Kirby Additions.

I've been busy working on completing my run of Jack Kirby's FANTASTIC FOUR. As with my Spider-Man collection, I only want the issues that feature the work of the man who created, wrote, and illustrated it. Therefore, I will buy the issues by Jack Kirby and no others. I hope to have the set completed by the end of 2013. We'll see.

I finally landed a copy of FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #1.

This was part of an ambitious story arc by Kirby, wherein Von Doom stole the cosmic power of the Silver Surfer and used it to try to destroy the Fantastic Four. I've always admired this cover, featuring as it does Ben Grimm duking it out with the mad Dr. Doom. It's illustrations such as this one that have always convinced me that Grimm was almost a part of Jack Kirby himself.

Cover featuring the character Blastaar. Even throwaway characters from Kirby were superior to the kind of thing other writers struggled to deliver.

Another fine cover from Kirby. I've been told that this version was delivered at the last minute as a replacement for art that was rejected by the editor, Stan Lee.