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!
