Friday, 14 April 2023

ART FOR ARTS' SAKE...


Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Just for the hell of it, above is a page of Jack Kirby art, inked by Barry Smith.  Great, innit?  (From Captain America's Bicentennial Battles.)  Observations welcome!

8 comments:

  1. Was Bicentennial Battles available in the UK? I seem to remember it being advertised in the Marvel UK weeklies but I can't be sure. Anyway I didn't buy a copy and for many years I just assumed it contained reprints of old Captain America stories.

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  2. Yup, it was, CJ, 'cos I bought it here, though the copy I now own is a replacement, acquired, if I recall correctly, from someone who also bought it here. (I got my original in my home town, he got his in Glasgow.) It's all new - one adventure, though in chapters.

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  3. I picked up the reprint of this 1976 epic a few months ago and have it scheduled for reading on July 4th. One of the best things about this book is seeing how different inkers affect Kirby's pencils from chapter to chapter. This is a treasure.

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  4. That's news to me, RJ, as I didn't know it had been reprinted. I must see about tracking down a copy to go with my original. (Not the original I bought back in the '70s, but my original replacement copy.)

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  5. I'll certainly look out for that reprint. The art looks amazing I wouldn't have thought their styles would have merged so well . Thanks for showing this Kid

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  6. I remember seeing that recent reprint of Cap's Bi-centennial Battles on sale in my LCS last year.....I believe (correct me here someone) that it has a hardcover. You've spurred me to find it now.

    I do think that Smith's inking job on Kirby is fine, incorporating elements of Smith's later inking style from the days of The Frost Giant's Daughter without going over the top. Considering that Smith started out emulating Kirby in those Fantastic posters and in early Conan's, its good to see that he didn't try to sublimate his later inking style on Kirby's Cap.

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  7. There may well be a hardback version, B, but the ones I see listed on eBay are described as being paperbacks. I haven't ordered one yet because, due to its size, I'm concerned as to whether it will be well-wrapped enough to prevent damage in the post. I'll have to investigate further.

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