The Copacetic Comics Company Jack Kirby

Jack Kirby

Title	Creator	Publisher	Series	Price
Jack Magic: The Life and Art of Jack Kirby - Volume Two	Greg Theakston, Jack Kirby	Pure Imagination		$23.75 ($25.00 list)
Read more and comment...	Kirby confidante – and inker! – Greg Theakston, who is well known to readers of these pages as the power behind Pure Imagination publishing, has finally completed the first part in his long awaited recollection, reflection and appreciation of, and on, the life and work of the one and only Jack Kirby, King of Comics. This book is printed in the typical Pure Imagination format: 160, 8 1/2" x 11", B & W pages; softcover. It is liberally illustrated with Kirby comics – and cartoon – art that includes some early rarities. It also includes a selection of photos that featuring Kirby family portraits and snapshots as well as shots of him at the drawing table, hanging with pals and in the army. There are plenty of Kirby books already out there, and sure to be plenty to come, but only a few of them can be written by someone who has spent as much time with him as Theakston has, so we are hopeful that unique stories and insights will unfold within these pages.
Simon & Kirby Crime	Jack Kirby, Joe Simon	Titan Books		$44.44 ($49.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Kirby fans (and everyone else, for that matter), hold onto your hats! Kirby's work here is the most dynamic and powerful work of the first half of his career – some might even say of his entire career! – and will knock your socks off! Clear your mind of any preconceptions and prepare yourself for the dynamic action of Headline Comics, Justice Traps the Guilty and more. While certainly not complete, Simon & Kirby Crime provides a very healthy portion of the classic crime comics produced by Jack Kirby with Joe Simon from 1947 through 1955. These are great stories with art that really puts you back in the day, providing an uncanny sense of the seamy side of post-WWII life. But most of all, it is the amazing daring of Kirby's art here that will impress. The level of pure formal abstraction, the way he breaks down pages – splashes (and double-page splashes) as well as his riffs on the standard six-panel grid – and, especially, what he manages to accomplish within each panel – the incredible bravura compositions and black placements that are at times so intense as to seem to almost prefigure Franz Kline and Robert Motherwell – this is what astonishes. Yes, the paper stock of this volume, while flat, is a tad too reflective, and, yes, the colors are as a result a bit too bright to accurately capture the darker tone of the original comics, but these are mere quibbles next to the work itself on display here. Really, they're that good. Do yourself a favor and get your mitts on this one.
Someday Funnies	Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, C.C. Beck, Wallace Wood and more ...	Abrams ComicArts		$45.00 ($55.00 list)
Read more and comment...	edited by Michel Choquette Well, here's something you don't see everyday: a comics anthology that has been completed but unable to find a publisher for nearly forty years, finally being published! As readers of The Comics Journal #299 – the cover feature of which was an in-depth article on the history of this volume – already know, this volume had reached a legendary/mythical status. Robert Greenfield's introduction squarely situates the work contained in this volume as a document of "The Sixties," While comics critic/historian Jeet Heer's foreword provides ample context and background for the comics work the book contains as well as a chronology of its epic 40-year journey from inception to publication. We've barely dipped out toes in this majorly oversize – 11" x 17" – 216 page, full color hardcover volume containing 120 comic strips by 169 creators, so we're not going to say much about the contents at this time, but we will provide you with some of the contributors, and let you do the math: Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, C.C. Beck, Wallace Wood, Harvey Kurtzman, Arnold Roth, Don Martin, Gahan Wilson, Bobby London, Trina Robbins, Vaughn Bodé, Steve Englehart, Archie Goodwin, Denny O'Neil, Ralph Reese, Alan Weiss, Herb Trimpe, Frank Zappa, Harlan Ellison, William S. Burroughs, Roy Thomas, Barry Smith (before he added Windsor) Guido Crepax, Ralph Steadman, Leo & Diane Dillon, Walter & Louise Simonson, Justin Green, Bill Griffith, Red Grooms, Russ Heath, Jay Kinney, Denis Kitchen, (a very young) Art Spiegelman, (also very young) Stan Mack, Ever Meulen, Joost Swarte, Tom Wolfe, Federico Fellini, and many, many more! Also included is a "92-drawing take on Choquette's travels by Michael Fog" that parallels and brackets the comics the volumes contains. Surprisingly (at least to us), the intent to create an interweaving bracketing tale was a component of the original volume's conception, and blank spaces were deliberately left in many of the pages at Choquette's instruction.
The Jack Kirby Omnibus, Volume One	Jack Kirby	DC		$44.44 ($49.99 list)
Read more and comment...	As much as it pains us to endorse a work published by the corporate behemoth that is Time-Warner, this book is simply too good to pass by. Perhaps the only one able to follow the genius of the Hernandez brothers without seeming puny by comparison, Jack Kirby was a juggernaut of creativity unsurpassed in the annals of art, and this volume presents a great selection of his work, much of which has not been available since its original publication over fifty years ago. With the exception of eight pages of work culled from the pages of issues of Real Fact Comics that were released in the late 1940s, the entirety of the work in this 300 page hardcover volume are from the year's 1957, 1958 and 1959; in other words, the years immediately preceding those in which Kirby (with the able assist of Stan Lee & Co.) remade the world of comics forever: The Marvel Age (aka the 1960s). The production on this volume is surprisingly good, with Digikore and Harry Mendryk doing a great job of reconstructing the original art and colors, all of which are smartly printed in the state of Kentucky right here in the USA, on flat, clean newsprint of low-reflectivity, that, taken together, makes for a reading experience that is as close to reading the original comics as one could have any reason to hope for. Introduction by Mark Evanier
The Will Eisner Shop	Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Greg Theakston	Pure Imagination		$18.88 ($25.00 list)
Read more and comment...	<<•>> edited by Greg Theakston <<•>> 160 pages, roughly 2/3 of which is filled with rare early art from the Will Eisner shop, with the remaining 1/3 devoted to a transcript of a 1939 trial that editor Theakston has managed to track down. This is the infamous trial in which DC sued Fox over the infringement of their copyright and trademark on Superman, and offers some rare insights into the nascent era of the comic book publishing world.
The Simon and Kirby Superheroes	Jack Kirby	Titan Books		$44.44 ($49.95 list)
Read more and comment...	<<•>> introduction by Neil Gaiman <<•>> Wow! 469 – count 'em! – pages of eye-popping, brain-blasting, Golden Age, Atomic Age and Silver Age Jack Kirby artwork! Here we have the complete Kirby runs (which in most cases is the run in its entirety) on Stuntman, Fighting American, Captain 3-D (speaking of which, here's an online preview of a full-length Captain 3-D story, courtesy of the fine folks at BoingBoing), The Double Life of Private Strong, The Adventures of The Fly, and more, all in full color, printed on flat white stock from scans of the original comics. All in full color, printed on flat white stock from scans of the original comics. AND, as if this weren't already more than enough, there are a pair of previously unpublished covers, a pair of previously unpublished double page splashes and a pair of complete stories, one of which, "Stuntman Crowns a Jungle Lord," is, intriguingly, caught mid-process, in which, at least according to an editor's note, only Kirby's actual pencil lines have been inked, before the heavy chiaroscuro detail inking was laid down. The publishers' in house production team has then, evidently, created an era-appropriate color scheme that seamlessly blends in these unpublished pieces into the rest of the book, the last page of which promises further volumes that promise to focus on the great Kirby Romance, Crime and Horror comics that Simon packaged for Prize Comics during their great Atomic Age partnership. Yes!
Thor: Tales of Asgard	Stan Lee, Jack Kirby	Marvel	Thor	$27.99 ($29.99 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	Well, as much as we hate to admit it, every once in a while Marvel Comics gets it right, and this is one of those times. This full color hardcover volume presents 260 pages of Kirby and Lee greatness from the pages of Journey Into Mystery and Thor, all taken from the magic era of their original runs in the early and mid-1960s. Add to that a fairly swell 40+ page bonus section and wild six-page foldout of all six covers of the recent mini-series that forms an impressively dramatic portrait of the major players in the Nordic mythos that is the basis for the stories contained herein, and you've got a pretty darn decent entertainment value. Yes, the stories have been recolored, and so are not 100% true to the spirit of the original, and while we'd be lying if we said this didn't bother us, we will give credit where credit is due and say that, Matt Milla, the colorist assigned the job, chose a suitably muted pallete of colors that helps to counterbalance the glaring brightness of the glossy, clay-coated paperstock that the powers that be at Marvel irritatingly continue to insist on for their archival productions, and so allows – for the most part – the strength and nobility of Kirby's compositions to come through. These are stories that old-timers will be certain to enjoy revisiting and newcomers should find quite worth their while. Anyone interested in advancing their comics skills will find plenty to glean from these (mostly) five-pages tales, especially where it concerns efficient storytelling – Kirby and Lee can cram a lot of both plot and action into five pages, and usually manage to impart a little lesson along the way. Action! Drama! Thrills! Chills! Romance! Adventure! They're all here in the mighty Marvel manner. (more than) 'Nuff said!
The Best of Simon and Kirby	Jack Kirby	Titan Books		$35.00 ($39.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Just say no to those horribly overpriced and poorly produced Marvel Masterworks and DC Archives editions and say hello to this sumptuous oversize hardcover edition that does it right. Not only is this 240 page book, at 9" x 13", a full 30% larger than these volumes, but the images are taken from excellent resolution scans of the original comics and it is printed on high quality flat white stock, and, as if that weren't enough, it is priced 20% less! Kudos to the fine folks at Titan Books for a job well done. And then there's the work itself. The over two dozen tales taken from this two-decade-long partnership that are contained in this volume amply display the breadth of vision and amazing ability of this dynamic duo. The work is divided by genre and then presented chronologically within each of the categories, which are: "The Heroes," "Way Out Science Fiction," "War and Adventure," "The Birth of Romance," "Crime Drama," "The Great Western," "Oh! The Horror!" and "Sick Humor." Simon and Kirby really could do it all! While we here at Copacetic will always maintain that the creative engine was primarily powered by Kirby while the business brains and marketing savvy were Simon's, Mark Evanier, working with the still living Simon to put out this volume simply repeats Jack's consummately diplomatic response to the question of who did what – "We both did everything" – and leaves it at that. No matter how you look at it, though, this team was one of the most important in the history of comics, and this is a book that no self respecting comics fan should be without (unless, or course, they already own the original comics, in which case our hat's off to them). • edited by Steve Saffel, with essays by Mark Evanier and an introduction by Joe Simon
Supermen	Greg Sandowski, Jonathan Lethem, Jack Kirby, Will Eisner and more ...	Fantagraphics		$22.22 ($24.95 list)
Read more and comment...	>> edited and designed by Greg Sadowski >> introduction by Jonathan Lethem >> Ladies and gentlemen! Step right up and see the wonders of the ages! This is where it all began: the protoplasmic early days of the superhero comic book -- wild & heady, zany & crazy, fantastic & non-sensical, rough around the edges; all this and more. Reading these stories is like witnessing history in the making, it is being present at the birth. Sure, we've all read those original Superman and Batman stories along with other DC classics, as well as a those old Captain America, Submariner, Human Torch tales, and maybe a few other Golden Age Marvels (well, Timelys, actually), but these are usually presented in a self-promoting fashion by their corporate owners which mitigates and obscures the historical context in which these works need to be read to fully appreciate their novelty. The work here spans the years 1936 to 1941, with the bulk of it originating in 1939 and 1940. It is divided by publisher and includes the Comics Magazine Company, Chesler, Centaur, Fox, MLJ, Fiction House, Columbia, Your Guide/Rhoda and Novelty Press, Some of the earliest work by the brightest stars of the Golden Age are collected here: Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Lou Fine, Jack Cole, Basil Wolverton, Bill Everett, Ogden Whitney, Dick Briefer, Fred Guardineer, and, yes, Fletcher Hanks. It appears that this volume has been put together employing high quality scans of the original comic books which were then digitally restored and and enhanced and then crisply printed on flat (non-glossy) bright paper stock, and the results are excellent, A minor quibble is that, for our money, we would have preferred an off-white paper that more closely matches the newsprint upon which these comics were originally printed, but this is negligible when stacked next to all that is right with the production. While it should go without saying that no self-respecting comics scholar can pass this up, we hasten to add that anyone who misses the plain old fun that we associate with the term comic book, who wants a jolt of that good ol' four-color energy from back in the day, need look no further than this fine volume.
Captain America and The Falcon: MADBOMB	Jack Kirby	Marvel	Captain America	$14.44 ($16.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Originally produced to coincide with America's Bicentennial, "Madbomb" first appeared in Captain America #193 - 200 (#200 was, amazingly, actually realeased shortly before Jluy 4, 1976). This run marked Kirby's return to Marvel after his five year stint at DC producing the much lauded "Fourth World" series (New Gods, Forever People, etc.). "Madbomb" is the story of a power hungry cabal who adopt the mantle of "patriots" and take to wearing the powdered wigs of the founding fathers while hatching a scheme to grab control of the USA and rule it as "the new aristocracy" who are above the law. In order to effect their scheme they employ powerful technology that distorts people's sense of self, driving them mad. Sound familiar? This is one of Kirby's great works, arguably his mature masterpiece; and by today's lights, it seems like a a prophecy as well. That Marvel finally got around to recognizing the value of this work, and that they managed to release it to coincide with our nation's birthday this time around as well -- and in an important election year to boot -- is nothing short of a minor miracle. Hallelujah!
The Jack Kirby Reader #V.2	Jack Kirby, Greg Theakston	Pure Imagination	The Jack Kirby Reader	$22.50 ($25.00 list)
Read more and comment...	And for the true Kirby aficionado, here is the second stunning volume of classic atom-age Kirby work. Most of the work orignally appeared in the late-forties, but there are a few gems from the fifties as well. Greg Theakston has done it again with this one: the reproduction is simply stellar. You can really appreciate the art here in super-solid black & white. The work collected here is among Kirby's best, including classics from Young Romance, My Date, Justice Traps the Guilty, and Strange World of Your Dreams. Truly amazing.
Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby	Jack Kirby	Marvel	Marvel Visionaries	$25.47 ($29.99 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	While we admit to some trepidation in endorsing a Marvel book cashing in on Kirby, given Jack's treatment by the company, we have to say that this volume is too good to pass it by without remarking upon it. This book is cover to cover Kirby; all 340 full color pages of it. While is spans almost the entire length of Kirby's career, beginning with Red Raven #1 from 1941 and running through What-If #11Fantastic Four #48 - #51, wherein he introduced Both Galactus and the Silver Surfer. Running a close second, are Thor #134 - 136, a three issue run also included here which introduced another of Kirby's greatest concept characters, The High Evolutionary. And it's a hardcover with a nifty Chip Kidd inspired dust jacket, to boot. from 1978, the bulk of the material is from Kirby's classic 1960s work, including what might possibly be the greatest four issue run in the history of superhero comics,
OMAC: One Man Army Corps	Jack Kirby	DC		$22.22 ($24.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Even the U.S. Army has based it's philosophy on Kirby's (We will freely admit that this is pure conjecture on our part, but hey: "Be an Army of One", "One Man Army Corps" -- coincidence or co-optation? You decide!). Anyway, this full color hardcover volume collects the entirety of the original 8-issue series that Kirby created in 1974. OMAC features some of Kirby's most mind-boggling (not to mention prophetic) science fiction concepts melded to non-stop action. This is a work that can be appreciated on just about any level you can think of and represents Kirby's last hurrah at DC in the 70s before jumping back to Marvel to reinvigorate Captain America, The Black Panther and more. OMAC!
Captain America's Bicentennial Battles	Jack Kirby	Marvel	Captain America	$16.99 ($19.99 list)
Read more and comment...	Well, while we're on the subject of Jack Kirby classics we feel that we have no choice but to draw your attention to one of the most underrated of Kirby's works. Originally released as a Marvel Treasury Edition in 1976, this work has been hard to get a hold of for the last twenty years. It's a one-of-a-kind tale that has Budda™ taking Cap on a spin through America's past, present and future and shows Jack playing to his strengths as he works his way through the genres of mythological, western, war, super-hero, and science fiction comics -- all in one epic tale! And not only that, but the twelve-page first chapter is inked by Barry Smith at the height of his powers (the only time Smith -- a life-long Kirby admirer -- ever inked Kirby). This volume also collects Captain America #201 - 205 and so continues collecting the Kirby Cap run that was initiated last summer with the "Mad Bomb" TPB which collected #193 - 200, and which we still have in stock.
The Essential Fantastic Four Volume 4	Jack Kirby, Stan Lee	Marvel	Fantastic Four	$15.29 ($16.99 list)
Read more and comment...	This one collects FF #64 - 83 plus Annuals #5 & #6 -- the two greatest annuals in the history of the Fantastic Four (at least in our humble opinion). Over five-hundred black & white pages of Lee/Kirby greatness. The Silver Surfer, The Inhumans, Doctor Doom, Psycho-Man, Annihulus, Black Panther, Wyatt Wingfoot, the first appearances of Adam Warlock (here known only as "him"), and many, many more timeless characters march across these pages delineated as only Jack "King" Kirby ever could.
Fantastic Four Omnibus	Stan Lee, Jack Kirby	Marvel	Fantastic Four	$84.95 ($99.95 list) OUT OF STOCK!
Read more and comment...	This gigantic, toe-crushing hardcover volume collects the entirety of the first thirty issues -- along with the first annual -- of "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine." Not only does this book provide you with all the material contained in the first three Fantastic Four Archive volumes for $50 less, it includes material NOT found in the archive editions such as the letters pages. AND The contents of FF #1, including the cover and all interior pages, have been newly restored for this volume. It runs 848 pages in total. Yes, the release of this volume is timed to shamelessly exploit the hype surrounding the release of the new Fantastic Four movie which will doubtless betray the greatness contained in these classic issues, but... who cares! This is a great opportunity to get these issues at a (copacetic) price that is less than the cost of buying 31 new FF comics at today's prices (31 x $2.99 = $92.69)! Think about it.
Black Panther	Jack Kirby	Marvel	Black Panther	$17.77 ($19.99 list)
Read more and comment...	In celebration of the launch of the new Black Panther series, Marvel has released this trade collection of Jack Kirby's 1970s Black Panther series. Jack throws in everything here, from cosmic saga and international intrigue to jungle action and romance, super heroics and more. The end result is beyond genre and pure Kirby. We can't pretend to understand how Marvel arrived at its decision to print only the first seven issues of Kirby's twelve issue run; it doesn't make any sense to us. We can only hope that some day they print the remaining five. We're grateful for the chance to revisit this series, though, and to their credit Marvel did a great job on what we have here. KIRBY!
The Complete Jack Kirby: Volume One	Jack Kirby	Pure Imagination		$19.99 ($25.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This book contians all the extant examples of Kirby's earliest works -- much of which was signed not as Kirby (whose given name was, of course, Jacob Kurtzburg), but by at least a half dozen other aliases ranging from Ted Grey to Fred Sande to Jack Curtis. It was not until the amazing science fiction tale "Solar Legion" that the name Jack Kirby first - and quite fittingly -- saw print. There's an almost incredible variety of material here, and it shows Kirby wearing many different hats. There are daily newspaper strips like the Popeye knock-off, "Socko the Seadog", the pirate strip, "The Black Buccaneer", Ripley's Believe-it-or-not wanna be "Facts You Never Knew" and many others; there are full-page Sunday strips like "The Diary of Dr. Hayward" and "Wilton of the West"; and even editorial cartoons! His style is all over the place in these pieces as Kirby adapts himself each time to the demands of the particular assignment. It was when Kirby started producing work directly for comic books he began to "find his voice" and his emblematic style finally starts to coalesce and take the now iconic Kirby form. So, between the covers of this single volume, lucky readers will be able to witness the forging of the most important talent in the history of comic books, that of Jack "King" Kirby! And, not only that, but you will be guided along the way by a series of informative essays written by the editor and publisher of The Complete Kirby series, noted Kirby Scholar, Greg Theakston; and, as an added bonus -- an interview with "the King" himself. 182 pages in all, and now available at a special Copacetic exclusive price.
The Complete Jack Kirby #Sept. - Oct. 1947	Jack Kirby	Pure Imagination		$19.99 ($25.00 list)
Read more and comment...	This amazing 172 page volume is filled with 160 pages of comics, ALL of which were published during just two months in 1947. No wonder Kirby was known as "The King." And these aren't just any comics. No! These two months saw Kirby embark on one of the greatest periods of his career. As editor Greg Theakston explains in his introduction to this volume, Kirby and his creative and business partner, Joe Simon, had, at long last, manged to secure a profit sharing deal -- with the publisher Crestwood (Prize) -- after years of being exploited by publishers Timely (Marvel), National Periodicals (DC). Finally having a direct financial stake in the succcess of their titles unleashed Kirby's inner dynamo and he produced a stunning amount of excellent work. The highlight here is Young Romance #1, in which Simon & Kirby introduced what would quickly become the most successful genre in comics publishing; yes, that's right -- romance comics. Also contained in this amazing volume are Kirby's contributions (5 stories, if you can believe it!) to Justice Traps the Guilty #1, the classic crime series, plus Kirby's lead stories for the ongoing crime comics, Headline Comics #26, Real Clue v.2#7; an action-packed story each to Airboy v.4#8 & #9; and the light-hearted 13-pager for My Date #2, and a funny animal(!) tale featuring Albert the Alligator for Punch and Judy v.3#1 showing that Jack could truly do it all, do it well and do it fast. All these comics in only 60 days, the mind reels... We want to encourage Copacetic customers to venture forth and experience this work, so, for a limted time, we are offering this volume at a super special price.
Jack Kirby Collector #48	Jack Kirby, John Morrow	TwoMorrows Publishing		$8.95 ($9.95 list)
Read more and comment...	Oh, what the heck, we might as well go ahead and go all out in our trumpeting of our customers' pen and ink prowess as this issue of the Kirby Collector focuses on one of our favorite aspects of "The King"'s many talents, namely his ability to render awesomely abstract technological apparatuses - in other words, Kirbytech! And that's the focus of this issue, which features 80 giant-size pages held together by a pair of stunning Kirby covers, the front inked by Terry Austin and the back inked by our pal Tom Scioli, who is also featured in a brief interview that discusses his original, Kirby-inspired series, The Myth of 8-Opus.As an added bonus, there is a feature article penned by Adam McGovern of Dr. Id fame which discusses the concept of Kirby as a genre in his own right. How about them apples!

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