Happy Birthday, Jack Kirby!

Happy Birthday to Jack Kirby, who was born 93 years ago and who I think is the greatest creator of comic books ever. I just love his stuff. If you want to know more about Jack the man, Mark Evanier has a bunch of great stuff about him that’s well worth your time.

If you want some visual proof of Kirby’s greatness, Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter has assembled a fantastic array.

If you want to read some of the classic monster stories that Kirby illustrated, the Monster Blog has a selection of 39 of them that have yet to be reprinted.

I met Kirby only once, at the San Diego Comic Con years ago, so I don’t have any personal anecdotes to share since all I did was shake his hand and burble something inconsequential. My pal Dave Olbrich, back when he was the publisher of Malibu Comics, was an occasional guest in the Kirby house - Malibu’s offices were in the same town as the Kirbys. I was too nervous to try to tag along. I love re-reading Kirby’s long run on Marvel Comics’ The Fantastic Four - it starts slow and builds to greatness. But I really like his stuff for DC Comics in the 1970s - his Fourth World books, especially Mister Miracle and, yes, Jimmy Olsen. Kirby’s the only creator who’s made that cub reporter interesting. I also love Kamandi and The Demon.

In the discussion and debate over Kirby’s many inkers, I go Joe Sinnott #1 and Mike Royer #2.

Happy Birthday, Jack!

[Artwork: The cover to Kamandi #1, by Jack Kirby, © DC Entertainment.]

COMIC BOOK JOBS: Who’s Hiring? Tokyopop!

It’s a tough, tough employment climate out there. Opportunities to grab a foothold in comics – especially old-school print comics – are few and far between. There’s at least one company publicly looking for someone right now. Could it be you?

Tokyopop, the manga giant that has been laying off staff over the past year or so in a pink slip tornado, needs a new editor, someone to “guide the selection, creation, development, and marketing of licensed manga products.” You’ll be working with the senior editor and associate publisher to manage all this licensed manga, so no OEL for you. You’ll also be doing what sounds like a lot of marketing stuff, but in a recession-based economy, it’s the underpaid multi-taskers who hang on the longest.

But before you get too excited and slap a few trendy buzzwords on your updated resume, you’ll need to meet a batch of requirements. Some include: the ability to write and speak Japanese (okay, I’m out), possession of a college degree (presumably your own), enough manga knowledge to be the Ken Jennings of Japanese culture, and have the positive can-do attitude that only a job in comic books can bring!

Details are at the link. Go for it!
(artwork © Tokyopop)