By Jack Kirby (Marvel Comics)
ISBN: 0-7851-1687-7
Jack Kirby’s return to Marvel in the mid 1970’s was much hyped at the time but swiftly turned out to be controversial. His new work and creations (The Eternals, Devil Dinosaur, 2001, Machine Man) found friends rapidly, but his return to earlier creations Captain America and Black Panther divided the fan base. Kirby was never slavishly wedded to tight continuity, and preferred, in many ways, to treat his stints on titles as another “Day Oneâ€.
And that is the reason a fresh collection of such works is always so welcome. His commitment to wholesome adventure, breakneck action and breathless wonderment combined with his absolute mastery of the comic page and unceasing quest for the Next Big Thrill make for a captivating read. His comics should be on every School Curriculum if we want youngsters to get into Graphic Narrative.
Black Panther reprints issues 1-7 from 1977-1978 and disappointed many fans who were expecting some kind of conclusion or continuance to the long-lauded Don MacGregor epic ‘The Panther Vs The Klan,’ which had been abruptly cancelled the previous year. What they got was a rollercoaster ride of classic Kirby as the Hereditary King of a Hi-tech African Lost Kingdom pursues legendary time machines, fights future men and secret samurai clans, thwarts the plots of super-rich artefact collectors and foils schemes to nuke his hidden homeland.
My only quibble is with the editorial decision to chop the final story in this volume off at the knees and leave the reader hanging without a conclusion. This is no way to garner new readers. It doesn’t matter that there’s going to be a second volume. Cliff-hangers are for comics not books.
If you’re going to create a new market for comics as books you really ought to consider the value to the consumer of a product with a beginning, a middle, and most importantly a satisfactory end!
© 2001, 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.