Misplaced Pages

#101898

138-630: The effect is named after its creator, comic artist Jack Kirby . While the Kirby Krackle in its mature form first appeared in Kirby's work during 1965–1966 (in Fantastic Four and Thor ), comics historian Harry Mendryk of the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center has traced the earliest version of the stylistic device as far back as 1940 to Jack Kirby and Joe Simon 's Blue Bolt #5. As Joe Simon

276-659: A 5-part mini-series titled Silver Surfer: Black was released featuring art from Tradd Moore in collaboration with writing from Donny Cates. The series is an extension of a Guardians of the Galaxy storyline in which the Surfer was sucked into a black hole and ejected into unfamiliar space territory. This run follows the Surfer as he traverses the spaceways on a journey back home. Silver Surfer later plays an important role in King in Black storyline. With

414-514: A contractual dispute in which editor Jack Schiff , who had been involved in getting Kirby and the Wood brothers the Sky Masters contract, claimed he was due royalties from Kirby's share of the strip's profits. Schiff successfully sued Kirby. Some DC editors had criticized him over art details, such as not drawing "the shoelaces on a cavalryman's boots" and showing a Native American "mounting his horse from

552-490: A cosmic purview informed by Kirby's seemingly boundless imagination—one well-matched with the consciousness-expanding youth culture of the 1960s. For almost a decade, Kirby provided Marvel's house style, creating many of the Marvel characters and designing their visual motifs. At the editor-in-chief's request, he often provided new-to-Marvel artists "breakdown" layouts, over which they would pencil in order to become acquainted with

690-677: A day. His first published work at Atlas was the cover of and the seven-page story "I Discovered the Secret of the Flying Saucers" in Strange Worlds #1 (Dec. 1958). Initially with Christopher Rule as his regular inker, and later Dick Ayers , Kirby drew across all genres, from romance comics to war comics to crime comics to Western comics, but made his mark primarily with a series of supernatural-fantasy and science fiction stories featuring giant, drive-in movie -style monsters with names like Groot ,

828-737: A format that would later be called the trade paperback , which would eventually become standard practice in the industry. However, Infantino and company were not receptive and Kirby's proposals only went as far as producing the one-shot black-and-white magazines Spirit World and In the Days of the Mob in 1971. Kirby later produced other DC series including OMAC , Kamandi , The Demon , and Kobra as well as working on such extant features as " The Losers " in Our Fighting Forces . Together with former partner Joe Simon for one last time, he worked on

966-624: A house for his family in Mineola, New York on Long Island . It was the family's home for the next 20 years; Kirby worked out of a basement studio just 10 feet (3.0 m) wide, which the family referred to jocularly as "The Dungeon". He moved the family to Southern California in early 1969, both to live in a drier climate for the sake of daughter Lisa's health and to be closer to the Hollywood studios Jack Kirby believed might provide work. In an interview, Kirby's granddaughter Jillian Kirby said Jack Kirby

1104-418: A lieutenant, learning that comics artist Kirby was in his command, made him a scout who would advance into towns and draw reconnaissance maps and pictures, an extremely dangerous duty. After the war, Simon arranged work for Kirby and himself at Harvey Comics , where, through the early 1950s, the duo created such titles as the kid-gang adventure Boy Explorers Comics , the kid-gang Western Boys' Ranch ,

1242-691: A new incarnation of the Sandman . Kirby produced three issues of the 1st Issue Special anthology series and created Atlas the Great , a new Manhunter , and the Dingbats of Danger Street . Kirby's production assistant of the time, Mark Evanier , recounted that DC's policies of the era were not in sync with Kirby's creative impulses. Also Evanier said that he was often forced to work on characters and projects which he did not like. Meanwhile, some artists at DC did not want Kirby there, as he threatened their positions in

1380-483: A portion of his Power Cosmic, which she uses to revitalize the plant life of their ravaged homeworld. After the Surfer aids the Fantastic Four against Galactus's latest herald Terrax , The Surfer eventually pierces Galactus's barrier by acting on a suggestion of trying to pass through on a spaceship instead of via his own power on his surfboard. He also makes peace with Galactus by rescuing current herald Nova from

1518-473: A rarity, Kirby inked himself. Kirby recast the archer as a science-fiction hero, moving him away from his Batman-formula roots, but, in the process, alienating Green Arrow co-creator Mort Weisinger . He began drawing Sky Masters of the Space Force , a newspaper comic strip, written by the Wood brothers and initially inked by the unrelated Wally Wood . Kirby left National Comics Publications due largely to

SECTION 10

#1732858146102

1656-468: A second Silver Surfer, both serving as the twin-heralds of the second Galactus . In 2011, IGN ranked the Silver Surfer 41st in its "Top 100 Comic Heroes" list. The Silver Surfer was portrayed by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne in the 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer . Jack Kirby commented on the character's creation during an interview stating "My conception of

1794-474: A sense, like my father's factory. They were manufacturing pictures." Around that time, the American comic book industry was booming. Kirby began writing and drawing for the comic book packager Eisner & Iger , one of a handful of firms creating comics on demand for publishers. Through that company, Kirby did what he remembered as his first comic book work, for Wild Boy Magazine . This included such strips as

1932-700: A series of interlinked titles under the blanket sobriquet " The Fourth World ", which included a trilogy of new titles— New Gods , Mister Miracle , and The Forever People —as well as the extant Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen . Kirby picked the latter book because the series was without a stable creative team and he did not want to cost anyone a job. The three books Kirby originated dealt with aspects of mythology he had previously touched upon in Thor . The New Gods would establish this new mythos, while in The Forever People Kirby would attempt to mythologize

2070-580: A sleep-like meditation to dream. He can survive in nearly any known natural environment, including deep space, hyperspace, black holes and stars . The Surfer can project energy in various forms for offensive and defensive use, including force fields, bolts of cosmic force powerful enough to destroy entire planets, and create black holes. He can utilize the Power Cosmic to augment his superhuman strength to indeterminate levels. The Surfer can heal both himself and other living organisms, though he cannot raise

2208-476: A special announcement to make. As I started telling about Jack's return, to a totally incredulous audience, everyone's head started to snap around as Kirby himself came waltzin' down the aisle to join us on the rostrum! You can imagine how it felt clownin' around with the co-creator of most of Marvel's greatest strips once more." Back at Marvel, Kirby both wrote and drew the monthly Captain America series as well as

2346-572: A staggering 92% of its print run, inspiring Crestwood to increase the print run by the third issue to triple the initial number of copies. Initially published bimonthly, Young Romance quickly became a monthly title and produced the spin-off Young Love —together the two titles sold two million copies per month, according to Simon —later joined by Young Brides and In Love , the latter "featuring full-length romance stories". Young Romance spawned dozens of imitators from publishers such as Timely, Fawcett , Quality , and Fox Feature Syndicate . Despite

2484-493: A then-reasonable $ 15-a-week salary. He began to explore superhero narrative with the comic strip The Blue Beetle , published from January to March 1940, starring a character created by the pseudonymous Charles Nicholas , a house name that Kirby retained for the three-month-long strip. During this time, Kirby met and began collaborating with cartoonist and Fox editor Joe Simon , who in addition to his staff work continued to freelance. Simon recalled in 1988, "I loved Jack's work and

2622-462: A year's worth of material. Kirby was drafted into the U.S. Army on June 7, 1943. After basic training at Camp Stewart , near Savannah, Georgia, he was assigned to Company F of the 11th Infantry Regiment . He landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on August 23, 1944, 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 months after D-Day , although Kirby's reminiscences would place his arrival just 10 days after. Kirby recalled that

2760-433: Is composed of a nearly impervious, cosmically powered silvery material similar to his own skin. The board is mentally linked to the Surfer and moves in response to his mental commands even when he is not in physical contact with it. The board is nearly indestructible, but on the rare occasions it has been damaged or destroyed, the Surfer can repair or recreate it with little effort. The Surfer can attack opponents by directing

2898-520: Is considered Marvel's first graphic novel . Still dissatisfied with Marvel's treatment of him, and with an offer of employment from Hanna-Barbera , a job located in nearby Hollywood, Kirby left Marvel to work in animation. In that field for Ruby-Spears Productions he did designs for Turbo Teen , Thundarr the Barbarian and other animated series for television. In addition to a superior pay to his comics work, Kirby enjoyed excellent relations with

SECTION 20

#1732858146102

3036-801: Is controlled by the Carnage symbiote , which is seeking revenge for the destruction of its homeworld. Later, the Surfer works with the alien Annunaki race to gather and protect some of Earth's most extraordinarily gifted children. In the end, one of these children, Ellie Waters, saves Earth from the godlike Marduk entity, preventing the Apocalypse and reordering reality as if the Marduk crisis had never happened (though Ellie alone apparently retains her memories of these events). The Surfer resumes his interstellar wanderings, but promises to be ready to aid his adopted homeworld should Earth ever need him. During his travels,

3174-626: The Ben 10 franchise. Kirby Krackle is incorporated into the design of the Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! attraction in Avengers Campus at Disney California Adventure , and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur . Philosophy professor and author Jeffrey J. Kripal wrote: For Kirby, the human body is a manifestation or crystallization of finally inexplicable energies—a superbody. [...] What Mesmer called animal magnetism , Reichenbach knew as

3312-602: The Asgardians . The battle ended when the Silver Surfer chose to leave his post as herald and guard an Asgardian artifact. Galactus "tethers" him to Asgard's location in Oklahoma , resulting in his powers waning the further he travels from Asgard, and grants him the ability to return to human form. During the War with the Serpent , Silver Surfer aids Doctor Strange, Namor, Loa , and Lyra in

3450-472: The Bible , and I came up with Galactus. And there I was in front of this tremendous figure, who I knew very well because I've always felt him. I certainly couldn't treat him in the same way I could any ordinary mortal. And I remember in my first story, I had to back away from him to resolve that story. The Silver Surfer is, of course, the fallen angel . When Galactus relegated him to Earth, he stayed on Earth, and that

3588-626: The CIA 's " Canadian Caper ", in which some members of the U.S. embassy in Tehran , Iran, who had avoided capture in the Iran hostage crisis , were able to escape the country posing as members of a movie location-scouting crew. In the early 1980s, Kirby and Pacific Comics , a new, non-newsstand comic-book publisher, made one of the industry's earliest deals for creator-owned series, resulting in Captain Victory and

3726-560: The Captain America's Bicentennial Battles one-shot in the oversized treasury format . He created the series The Eternals , which featured a race of inscrutable alien giants, the Celestials , whose behind-the-scenes intervention in primordial humanity would eventually become a core element of Marvel Universe continuity. He produced an adaptation and expansion of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey , as well as an abortive attempt to do

3864-572: The European Theater in World War II , Kirby produced work for DC Comics, Harvey Comics , Hillman Periodicals and other publishers. At Crestwood Publications , he and Simon created the genre of romance comics and later founded their own short-lived comic company, Mainline Publications . Kirby was involved in Timely's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics , which in the next decade became Marvel. There, in

4002-498: The Hulk and Namor during these wanderings, the Surfer forms the "Titans Three", a group dedicated to battling evil on Earth. Soon, Doctor Strange joins the group and it becomes "The Defenders ". Surfer stays with them for a while, but his overwhelming desire to be free of Earth and his frequent collisions with Galactus's energy-draining barrier eventually drives him to leave the group. The Surfer finally pierces Galactus's barrier with

4140-665: The Hulk , Thor , the X-Men and Magneto , Doctor Doom , Uatu the Watcher , Ego the Living Planet , the Inhumans and their hidden city of Attilan, and the Black Panther (comics' first black superhero) and his Afrofuturist nation, Wakanda . Kirby initially was assigned to pencil the first Spider-Man story, but when he showed Lee the first six pages, Lee recalled, "I hated the way he

4278-566: The Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City ; he grew up there. His parents, Rose (Bernstein) and Benjamin Kurtzberg, were Austrian-Jewish immigrants, and his father earned a living as a garment factory worker. Kirby grew up in the Lower East Side neighborhood of New York City . Among his close friends was Leon Klinghoffer , who grew up in the same neighborhood, and who in 1985

Kirby Krackle - Misplaced Pages Continue

4416-522: The Marvel Cinematic Universe . Kirby was married to Rosalind Goldstein in 1942. They had four children and remained married until his death from heart failure in 1994, at the age of 76. The Jack Kirby Awards and Jack Kirby Hall of Fame were named in his honor, and he is known as " The King " among comics fans for his many influential contributions to the medium. Jack Kirby was born Jacob Kurtzberg on August 28, 1917, at 147 Essex Street on

4554-572: The New York Times : Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first appeared in the comic book Fantastic Four #48, published in 1966. The Silver Surfer is a humanoid alien with metallic skin who can travel through space with

4692-693: The Power Cosmic , granting him superhuman strength, endurance, and senses and the ability to absorb and manipulate the universe's ambient energy. The Surfer can navigate through interstellar space and hyperspace , which he can enter after exceeding the speed of light allowing traversing interstellar and intergalactic distances to other galaxies millions and even billions of light years away. He has proven capable of time travel on several occasions and can transport other people through time. The Surfer sustains himself by converting matter into energy; he does not require food, water, air, or sleep, but occasionally enters

4830-520: The Sandman feature in Adventure Comics and created the superhero Manhunter . In July 1942 they began the Boy Commandos feature. The ongoing "kid gang" series of the same name, launched later that same year, was the creative team's first National feature to graduate into its own title. It sold over a million copies a month, becoming National's third best-selling title. They scored a hit with

4968-602: The Skrulls . Galactus declares the Surfer's exile ended. The Surfer immediately revisits his homeworld, but Shalla-Bal, in his absence, had become empress of the rejuvenated Zenn-La and is unable to renew their romance. Embroiled in fresh hostilities between the interstellar Kree and Skrull empires, the Surfer also intervenes in a series of plots by the Elders of the Universe , who plan to become supremely powerful by destroying Galactus and

5106-602: The Sub-Mariner and Captain America. In later years, Lee and Kirby disputed over who deserved credit for such creations as The Fantastic Four . The story frequently cited as Lee and Kirby's finest achievement is " The Galactus Trilogy " in Fantastic Four #48–50 (March–May 1966), chronicling the arrival of Galactus , a cosmic giant who wanted to devour the planet, and his herald, the Silver Surfer . Fantastic Four #48

5244-579: The U.S. Army and serving in the European Theater in World War II , Kirby corresponded with his wife regularly by v-mail , with Roz sending daily letters while she worked in a lingerie shop and lived with her mother at 2820 Brighton 7th Street in Brooklyn. During the winter of 1944, Kirby suffered severe frostbite and was taken to a hospital in London for recovery. Doctors considered amputating Kirby's legs, which had turned black, but he eventually recovered and

5382-534: The blue od , and Reich saw as a radiating blue cosmic orgone becomes in Jack Kirby a trademark energetics signaled by "burst lines" and a unique energy field of black, blobby dots that has come to be affectionately known as the "Kirby Krackle" [...]. The final result was a vision of the human being as a body of frozen energy that, like an atomic bomb, could be released with stunning effects, for good or for evil. These metaphysical energies, I want to suggest, constitute

5520-402: The cosmos searching for planets for Galactus to consume. When his travels took him to Earth , he met the Fantastic Four , who helped him rediscover his nobility of spirit. Betraying Galactus, he saved Earth but was exiled there as punishment. In the alternate continuity of Earth X and Universe X , Shalla-Bal , Norrin's lover and the empress of Zenn-La, is depicted as joining him as

5658-587: The " Planet Hulk " storyline in 2006, the Surfer was featured in its spin-off series starring the Hulk's son Skaar in 2008, both written by Greg Pak . The Silver Surfer received a sixth volume, an eponymous 5-issue miniseries written by Pak, debuting in February 2011. He was also a core cast member in The Thanos Imperative (2010), Annihilators (2011), and Fear Itself : The Deep (2011). Beginning in 2011,

Kirby Krackle - Misplaced Pages Continue

5796-468: The 1960s, Kirby cocreated many of the company's major characters, including Ant-Man , the Avengers , the Black Panther , the Fantastic Four , the Hulk , Iron Man , the Silver Surfer , Thor , and the X-Men , among many others. Kirby's titles garnered high sales and critical acclaim, but in 1970, feeling he had been treated unfairly, largely in the realm of authorship credit and creators' rights, Kirby left

5934-514: The 1980s, including a brief revival of his "Fourth World" saga in the 1984 and 1985 Super Powers miniseries and the 1985 graphic novel The Hunger Dogs . DC executives Jenette Kahn and Paul Levitz had Kirby re-design the Fourth World characters for the Super Powers toyline as a way of entitling him to royalties for several of his DC creations. In 1985, Kirby and Gil Kane helped to create

6072-545: The Bible, made for a heady brew, but the scope of his vision has endured." In 2007, comics writer Grant Morrison commented that "Kirby's dramas were staged across Jungian vistas of raw symbol and storm ... The Fourth World saga crackles with the voltage of Jack Kirby's boundless imagination let loose onto paper." In addition to his artistic efforts, Kirby proposed a variety of new formats for comics such as planning to collect his published Fourth World stories into square-bound books,

6210-539: The Destroyer into the series. Under Jim Starlin and later Ron Marz, the series would receive acclaim and sales boost due to Silver Surfer's involvement with Starlin's Infinity Trilogy, with George Pérez and J. M. DeMatteis also having brief writing stints on the series as well. Additional artists included Tom Grindberg , Ron Garney , and Jon J. Muth , as well as periodic guest spots by John Buscema . The title experienced great initial success which allowed Marvel to push

6348-550: The Enigma Force is and frees it from the symbiotes. Knull reels in pain and Eddie Brock is chosen to be the new Captain Universe . As Silver Surfer faces off against him, Knull recalls his previous fight against him. Through the God of Light, Silver Surfer assumes a chrome form and turns his surfboard into a sword while Knull transforms his armor into one that would enable him to combat Silver Surfer. As Knull begins to fight Silver Surfer,

6486-468: The Galactic Rangers , and the six-issue miniseries Silver Star (later collected in hardcover format in 2007). This, together with similar actions by other independent comics publishers as Eclipse Comics (where Kirby co-created the character Destroyer Duck in a benefit comic-book series published to help Steve Gerber fight a legal case against Marvel), helped establish a precedent to end

6624-463: The Hulk is eventually able to destroy the Surfer's obedience disk. The Hulk and several other slaves and gladiators are freed when the Surfer uses the Power Cosmic to remove their own obedience disks and give them a way out of the arena, although the Hulk declines the Surfer's offer to take him back to Earth. During the Annihilation war, the Silver Surfer again becomes Galactus's herald to help save

6762-523: The Hulk's son, Skaar , and is enslaved by an obedience disc. The conflict is ended when Skaar's mother Caiera sacrifices her soul and Old Power as sustenance for Galactus. Unfortunately, Galactus now seems addicted to the Old Power and has begun searching for other planets containing it to sate himself. After an encounter with the High Evolutionary , the Silver Surfer and Galactus battled Thor and

6900-415: The Marvel look. As artist Gil Kane described: Jack was the single most influential figure in the turnaround in Marvel's fortunes from the time he rejoined the company ... It wasn't merely that Jack conceived most of the characters that are being done, but ... Jack's point of view and philosophy of drawing became the governing philosophy of the entire publishing company and, beyond the publishing company, of

7038-522: The Silver Surfer began appearing regularly in The Mighty Thor and a new volume of Defenders , both written by Matt Fraction . In March 2014, Silver Surfer volume 7 began as part of All-New Marvel NOW! by writer Dan Slott , artist Mike Allred , and colorist Laura Allred . In January 2016 Silver Surfer volume 8 began with a special 50th-anniversary edition expected release in March 2016. In 2019,

SECTION 50

#1732858146102

7176-646: The Silver Surfer was a human being from space in that particular form. He came in when everybody began surfing — I read about it in the paper. The kids in California were beginning to surf . I couldn't do an ordinary teenager surfing so I drew a surfboard with a man from outer space on it." Kirby further elaborated on the narrative role the character was created as "My inspirations were the fact that I had to make sales and come up with characters that were no longer stereotypes. In other words, I couldn't depend on gangsters, I had to get something new. For some reason I went to

7314-422: The Silver Surfer. Radd had intended to lead Galactus to uninhabited planets, but Galactus tampers with his soul to prevent this. Radd serves Galactus for an unspecified amount of time. Eventually, the Surfer summons his master to Earth. Here the Surfer meets the Fantastic Four and Alicia Masters . Touched by their nobility, he rebels against Galactus, who is eventually driven off. Before he leaves, he confines

7452-467: The Surfer is captured by a portal of the Sakaar Empire . Left weakened and vulnerable by his trip through the portal, the Surfer is subdued and implanted with an obedience disk to ensure he remains loyal to them. Fighting as a gladiator (and believed to be the fabled 'Sakaarson' due to his appearance), the Surfer is finally forced to face the Hulk along with his Warbound . Through teamwork and distraction,

7590-532: The Surfer is overcome with grief until he is able to forgive himself. The Surfer finds interstellar allies in Adam Warlock 's Infinity Watch and the "Star Masters" team, and he begins attending occasional Defenders reunions. The Surfer returns home to Zenn-La to find that the planet has vanished, and learns it was actually destroyed in the 1940s (Earth time) by the entity known as the Other. Zenn-La and its people which

7728-453: The Surfer repeatedly encountered since leaving Galactus's service were actually reproductions, created by Galactus so that the Surfer would have a home to return to. Losing his capacity for emotion again, the Surfer returns to Earth. He later regains his personality during a time-travel adventure and sharing a romance with Alicia Masters. The two ultimately part as friends after many adventures together. Silver Surfer temporarily bonds with and

7866-451: The Surfer to Earth with an invisible barrier that affects only him. During his exile, the Surfer fights numerous villains, including Doctor Doom , who wants his Power Cosmic, and Mephisto , who wants his soul. The Surfer's only ally during these trials is a physicist by the name of Al B. Harper, who eventually sacrifices himself to save the world from the Stranger . Banding together with

8004-487: The Surfer, even asking other writers not to use him as a general rule, and with Kirby collaborated on a seminal 1978 graphic novel starring the character, the only original story featured in the Marvel Fireside Books series. After a 1982 one-shot by writer-artist John Byrne (with scripting by Stan Lee), the Surfer appeared in his second solo ongoing title in 1987. Initially written by Steve Englehart ,

8142-585: The Thing from Planet X; Grottu, King of the Insects; and Fin Fang Foom for the company's many anthology series, such as Amazing Adventures , Strange Tales , Tales to Astonish , Tales of Suspense , and World of Fantasy . His bizarre designs of powerful, unearthly creatures proved a hit with readers. Additionally, he freelanced for Archie Comics around this time, reuniting briefly with Joe Simon to help develop

8280-424: The Western Bullseye: Western Scout ; the war comic Foxhole because EC Comics and Atlas Comics were having success with war comics, but promoting theirs as being written and drawn by actual veterans; In Love because their earlier romance comic Young Love was still being widely imitated; and the crime comic Police Trap , which claimed to be based on genuine accounts by law-enforcement officials. After

8418-432: The agreement, but reserved the right to reclaim the art if Kirby violated the deal. After Kirby publicly slammed Marvel, calling the company thugs and claiming they were arbitrarily holding his creations, Marvel finally returned (after two years of deliberations) approximately 1,900 or 2,100 pages of the estimated 10,000 to 13,000 Kirby drew for the company. For the producer Charles Band , Jack Kirby made concept art for

SECTION 60

#1732858146102

8556-409: The aid of Reed Richards and temporarily escapes Earth. He discovers, though, that his homeworld has been ravaged by Galactus and Shalla-Bal has been abducted by Mephisto and taken to Earth. Even though it means trapping himself once more, the Surfer returns to Earth to battle and defeat Mephisto. Before being vanquished, Mephisto sends Shalla-Bal back to Zenn-La, but the Surfer manages to endow her with

8694-417: The aid of his surfboard -like craft. Originally a young astronomer named Norrin Radd on the planet Zenn-La, he saved his homeworld from the planet devourer, Galactus , by serving as his herald. Imbued in return with some portion of Galactus' Power Cosmic , he acquired vast power, a new body and a surfboard-like craft on which he could travel faster than light . Now known as the Silver Surfer, he roamed

8832-414: The anthology title Chamber of Darkness , and received full credit for doing so; but in 1970, Kirby was presented with a contract that included unfavorable terms such as a prohibition against legal retaliation. When Kirby objected, the management refused to negotiate any contract changes, bluntly dismissing his contribution to Marvel's success since they considered Lee solely responsible. Kirby, although he

8970-537: The art for the remaining issues of the series after Kirby died. In the early 1940s, Kirby and his family moved to Brooklyn . Kirby met Rosalind "Roz" Goldstein, who lived in the same Brooklyn apartment building. The pair began dating soon afterward. Kirby proposed to Goldstein on her 18th birthday, and the two became engaged. They married on May 23, 1942. The couple had four children: Susan (b. December 6, 1945), Neal (b. May 1948), Barbara (b. November 1952), and Lisa (b. September 1960). After being drafted into

9108-412: The backup story of Fantastic Four Annual #5 (Nov. 1967). Beginning in August 1968, Lee launched the solo title The Silver Surfer . John Buscema was penciller for the first 17 issues of the series, with Kirby returning for the 18th and final issue. The first seven issues, which included anthological "Tales of the Watcher" backup stories, were 72-page (with advertising), 25-cent "giants", as opposed to

9246-420: The board against them, and the board is capable of temporarily absorbing and imprisoning other beings. When Galactus exiled the Surfer to Earth, his means of imprisonment was linked to the board. When the Surfer and the Fantastic Four realized this, the Surfer put it to the test by leaving the board planet-side and entering space in the Four's spacecraft. Once he was free of Earth, the Surfer remotely converted

9384-580: The by-then-defunct Pacific Comics, and then licensed to Topps for what became the " Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga " mythos. Phantom Force was the last comic book Kirby worked on before his death. The story was co-written by Kirby with Michael Thibodeaux and Richard French, based on an eight-page pitch for an unused Bruce Lee comic in 1978. Issues #1 and 2 were published by Image Comics with various Image artists inking over Kirby's pencils. Issue #0 and issues #3–8 were published by Genesis West, with Kirby providing pencils for issues #0 and 4. Thibodeaux provided

9522-532: The character into other media, including a 1990 video game , 1992 trading card set, and 1998 animated series , as well as spinning off a variety of other comics series including Cosmic Powers , Cosmic Powers Unlimited , Captain Marvel vol. 2, and Star Masters . It ran 146 issues, through 1998. The next year it was followed by the two-issue miniseries , Silver Surfer: Loftier Than Mortals . A two-issue Silver Surfer miniseries (later collected as Silver Surfer: Parable ), scripted by Lee and drawn by Moebius ,

9660-514: The company for rival DC. At DC, Kirby created his Fourth World saga which spanned several comics titles. While these series proved commercially unsuccessful and were canceled, the Fourth World's New Gods have continued as a significant part of the DC Universe . Kirby returned to Marvel briefly in the mid-to-late 1970s, then ventured into television animation and independent comics . In his later years, Kirby, who has been called "the William Blake of comics", began receiving great recognition in

9798-501: The company; they also had bad blood from previous competition with Marvel and legal problems with him. Since he was working from California, they were able to undermine his work through redesigns in the New York office. At the comic book convention Marvelcon '75, in 1975, Stan Lee used a Fantastic Four panel discussion to announce that Kirby was returning to Marvel after having left in 1970 to work for DC Comics. Lee wrote in his monthly column, "Stan Lee's Soapbox", "I mentioned that I had

9936-603: The concept and designs for the Ruby-Spears animated television series The Centurions . A comic-book series based on the show was published by DC and a toy line produced by Kenner . In the twilight of his life, Kirby spent a great deal of time sparring with Marvel executives over the ownership rights of his original page boards. At Marvel, many of these pages owned by the company (due to outdated and legally dubious copyright claims) were given away as promotional gifts to Marvel clients or simply stolen from company warehouses. After

10074-871: The dead, and he has proven capable of revitalizing and evolving organic life on a planet-wide scale. He can cast illusions, create interdimensional portals to other locations including microverses, manipulate and phase through solid matter, and exercise some level of control over the astral plane . However, using these abilities results in his becoming greatly weakened, making their use limited. His senses enable him to detect objects and concentrations of energy light years away and to perceive matter and energy in subatomic detail, including life energies of living beings. The Surfer can even see through time, and can achieve limited perception of past and future events in his general vicinity with concentration. He has demonstrated telepathic ability, including mind-reading, and can influence human emotion and sensation. The Surfer's board

10212-470: The duo 25 percent of the profits from the feature. The first issue of Captain America Comics , released in early 1941, sold out in days, and the second issue's print run was set at over a million copies. The title's success established the team as a notable creative force in the industry. After the first issue was published, Simon asked Kirby to join the Timely staff as the company's art director. With

10350-474: The duo rearranged and republished artwork from an old Crestwood story in In Love , Crestwood refused to pay the team, who sought an audit of Crestwood's finances. Upon review, the pair's attorneys stated the company owed them $ 130,000 for work done over the past seven years. Crestwood paid them $ 10,000 in addition to their recent delayed payments. The partnership between Kirby and Simon had become strained. Simon left

10488-542: The entire field ... [Marvel took] Jack and use[d] him as a primer. They would get artists ... and they taught them the ABCs, which amounted to learning Jack Kirby ... Jack was like the Holy Scripture and they simply had to follow him without deviation. That's what was told to me ... It was how they taught everyone to reconcile all those opposing attitudes to one single master point of view. Highlights of Kirby's tenure also include

10626-584: The films Doctor Mortalis and Mindmaster , which were later released as Doctor Mordrid (1992) and Mandroid (1993), respectively. Doctor Mordrid began as a planned adaptation of the Marvel Comics character Dr. Strange , but Band's option expired. For Topps Comics , founded in 1993, Kirby retained ownership of characters used in multiple series of what the company dubbed " The Kirbyverse ". These titles were derived mainly from designs and concepts Kirby had kept in his files, some intended initially for

10764-460: The first Silver Surfer stories not written by Stan Lee, a fact which Lee was openly unhappy about. He explained: After I gave up Spider-Man then someone else did Spider-Man, and someone else did the Fantastic Four and Doctor Strange and the X-Men and all of them. I felt that it was kind of nice for me to have been the only writer of the Silver Surfer, so I felt a little bit disappointed when somebody else did it. I would have liked to have been

10902-461: The first time I saw it I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He asked if we could do some freelance work together. I was delighted and I took him over to my little office. We worked from the second issue of Blue Bolt through... about 25 years." After leaving Fox and collaborating on the premiere issue of Fawcett Comics ' Captain Marvel Adventures ([March] 1941), the first solo title for

11040-664: The future DC Comics , Kirby drew 20 stories for Atlas from 1956 to 1957: Beginning with the five-page "Mine Field" in Battleground #14 (Nov. 1956), Kirby penciled and in some cases inked (with his wife, Roz ) and wrote stories of the Western hero Black Rider , the Fu Manchu -like Yellow Claw , and more. But in 1957, distribution troubles caused the "Atlas implosion" that resulted in several series being dropped and no new material being assigned for many months. The next year Kirby returned to

11178-496: The glut, the Simon and Kirby romance titles continued to sell millions of copies a month. Bitter that Timely Comics ' 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics , had relaunched Captain America in a new series in 1954, Kirby and Simon created Fighting American . Simon recalled, "We thought we'd show them how to do Captain America". While the comic book initially portrayed the protagonist as an anti-Communist dramatic hero, Simon and Kirby turned

11316-596: The help from Hugin and Munin , Surfer helps Enigma Force to enter Earth and chose Eddie Brock / Venom as a temporary Captain Universe , to aid his fellow heroes against Knull and his army. Norrin Radd is from the utopian planet Zenn-La, in the Deneb star system of the Milky Way galaxy . He is the son of Jartran and Elmar Radd, and he has a half-brother, Fennan Radd. Zenn-La's ancient and significantly advanced civilization has lost

11454-669: The homefront kid-gang team, the Newsboy Legion , featuring in Star-Spangled Comics . In 2010, DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz observed that "Like Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , the creative team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby was a mark of quality and a proven track record." With World War II underway, Liebowitz expected that Simon and Kirby would be drafted , so he asked the artists to create an inventory of material to be published in their absence. The pair hired writers, inkers, letterers, and colorists in order to create

11592-425: The idea to comic books and with Kirby created a first-issue mock-up of Young Romance . Showing it to Crestwood general manager Maurice Rosenfeld, Simon asked for 50% of the comic's profits. Crestwood publishers Teddy Epstein and Mike Bleier agreed, stipulating that the creators would take no money up front. Young Romance #1 (cover-date Oct. 1947) "became Jack and Joe's biggest hit in years". The first title sold

11730-599: The industry for a career in advertising, while Kirby continued to freelance. "He wanted to do other things and I stuck with comics," Kirby recalled in 1971. "It was fine. There was no reason to continue the partnership and we parted friends." At this point in the mid-1950s, Kirby made a temporary return to the former Timely Comics , now known as Atlas Comics, the direct predecessor of Marvel Comics . Inker Frank Giacoia had approached editor-in-chief Stan Lee for work and suggested he could "get Kirby back here to pencil some stuff. While freelancing for National Comics Publications,

11868-632: The insult when confronted about it by Lee's protege, Roy Thomas , who was similarly insulted with Flashman's sidekick, Houseroy. The central villain of the Fourth World series, Darkseid , and some of the Fourth World concepts, appeared in Jimmy Olsen before the launch of the other Fourth World books, giving the new titles greater exposure to potential buyers. The Superman figures and Jimmy Olsen faces drawn by Kirby were redrawn by Al Plastino , and later by Murphy Anderson . Les Daniels observed in 1995 that "Kirby's mix of slang and myth, science fiction and

12006-517: The kind of student that Pratt was looking for. They wanted people who would work on something forever. I didn't want to work on any project forever. I intended to get things done". Kirby joined the Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate in 1936, working there on newspaper comic strips and on single-panel advice cartoons such as Your Health Comes First!!! (under the pseudonym Jack Curtiss ). He remained until late 1939, when he began working for

12144-580: The liberation of New Atlantis from Attuma, who was transformed into Nerkodd: Breaker of Oceans. Silver Surfer and Dawn meet Glorian the Maker of Miracles, who plans to rebuild our universe for the heroes to return to after they finish in Battleworld. Glorian has also enlisted the help of the Shaper of Worlds. Glorian then greeted Silver Surfer and Dawn with a tantalizing offer: ally with the Shaper of Worlds to rebuild

12282-443: The lives of the young people he observed around him. The third book, Mister Miracle was more of a personal myth. The title character was an escape artist, which Mark Evanier suggests Kirby channeled his feelings of constraint into. Mister Miracle's wife was based in character on Kirby's wife Roz, and he even caricatured Stan Lee within the pages of the book as Funky Flashman , a depiction Lee found hurtful while Kirby tried to downplay

12420-471: The mainstream press for his career accomplishments, and in 1987 he was one of the three inaugural inductees of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame . In 2017, Kirby was posthumously named a Disney Legend for his creations not only in the field of publishing, but also because those creations formed the basis for The Walt Disney Company 's financially and critically successful media franchise,

12558-459: The members of the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men charge towards Knulls so that they can aid Silver Surfer. Just then, Venom appears having been transformed into Captain Universe stating that he will handle Knull for them. With their weapons separated from the battle axe form following Knull's death, Thor and Silver Surfer noted that things will not be back to normal soon. The Silver Surfer wields

12696-412: The mid-1960s, developed a collaborative technique known as the " Marvel Method ": the two would discuss story ideas, Kirby working from a brief synopsis to draw the individual scenes and plot details, with Lee finally adding the dialogue and captions. When Kirby turned in his pencil art for the story, he included a new character he and Lee had not discussed. As Lee recalled in 1995, "There, in the middle of

12834-439: The monopoly of the work-for-hire system, wherein comics creators, even freelancers, had owned no rights to characters they created. In 1983 Richard Kyle commissioned Kirby to create a 10-page autobiographical strip, " Street Code ", which became one of the last works published in Kirby's lifetime. It was published in 1990, in the second issue of Kyle's revival of Argosy . Kirby continued to do periodic work for DC Comics during

12972-503: The morality of her role as herald to Galactus. Eventually replaced by the far more ruthless Morg , Nova dies in a conflict between the new herald and the Surfer and the other ex-heralds. The Surfer repeatedly battles space-born menaces, the chief of whom is Thanos, who attempts to kill half the life in the universe using the omnipotent Infinity Gauntlet . Through Thanos, the Surfer learns how Galactus had altered his soul. He convinces Galactus to restore it, but once Galactus has done so,

13110-654: The nascent Marvel. For DC around that time, Kirby co-created with writers Dick and Dave Wood the non-superpowered adventuring quartet the Challengers of the Unknown in Showcase #6 (Feb. 1957), while contributing to such anthologies as House of Mystery . During 30 months freelancing for DC, Kirby drew slightly more than 600 pages, which included 11 six-page Green Arrow stories in World's Finest Comics and Adventure Comics that in

13248-509: The nascent comics industry in the 1930s, drawing various comics features under different pen names, including Jack Curtiss , before settling on Jack Kirby. In 1940, he and writer-editor Joe Simon created the highly successful superhero character Captain America for Timely Comics , predecessor of Marvel Comics . During the 1940s, Kirby regularly teamed with Simon, creating numerous characters for that company and for National Comics Publications , later to become DC Comics . After serving in

13386-420: The noble features of the new character, who turned on his master to help defend Earth, Lee overcame his initial skepticism and began adding characterization. The Silver Surfer soon became a key part of the unfolding story. Following the Surfer's debut, Lee and Kirby brought him back as a recurring guest in Fantastic Four #55–61, 72, and 74–77 (ranging Oct. 1966 – Aug. 1968). The character made his solo debut in

13524-564: The only person. Had I known they were absolutely going to have the book done, I would have found the time to do it myself. I didn't really have time but I would have made the time, rather than have anybody else do it. ... this is not at all a criticism of Steve [Englehart] or of Marshall [Rogers, artist on the series], it's just that it's one book that I would have liked to have always done myself. [emphases in original] Englehart introduced many villains for Silver Surfer, as well as featured space politics involving Surfer's homeworld Zenn-La, which

13662-610: The passage of the Copyright Act of 1976 , which greatly expanded artist copyright capabilities, comics publishers began to return original art to creators, but in Marvel's case only if they signed a release reaffirming Marvel's ownership of the copyright. In 1985, Marvel issued a release that demanded Kirby affirm that his art was created for hire, allowing Marvel to retain copyright in perpetuity, in addition to demanding that Kirby forego all future royalties. Marvel offered him 88 pages of his art (less than 1% of his total output) if he signed

13800-482: The previously introduced superhero, and for which Kirby was told to mimic creator C.C. Beck 's drawing style, the duo were hired on staff at pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman 's Timely Comics (later to become Marvel Comics). There Simon and Kirby created the patriotic superhero Captain America in late 1940. Simon, who became the company's editor, with Kirby as art director, said he negotiated with Goodman to give

13938-414: The rights. In collaboration, Geller commissioned Kirby to draw set designs that would be used as architectural renderings for a Colorado theme park to be called Science Fiction Land; Geller announced his plans at a November press conference attended by Kirby, former American football star Rosey Grier , writer Ray Bradbury , and others. While the film did not come to fruition, Kirby's drawings were used for

14076-415: The saga were perfectly suited to the tastes of young readers in the 1960s", and Lee soon discovered that the story was a favorite on college campuses. Kirby continued to expand the medium's boundaries, devising photo-collage covers and interiors, developing new drawing techniques such as the method for depicting energy fields now known as " Kirby Krackle ", and other experiments. In 1968 and 1969, Joe Simon

14214-407: The same for the classic television series The Prisoner . He wrote and drew Black Panther and drew numerous covers across the line. Kirby's other Marvel creations in this period include Machine Man and Devil Dinosaur . Kirby's final comics collaboration with Stan Lee, The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience , was published in 1978 as part of the Marvel Fireside Books series and

14352-641: The same time, Kirby grew increasingly dissatisfied with working at Marvel, for reasons Kirby biographer Mark Evanier has suggested include resentment over Lee's media prominence, a lack of full creative control, anger over breaches of perceived promises by publisher Martin Goodman, and frustration over Marvel's failure to credit him specifically for his story plotting and for his character creations and co-creations. He began to both write and draw some secondary features for Marvel, such as "The Inhumans" in Amazing Adventures volume two , as well as horror stories for

14490-516: The science fiction adventure "The Diary of Dr. Hayward" (under the pseudonym Curt Davis ), the Western crimefighter feature "Wilton of the West" (as Fred Sande ), the swashbuckler adventure "The Count of Monte Cristo" (again as Jack Curtiss), and the humor features "Abdul Jones" (as Ted Grey ) and "Socko the Seadog" (as Teddy ), all variously for Jumbo Comics and other Eisner-Iger clients. He first used

14628-424: The secret Source of Kirby's art. Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg ; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist , widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew up in New York City and learned to draw cartoon figures by tracing characters from comic strips and editorial cartoons. He entered

14766-461: The series The Fly and The Double Life of Private Strong . Additionally, Kirby drew some issues of Classics Illustrated . At Marvel Kirby hit his stride once again in superhero comics, beginning with The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961), which some have observed, shares many elements of Kirby's Challengers of the Unknown . The landmark series became a hit that revolutionized the industry with its comparative naturalism and, eventually,

14904-646: The series into a superhero satire with the second issue, in the aftermath of the Army-McCarthy hearings and the public backlash against the Red-baiting U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy . At the urging of a Crestwood salesman, Kirby and Simon launched their own comics company, Mainline Publications , securing a distribution deal with Leader News in late 1953 or early 1954, subletting space from their friend Al Harvey 's Harvey Publications at 1860 Broadway. Mainline, which existed from 1954 to 1955, published four titles:

15042-457: The series was to be set on Earth and one issue was completed under this premise before Marvel agreed to let Englehart remove the long-standing restriction regarding Silver Surfer being imprisoned on Earth. This first issue was shelved and a brand new first issue was written, to set up this plot twist; the original first issue would ultimately be reprinted in Marvel Fanfare #51. The series marked

15180-667: The staff, especially with the younger artists who typically credited him as their inspiration. He worked on The New Fantastic Four animated series, reuniting him with scriptwriter Stan Lee and they kept their relations sufficiently cordial on a professional level. He illustrated an adaptation of the Walt Disney movie The Black Hole for Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales syndicated comic strip in 1979–80. In 1979, Kirby drew concept art for film producer Barry Geller's script treatment adapting Roger Zelazny 's science fiction novel, Lord of Light , for which Geller had purchased

15318-417: The story we had so carefully worked out, was a nut on some sort of flying surfboard". He later expanded on this, recalling, "I thought, 'Jack, this time you've gone too far'". Kirby explained that the story's agreed-upon antagonist , a god-like cosmic predator of planets named Galactus , should have some sort of herald , and that he created the surfboard "because I'm tired of drawing spaceships!" Taken by

15456-746: The success of the Captain America character, Simon said he felt that Goodman was not paying the pair the promised percentage of profits, and so sought work for the two of them at National Comics Publications (later renamed DC Comics ). Kirby and Simon negotiated a deal that would pay them a combined $ 500 a week, as opposed to the $ 75 and $ 85 they respectively earned at Timely. The pair feared Goodman would not pay them if he found they were moving to National, but many people knew of their plan, including Timely editorial assistant Stan Lee . When Goodman eventually discovered it, he told Simon and Kirby to leave after finishing work on Captain America Comics #10. Kirby

15594-509: The superhero comic Stuntman , and, in vogue with the fad for 3-D movies , Captain 3-D . Simon and Kirby additionally freelanced for Hillman Periodicals (the crime-fiction comic Real Clue Crime ) and for Crestwood Publications ( Justice Traps the Guilty ). The team had its greatest success in the postwar period by creating romance comics . Simon, inspired by Macfadden Publications ' romantic-confession magazine True Story , transplanted

15732-451: The superhero group the Defenders . In 2006–2007, he starred in the four-issue miniseries Annihilation: Silver Surfer and co-starred in the miniseries Heralds of Galactus , both part of the Annihilation fictional crossover . In 2007, the Silver Surfer starred in a four-issue miniseries Silver Surfer: Requiem by writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Esad Ribic. The first issue

15870-532: The surname Kirby as the pseudonymous Lance Kirby in two "Lone Rider" Western stories in Eastern Color Printing 's Famous Funnies #63–64 (Oct.–Nov. 1939). He ultimately settled on the pen name Jack Kirby because it reminded him of actor James Cagney . However, he took offense to those who suggested he changed his name in order to hide his Jewish heritage. Kirby moved on to comic-book publisher and newspaper syndicator Fox Feature Syndicate , earning

16008-465: The theatrical animation company Fleischer Studios as an inbetweener (an artist who fills in the action between major-movement frames) on Popeye cartoons at the same time in 1935. He left the studio before the Fleischer strike in 1937. "I went from Lincoln to Fleischer," he recalled. "From Fleischer I had to get out in a hurry because I couldn't take that kind of thing," describing it as "a factory in

16146-489: The typical 36-page, 12-cent comics of the time. Thematically, the stories dealt with the Surfer's exile on Earth and the inhumanity of man as observed by this noble yet fallen hero. Though short-lived, the series became known as one of Lee's most thoughtful and introspective works. Following his series' cancellation, the Surfer made sporadic appearances as a guest star or antagonist in such comic books as Thor , The Defenders , and Fantastic Four . Lee remained partial to

16284-459: The universe from the despot Annihilus . Annihilus captures them and gives them to Thanos for experimentation. Drax the Destroyer frees the Surfer, who in turn frees Galactus. An enraged Galactus destroys more than half the Annihilation Wave, and Annihilus is defeated. Later, the Surfer is joined as herald by Stardust , a former herald the Surfer had replaced. The Silver Surfer leads

16422-427: The universe that was lost. Dawn agreed to use her memories to restore Earth while Silver Surfer left to restore the rest of the universe, but Silver Surfer unmade Galactus while Dawn unknowingly created another version of Norrin. The Shaper of Worlds is not happy with the changes. Dawn and the Surfer embark on more adventures which culminate in their entering a universe predating the main continuity. When Silver Surfer

16560-497: The universe with him. The Surfer thwarts this plot with the aid of his new love interest, Mantis , the Earth-born cosmic heroine also known as the "Celestial Madonna". She seems to die in the process, and although she eventually returns, she never fully renews their romance. After this loss, a grief-stricken Surfer turns to Nova and romantic feelings begin to develop between them. The Surfer's influence gradually leads Nova to question

16698-437: The will to strive or explore, leaving the young scholar Norrin Radd restless and yearning for adventure. Facing the destruction of his world by planet-consuming Galactus , Radd bargains with the cosmic being. In return for the safety of Zenn-La and his lover, Shalla-Bal , Radd pledges to seek out planets for the world devourer to consume as his herald. Galactus imbues him with a portion of the Power Cosmic , transforming him into

16836-406: The world devourer to the populated planet Orbucen, which brings him into conflict with Richard Rider . He delays the planetary destruction to give the inhabitants more time to evacuate. The Silver Surfer returns to Sakaar in a plan to feed Galactus with the unique "Old Power" which he claims would sate his master's hunger for thousands of years, sparing many other inhabited worlds. He is opposed by

16974-461: The wrong side." Several months later, after his split with DC, Kirby began freelancing regularly for Atlas despite harboring negative sentiments about Stan Lee (the cousin of Timely publisher Martin Goodman's wife), who Kirby had always found annoying on top of his aforementioned betrayal he suspected in the 1940s. Because of the poor page rates, Kirby would spend 12 to 14 hours daily at his drawing table at home, producing four to five pages of artwork

17112-521: Was a "liberal Democrat". Jack Kirby held anti-communist views, once saying that "I was against the reds. I became a witch hunter. My enemies were the commies—I called them commies. In fact, Granny Goodness was a commie, Doubleheader was a commie." On February 6, 1994, aged 76, Kirby died of heart failure in his Thousand Oaks, California home. He was buried at Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California . Brent Staples wrote in

17250-589: Was able to walk again. He returned to the United States in January 1945, assigned to Camp Butner in North Carolina, where he spent the last six months of his service as part of the motor pool. Kirby was honorably discharged as a private first class on July 20, 1945, having received a Combat Infantryman Badge , a European/African/Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with a bronze Battle Star . In 1949, Kirby bought

17388-421: Was bitterly convinced it was specifically Lee who betrayed them, ignoring Simon's willingness to give him the benefit of the doubt. Kirby and Simon spent their first weeks at National trying to devise new characters while the company sought how best to utilize the pair. After a few failed editor-assigned ghosting assignments, National's Jack Liebowitz told them to "just do what you want". The pair then revamped

17526-434: Was caught in the middle of a renewed Kree–Skrull War. However, issues regarding Englehart wanting to use his Avengers character Mantis as Silver Surfer's companion, as well as editorial refusing to let him use Thanos or other concepts conceived by Jim Starlin , led Englehart to leave the book with issue #31. Starlin took over as writer with issue #34 after several fill-in issues, and incorporated Thanos, Adam Warlock, and Drax

17664-530: Was chosen as #24 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel's readers in 2001. Editor Robert Greenberger wrote in his introduction to the story that "As the fourth year of the Fantastic Four came to a close, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby seemed to be only warming up. In retrospect, it was perhaps the most fertile period of any monthly title during the Marvel Age." Comics historian Les Daniels noted that "[t]he mystical and metaphysical elements that took over

17802-442: Was displaced in time, he had an encounter with Knull . Silver Surfer was infected by one of Knull's symbiotes only to be saved by Ego the Living Planet. Gathering the energy from the cosmos, Silver Surfer managed to defeat Knull. During the " King in Black " storyline, Silver Surfer passes by the planets that were ravaged by Knull. At the advice of Thor, Hugin and Munin summon Silver Surfer to Earth. Silver Surfer arrives to where

17940-469: Was doing it! Not that he did it badly—it just wasn't the character I wanted; it was too heroic". Lee then turned to Steve Ditko to draw the story that would appear in Amazing Fantasy #15, for which Kirby nonetheless penciled the cover. Lee and Kirby gathered several of their newly created characters together into the team title The Avengers and brought back old characters from the 1940s such as

18078-400: Was earning $ 35,000 a year freelancing for the company (adjusted for inflation it was the equivalent of over $ 271,000 in 2024), then left Marvel in 1970 for rival DC Comics, under editorial director Carmine Infantino . Kirby spent nearly two years negotiating a deal to move to DC Comics, where in late 1970 he signed a three-year contract with an option for two additional years. He produced

18216-400: Was involved in litigation with Marvel Comics over the ownership of Captain America, initiated by Marvel after Simon registered the copyright renewal for Captain America in his own name. According to Simon, Kirby agreed to support the company in the litigation and, as part of a deal Kirby made with publisher Martin Goodman, signed over to Marvel any rights he might have had to the character. At

18354-601: Was published through Marvel's Epic Comics imprint in 1988 and 1989. Because of inconsistencies with other stories, it has been argued that these stories actually feature an alternate Silver Surfer from a parallel Earth. This miniseries won the Eisner Award for best finite/limited series in 1989. A new ongoing Silver Surfer series began in 2003, focusing on the character's alien nature and messianic allegory. It lasted 14 issues. The Surfer later appeared in an issue of Cable & Deadpool and has been reunited three times with

18492-637: Was rejected by the Educational Alliance because he drew "too fast with charcoal", according to Kirby. He later found an outlet for his skills by drawing cartoons for the newspaper of the Boys Brotherhood Republic, a "miniature city" on East 3rd Street where street kids ran their own government. At age 14, Kirby enrolled at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn , leaving after a week. "I wasn't

18630-482: Was released May 30, 2007 to coincide with the character's first movie appearance. Published under the Marvel Knights imprint, Silver Surfer: Requiem portrays the character upon learning that he is dying as the silver shell he is encased in is deteriorating. This was followed by the four-issue miniseries Silver Surfer: In Thy Name , by writer Simon Spurrier and artist Tan Eng Huat . After an appearance in

18768-487: Was shot, killed and thrown overboard from the cruise ship Achille Lauro by Palestinian Liberation Front hijackers . In his youth, Kirby desired to escape his neighborhood. He liked to draw, and sought out places he could learn more about art. Essentially self-taught, Kirby cited among his influences the comic strip artists Milton Caniff , Hal Foster , and Alex Raymond , as well as such editorial cartoonists as C. H. Sykes , "Ding" Darling , and Rollin Kirby . He

18906-464: Was the inker on that comic, he may have been partially responsible for the look of the proto-Kirby Krackle. Examples of a transitional form of the Kirby Krackle appear in two of Kirby's stories from the late 1950s: The Man Who Collected Planets from 1957 (pencils and inks by Kirby) and The Negative Man from 1959 (inks attributed to Marvin Stein). The effects were used during the transformation sequences in

19044-487: Was the beginning of his adventures." Created by Jack Kirby , the character first appears in The Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), the first of a three-issue arc that fans call " The Galactus Trilogy ". The Silver Surfer debuted as an unplanned addition to the superhero -team comic Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966). The comic's writer-editor, Stan Lee , and its penciller and co-plotter, Jack Kirby, had, by

#101898