Exit: Jack Kirby!

In the nearly fifty years since artist Jack Kirby's exit from Marvel Comics sometime in 1970, the company has seen so many changes in both its creative staff and its financial status that such a high-profile departure has perhaps become almost like a footnote to those of us who look back on it. And to those who now man the helm of the juggernaut that Marvel has become, that point in time in the company's history may well seem like little more than an afterthought, since Marvel itself had become a subsidiary several times over before its current status as a Disney holding. Even here at the PPC, the subject of Kirby's circumstances at the company has certainly been explored often enough that it seems fitting after all this time to finally put the issue to bed, as it were.

With that in mind, I found myself looking at some of the final issues of those books which Kirby was the banner artist on regularly--Mighty Thor (the character he also drew in a number of issues of Journey Into Mystery)... Fantastic Four, which he'd been with since the title's beginning... and finally, his brief stint on Captain America, which continued from Kirby's mostly unbroken run on Cap's stories in Tales Of Suspense. Kirby reportedly began laying the groundwork for his departure in 1969--and so I began lingering over those last issues from each title, not from the perspective of a reader but from that of an aggrieved artist who was bringing his career at Marvel to a close. Seen through those eyes, Kirby's work takes on an interesting aspect--particularly those full-page renderings he indulged in during 1969, which could have been tailored to smaller panels but for whatever reason merited a more dramatic presentation in order to fit the story playing out in his mind.

Curiously, Kirby's work for Captain America ended quite early in '69, well before his work in both Thor and Fantastic Four came to a close (around August of 1970), for reasons which aren't clear. His exit from the book coincided with litigation against Marvel initiated by Joe Simon over the ownership of the Captain America character, with Kirby agreeing to take Marvel's side in the dispute while also signing over to Marvel any rights he had in regard to Cap--yet we can only speculate as to whether there was any connection between that matter and Kirby's abrupt withdrawal from the book. Regardless, Kirby turns in some impressive full-page work during his brief stay on the title (only nine issues, as well as the album issue which gave fill-in artist Jim Steranko a breather).

And in the other titles, there was more to come.

Steranko, of course, more than stepped up to the plate with his own stunning full- and double-page Captain America work; but once Gene Colan took over for John Romita, those full-page inserts began to taper off, and there were few notable examples of Colan's to choose from. I would probably have selected the following, though you'll find Colan's style of presentation is naturally very different from Kirby's.

Romita's run on Captain America convinced me that the book could survive the departure of the practiced hand of the character's definitive artist--and over in Mighty Thor, that hand was still going strong, with some very interesting choices for full-page art, several of which didn't even involve the title character.

A reminder that these come from the last few issues of Kirby's run, so you can doubtless recall a few other pieces of Asgardian art from earlier in the series that stand out. You can find my own selections in a three-part series beginning here, pieces that are equally representative of the Silver Age work of Jack Kirby.

Meanwhile, as Kirby's time wound down on Fantastic Four, the series for which he was probably most remembered, Kirby's choices, like those he made in Thor, veer away from the FF themselves in several cases and instead focus on some of the characters who were central parts of their incredible adventures.

At first glance, the Inhumans portrait might seem out of sync with Kirby's other, more dynamic portrayals of the royal family, though the image is consistent with the circumstances of the story. In addition, the fact that Karnak's mask is omitted doesn't really stand out so much as the fact that Medusa's own mask remains (and, for that matter, Black Bolt's). There's no reason for any member of this family to wear a mask in their own refuge, is there? What, Triton doesn't get one? As for Johnny, some rather unusual use of shadowing on Kirby's part, to be sure--more than likely to emphasize Crystal's sudden (if only temporary) departure.

Hopefully this collection of artwork and still-lingering thoughts on Jack Kirby's departure from the "House of Ideas" (many of which were notably his own) makes a fitting coda to however extensive the PPC's coverage on the subject has been. With the passage of half a century, it feels like it's finally time to put the issue to rest here. Of course that doesn't mean that you'll see a moratorium on the man's contribution to Marvel from your humble host--on the contrary, Jack "King" Kirby will continue to be a presence in this forum for some time to come. (Though if I'm still posting on him in fifty years' time, I'll be as surprised as you are!)