07/31/2017

Caleb Orecchio here and I can’t stop thinking about Jack Kirby

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Kirby Complex

Not a day goes by that I don’t flip through a Kirby comic. Lately I’ve taken keen interest in the “Tales of Asgard” stories that were the back up feature for Thor. Love those 4-panel grids. And I don’t care what anyone says, Colletta was NOT Kirby’s worst inker—in fact I’d argue (at least in the case of the Tales of Asgard) that Colletta was one of Kirby’s BEST inkers. Chic Stone is the most underwhelming Kirby inker in my humble opinion—but that is neither here nor there. I’m just thinking out loud.

Hmmm…I’m stalling because I’m having a hard time collecting my thoughts at the moment. More and more each day I am convinced that Jack Kirby was a prophet. And I know I’m not the only who thinks this. Just one google search led me to this. I’ve heard others talk about Kirby amazing ability to either affect future culture or basically predict future events. Ever heard the story of how Kirby drew a mushroom cloud before the public was even aware what that was? He got a visit from the FBI. I’m having a hard time remembering where I read/heard this so you get a “No-Prize” if you leave a link in the comments to it.

Whenever I talk about Kirby to a layperson, I like to point out Mother Box. Basically, Kirby’s prediction of the smartphone and tablet. See below how Orion of the New Gods uses Mother Box to hide his real face like a Instagram or Snapchat filter—he’s practically taking a selfie.

Or this one where Orion (as O’Ryan) mentions Mother Box’s GPS capabilities.

And when I see this page, I can’t help but think of how we now have the technology to control drones with our devices.

These were just the examples that came to me off the top of my head. If the spirit moves you, dear reader, feel free to leave any other examples that struck you while reading Kirby’s work that gives evidence of Kirby’s prophetic gift. I’m sure there are those of you who have given this much thought.

Anyway, have a good Monday

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if you don’t know, now you know

I found this talk on Kirby by Arlene Schumer to be really really fantastic. I particularly like how he gave context to Kirby’s roll in culture through the years.
I have very much been enjoying Gabrielle Bell’s Annual July Dairies this year. I’m a sucker for comics with dogs.
If you wanted to apply for CAB this year and haven’t yet–you’re too late, but here is Chris Ware art you can snag if you do go.
I spent my lunches this past week watching this esoteric comic store documentary series on youtube. For those of you with taste, much of the content will probably infuriate you as it did me. Almost all of the people involved in this comic store HATE everything I love. That being said, I absolutely love this series for its non-judgemental take on an aspect of comics culture.

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