A Pencilled Armory

Random sketches of armored robot thingys. I'm addressing a bit of a slump (again) and I fight it by letting the pencil run with a minimum of direction. A step up from doodling, obviously, since I'm a trained professional, but you get the idea. The helmet in the foreground has eye sockets stolen from some Jack Kirby panel, probably from Thor.

Nose-Blowing, Continued

After a slow month, I'm still trying to warm up the old drawing chops. Who knows where the upper image comes from .... I no doubt glanced at a Jack Kirby page laying open and felt inspired. Mimicking his use of wonderfully pointless costumes with repeating geometric patterns. A lesson in frustration. Using blue pencil again as a sort of safety net. Only agressive lines tend to get picked up, making it easier to miss the timid searching lines and aggressive lines appear to be more competent.

Medusa (InHumans)

Well, I started drawing the leg in the foreground and everything else fell into place. Once I figured out I was drawing Medusa from the InHumans, I had to run downstairs and pull out an old Jack Kirby era Fantastic Four to reference the costume. Yep, I'm an old fart about comics. Her costume now probably involves bikini waxing, superfluous armour plating and spike heels, for all I know or care .... so there!

BlackBolt

Drew a picture of BlackBolt for some reason while on vacation. Truly one of Jack Kirby's niftier creations- a being who can't speak because the mere sound of a whisper from him will bring down a mountain range. Do Inhumans sneeze? Hope he never talks in his sleep or snore for that matter- they probably addressed all that in the comics. My son loved this one.

Goth Girl, Genghis Khan, a Genie, cow skull and a Skeleton Pirate

About 2 weeks ago, I decided to start drawing whatever came into my lil' head. Just fill up space with random images. I then decided to ink it .... can anyone tell where I lost interest? Check out the Jack Kirbyish hand of the Skeleton! I think that was due to the speed at which I was drawing. That's right, I was drawing so fast I channeled an under-paid comic book genius. I wonder who I could channel if I drew really slowly .... Jack T Chick?

No, it's not my boss

I've never been a big Hulk fan. I could see after the first 12 issues, in 1961 or so, walking into Stan Lee's office and saying "That's it, I can't think of anywhere else we can take this concept!" But I've always loved the Jack Kirby/Monster way it was drawn in the beginning. It almost reminds me more of a gigantic child, than anything else. I saw an Eric Powell version recently that appealed to me for that reason and attempted a study of it. Lost interest in the inking stage .... Bah! Puny sable brush!!

Happy Birthday, Jack

Okay, I'm a day late- yesterday the 28th was actually Jack Kirby's birthday! I thought I'd include a scan from the Collected Jack Kirby Collector v. 7- an excellent over-sized magazine which publishes hard-to-find copies of Jack Kirby pencils. Above is a rejected cover for Thor #144. The caption argues that the cover was rejected because Vince Colletta was too lazy to ink it! Well, I won't beat up on Vinnie, considering the page rate at the time was probably 15-20 bucks per.
It does make me wonder what the phone call to Jack was like when they decided to dump it- "Yeah, the cover was good, I guess- I was just hoping for something with a little more pizazz- I dunno..."

Big Barda

Yep, it's Big Barda, one of my favorite Jack Kirby Fourth World characters. It may have something to do with the dark mane and fiery temper. She's not the first animated/comic character I've been attracted to; a short list would include Jane Jetson, Gwen Stacey (-snif-), Wonder Woman (animated version), and - dare I say it- Kim Possible? I'm not proud of myself.

Yep, Jack Kirby Again

Perusing the pages of any Kirby-drawn volume of the Marvel Essentials collections of Thor are sheer joy. The above is from issue #150, The Mighty Thor, around 1968. Since I was at the kitchen table, I used my favorite Jetstream uni-point pen.

What th' What?

Late March. I'm sure I was looking at Jack Kirby again. I've bought most of his Marvel output in the form of the Marvel Essentials collections and, of course, DC's Jack Kirby Library, The Jack Kirby Collector, etc. The "Marvel Essentials" are particularly appealing since they're reproduced in clean black and white- no half-tones or color to get in the way of Kirby's other-worldly design.
It'll affect my drawing for a couple of days, which can be frustrating ( 'cause nobody's that good!), but it's amazing how much it lifts my mood!

Valhalla

Finally finished with Romanticism by Jean Clay. A still-to-waifish-Valkyrie, for sure but I think I've found the religion for me. All you have to do is die in battle (something I could do quickly, at least), then get swept up on horseback behind a zoftig Valkyrie, check in at Valhalla, drink beer till Ragnarok.

Please see Journey into Mystery and the Mighty Thor by Jack Kirby to find out what the well-dressed Asgardian is wearing. (image copyright Essential Thor #2 by Marvel Comics).