Even The 'King' Swiped From Time To Time

Playboy Jack Kirby

I've always been a big fan of Jack Kirby so this post is by no means any type of put down.  On the contrary, it shows that even the greatest, most influential comic artist lifted or swiped a reference image from time to time.

Before the internet where any reference image can be brought up in seconds, back in the day, artists had to collect files of reference images from books, magazines, photos and store them in filing cabinets called -- swipe files.  I'm sure Jack was no exception.  Case in point; Sue Storm.

In the early to mid-sixties, Kirby always portrayed Susan Storm of the Fantastic Four as a glamorous public hero always seeking the current fashion trends.  When she wasn't getting herself captured (at least in the early issues) she was out shopping for the trendiest wardrobes or the newest hairstyles.  So it is no surprise that Jack Kirby would reference Sue Storm with only the glamorous of imagery (when his characters weren't exploding off the pages)

Click to embiggen this NSFW picture.

Above on the left you will see the splash page from Fantastic Four issue 22 (late 1963) while on the right you will see an image from the artist Vargas published in Playboy (1963).  Kirby's perfect swipe from Playboy to give Sue Storm that extra glamor including the kookie hat (customized by Reed Richards).

Even the King swipes from time to time.

That's not saying he couldn't draw circles around these swipe happy artists of today, he can.  In fact, there is no one before or since that can blow the borders off of a comic page as Jack Kirby.  So when he slips in a little swipe from time to time to give Sue Storm a bit of glamor, cut the King some slack, will'ya?

This ain't a swipe, it's pure Kirby!

What To Do With Your Extra 13,138 dice

More here....

Gene Colan: 1926 - 2011

Another great illustrator has passed on.

Gene Colan, who brought a heavy noir style to superhero comics has passed away last night at the age of 84. Through his career he has worked for both Marvel and DC on some of their iconic characters most notably Daredevil in the mid and late 60's, Iron-man and Bat-man and Marvel's Tomb of Dracula among others. Bringing a sense of intense drama and realism through his penciled art to the four color medium he raised the bar of sequential storytelling.

His influence and artwork will live on.















Gene Colan's virtual studio

These Are Our Worlds Too...

I think artist extraordinaire Wally Wood, in summing up what is in 'His World', encompasses pretty much what we all feel our pulp fantasy worlds to be...

Wally Wood: My World

Click on the comic pages to enlarge and read. Great Stuff!

Al Williamson March 21, 1931 ~ June 13, 2010

Al Williamson passed away yesterday Sunday June 13th.

A fantastic fantasy comic artist who began working for EC comics at the age of 21 was influenced by Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon and taken under Frank Frazetta's wing. He had a very grand cinematic style and brought a sense of realism to all things fantastic. Below are some samples of his fine work. He will be missed.





I highly recommend visiting the Golden Age of comics to see some more of Williamson's fantastic work:

http://goldenagecomicbookstories.blogspot.com/

Frank Frazetta...

There's a fantastic write-up about the late Frank Frazetta over at The Secret Sun written by Christopher Knowles. It's a great read and something that I highly recommend.

Frank Frazetta 1928-2010

Apparently it is confirmed that the Godfather of Fantasy Art, Frank Frazetta has passed away at the age of 82.

http://www.comicsbeat.com/2010/05/10/frank-frazetta-rip/



There is no doubt that his work in comics, painting and illustration has been a huge influence on millions of artists, film-makers, gamer-designers and pop culture as a whole.

His vision of Howard's brutal and vicious Hyporean age, Burroughs' Mars stories and raw fantasy power as well has been burned into our subconsciousness for all time.

Truly a master artist who's mark will forever be stamped on the world of pop (pulp) culture. His passion and life will be honored and missed. Condolences to his friends and family.






















Frank Frazetta 1928-2010
Frank Frazetta Museum

In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming

Now this is enough to descend you into madness, no?

17 inch model sculpted by Gabe Perna. More of his nightmares at Toiletface.

Fantasy Friday

First I want to wish everyone a healthy and happy new year. May your dice roll well in your favor!

I wrapped up the year with Edgar Rice Burroughs' first Mars book; "The Princess of Mars". For the first Fantasy Friday of the new year, I thought I'd dish up Gil Kane's 'John Carter Warlord of Mars' put out by Marvel Comics Group in the early 70's.


Gil Kane was known for his classy silver-age illustrations for DC comics which helped revived the the super-hero genre in the early 60's. It was when he moved to Marvel that his characters exploded with a dynamic power that rivaled even the great Jack Kirby. He became one of Marvel's preeminent cover artists of the early 70's defining the tone for the era. Beyond super-heroes, Kane was best know for his fantasy work which included Conan and John Carter for Marvel as well as one of the first graphic novels, Blackmark.

Some of Gil Kane's Conan Covers

Gil Kane left us on January 31, 2000 at age 73. Though he is gone, his lifetime of work will live on for years to come.