[ChrisCCL]

35,232Kb; 37m 19s

http://www.collectedcomicslibrary.com/

I’ve got a jammed packed show for you this week on the show. As I promised, the feature is Jack Kirby’s Silver Star (Image Comics), but I also throw in a bonus review of his O.M.A.C.: One Man Army Corps (DC Comics). I did so because the two main characters, Morgan Miller (SS) and Buddy Black (OMAC) are very similar and both were modeled after one of Jack Kirby’s and Joe Simon’s most famous creation Captain America; OMAC even more so. As I state in the podcast, both books are not for a first time Kirby reader. The OMAC series was canceled after issue #6 and is left on a huge cliffhanger while Silver Star is just plain convoluted and difficult to comprehend. Both books however are excellent resources for the Kirby enthusiast and they include many pencil sketches supplied by John Morrow of TwoMorrows Publishing.

If you read my column from Monday on the situation with All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #10, then you’ll be primed for a follow-up segment where I call myself out as a hypocrite (of sorts). I also go over all the Collected Edition related news coming out of the Diamond Retailer Summit and I list the sales estimates for the top 10 graphic novels and collected editions for August 2008. On a side note, I’ll be recording with John Mayo in the next week or so and will post the link to the podcast (as I always do) when it is published. All this including the New Releases of the Week.

Please visit my site sponsors: In-Stock Trades, Forbidden Planet International (UK), and Library Binding Company.

[AzizBawany]

I actually think we'd have more traffic if the comic binding forum was here,since it deals with collected editions. I'd like this forum to stay open, but you shouldn't be forced to come around if it's really slow.

[mguy1977]

Summer time is a busy time for everyone.  For me it is spend avoiding Hurricanes Gustav & Ike along w/ physical therpy at home following my fall in Dec. plus Dr. visits has limited my time for posting on the forum.  For All Star Batman & Robin since Miller is very slow (I thought it would be Lee that was slow on the project in the first place) so  I have not picked up the book & I will NOT pick it until it is ALL collected my guess after the next President is out of office.  

Matthew

This post has been edited by mguy1977: 18 September 2008 - 08:28 PM

[ChrisCCL]

.... I have not picked up the book & I will NOT pick it until it is ALL collected my guess after the next President is out of office.  
Matthew

I agree Matt, I can't wait til McCain gets in either.



Chris

[Koete]

I'm with you when it comes to Kirby Chris, I've always preferred Steve Ditko's art to his.

[mguy1977]

I agree Matt, I can't wait til McCain gets in either.



Chris

Appreciates the good ribbing from you Chris.

Matthew

This post has been edited by mguy1977: 20 September 2008 - 07:34 AM

[superhornet34]

Well im not sure about the forum. I listen to every episode but I dont really post much at all. I think theres too many forums on this board but your podcast is among the best and longest running so I kind of think you should keep it.

Im glad you reviewed Silver Star. T remember I thought about buying that when it came out but I heard a pretty uniforrm negative review of it so I decided against it.

[Lone Ranger]

Great show - it's nice for someone to give an open and honest criticism of Kirby.

He was great, but not perfect. I've only read a couple of issues of OMAC and Kamandi, they sure ain't.

I own a single issue of Silver Star - never gotten around to reading it. I just pick up cheap Kirby and Ditko stuff whenever I see it.

I don't know if you've done a show on them before - but it would be great for you to look at the Marvel Visionaries hardcovers. I picked up the Kirby and Ditko volumes for dirt cheap (like $15) at a remaindered bookstore last year (which still has a ton of copies of all the Romita Sr. and Roy Thomas volumes).

It's a good source for good Kirby - but not enough war or western stuff for me.

[ChrisCCL]

While the Marvel Visionaries are good, to get a better grasp of Kirby try out the Jack Kirby Collector series from TwoMorrows.

Thanks to all of you for the kinds words! I thought my head would get chopped off for criticizing "The King".

[Lone Ranger]

Yeah - those Visionaries HCs often seem like they were cobbled together pretty quickly. They are available dirt cheap here, and I only point them out as worth checking out at that price level.

The Kirby Collector is great - I love the tabloid format.

I just wish TwoMorrows had cheaper shipping rates to Canada and packaged their books and mags with proper cardboard etc...

[Todd Strickland]

While the Marvel Visionaries are good, to get a better grasp of Kirby try out the Jack Kirby Collector series from TwoMorrows.

Thanks to all of you for the kinds words! I thought my head would get chopped off for criticizing "The King".

No harm in criticizing Kirby. SILVER STAR is a bit of a mess. But, please, don't throw around the word 'racist' when reviewing his writing. After all, Kirby created the first black super-hero back in the sixties. Kirby was no more racist in SILVER STAR than Tony Isabella was in BLACK GOLIATH or BLACK LIGHTNING. It's just a white guy writing trying to write 'black' when most of what he knows of black culture probably comes from watching GOOD TIMES on TV.

[ChrisCCL]

No harm in criticizing Kirby. SILVER STAR is a bit of a mess. But, please, don't throw around the word 'racist' when reviewing his writing. After all, Kirby created the first black super-hero back in the sixties. Kirby was no more racist in SILVER STAR than Tony Isabella was in BLACK GOLIATH or BLACK LIGHTNING. It's just a white guy writing trying to write 'black' when most of what he knows of black culture probably comes from watching GOOD TIMES on TV.

Good times? Dyn-O-mite!

If that's the case then that's even worse. Ignorance is no excuse.
Excuse me while I go watch Sanforsd and Son on TV Land.

[Todd Strickland]

Good times? Dyn-O-mite!

If that's the case then that's even worse. Ignorance is no excuse.
Excuse me while I go watch Sanforsd and Son on TV Land.

I don't think being guilty of writing poor dialogue is worse than being a racist, but that's just me. I just think that being a Jew Kirby was probably a little more sensitive to the topic of racism than most, and that by creating characters such as T'Challa and Wyatt Wingfoot during the racially-explosive sixties would preclude any wondering-out-loud about Kirby being a racist just because a character of color he wrote while his abilities were clearly in decline (and his dialogue was never his strong suit, anyway) uttered a 'jive turkey!" If you start down this path, than television as well as our funnybooks througout the Seventies and Eighties could be argued to have been written by Klan-sympathizers. When you have a forum such as your fine podcast, and you throw out hot-button words carelessly, you're bound to get a response. I don't really think you think Kirby is a racist, but if you do, I'm here to tell you that you are wrong. Unless you know something the rest of us don't. And I don't think you do. SILVER STAR is just another example of Kirby's rather poor dialoguing skills, that's all.

And I love Sanford and Son, too.

[ChrisCCL]

example of Kirby's rather poor dialoguing skill

That's what I was going for, but as a professional writer, he should know better or do more research on the African American community at the time. Green Arrow/Green Lantern did it right, Silver Star is off.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Chris