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| Images copyright MARVEL COMICS |
Y'know, Crivvies, it's difficult for me to believe, whenever I cast my eyes over the cover of The ETERNALS Annual at the foot of this post, that I bought this mag 37 years ago. The summer's day I sat reading it in my living-room, in a chair we no longer have, at the side of a mantelpiece that no longer exists, seems as fresh in my memory as more recent events. So much has changed since then, so many friends and family have expired - yet the comic survives, in practically the same condition as when purchased in 1977. How near that time seems, almost as if I could reach out and touch it (if you know what I mean) - it sometimes simply astounds me that I'm now living in a different century to the one in which this comic was first published.
Anyway, that's enough self-indulgent silliness from me for this post, you'll be glad to hear. Now I can unleash the final ten covers of JACK KIRBY's longest-lasting new mag, which he did (amongst others) upon his return to MARVEL in the mid-'70s. To all but diehard fans, his style of writing and drawing was 'out-of-sync' to the way things were then being done by others in the field of comicbook endeavour. Kirby was still 'King', but it was more an honorary title than one that reflected the reality of his then-current place in the overall scheme of things. Past accomplishments had secured his place in the hall of fame, but they seemed long ago and now other creators reigned from the throne that had once been his, and his alone. Such is the nature of kingship, alas.
Yet Kirby's immortality is assured. He'll still be celebrated and discussed long after the rest of us are forgotten, of that you can be certain. And while you're pondering that simultaneously sad and happy thought, don't forget to enjoy the cosmic comic covers presented in this post for your personal perusal.
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Kid, we aren't just in a different century from 1977 but a different millennium !! And all of my closest relatives from those days are now deceased but I don't have any old comics to look at, unfortunately. I have to be satisfied with looking at them online ! I suppose you are right about Jack Kirby being out of fashion by this time but he still says Marvel Comics for me like few other artists do. On the cover of #18 the little "characters box" in the top left-hand corner has a different picture to all the other issues.
ReplyDeleteI have often thought that a book of ALL the Kirby "Kovers" would be a beautiful object to own.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I can feel another project coming on....
Time to search for a definitive list, methinks....
I noticed the corner box, CJ - I'll have to re-read the story to see if there's a reason why it was changed for that one issue. Do you have anything at all (comics, books or toys) from yesteryear that reminds you of your past?
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Ah, but having the covers would only make you want the stories, JP. Think of the expense. You'd be cheaper inventing a time machine and visiting the past to buy all Kirby's comics when they first came out. (When I do hyperbole, I do it large.)
Kid, the only things I have are a few things that belonged to my parents like a couple of sherry glasses that have survived and a jug my mother used to make gravy in, that sort of thing. I've also got a beer mug that belonged to my sister and a fancy looking plate from my grandmother's house. I've also got a plywood board that my father gave me to use as a drawing board which nowadays is useful as an ironing board if I lay it on the bed. I don't know why so few things survived from my childhood days but I suppose I'm just not a collector of things - I carefully look after those things that I've still got though ! In about 1984 I decided to sell all my comics and I wrote off to somewhere offering them for sale but after a few months without a reply I just threw them away - I must admit it pains me to think of them out there somewhere in a landfill site !
ReplyDeleteMust confess, it pains me to think of it as well, CJ. Do you ever regret it? Not just from the financial point of view, but also the nostalgia one?
ReplyDeleteThe corner box illustration of Ikarus was used to promote this comic before it came out.
ReplyDeleteI remember being really impressed by it.
I knew who Icarus was,but with a k instead of a c.
I was hooked instantly.
I think it was in the same print size or smaller.
Possibly a box in a bullpen strip.
And printed across the board.
I also think it took a while for the comic to come out,well it felt like that to me.
I would have been around thirteen at the time and maybe I 'was' waiting.
That corner box illustration of Ikarus .
I was overly impressed by it.
"I must have read them all".*
Odd then that I don't think I really bought it.
I definitely had numbers one,two,ten and thirteen , but I don't remember having a lot of them,if at all.
That corner box illustration of Ikarus, really must have said it all to me ,the book need never have been published.
I don't mean that in a bad way,I am trying to express how this character illustration affected me.
This shorter haired version
Its been good to see what I missed,Kid.
*On the strength of this nostalgic illusion I purchased the Hard back of Eternals by Neil Gaiman and John Romita junior.
Which I am sure I liked.
The Ikaris corner box illo was published full page size (or not far off) in an issue of F.O.O.M., Baab, and I think it demonstrates just how far Jack's talents had declined. Squat, blocky, stiff - it just didn't work for me, I'm afraid. But hey, if it works for you, I'm not gonna complain. I got a mini-series of The Eternals in the mid-'80s, but I forget who drew it. Walter Simonson? Sal Buscema? Can anyone remember and save me having to dig it out (or Googling it) to check?
ReplyDeleteKid, I do regret that I didn't save a few of them for nostalgia's sake - it feels like I can't prove I ever had them if anybody asked (not that they would). But I content myself seeing old comics online and reading blogs like yours. Your blog is wonderfully varied in its'content and I never know what to expect from one day to the next !
ReplyDeleteGood to know that I can help reconnect you to your past in some small way, CJ. Nostalgia is the name of the game.
ReplyDeleteKid, I also meant to add that I'm glad you always answer all the comments you receive - you always make it feel like a proper conversation! I've seen a few blogs where the comments are NEVER answered which leaves me scratching my head as to why those bloggers even bother in the first place - the interaction between the blogger and the commenters are part of the experience I'd say. I enjoy reading your answers as much as reading the comments.
ReplyDeleteI try to treat others as I'd like to be treated, CJ, and it slightly irks me when I leave a comment somewhere and it's totally ignored - even if it's the only one there. If a blogger isn't interested in responding to comments (even a 'thanks for commenting' would do), then (as you suggest) why bother having the comment option?
ReplyDeleteIIRC, the 1985-86 Eternals series had covers by Walt Simonson for the first two issues, and by Kieth Pollard after that. Interior art was by Sal Buscema, although some of the later issues may have been done by Allen Milgrom.
ReplyDeleteI've got that series somewhere, TC, so I'll check when I find it again. However, it sounds about right to me.
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