KIRBY'S 'WOODEN' ART - PART TWELVE OF FAVOURITE COMICS OF THE PAST...

Images copyright DC COMICS

Here's another brilliant belter from the backyard of bygone days - 1971 to be precise.  However, I didn't buy it until around 1973 or thereabouts, as no doubt it languished in a warehouse somewhere before being belatedly distributed to the spinner-racks of newsagents all across the U.K.  I don't believe I'd ever seen the CHALLENGERS Of The UNKNOWN before, but I was captivated by the combination of JACK KIRBY's and WALLY WOOD's art, which made me wish that Wood had inked Kirby's FANTASTIC FOUR - especially in the early days.

Curiously, the writing duties are all credited to Jack alone, but in the DC ARCHIVE EDITIONS, DAVE WOOD (no relation to Wally) is listed as being co-writer on The MAN WHO STOLE The FUTURE and CAPTIVES Of The SPACE CIRCUS.  What's more, his name comes before JK's, which tends to suggest that Dave Wood came up with the original premise in each case, and that Jack perhaps then added little extra details of his own.

In light of this, it's legitimate to wonder why, for someone who later complained about being denied credit, Jack often (if not always) failed to mention JOE SIMON in any of his one-page accounts of his past achievements which appeared in some of his DC comics (though not in this particular ish).  You'd think that someone who later became the 'pin-up boy' for 'hard-done-to' creators would've been more scrupulous in his own efforts to accord credit where it was due.

When one measures the Challengers stories inked by Wood against those by other inkers, the difference is astounding.  (You'll need the DC Archive Editions for that, as there are no non-Wood inked strips in this issue.)  Earlier adventures not inked by W.W. tend to pale in comparison, and this fact confirms my strong belief that Woody was one of Jack's best inkers - if not the best.  I'd have loved to have seen a THOR tale inked by Wally.  DICK AYERS sometimes came close to emulating Wood - FF #6 and AVENGERS #8 being prime examples.  There are some distinctly Wood-ish touches in these two issues.

I recall taking this issue along to my grandparents' home on one of our weekly Sunday visits, and poring over the incredible artwork.  My grandparent's owned a bed-settee, and there's a number of comics I had over the years that I can't read now without remembering that deep-red bed-settee.  When, years later, they elected to move into an old folks home, that settee took up residence in my brother's bedroom, where it was when I acquired the replacement issue for the one I'd originally had years before.  Just think - at two separate points in my life I've held both copies of that issue while sitting on that settee.  My grandparents have been gone 30 years, the settee was 'relinquished' in 1987, but the comic and its numerous associations survive.

Anyway, that's enough self-indulgent personal reminiscences from me. Instead, let's enjoy these sensational splash pages and marvel at the brilliance of Kirby and Wood.  MARK EVANIER once told me in an email (in response to an enquiry of mine) that Wally Wood thought that his inking technique sort of overpowered Kirby's pencils, dominating and maybe even supplanting JK's style with that of his own.  (I'm paraphrasing from memory, but that was the general essence of his remark.)  However, I prefer to think of the result as, to use a well-worn phrase - "greater than the sum of its parts".  Kirby's power and perspective combined with the highly-detailed and dynamic brush and pen of Wood - what's not to like?

Just look at the above page - isn't it simply stunning?  Jumping back nearly 40 years to when I was sat on that red settee, I can remember exactly how I felt studying this page.  I could practically feel the heat of the Egyptian sun beating down on me as my eyes drank in the scene. It's a triumph of composition, and I can't help but wonder if it was completely off the top of Jack's head or whether he used reference material of some sort.  Regardless, it's an absolute 'brammer' and remains one of the finest examples of its kind in the history of the medium.  How someone could look at a page like this and say that comics aren't 'art' is beyond me.  Which is not necessarily to say that all comic pages are art, but this one most definitely is.   

Hopefully, you've enjoyed reliving your own first experiences of reading this comic while perusing this post.  If it's the first time you've ever seen it, then the fortunate thrill of tracking it down on eBay now lies before you.  However, if you've got a bit of cash to splash, you may prefer to seek out the DC Archive Editions which came out a few years back.  If so, here's the info you need:

Challengers of the Unknown

Volume 1 - ISBN: 1-56389-997-3.

Volume 2 - ISBN: 1-4012-0153-9.

The above is a pin-up by BOB BROWN from SUPER DC GIANT #S-25 - the very issue that all the other pages in this post are sourced from.  Can't say I'm too keen about the costumes.