Rank & Phile #2: Jack Kirby Marvel Heroes
nweathington
Posts: 6,748
[EDIT: Since there seems to be a lot of confusion about what this thread is about, I'm adding a few notes here. This is an idea that spawned out of a recent discussion in the 2017 Reading Thread, where some of us were ranking the artists of an Epic Collection: Captain America volume. Everyone around here seems to like lists like this, so I thought I'd come up with some more. I figure I'll do one a week, and to try to prevent topic confusion and having to sift through pages of posts (assuming people play along), I'll start a new thread for each new list. Your job, if you choose to accept it, is to rank the five subjects on that list however you see fit. Why rank my list of subjects rather than have everyone come up with their own list of subjects, you ask? Personally, I find that the more options I am given, the more difficult it is to rank them. This is meant to be a quick, hopefully fun, process that you won’t have to spend too much time on. On the surface, ranking the artists of the Cap Epic Collection seemed to be an impossible task, but it turned out to be surprisingly easy. It still resulted in some interesting conversation though, and that’s what I'm hoping for here.]
I'm currently proofreading a book on Jack Kirby, so I’ve got him on the brain. And with this year marking what would have been his 100th birthday, I'll probably do a bunch of Kirby related lists this summer. So to start that off with, here are five Marvel heroes he created/co-created which are among those he had the biggest hand in creating/developing. As always, discussion of the whys of your picks are encouraged, but not insisted upon.
Captain America, Machine Man, Silver Surfer, The Thing, Thor
I'm currently proofreading a book on Jack Kirby, so I’ve got him on the brain. And with this year marking what would have been his 100th birthday, I'll probably do a bunch of Kirby related lists this summer. So to start that off with, here are five Marvel heroes he created/co-created which are among those he had the biggest hand in creating/developing. As always, discussion of the whys of your picks are encouraged, but not insisted upon.
Captain America, Machine Man, Silver Surfer, The Thing, Thor
Comments
The best Jack Kirby creations based solely on the work done by Kirby.
1. The Thing - Jack in comic form, cool look, starred in one of the best single issues ever.
2. Silver Surfer - cool look, great origin, created for one of the best stories ever
3. Captain America - arguably the best comic cover ever, Avengers #4 is still the gold standard for reintroducing a character, I'm not an Avengers guy, I think what Kirby did with Thing & Surfer was much better.
4. Thor - I would have to think of a Jack Kirby work i've read that I liked less, Thor was not that interesting or even that good, I had a great comparison to the Hulk, 'nuff said
5. Machine Man - too small of a sample size as analytics people would say, 1971-1978 is my second favorite Jack (favorite is his FF), you missed out on why I felt it was a magnificent and flawed decade of Kirby.
You had Awesome reasons why, but they got ate by the machine. So now you are stuck with the cliff notes
In that case: Thing, Thor, Silver Surfer, Captain America, Machine Man.
2. The Thing — For all the reasons @mwhitt80 and @ChrisMurrin said. And he had the funniest catchphrases.
3. Thor — Yeah, the main stories were dull as dirt. At least until Thor went on his cosmic adventure. But the “Tales of Asgard” backups are the best.
4. Silver Surfer — A somewhat ridiculous concept that Kirby managed to make cool anyway. At least until Stan turned him into an overly melodramatic emo posterboy. I didn't get to read the Surfer’s introduction until much later, so I never really cared for him until I read the Kirby/Lee Silver Surfer graphic novel in my early teens.
5. Machine Man — I was rather late to the Machine Man party, so he resonates less for me.
But yeah we did a wonder woman artists version of this last week, and I had my list typed out and ready to go then I realized how it was being done. So I get it.
Also I wasn't trying to be a jerk or rules Nazi, I just wanted to let you know how the exercise worked for future lists
2. Captain America - Loved that run in the 70's. I need to get that collected! His art of Cap fighting Batroc is classic.
3. Falcon - Once again dynamic art.
4. Kirby Krackle - Mention it and most fans can picture it in their heads!
5a. Darkseid - I am nowhere near a New Gods fan but he created one of DC's biggest bads and even a Marvel Zombie like me understands the significance of that.
5b Big Barda
2) Captain America - I cannot help it, I adore this character. First began reading old issues around 1975-76 and still consider him one of my favorite fictional role-models from when I was a young boy.
3) Silver Surfer - I was captivated by this unique and unusual character. His look is what first caught my attention, and then the pathos and nobility he exhibited.
4) Machine Man - I first discovered this character in an Incredible Hulk crossover, so it was Buscema's version that first grabbed me. However, I eventually picked up all of the Kirby-era material; 2001 and Machine Man (along with Ditko) and even BWS's mini-series - and I really enjoyed it all. A really neat take on A.I. besides the rather stoic Vision.
5) Thor - I like this character, but of these five, he is simply the least interesting to me. I just picked up the 2nd omnibus of Mighty Thor, so my opinion may change, but this is a fine stable of characters, so I doubt it.
2. Captain America - As a whole, Captain America is my favorite Marvel character, limiting it just do the work done by Kirby drops him a little. I think other creators have taken the Kirby foundation of the character and improved upon it.
3. A great character but like with Capt, other creators improved the character over the years.
4. I have never really cared for the Surfer character.
5. I have not read any Machine Man so I have nothing to add.
1. The Thing - for much the same reasons that have already been put forth. Ben Grimm seems the closest character, in the Marvel Universe, to Kirby himself, and the inherent tragedy is certainly something that has made for interesting and engaging stories. "This Man...This Monster" is a Classic, capital-C. And I love how Kirby draws the Thing--and the evolution of his image that we see through the early issues of the FF. #1, easily.
2. Captain America - The "other" Marvel character that I most associate with Kirby, and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Kirby, with Joe Simon, created him before "Marvel" comics became Marvel. Owing to Kirby's long association with Cap, the character just seems, to me, to look "right" when he's drawn by Kirby, particularly Silver Age Kirby, where the kinetic energy that was found in Kirby's drawings really lent itself well to Captain America.
3. The Silver Surfer - Surprisingly, with the Surfer, I picture John Buscema's version first. But underlying that epitomized vision is Kirby's creation. The Surfer is a favorite Marvel character of mine (though, admittedly, if the mopeyness is turned up too high, it becomes grating), and the quick story of creation that Kirby offers in the "Masters of Comic Book Art" documentary (go to 14:13 of the video for Kirby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kkzrs1HUsk or just watch it all; it's fantastic) is one that has always stayed with me.
4. Thor - Other than Simonson's run, and a few other scattered issues, I've not read much Thor, and I don't know if I've read anything by Kirby. That said, I appreciate the character and the mythos that grew up around Thor.
5. Machine Man - I only just read Kirby's 2001 series last year and have yet to read his Machine Man. So, by default, this character ends up at the bottom of the list.
-chris