Jack Kirby: Pencils and Inks, Artisan Edition, No. 1: Demon • Kamandi • OMAC

Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth #1

by Jack Kirby (Author/Illustrator), Mike Royer (Illustrator)

Jack Kirby has been called the King of Comics, and rightfully so. For more than 40 years he was the most vital and groundbreaking artist in the medium. There have been dozens of books on Kirby over the years, including several oversized Artist's Editions showcasing his original art. This book will present Kirby's art in a new and unprecedented way, as side-by-side examples of his work, both in PENCIL and INK! Three Key first issues are showcased: The Demon #1, Kamandi #1 and Omac #1, along with a number of additional pieces presented. This is a perfect way to see Kirby art in its rawest form, from photocopies made from the original pencils as each page was completed, then next to it, the finished inks. We would almost call this a textbook of comic art except it's too much fun!

Genres: Comics, Art, Fiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2016

About the author

Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching back to the earliest days of the medium. He was also a comic book writer and editor. His most common nickname is "The King."

Reviews

[Michael Neno]

Nearly all of the great Jack Kirby's Kamandi No. 1, Omac No. 1 and The Demon No. 1 are reproduced in a coffee table-sized hardbound book, with Kirby's pencils on the left-hand page and Mike Royer's crisp and faithful inks on the right. This gift of a book will create or renew your respect and astonishment at the artistry of both these cartoonists.

This collection makes especially clear how adeptly Royer created Kirby's suggested sound effects, as they careen and splash across the dense b&w art. This is work for the ages and will be studied long into the future, if for no other reason that Kirby created so much of the comic book characters thrilling five-year-olds now every day.

There's one image I can't stop looking at: a micro close-up, blown up huge for the end-papers, of the torn original cover pencil drawing for The Demon #1. Though drawn when Kirby was 55 years old, it has the rough-hewn, carved and explosive look of drawings Kirby made on cheap paper sitting in his kitchen in Lower East Side of Manhattan in the '20s.

[Rick]

This is a gorgeous book. Absolutely stunning. The layout provides both photocopies of the original pencil pages as produced by the late Jack Kirby and, on the facing page, the inked pages by Mike Royer for the individual first issues for three titles: The Demon, Kamandi and OMAC. While the original cover penciled pages are also provided, the only thing missing are the original penciled pages for the 2-page spreads, apparently these where not available. But material from the first issue of The Demon provides some unique surprises: a deleted page, inked by Royer in 2002 and an example of some editing done after the fact as two pages of original penciled pages were chopped up and reduced down to a single page. Both the original penciled pages and the revised single inked page are included, as well as a thumbnail diagram illustrating how the two pages were assembled onto a single page. There are also introductions to each of the issues written by the King himself and an overall introduction by Royer, with an afterword by Kirby’s youngest daughter Lisa Kirby. A brief biography of Kirby and some additional pencil and ink side-by-side comparisons round out the pages. While this was not as “oversized” as I was expecting, it’s still a beautiful volume and must own item for any fans of Kirby’s work. Also, this is a remarkable artistic study of comic book art and a perfect book for anyone who studies the art form or wants to enter the field. There is a reason that Kirby is known as The King of Comics and this is a book that helps illustrate exactly why.

[Al McCarty]

The #1 issues of The Demon, Kamandi: the Last Boy on Earth, and OMAC: One Man Army Corps by "King" Kirby, all show with original pencils on one page, original inked pages on the opposite side.
Bonus extraneous material in the back.
Just gorgeous.
A must for every Kirby Kollector.