The Problem With Jack (And It's My Problem, I Assure You)

Among comic fans, most revere the late Jack Kirby as a creative demigod who never got his proper due while alive. And these fans would be correct, at least on one account. Too many guys from Kirby’s era, whose contributions to American comics are unmistakable, never got proper recognition (much less proper royalties) for their work after the Golden and Silver Ages.

Yet while I am among those who value Kirby’s landmark fingerprint on the comics medium, I have never been a fan of his actual work. Call me a stickler, but as long as I can recall I’ve found Kirby’s drawn figures to be stiff, his faces uniformly broad, and inking so heavy that I wonder if it wasn’t applied with a small broom.

Plus, what’s up with those damned Kirby dots? What are they supposed to be? Cosmic ozone? Those little fuckers are everywhere in Kirby’s work.

I can’t stand it (he said in a whiny, self-righteous tone)!

Of course, my larger opinion on Kirby’s art style isn’t worth a proverbial plug nickel. I can understand that. Yet I also cannot see this opinion changing anytime – which I’m certain rattles many of you to the core. But as long as I have this forum, I want to ensure that my myriad little opinions are properly clarified.

That is all.

No, sir! I didn't like it!