Realizations...

As I've been buying my Kirby issues of FANTASTIC FOUR, I've been reading them, catching up on the old memories of my youth. The older I get, the more impressed I become with the vast talent of Jack Kirby. I think he was one of the greatest comic book artists in the history of this most American art form. And he was--no competition--the greatest superhero creator to work in the field. Nobody created a pantheon to measure up to his visions.

As he progressed, spreading his wings and trying new ideas and allowing his visions to blossom on the page, I remain impressed at how he evolved as an a storyteller as he got closer and closer to the 60th issue of the book.

And something else I have noticed...how Stan Lee all but utterly fucked his stories with his often confusing dialog and captions. Now I understand why Kirby was growing angrier and more frustrated with each passing month. To see his stories butchered by this glad-handing bastard of an editor must have been utterly maddening!

More, later, as I continue to read the issues and assemble my thoughts on Kirby's stories and what the company shill was doing to those stories.

My newly acquired copies of FANTASTIC FOUR #58 and #59.