Kirby Speaks!
It’s been twenty years this week since the passing of the great Jack Kirby so it is only fitting that this week’s FOOM Friday looks at FOOM #11, which celebrated Kirby’s 1975 return to Marvel Comics.
Central to this issue was a four-page interview with Jack Kirby, and while it is thin on details of the books Jack was doing for Marvel at the time, it does contain a remarkable digression about the nature of man, god, and superheroes:
“What happened; what’s happening; what’s going to happen. Those are the essential questions for anybody, and that’s why we create gods, create myths … And I feel that the gods are only idealized versions of ourselves … We already are super-heroes. When we prove ourselves, at the last analysis, whatever we see around us is us … You’ll find out in the end, when everything gets wiped away and you’re left standing in your underwear, all that’s left is you … And you’re all there is. So when we yearn for gods, we’re merely expressing that kind of feeling … ‘I’m all there is; you’re all there is.”
Read the entire interview, below … and be sure to check out my reviews of Kirby’s mid-70s Marvel work:
Kirby is gone, now, and those mysteries he pondered in this article have long since been revealed to him. As was so often the case during his career, Kirby is out in front of the rest of us — again!
We miss you, Jack! Rest in peace.
Posted on February 7, 2014, in FOOM Friday! and tagged F.O.O.M., Jack Kirby, Marvel Comics. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
dangvozden
Paul O'Connor
Kris (not Chris)
markginocchio
miloapama
Dean Compton
Moya
ryanmcswain
Longbox Graveyard 
I find your site fascinating! I don’t know much about comics and I certainly don’t know about the key players such as Mr. Kirby. It’s really interesting to browse around all the detail you’ve presented here. Kudos!
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Oh, and the Kirby quote is epic!
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Welcome to Longbox Graveyard, and thanks for reading and posting!
Feel free to stick around and ask questions. You can get a PhD in comics from the answers my readers will offer.
And you could do worse than to learn about Kirby … if you’ve ever seen a superhero movie, then you’ve certainly been touched by his influence. He is a primary architect of our contemporary cultural imagination.
enjoy!
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I certainly will return. Thank you for the lovely reply!
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As usual, a fantastic post. I would never have the opportunity to read and explore these topics if it weren’t for your diligent graphic art scholarship (they need a specific word for comic book scholars–graphic narrotologists?). My understanding of Jack the King Kirby was very superficial until I started reading you blog. This post really drove home the point that he was a thinking-feeling-breathing red-blooded artist working sincerely and conscientiously in a difficult industry. Your blog is great. Thanks again!
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Twenty years on and Jack is still deeply missed.
Thanks for reading and posting!
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