Jack Kirby's Evolution - Comic Tropes (Episode 68)
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- Опубліковано 1 лип 2024
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It's Jack Kirby's centennial so we look at his work in 1970 on Inhumans where he started writing more of his own work and examine his history and techniques.
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I love the way kirby draws hands, always these big slabs of blocky fingers, and when they punch its like swinging a cinderblock
Jack "Dhe Pimp" Kirby
His Marvel villains were always in sore need of dental work
Galactus, Darkseid, Doctor Doom , Silver Surfer and many more. Jack Kirby was a genius! I hope one day they make a movie of his life and career.
Quiro It could make a great movie.
The story of his life wouldn't make a happy film. He was systematically mistreated by the comic book industry.
True, but people will know the real mind behind the majority characters of the MCU.
Stories of individuals working in the face of adversity for decades and only being recognized late in life are a Hollywood trope. One that isn't trotted out much anymore? Mr Holland's Opus was the last I recall in theaters.
Kirby himself would be quite a character to play.
Read Michael Chabon Kaliver and Clay book, which has a lot of comics industrial history mixed up with some real life characters. Chabon followed up with The Escapist comic based on his book.
Jack Kirby was an Alien that helped humanity advance and use the imagination.
Jack Kirby: you found out my secret
i guess I am pretty off topic but does anybody know a good place to stream newly released movies online ?
@Donovan Crosby flixportal xD
@Gunner Gideon thanks, I went there and it seems like a nice service =) I appreciate it !
@Donovan Crosby Glad I could help :D
Genetic manipulation can probably be a Kirby trope in itself. I know it's used a lot in comics, but Kirby really expored the hell out of the concept. Characters shaped people's genome like it was playdoh. The kree's genetic experiments on Inhumans. The Celestial's genetics experiment on Deviants and Eternals. Silver Star "Homo Geneticus".
I think they did miss an important facet though. They should have addressed the amorality of manipulating helpless and unsuspecting species in that way more. The Nazis did that, and is a large part of why they are considered synonymous with evil now. The Kree and the Celestials did that with impunity, and morally aren't much better.
Kirby might be comparable to H. P. Lovecraft in the creation of a personal mythology.
Wow, that's an interesting parallel. I'll muse on that, some. Thanks.
Yeah, I would never think of comparing those two. Jack cranked out an enormous amount of work for a paycheck, whereas HP Lovecraft preferred to starve rather than bend to the whims of publishers. Their backgrounds were very different too; Lovecraft was born into relative affluence, while Kirby struggled through childhood poverty. Kirby's work bursts with action, whereas Lovecraft kept his work sedate. I would consider them extremely different people and artists; yet despite that they both created playgrounds for other artists to explore and expand on. And both are artists I hold in the highest regard -- (although I consider Osamu Tezuka the most important figure in comics history).
@@shoddyworkmanship4934 If you find Lovecraft's tension filled work "sedated", you probably aren't reading him right.
@@liberispuritatem You think so? I always felt he kept his work pretty low-key until you the climactic ending. There are exceptions, "The Festival" comes to mind. But I'm pretty dumb, so I have to read very slowly; maybe that keeps tension from building.
@@shoddyworkmanship4934 Jajaja, easy, i don't think you are dumb. There's a chance you are free of anxiety while reading him, too... maybe you are a dark being yourself and got used to H.P.'s cosmicism.
Without Kirby we would have nothing
Tell them that to new generations and they will laugh of you ;)
@@Gamer-lq4wl CORRECT.....ALL THEY KNOW IS MCU
@@Gamer-lq4wl i been laughing at the new comic shit for years. kirby was the man i grew up on along with romita sr.
So true
We would have depression though
It's so crazy how you said that you didn't care for Kirbys art at first but it ended up growing on you eventually because I felt the exact same way. I thought it was sub-par and almost amateurish at first but the more I read of his and started to enjoy his stories the more I grew to love his artwork. I'm so glad I continued to read his material instead of giving up on it right away. Now Kirby is a huge inspiration of mine, almost shaping entirely how I draw something. It blows my mind how many "comic book fans" there are who either don't know Kirby at all or have no idea how influential Kirby is to the comic book industry. He truly was an actual living super hero! R I P Mr. Kirby, your art and story telling will live on forever!
Same. i think what it is, is many of us were younger at the time, and jumped on board with artists that had learned from him. I still ended up worshiping most of his creations like Thor, Cap, IM, Centurions, Darkseid & Mr Miracle, but never knowing it was him all along.
I remember when he came back to Marvel and one of the books he took back (right around the Bi Centennial) was Captain America, God I was SO MAD! I literally kept buying the issues (because it was during a phase and thought they'd eventually be worth having as part of a complete run) but id go home and just HATE THEM! I thought he was terrible and ruining the work, and as an artist I just was grossed out. I definitely get his overall contribution and innovation, and I'm curious how I would react to re-seeing those issues now.He is a huge inspiration both in style and storytelling. I wonder what his techniques would translate to in todays high tech digital imaging vs. the four color hero work of the day.
I had a similar experience to you. When I first saw Kirby's art, I thought of it as generic, with stock poses. Then when I read a lot of his 60s Marvel stories, I found them easy to read, fun to look at, and had crazy dynamic action despite it being PG13. I fucking LOVE when he draws outer space. It even got me to like John Romita Jr a lot more who is the closest thing to Kirby nowadays.
Kirby was a force of nature. Inspired, hard working, influential. You could make half a dozen programmes and still only scratch the surface of his legacy. But this was a great analysis. Thanks.
Yeah, Kirby's style was mesmerizing. I remember going thru his pages just looking at the artwork in the panels and then going back to read the stories.
He passed away a day after I was born. Such an inspiration from both artistic and human stand points. Thank you for everything you created, King Kirby.
Kirby was getting frostbite on the frontline while Stan Lee was comfy at Headquarters doing safe-sex adds for GI's...
Same situation at Marvel.
** Funky Flashman!!! **
Kirby was the greatest talent over a long haul ever to appear in the comic-book medium. I remember where I was when I heard he passed away (driving down Pensacola Avenue in Tallahassee) and I used to change my password on his birthday (I have a very good memory for dates). Anyway, here we are, and his legend continues. Thank you, Tropester, for your insights into his work!
Wow. Now that's a Kirby fan.
Thanks so much. I'm a huge Jack Kirby fan. He was The King of Comics, alright!
SoftwareAgentsCorp He sure earned that title with his hard work.
couldnt agree more.
Kirby
Ditko
Byrne
my personal top three faves, with a bunch tied at 4. lol
You've truly honored the king with this tribute. And gotta love the Kirby Krackle!
I’m in the back catalogue of your content and man YOUR STUFF IS AWESOME. My dad is a huge comic collector, I was 10 years old in 2008 when my dad handed me Frank Miller’s daredevil run and watchmen and told me “you’re ready” lmaooo. I’m so glad that there’s youtubers like you that are keeping the history and passion for comics alive.
i had a similar relationship with kirby and his art. grew to love him
You can easily identify comic book noobies. They usually can't appreciate the genius of Kirby. I've been that.
asbolutely true, I always say that it takes a certain level of knowledge of the medium to apriciate Kirby (in a certain way he is like Giotto, to the untrained eye he might seem not as impressing)
Yep, been there.
Pierluigi Zappala' cmon lol
Yep, my father in law just gushes about Kirby, I dont see it, looks like it definitely came from the 1960s and 70s, seems outdated to me, but im very new to comics, so maybe soon Ill see what everyone else does
josef rootgum I can appreciate the genius of Kirby, but honestly, Stan Lee’s writing just kind of bogs down his work. To me anyway.
Kirby had a lot of influence from National Geographic and science mags, he had such a great imagination. This is something the majority of comics is missing today.
He was a genius and I mean a GENIUS! I hated his art as a kid but only because I wasn’t mature enough to understand the genius. The wall behind our host could go in any fine art gallery.
I was a kid in the 1960's, and the first time I saw Jack Kirby's work on the Fantastic Four I knew I was seeing a new level of artwork.
Kirby's work made the FF stories much more believable, and that the incredibly detailed weird technology you saw in it just might work. Kirby was a must for FF stories.
Kirby was head and shoulders above any other comic book artists, and he pioneered a lot of the techniques comics artists are using today.
To add to the unkind cuts that Kirby endured, when he went to get his original art pages from Marvel, which artists were entitled to when they leave a company, they only returned a few dozen pages to him; out of several thousand that he had drawn. It turns out that sleazebag artists at the company had stolen them over the years. He should have sued Marvel for damages, but he didn't; proving that Kirby was so much better than the company he worked for.
10:15 After they had run out of Kirby backlog, they had other artists emulate his style and put Kirby's credit on. One of those artists was Gil Kane. ... Still enjoying your series.
Thanks for the tribute. I like best"The Hunger Dogs". Kirby did it all, including the lettering. It's worth a read.:)
A great tribute Chris, thank you. I saw Alan Moore interviewed at a live event a couple of years ago and he described Kirby as a "bona fide genius". How true. For me, his early work with Stan Lee on Fantastic Four shows everything that's great about him.
Jack deserves his own movie.
Kirby was amazing. Absolutely amazing. His art was iconic (though I had the same love/dislike attitude toward Kirby work you did), and his creativity and sheer output was nonpareil.
I grew up reading his comics and now I collect them. He was a master of his craft.
TBH Jack Kirby is one of the comic artists who inspired me to do my own comics
Darkdragon6026 That's awesome to hear.
What’s it called?
I totally agree with you that Jack Kirby is the complete foundation of comics. His work draws you into it as if you were there. There will never be another. Thanks for the great video
James Berry Jr Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks.
Jack Kirby, the man, the myth, the legend. I can't get enough of his artwork.
What I love about Kirby is how reading most of his work as an adult, I feel like an enthusiastic kid. The Kirby Crackle, the extreme dynamic poses, the slang from the era of the long haired troublemakers...all essential to keeping your inner child fed and happy.
I love Mark Evanier’s biography of Kirby. Such a good read. I acted the way you did at first to his art but the more you learn about comics and visual storytelling, the more you see how he shaped the entire industry into what it is today.
This is a wonderful analysis of the King's work! I never heard the term 'trope' until watching this video, but they way you presented it not only expertly described his art, but clarified the new (to me) term as well. Well done in every respect!
I forgot that Kirby worked on the Argo movie. That's cool.
Kirby was the absolute best!!!👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
I thought Kirby's art was crude too. "His figures are always dancing the watusi," I'd say. "And what's with all the man-faced women?" Then I sat down and tried to draw comics myself and Kirby became a genius to me overnight. His compositions, use of perspective, and even his shadow placement are amazing. He is the best.
My face is now in a maximum state after watching this fine video.
I didn't know anything about Kirby Krackle when I was first reading Fantastic Four via the Essentials volumes back in the early 2000s, but it quickly became a favorite visual element I looked forward to seeing more of across just about every comic I could find. It's an amazing design motif that looks equally at home as chemical byproducts inside a test tube or cosmic pulsations bubbling all over an outer space background, and of course, as leftover discharge from an advanced gun or other such weapon. It just looks like it could do some mighty impressive stuff of any kind you could possibly need. The king of all visual effects from the King of Comics!
Another idiosyncratic, yet insightful and entertaining exploration of comics. Great work!
Jack was awesome ! I didn't know much about him until I watched this. Awesome video man keep it up.
I found your channel some weeks ago and i cant stop watching your videos, this one left my heart beating a little stronger with the passion that i have for kirbys work
Thank you so much
Thanks much for the video. It's great to see all the wonderful creations by Jack 'King' Kirby. Keep up the awesome videos!
Loved this, thanks. I learned so much about Kirby that I've not heard before. Great work!
Great vid. The King is 1 of my fav artists of all time. Definitely undervalued in terms of salary or pay for what he contributed & the pace he put his creations into the universe. I loved his artwork from day 1, when I 1st saw it, new gods & the demon 4 dc & fantastic four & captain America 4 marvel.
Wow--- randomly stumbled across this in a tube search-- nice presentation and analysis of key elements of Kirby's work. Regardless of whomever he worked for at any given time, Kirby effectively and successfully used repeating themes throughout his entire career.
Thanks for putting this together-- subbing your channel now-- looks like I have a bit of back-episode viewing to do!
Your videos:
*They're groovy! I love them all!*
Thanks! You did such a great job of describing Kirby’s genius, and helped me see some things I hadn’t noticed before.
thank you skunkape for the always entertaining and informative content... I'll always be a big fan, Chris!
king kirby , up there with dali and picasso
genius
Nice! I was hoping for this episode!
I have always been a Kirby fan. But I found that the older I get to more a am in awe of his creativity and skills as a dynamic story teller. I just recently reread the dc comics the Demon original run from the 70’s and I found myself getting lost in his work. It is masterful and breathtaking. No one “ for me “ will ever surpass the awesome works of yes the true king of comics Jack Kirby.
I can’t get enough of this channel , I always find a great video in the archives , I like this channel as much as comicsexplained.
Your channel is the best comic-based channel. I love this and learn so many new things about the comics I loved as a kid
Wow Chris...terrific exploration of Jack Kirby's tropes, and thank you btw for all the additional history. He was with doubt a superlative human being in many areas.
Like you, it took me a few years to appreciate the King's work but I now realize that he offered a foundation for art appreciation in me that's profound and to this day continuing to unfold.
And my son and I truly appreciate the fun and humor you bring to your subjects and will continue to delve into your backlog of videos as well as follow the current goodies. Peace.
Hey Chris! I've been following you over the years and I just gotta say, I really appreciate your work. You have such a kind, genuine presentation without an ounce of cynicism- it's lighthearted without trying too hard to be snarky. As a comic artist and fan, I love your histories and retrospectives like this. It's the perfect material to work to. Cheers!
Thoroughly enjoyed this video. Nice job!
This was great I actually learned a few things I didn't know about Kirby! Thank you!
This is a very well researched and put together video! Impressive. Well done!
I also want to say that I love your videos very much! The way you present your ideas and explain them out is very well put together, very informative but most of all you make it entertaining for the audience. I really appreciate what you do! Keep up the great work! I make sure to watch all your videos and I've recommended your channel to a lot of my friends and almost all, if not all of them love your channel as well. Honestly I am super glad to have found your channel and again I want to say KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK! I hope you have a great holiday and an excellent New Year!!
One of your finest episodes
Jack Kirby was a God of Comics!
There's a story that was/is going around about how it was Jack Kirby, not Stan Lee, who was the real mastermind behind Marvel's rise in those early days of yesteryear. Lee was the better salesman and frontman, so he was able to dominate the spotlight while Kirby toiled in the background. Lee stood on the shoulders of a giant to bring us heroes that were created by Kirby. I forget who was the bearer of that tale. At any rate, I feel the amount of praise and respect Kirby commands is not enough to equate the true magnitude of his contributions to the industry.
Rometiklan I think the questions about Stan Lee's exact contributions are fair questions but I think the truth about him is somewhere between how awful he might be and how wonderful he says he is. I believe Lee did co-create these characters. Kirby and Ditko never really disputed that and they'd know best. He could have fought for the artists to have better pay and more credit. But he also hyped up comics to tons of new people. I'll probably discuss this on greater detail some day.
skunkape I tend to agree. I think Stan Lee contributed more than his detractors claim.
Stan Lee, Ray Kroc and Steve Jobs all seem to have one thing in common.... find someone with a good idea, steal it and say it's your own, and make a fortune off it while screwing the other person.
Business... it really is a SHARK TANK!!!!
This is less a story and more an ongoing, often heated, and likely never to be resolved argument based on the opinions of many, many people both in and out of the industry, some of whom weren't even around when Lee and Kirby (and let's not forget Ditko) were a team. I could go on my own rant...but I won't. However, I direct you to the magazine The Jack Kirby Collector; they've featured a number of well-written articles on the topic, and they have a shit-ton of copies Jack made of his original pencils. That's where you see not only what he drew but what he wrote in the margins, explaining everything that's going on, since he was often mailing in completed pages with zero input from Stan. It's an eye-opener.
Marvel had no money in those days, and what Stan created was brilliant, but he didn't create much comics. He created a new way to make comics. Give the artist a plot and let him create, then tweak the dialogue to make it fit the company voice. He was really an editor but a very efficient one.
"2 thousand subscribers" LoL 100 times that now. Thank you! You make comics fun, thank you. I've learned a ton from you
Thanks very much for that video! Your style is very endearing for history lessons :)
Just came across your channel. Your closing comments about Kirbys artwork not being appealing at first yet growing on you, etc. mirror my feelings and experiences EXACTLY. Im 55 and grew up on comics, and am thoroughly enjoying your videos. This is like finding a video version of a forgotten long box with great reading to do! I am subscribed, hope you can continue this for as long as you have the desire. Two thumbs up :)
dude i love your channel!!! its my new addiction. kudos brother
You impressed me! I really liked this video! 1800th subscriber. You deserved it.
Great video! Watched this like 2 hours ago and keep laughing at the bit with Maximus’ favorite scent.
Hey man! Love what u do with the " tropes " series & i hope that ur channel grows n makes more progress ...Beautiful Tribute to THE KING ..Cheers !
Wish there were a love button for this video. Thanks so much for posting this.
A couple other Kirby tropes. Designs where angular lines connect circles, and overly ornate helmets.
I knew Kirby, but I didn't know Kirby that well until I saw your video. So awesome. I am amazed at his art and his creation genius. Thank you for sharing.
The Kirby Crackle. Never knew there was a term for that awesome energy look
Thank you Chris for this fantastic tribute. Jack was my hero as a teen. I found a copy of Kamandi #13 and was hooked. Had to go back and find his past titles through the letters pages and mail ordered the DC titles old style; waiting with anticipation for the post to come. I bought if for the art and realized what an amazing writer Jack was. Critics now realize Jack's work influenced people like Lucas in adapting major aspects of the SW sagas to reflect many of Jack's concepts seen throughout his works. He heralded the issues of comic creators deserving a better shake in the biz. You've captured the sense of his influence on the design of what made comics great. I'm glad you mentioned his commitment to family. Behind that truth is Jack Kirby's developed moral underpinning in a business like entertainment where so many of it's adherents do not possess much truth, integrity, honor and faithfulness. It's those qualities I see in your submissions here at ComicTropes. It's really the first time I've subscribed to a youtube channel after being a viewer for many years.
Every time I hear your entrance theme I expect the Buggles to start playing
i love Jack Kirby. love those 60's-70's comics.
Great video. Thank you. The most amazing thing about Jack Kirby was that he didn't really have to be that good. Comics at the time were considered a "throwaway" medium and referred to as "funny books" for kids. And yet he put his all into the work, never cutting corners. He was also asked to produce very quickly for relatively low pay. So he didn't have to draw every brick and every cornice and ledge in the architecture. Yet he did, and with breathtaking results. As someone who was there at the time (the 1960s on), I can tell you that his art was so advanced it pulverized the competition and stunned the comic reading community month after month. Ridiculously, he reached his artistic zenith in his 50s, when most people are slowing down and thinking about retirement. I'm not religious, but I thank God for Jack Kirby. For I believe his abilities could have only come from a higher source...perhaps The Source?
Thanks so much sir Jack for the poses.
Thanks for the Jack Kirby Summary ... he's still the KING !
I had no idea Kirby actually did his to fight evil in real life. R-E-S-P-E-C-T
This is a pretty old upload but I just wanted to say I just got into your channel (and comics in general) recently and I love your videos. Thanks for making this great content.
I seem to remember that Inhumans story, would have been reprinted in the UK in black and white, but the confrontation with the soldiers is so familiar. Thank you 😊
Hope there'll be an episode for the late Bill Everett. He was an interesting character in real life and created probably the most interesting character in comics, especially for that time period, Namor the Sub-Mariner(Very Biased Personal Opnion :P ).
Such a beutiful video and content! I can see your passion on the matter.
Kirby Krackle/Kirby Particles are so awesome. they're my favorite special effects in comics. also i believe (though correct me if i'm wrong) it even influenced the effects patterns in 3D animation programs like Autodesk Maya. i've made fire on maya before and it was also depicted as flowing orbs.
Great tribute!
Amazing stuff
kirby had a knack for rectangular faces with wide standing eyes.
thank you for this !!!!!!!
Amazing and very informative good job
JACK THE KING KIRBY
Very nice piece! I'm a little late chiming in as your video just recently came across my YT as a recommendation. As a kid my main period of reading comics was in the 70's and saw a lot of Kirby at that time, both at DC and when he came back to Marvel. I was also very familiar with the ton of work he did at Marvel in the 60's. I, too, thought at first his art was a bit clunky with similar body positions and facial expressions no matter who he was drawing. And yet I found something appealing about it. When he came back to do Captain America around our country's bi-centennial, I remember putting those comics at the top of my read-list each month. As the decades have past I find I appreciate his art even more and am amazed at all the characters he created (I honestly think he's the one who created the look and personality of most of them with Stan only embellishing on some of them after they were created). Just picked up the Fourth World Omnibus. Anyway, nice honor to Kirby!
Thank you for giving it a watch. It really is interesting how so many of us have the same reaction to Kirby's art.
Jack Kirby, now we're talking.
ITS HIS SENCE OF DESIGN!!!!
His art could have hung on walls man! It was beautiful at a distance as well as up close!
Wow!!!awesome sauce in triple scoops!!
Thanks ❤
Interesting last segment. When I was a teen first collecting, my first reaction was what all the fuss was about. Everyone seemed stocky, and that's probably the reason Stan Lee wanted Steve Ditko to draw Spider-Man rather than Jack. But it was his imagination that stands out for me. No one else could utilize those ideas, and anyone today is just copying him. Also, the mood he projected could make my hair stand on end. The closest thing to him was when John Byrne helmed the FF in the eighties.
Dude, you brought up something I'd never thought of: the connection between the New Gods and the Eternals. Stuff has been written about how Jack began hoarding his ideas at Marvel, as evidenced by the sudden drop in new characters and concepts heading into the late 60s. How he wanted to do Ragnarok in Thor and wipe everything out and from the ashes of the Old Gods would rise...need I say more? And that led into the Captain Victory series where the main character's grandfather was a corrupting, shadowy presence named Blackmass who appealed to his...DARK SIDE. But Celestials as the Old Gods judging the New Gods? NEVER occurred to me.
And someone here compared Kirby to Lovecraft. Gotta agree there. And even more so I'd say Robert E. Howard, and just for the hell of it, Bruce Lee. Wait...what? Here's the thing: All those men tapped into some sort of, for lack of a better word, "universal consciousness." Even if you've never encountered their work before, there's a familiarity to it because it accesses and distills things down to their raw, primal essence: fear that melts your mind, expressionistic anatomy that almost punches through the panels, fistic fury and savage swordplay that literally get your blood pumping. Maybe with Kirby's stuff it might take time to develop an appreciation for it (although I'm proud to say I went apeshit from the get-go), but regardless of your initial reaction there’s something about it: the power, the passion, the sheer originality that, love it or hate it, you can’t ignore. And a big reason is that he and those others BELIEVED what they were expressing on paper or film. They fucking LIVED it. And in Jack's case, his life both inside and outside comics was truly one to admire.
Excellent video, sir.
wow. nice work man
Excellent all of it. This contact was spot on. I am so in love with the king.