Project48 : Undercover King of Contact

While he was alive, it seems many people around Jack Kirby were impressed by him, many possibly respected how much brilliant stuff he was cranking out so quickly. But one criticism, probably still meant as a compliment, that he was some "idiot savant" worked in favor of obscuring Jack's image. With the understanding that he had a distinctive style, but maybe not obsessive need to fit proportion or realistic standards, everyone sort of takes him for granted. Yes he invented Marvel as we know it, but there may be quite a few reasons for him to naturally get quite a lot more recognition.

As much as he wished for each page to become more of a pop art experience, there are those who will glance at a portion of his work and just see pop art, or old comic book art, in it's most generally understood form. All of these factors contributed to one main current, that in this way Kirby is now everywhere and yet barely understood. He has become iconic but without really full engagement of his ideas...yet...and this is genius...and this may have been part of a kind of unintentional (perhaps intentional I don't really know) way of hiding the most brilliant ideas in plain sight, and we can come back to single issues of blasting, vibrant color, and hyper dynamism, seeking treasure for the eyes and mind alike, time and time again, like some ancient archaeological site.

Kirby was in disguise in a way, undercover...like so many of his heroes, he donned a normal Joe suit to squeeze by normal society long enough to bring us back space relics, beautiful eastern architecture, and the alien hummings of future microprocessors... Much like our rock based friend from Fantastic Four, all this raw emotion and untapped human understanding poured freely from the man only when not in disguise, as he may have seemed like just the guy in the back room who never stopped drawing. Now don't get me wrong Kirby was great at explaining himself, the King had many things to say, but like a great musician, it's not until you are alone in a quiet place glancing through his comics that it hits you...the brilliance, the constant ability to tap into the universe, into everything, and make it all come to life, in absolute sure form, screaming and beckoning to be tapped into again like ancient gods, and hieroglyphs, like ancient magick and symbols that culture won't let go of.

Like Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, David Mack, J.H.Williams, and so many of the heroes of modern comics, it kind of feels like all things can be explained through their work sometimes, like it's the most universal, well read, to the point and simultaneously abstract and bizarre stuff I've ever read. Period, and far beyond the more common understanding of pop art and comic book aesthetic. ( Ya know, I don't know if Avengers movies help or hurt this understanding, but the cartoon interpretations of Kirby's work strive to bring different elements of his brilliance to the television, see his personal work in cartoons or Silver Surfer animated series, Batman: Brave and the Bold, Justice League Unlimited, etc...)

Ancient Entities and Sacred Sites: Part 1

Kirby and other Dimensions:

Other aliens sent from the King:

"The Gargoids" was about "scientists who gain superpowers after being infected by an alien virus."
-New York Times 2010

Eyes in the Sky and the Freedom Force:

I don't think it's too much of a stretch to assume that the idea of an artificial intelligence interlinked with a hero influenced (if not his own work on similar shows) Freedom Force in 1978. His work already looks quite similar in the Herculoids and many other animation titles.

Nope, wrong one Freedom Force influenced by the King...

There we go, the one with ancient alien master cartoon author David Wise!

The Underground Apokolips:

A fear of burrowing demonic insects and reptilian humanoids often showed itself in Jack's alien invasions, perhaps inspiring the methods and looks of so many similar villains and conspiracy theories of modern times.