thor against the underground cavern wall, causing an avalanche to separate them. Soon, the Hulk digs himself out and would find Thor fighting the Sub-Mariner and the rest of this scrap continues back in Avengers #3. Later, we see the Hulk in the desert shouting out to the world that he will one day defeat the Thunder God. How could any comicbook reader not shout “Make Mine Marvel!” after reading this issue back in the day? This is super-heroic storytelling at its finest.

1.) FANTASTIC FOUR #25-26 (1964): Hulk vs. Thing (with the Fantastic Four and The Avengers) The Hulk slugging it out with the Thing goes by many names: “The Battle of the Behemoths,” “The Clash of the Titans,” and so on. But whatever you want to call it, it has to be considered “The Brawl That Started it All!” Even before the Hulk clashed with the Thing, comics fights had come a long way under Jack Kirby’s guidance. But, despite his innovations, nothing really special had happened yet. After the two brutes first fought in Fantastic Four #12 and showed a dynamic between them that captured the imagination of the fans, Kirby set the standard of what a true comic slugfest was supposed to be, while taking the meaning of “city-leveling action” to a whole new stratosphere, when he gave them a rematch in Fantastic Four #25 & 26. Needless to say, once “Hulk vs. Thing” entered into the Marvelmythos, the comicbook world was never the same. Not only is this Jack Kirby’s greatest slugfest, it has to be considered the greatest slugfest in Marvel history. If that’s not enough praise, it can also be considered the greatest slugfest in the history of the medium! Can anyone prove me wrong?! After Fantastic Four #25 & 26 hit the newsstands, Jack Kirby was officially crowned “The King of Comics,” because these are the issues that set the standards for what a super-hero slugfest is in comics, cartoons, video games, movies, whatever! Never was a battle so grand, so epic, and so influential! It really was a total game-changer. The sense of wonderment that a reader felt taking this all in is something that can never be replicated. With Stan Lee’s brilliant dialogue meshed together with Kirby’s unparalleled storytelling, it represents heroic drama on a level very few comics have ever achieved. Stan Lee billed this as “The Battle of the Century” on the cover of issue #25, and who am I to argue with that?

Hail, Hail, The Gang’s All Here—And Fighting Like Hell! One of the first of Marvel’s infamous “continued stories” was the clash between the Fantastic Four (especially the Thing) and the Hulk in FF #25 (April 1964), whose cover is seen on the first page of John Cimino’s article… which segued the next month (#26) into an FF/Hulk/Avengers free-for-all that set the pace for all Marvel battles to follow! Inking by Sol Brodsky. Thanks to JC. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.]

John Cimino is a Silver and Bronze Age comic, cartoon, and memorabilia expert who contributes articles to RetroFan, The Jack Kirby Collector, Back Issue, and now Alter Ego, for TwoMorrows Publishing. He runs The Roy Thomas Appreciation Boards on Facebook and likes to drag Roy and Dann Thomas away from their daily chores on the farm to a comic convention. Check out his blog at Hero-Envy.blogspot.com, contact him at johnstretch@live.com, or follow him on Instagram at megostretchhulk, because he likes the attention.

From Ben Grimm—To Grimlock! (Above right:) When Ye Editor asked John C. which photo of him to stick on the end of this piece, JC insisted it be this one, wherein the erstwhile Rascally One is considering slitting JC’s throat as he holds up two 2020 issues of Marvel’s Savage Sword of Conan written by RT—in the first of which appeared a suspiciously slimy character named “Simino.” Photo by Dann Thomas. (Left:) The cover of Songs of Immortality, a new 12” vinyl record that contains material by the 1990s hardcore band Grimlock, from a CD originally released in 1997. And yes, the front man at left (possessor of what one recent review called “one of the angriest voices in hardcore”) is indeed the same John Cimino who authored this Kirby-clash retrospective. [Album cover TM & © the respective trademark & copyright holders.]

“The Marvel Age Of Comics Started On September 30, 1972!” “W by Robert Menzies

hat on Earth are you on about?” you’re thinking. “Everyone knows ‘The Marvel Age of Comics’ started with The Fantastic Four #1, which was on the stands in New York City on August 8, 1961, and soon elsewhere across the States!” Well, we’re both right. It’s a question of geography. And age. In 1967 Marvel had licensed out their characters to British publisher Odhams, who released the comics Wham!, Smash!, Pow!, Terrific, and Fantastic, the first issue of the latter coming out the day my parents married. By the end of the decade, all were gone. Jump

forward a few years. On the last Saturday of September 1972, the youth of Britain saw a new comic on newsagents’ shelves— The Mighty World of Marvel. Inside The Mighty World of Marvel (MWOM) #1, Marvel returned to Ground Zero with Fantastic Four #1, adding the first appearances of Hulk and Spider-Man. Even using only one colour, and dividing American editions into installments, this was a blockbuster package. One suspects that, of those readers who were lucky enough to pick up issue #1, the majority came back for the second. A new generation of True Believers had been born and were facing front. Due to the traditional weekly schedule of British comics, and the telescoped, accelerated continuity that had the Fab Four, Greenskin, and Spidey debut on the same day, growing up a Marvel fan in the 1970s was like drinking from a fire hose. In those early months, no artist’s work appeared more often than Jack Kirby’s, and for years his art graced the British titles as they reprinted his runs on the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine as well as Hulk, Ant-Man, Thor, The Avengers, Captain America, Nick Fury, and what seemed like a thousand other characters— despite the fact that, from sometime in 1970 through 1975, Kirby was under contract to DC Comics and did no new work

“Age” Is Just A Number! In the United States, the Stan Lee-christened “Marvel Age of Comics” began with The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961), behind a Jack Kirby/ George Klein cover seen above, even though the name “Marvel” wouldn’t appear on comics covers again till ’63… But, in Great Britain/the UK, that “Age” can be said to be have been birthed when The Mighty World of Marvel #1 (dated Oct. 7, 1972) went on sale—with the John Buscema-penciled (though certainly Jack Kirbyinspired) cover glimpsed at left. Thanks to Robert Menzies for all art spots printed with his article, unless otherwise noted. [TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc.] Incidentally, the Stan Lee side of the “Marvel UK” launch and its aftermath were covered by Robert M. back in Alter Ego #15; the two pieces can be considered bookends.

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From Jasper Sitwell To Houseroy—And Back Again! Or, JACK KIRBY & Me, 1947-2021! A Personal Appreciation by Roy Thomas

mong a certain small (and clinically insane) coterie of otherwise perhaps laudable Jack Kirby fans, I seem to have the reputation—unsought, unappreciated, and totally undeserved—of being a Kirby-hater. Or at least (and it’s pretty much the same thing to the above folks) of being a guy who believes that writer/editor Stan Lee contributed something to his and Kirby’s decade-plus association besides “just” putting precise words in the mouths of Kirbyanimated characters. Well, on the last count, I’ll admit—I’m guilty as charged. But this article is about my relationship, both as a comicbook fan since 1947, and since 1965 as a fellow pro, to Jack “King” Kirby... so let’s concentrate on that aspect of things, shall we?

“Simon&Kirby” I’m not sure, frankly, exactly how old I was—or where and how it happened—that I became aware of Jack Kirby. Joe Kubert’s name adorned most of the latter-1940s “Hawkman” stories in which I reveled—Gardner Fox’s, E.E. Hibbard’s, Jerry Siegel’s, Joe Shuster’s, and Bob Kane’s names, among a number of others, were likewise on tales they either wrote or drew or had ghosted for them. Actually, I didn’t become aware of Jack Kirby in the 1940s at all—not really. What forced itself upon my consciousness, probably in late 1947 when I was just turning seven, was the team I knew as “Joe Simon and Jack Kirby”—virtually as one entity, “Simon&Kirby.” Like most people, young or old, who weren’t professionals in the comicbook field, I had no idea of who did what when I saw those two names on a “Stuntman” splash page—probably not in Stuntman #1 in early ’46, more likely when the origin story

The Kirby Trilogy? (Left:) Roy Thomas, on right, and his manager/pal John Cimino attacked by—or are they attacking?—a huge Galactus display at the TerrifiCon held at the Mohegan Sun Casino, NY, on Aug. 19, 2017… which is about as close as RT ever came to having a personal photo taken with Jack Kirby! Photo courtesy of JC. (Above:) Jack Kirby himself, with a peaceable pipe.

was reprinted in Black Cat Comics #9 (Jan. 1948), in late ’47. Of course, I suppose I could’ve seen Stuntman #1… I was certainly buying comics by spring of 1946, at age five. During that period, I simply had to learn to read before I started school in fall of ’46 (first grade—no kindergarten for this kid, or most kids I knew, back in the mid-’40s)… because I just had to know what those gaudily clad characters were saying, which would help explain what they were doing. I do remember being very confused by the triple-identity aspect of “Stuntman,” since at the time I didn’t really know anything about real stuntmen and their relationship to the equally mysterious movie industry that was the backdrop of the series. Mostly, I think I simply rejoiced in the thrill of the drawings… first of the circus acrobats (whose colorful costumes were the general inspiration that formed the basis of not only Stuntman’s costume but of those of Superman, Batman, and the rest as well)… and of the super-hero outfit that the aerialist mutated his carnival gear into. I’m pretty sure I devoured other “Stuntman” reprints when they popped up—but I probably missed some. All I really knew over the next few years after 1947 was that, anytime I saw those magic names “Simon and Kirby” on a comics story, it meant that the artwork would be “good”—by which I meant exciting, lively, dynamic. Sometimes other people drew most or all of those stories, and as I got older I could tell that Simon and Kirby had some unattributed helpers—and sometimes I believe I recognized the S&K style on unsigned stories. In fact, one of my favorites of “their” 1940s stories, a “Boom Boom Brannigan” yarn in Prize Comics wherein an imitation (and alien) costumed Superman type who called himself “Superior Male” came to Earth and got knocked out

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CAPTAIN AND THE KING JACK KIRBY At Fawcett Publications, 1940-41 by Mark Lewis Edited by P.C. Hamerlinck & Roy Thomas

Prehistory: A Study In Scarlet

wice during its first two years of publishing comicbooks, Fawcett Publications sought out Jack Kirby to contribute his enormous talents to the company’s fledgling four-color efforts. It all began with editor France “Ed” Herron. During his time in the editorship, Herron made significant contributions to Fawcett’s comics line. Most importantly, he further developed the idea of a teenaged Captain Marvel-related character as a spinoff from the original Shazam hero that had been launched in late 1939 by writer/editor Bill Parker and artist Charles Clarence Beck. Believing that the new strip should have a different style from the main (“Captain Marvel”) strip, he pushed to have the illustrative Mac Raboy be the artist to render the adventures of “Captain Marvel Jr.” Herron was also instrumental in bringing Otto Binder over to Fawcett as a main writer, and likewise had a hand in launching the “Mary Marvel” feature, assigning Binder and artist Marc Swayze the task of bringing her character to life. But, even before all that: In the latter half of 1940, Fawcett was preparing a brand new title, Wow Comics—one of Herron’s earliest editorial assignments for the publisher. For the first issue’s lead feature, he invented Mr. Scarlet—a crusading District Attorney by day… by night, a costumed hero pursuing the bad guys who’d slipped through legal loopholes. It’s an idea not all that far removed from Joe Simon & Jack Kirby’s later “Newsboy Legion,” co-starring The Guardian, done for DC Comics; in the latter case, it was a beat cop doing double duty.

France “Ed” Herron The only photo we could turn up of the editor of Captain Marvel Adventures #1 (1941)—from the photocover of DC’s Gang Busters #10 (June-July 1950), whereon he posed as a cop about to make a collar. [TM & © DC Comics.]

Though Fawcett had a standing policy of editors not also writing for the comics they edited, Herron secretly assigned himself the scripting duties for the first appearance of “Mr. Scarlet.” He then hired freelancer Jack Kirby to produce the art for the story… probably during the latter days of the artist’s time working for Fox Comics, before he and new partner Joe Simon would take their considerable talents to another new company, Timely Comics. At this point, Kirby and Simon had already teamed up on Novelty’s “Blue Bolt” series, but apparently they were not

Young Jack Kirby (at top) in a photo found on the Internet by Mike Mikulovsky… and some nice early examples of “Kirby tech” from the Captain Marvel Adventures #1 which he and partner Joe Simon “ghosted” circa 1941, with some help from Dick Briefer and others. In “The Monsters of Saturn,” Kirby seems to have been taking at least some of his inspiration at this point from newspaper strips like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, but his tech designs ultimately evolved into things no one else had ever done! Script by Manly Wade Wellman; inks by Briefer, et al. [Shazam hero TM & © DC Comics.]

yet fully committed to being a steady writing-and-drawing team, so that each was free to pursue some assignments on his own. Some researchers have mistakenly assumed that Kirby was the “co-creator” of “Mr. Scarlet”—i.e., that he also designed the character visually. But C.C. Beck handled the job of Scarlet’s design (as he did for many of Fawcett’s characters), as he once confirmed to FCA editor P.C. Hamerlinck. Beck also illustrated the cover of Wow Comics #1.

Alter Ego #170