Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics (A Madman Re-Read)

After reading Tom Scioli's biography of Stan Lee, I wanted to revisit his account on the life and times of frequent Lee collaborator, Jack Kirby. There were 2 questions I wanted to answer: 1) how much comic book history is repeated between the two graphic novels? and 2) whose account of the early days of Marvel Comics seems the more honest? 

For the first question, not a whole lot is repeated between the two books. In the two volumes, we see how Stan and Jack first met, why Jack was fired from Atlas, Jack's return to Marvel, Jack's departure for DC and that's about it. No panels seem swiped. The dialogue in the two books is differing. If you read one book and then the other, you will not feel like you were gypped. Though written, illustrated and even lettered by the same creator, the Jack Kirby biography and the Stan Lee account are completely different.

For question #2- I believe Jack Kirby. For one moment do I not doubt that Stan Lee loved the fans. He was an entertainer and he knew that if not for the readers of his comics, he and the rest of the Marvel bullpen would be out of a job. I also believe that Stan cared very deeply about his staff. But when given the chance to excel over them, it's my opinion that Stan Lee would connive, back-stab and steal the glory whenever possible. 

When it comes to Jack Kirby, was he hardheaded? Absolutely. Did he make some horrible business decisions? No doubt. However, a lot of Kirby's trouble was based on trying to be a good provider for his family without the benefit of having a good friend that he could rely on for good advice. I think if the team of Kirby and Joe Simon still existed in the 1960s, Kirby wouldn't have received a screw job from both Stan Lee and the high-ups at Marvel years later when the company began making incredible profits from licensing everything from actions figures to bed sheet sets.

I still love Stan Lee's work. But having now read 2 graphic novel accounts of his life, I have less respect for the Man behind the curtains. I hate to think that the way Stan was mistreated and abused by his caretakers in the last couple of years of his life was karma getting back at him for how he treated Kirby and others. Yet, if Stan Lee's life was plotted out like one of the Marvel co-creator's many, many comic scripts, that ironic twist would have been taken straight from the Stan Lee playbook. 

Since I've read Jack Kirby's biography before and wrote a detailed review that I feel still speaks for how I feel about the book, I'll end my reflection here. Nothing new to add and I would hate to repeat myself. 

Both Tom Scioli biographies are fantastic reads that should be read as a companion set!

I Am Stan: A Graphic Biography of the Legendary Stan Lee

My wife knows that I'm a big fan of both Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and got me both of Tom Scioli's graphic biographies of these two Marvel legends. The favorability of Stan the Man had lessened in my eyes after reading the Kirby book. Stan Lee took advantage of the King. But to be fair, a lot of high ups in the comic book industry used Jack Kirby as their personal door mat. 

Knowing how Stan Lee came off as a massive jerk in Scioli's other work, I held off on reading this book which I got last year for Christmas. But I couldn't hold off any further as I Am Stan was just sitting atop my 'To Read' pile just screaming to be read. 

With Stan Lee as the subject, Tom Scioli does seem to paint the man born as Stanley Lieber in a more favorable light. There's no doubt that Stan was a master storyteller and a lot of the anecdotes he regaled both interviewers and audiences seemed to evolve over time; getting more and more wilder and inaccurate with every retelling. As Scioli utilized a slew of articles and writings by and about Stan Lee, a lot of material is more positive about Stan as history is often told by the victors. However, I am glad to say that Stan Lee is portrayed as far from perfect.

For one thing, Stan was a workaholic. Makes sense as his father was often in-between jobs and seldom actively searching for work. However, Stan's work ethic caused friction between him and his beloved Joan, whom I did not know until I read this work that she was married to some other dude when Stan met her. I also expected Scioli to reveal that Stan was cheating on Joan with possibly his gal Friday, the Fabulous Flo Steinberg. However, it appears that in that regard, Stan was a saint!

Stan Lee was also a businessman. As much as he acted as one of the people in his monthly 'Stan's Soapbox' columns, Stan was the MAN, taking the side of big business when approached to support a comic book writer and artist union in the 1970s. That's despite claiming to be all for it years later once he was nothing more than Marvel's Chairman Emeritus.

You might blame Stan's ego on his family. His mother smothered him with praise; perhaps in hopes he'd grown into someone other than his father. Stan could be modest. However, he also couldn't help himself to ham things up. It's a tale almost as old as time. The guy looked upon as the leader gets all the accolades. As their heads balloon up with the forthcoming perks and riches, the leader forgets the little guys, causing friction if not all around dissension and broken relationships along the way. 

Jack Kirby's love/hate relationship with Stan Lee is covered in large part in this work. Thankfully, Tom Scioli doesn't just repeat everything that transpired between the two founders of the Marvel Universe play out exactly as it did in the earlier Kirby biography. If there was ever a time I would expect a comic book creator to phone it in with repeated swipes of previously published material, it would be in this book. Yet, Scioli doesn't fall into that trap!

Reading this biography has got me itching to give the Kirby graphic novel another read in order to compare notes. I've got a perfect chance to do so coming up in a couple of weeks. I'll be interested to see where Tom Scioli repeats himself as well as portraying incidents that are covered in both histories differently. I don't normally like to do a re-read. But this is one of those exception times where I'm actually looking forward to it.

I'm also hoping that Tom Scioli doesn't stop with the graphic biographies of comicdom's biggest names. Julie Schwartz, Bill Gaines and Steranko are just a few subjects I would love to see Scioli give notice to!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics

  

 Stan Lee had his chance to speak his version of the origins of Marvel Comics many times; most recently in 2015's Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible graphic novel. Sadly, The King, Jack Kirby never had a chance to give his first person account of the founding of the House of Ideas in sequential art form; passing away suddenly in 1994. That is, until now!

Culling from decades of journals, interviews and first person accounts, Go Bots' Joe Scioli grants Jack Kirby the chance to tell his side of the story. It all influences Marvel Comics and DC's Fourth World! From his rough and tumble days in the Brooklyn ghetto (The FF's Ben Grimm) to his bloody tour of duty in the European theater of World War II (Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos) to his epic romance with wife Roz (Big Barda) and of course, his love/hate relationship with Stan Lee (Flunky Flashman), if you always wanted to learn the full story of Jack Kirby- now is your chance!

This graphic novel will definitely sour your opinion of Stan Lee. Marvel's most famous employee was an opportunist. Lee's love of comics and most importantly, it's fans, cannot be disputed. But I think it's arguable to say that popularity went to Stan's head. Unfortunately, the influence Jack Kirby had on the Marvel Universe was railroaded by the Stan Lee popularity train.

Kirby says it best when he tells readers that he 'saved Marvel's ass!' There is absolutely zero doubt in that. Marvel, then Timely, was just about to shut up shop. As Jack Kirby entered the office, the furniture was being repossessed. Loyal secretary turned editor, Flo Steinberg, has gone on record to admit that's true! If not for Jack Kirby, your favorite Marvel characters may never have seen the light of day. Or maybe they would have, but they would have been property of DC Comics or Charlton or even Archie...

The majority of this book is about Marvel. But the third act is deep in  Jack's days at DC Comics; which as epic as they were, they didn't turn out as promising as the King had hoped. As it got harder for Kirby to hold a pencil, he went into animation. I had no idea he was behind some of my favorite 80s Saturday morning cartoons like Thundarr, Turboteen and Mister T!

I loved this biography by Tom Scioli, even if I did get him confused with Ed Piskor. The art was great. The book was full of great stories and facts. I might be on the fence with my former love of Stan Lee. But my love for Kirby is unwavering.  If anything, this book has given me a desire to finally bite the bullet and complete my Sgt. Fury collection. 

The King may never have gotten his just due when he was alive. I'll admit, I never gave the New Gods the respect they deserved until I was in my 20s. But, in the past 20 years, Kirby has been cemented as a member of the Mount Rushmore of Comics. Thanks to books like this, Jack Kirby might finally be placed on his undisputed throne as the one true King of Comics!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Fantastic Four: Grand Design #2

Issue #2 of Grand Design was such a disappointment. I feel in love with Tom Scioli's (The Myth of 8-Opus) premier issue which covered in brief yet amazing detail the early history of both the Marvel Universe and of the Fantastic Four. In that chapter, Scioli did mix some modern mythos of the MCU with the original blueprints lain by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. But by doing this, Tom Scioli helped to clarify some of the plot holes that had plagued the early days of the Marvel Age of Comics. In my opinion, this concept filled-in the cracks perfectly to forge over 80 years of comics into a single cohesive timeline. So, what the heck went wrong with issue #2?

This issue opens with the beginning of what fans call 'The Galactus Trilogy'. The first 2-3 pages are straight from Fantastic Four #48-49. But then Scioli decides to mash-up multiple timelines and story-lines into, well, I really don't know what. 

Whereas Tom Scioli sought to make a cohesive timeline in Grand Design #1, it seems that Scioli decided to make a 'What If' story in this last issue. Scioli combines elements from Earth X, Days of Future Past, and even a couple of stories from the original What If series of 1977-1984. If Tom Scioli had either kept both issues of this miniseries as a chronicle of the FF or had both issues become a hodge-podge of Fantastic Four lore, I would have been happy. I did not like this sudden transition between the two issues.

After completing issue #1 was disappointed to learn that Grand Design was limited to only 2 issues. But after finishing this chapter, I'm okay with their not being more. I don't know if I'd even buy a third issue after having plodded through this train wreck. I must admit that the artwork was way more improved. But I'd rather have a better story over artwork just about any day!

A deluxe edition that combines issues #1 and 2, plus a remastered classic Fantastic Four issue is due out quite soon. Skip it! The classic tale has been reprinted several times in it's story-line continuance. Look for that instead. Then, just seek out the first issue of Grand Design and pretend that the last page doesn't say 'To Be Continued.' Save the $4 you'd spend on this issue on something else.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Fantastic Four: Grand Design #1

With artwork that looks like it was done with a BIC ballpoint by a high schooler chilling during study hall, you would think that I wouldn't be on board wanting to read this. But I'm actually a big fan of Tom Scioli's work. His New Gods inspired Myth of 8-Opus was a yard sale find that I fell in love with. 

Scioli is very much a disciple of Jack Kirby. That following is what inspired Marvel Comics to hire Tom Scioli to create this 2-issue miniseries devoted to Kirby's amazing historic run on Fantastic Four. 

Fantastic Four: Grand Design doesn't seek to reboot the First Family of Marvel. I was very afraid of that was going to be the case. Instead, Scioli seeks to chronicle the beginning's of the Marvel Age of Comics while clarifying some of the oft confusing errors that earned scores of Marvel fans the coveted 'No Prize.' 

With the creation of the FF, Stan Lee was trying to create an all-encompassing universe in which all of his superheroes lived in the same world. Laying the foundation of such a project is a lofty goal that paid off beautifully for the House of Ideas. But such architecture has it's flaws in the design phase. Thus you have this comic- Grand Design. 

Tom Scioli's project was a labor of love. The Gobots writer/artist could have only focused on the lives of Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben. But he takes on the added task of examining the origins of the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe. That's a side of Marvel that is overlooked quite often because it can be confusing and very complex. But Tom Scioli did a very good job explaining some areas of the MCU that had been a mystery to me for quite some time.

A great who's who for established Fantastic Four fans. It's also a very concise but still abundant introduction for those who want to dig into the mythos of the FF.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.