Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics - Graphic Novel Review
Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics is out July 14, 2020.
By Zack Quaintance — I have read a strong majority of the books about the life of Jack Kirby, perhaps the most prolific and original comics creator who has ever lived, or certainly who has ever moved within mainstream American comics industry spaces.
That is to say that I am a “mark”, so to speak, for writer/artist Tom Scioli’s new book Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics, published by Ten Speed Press. This book is nearly 200 pages, and as its title suggests it covers the whole of Kirby’s epic life with a little extra room on both ends, starting with a brief history of his parents and extending right on to the outsized influence his legacy continues to have on comics, pop art, and original storytelling. It’s all rendered in Scioli’s intricate micro panels, more often than not packing six hyper-detailed segments on each page, along with dialogue and captioning evocative of the era of comics Kirby defined, the 1960s and 1970s.
Simply put, this is a top-tier book about Jack Kirby, perhaps the definitive text about his life and legacy, told fittingly in the medium he loved. It’s a dense read, one that demands far more time than other graphic novels of similar length without ever feeling laborious or over-wrought. In short, if there is a better way to tell the life story of The King, I am yet to see it. Even a biopic on the big screen would struggle to be as fitting and immersive as this work — which is alternately informative and poetic.
In addition to Scioli’s feats of cartooning, the quality that makes the book work so well is the deep commitment to capturing Kirby’s voice and perspective. As Scioli explains in the brief author’s note that opens the text, “this is a biography of Jack Kirby, not an autobiography or memoir. The first-person narration is a literary device.”
To accomplish that narration, Scioli has clearly done copious research into Kirby’s life, all of which is annotated in the back of the book. Scioli’s research is powerful, and even for someone like me — presumably in the uppermost percentile of readers with prior knowledge of Jack Kirby — there are many new details to unpack and consider in this graphic novel. In addition, Scioli has clearly culled direct quotes from Kirby, some of which are familiar and well-publicized, others that feel a good deal more obscure. What’s most impressive, though, is how it all coheres so seamlessly, removing any doubts or questions about how much of the book is true.
Part of this is that Scioli is fair but unflinching when it comes to Kirby’s own flaws and missteps, detailing in equal measure the chain of events that led to some of his famous battles — the discord with Stan Lee over credit, the premature ending at DC of his New Gods, etc. This book largely avoids the polishing the halo problems that sometimes crop up in biographic storytelling about deceased and venerated subjects. Another way Scioli accomplishes this is by at times incorporating narration by the other major figures in Jack’s life, namely his wife Ros as well as Stan Lee, who is not quite a villain in this story but is definitely a figure of consternation, although never cartoonishly so.
Of the many segments in the book, the one with which I was least familiar was Kirby’s experiences in World War II. This, to be sure, is also the most disturbing and gruesome section. It’s done in the somewhat abstract, cartoony style Scioli deploys throughout, but the horrors rendered within are difficult to read, and I had to put the book down once in the middle of going through them. So, be aware of that.
Speaking of that abstract cartoony style, however, one of my favorite choices that Scioli makes with the artwork of this comic is in how he chooses to render Kirby himself, turning him into a comic book character who moves within a world of more drab, more realistic humans. Kirby’s eyes are strikingly blue and outsized, seeming to grow larger in size as the story unfolds. It’s a stark comparison with the grounded depictions the other figures receive. Where it is most evident is in a single panel showing Kirby taking an honest look at his life, realizing he is no longer as young and energetic as he used to be. Here we see cartoon Kirby seeing only for a moment the realistic Jack Kirby in the mirror, seeing him as he would have looked had Scioli rendered him in the style of the other characters. It’s just a quick moment, but it’s powerful. It unveils this book’s central conceit — the choice to render Kirby as a personification of pure creative force moving among a world of normals. It’s the type of choice too that can only be accomplished effectively in comics, and one can’t help but assume Jack himself would have loved it.
In the end, what this all comes together to create is a book that covers the universalities of comics past and present, the intangible draw to make and enjoy outlandish and colorful tales, the influence of other media that often fuels symbiotic relationships between mediums, the long-time (and ongoing) propensity of publishers to financially mislead and exploit creatives — it’s all in here, rendered lovingly through the story of the greatest American comic book creator to ever life: Jack “The King” Kirby.
I can think of few graphic novels more essential for a complete comics bookshelf.
Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics - REVIEW
Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics
Writer/Artist: Tom Scioli
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Price: $28.99
This sweeping, full-color comic book biography tells the complete life story of Jack Kirby, co-creator of some of the most enduring super-heroes and villains of the twentieth century for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and more. Tom Scioli breathes visual life into Kirby's life story, from his days growing up during the Great Depression to his time on the frontlines of World War II and on to his world-changing collaborations at Marvel with Stan Lee. Just as every great superhero needs a villain to overcome, Kirby's story also includes his struggles to receive the recognition and compensation that he believed his work deserved. Drawn from an unparalleled imagination and a life as exciting as his comic book tales, Kirby's super-creations have influenced subsequent generations of creatives. Readers can experience the life and times of a comics titan through the medium that made him famous.
Release Date: July 14, 2020
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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.