Friday, March 15, 2013

Fantastic Four 95 Cover Art by Kirby

Even though bidding on the piece does not close until Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 12 noon EDT, Jack Kirby’s original 11 ½” x 17 ½” comic book cover art for Fantastic Four #95 has already hit $49,500 as this article is posted. The piece, which features all four original members of the team -- Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Human Torch, and The Thing -- in action over Manhattan, has reached the low end of its estimate even before final bidding begins.
"We are very pleased with the level of interest thus far in this brilliant cover," said Alex Winter, General Manager of Hake’s Americana & Collectibles. "We expect it to continue to attract attention right up until it closes on March 21. As we've said previously, perhaps no other figure contributed as much to the notions of comic book storytelling – even what stories could be told – as Jack Kirby."
In addition to the published image itself, there are handwritten coloring instructions in the margins noting the values of each color to be used. The issue itself was written by Stan Lee with pencil art by Kirby and inks by Joe Sinnott.
Kirby's entry in The Overstreet Hall of Fame reads as follows: “A creative dynamo given human form, for many Jack Kirby defined with his work the very idea of what comic books should be. In his art and stories, the obvious brash doses of daring design and explosive action were infused with something more unexpected in the eras in which he worked: an equally bold excitement for the cerebral, philosophical and spiritual. Whether working with partners such as Joe Simon (with whom he co-created Captain America, the Fighting American, Boys Ranch, and many would say the romance comics genre) and Stan Lee (co-creating the Fantastic Four, Thor, and the Silver Surfer, among others), or on his own (DC’s Fourth World titles such The New Gods, Mister Miracle, The Forever People, or his creator-owned Captain Victory and Silver Star), Kirby worked as much in metaphor as he did in pencil."
For additional information on Kirby's cover art for Fantastic Four #95 or any of the other items available in Hake's Americana & Collectibles Auction #208, visit our website or call (866) 404-9800.
Background
“In addition to co-creating Marvel’s ‘first family,’ Lee and Kirby’s 102-issue collaboration on Fantastic Four remains a benchmark for superhero comics for its bold, inventive, nothing-is-impossible spirit, much of which is owed to Kirby’s work. Doctor Doom, the Silver Surfer, the Watcher, Galactus, and so many other characters sprang from the pages of this series during their tenure,” Winter said.
“Even though this cover comes just seven issues before the end of Kirby’s run and was created in a period of immense personal frustration for him at Marvel, none of that is evident in the work,” he said. “The characters retain their customary powerful personas and the action is pure, bombastic Kirby.”
Jack Kirby was born Jacob Kurtzberg on August 28, 1917 in New York City. He passed away February 6, 1994 in Thousand Oaks, California. Between those dates, he worked for virtually every major comic book publisher, including numerous small companies that championed creator rights. He was inducted into The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1987, and the Harvey Awards’ Hall of Fame is named in his honor. He and his work have been the subjects of retrospectives, college courses, and books, as well as the ongoing journal The Jack Kirby Collector from TwoMorrows Publishing.

Original Article from Scoop!

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