HAND OF FIRE

Saturday, Sept. 26, in the Gallery (catalog signing day). Why, yes, that is Diana Schutz, foreground right!

The Apocalypse has reached its final week!

The exhibition Comic Book Apocalypse: The Graphic World of Jack Kirby will be up for just FIVE more days, through Saturday, Oct. 10, at the CSU Northridge Art Galleries. This is the largest-ever US exhibit of Kirby’s work, and the fulfillment of a dream decades in the making. If you’re a Kirby fan or comics history buff anywhere within range of Los Angeles, I hope you can come see it!

Check out this terrific writeup on the exhibition by artist, curator, and critic Doug Harvey, at The Comics Journal.

And now some news about the exhibition catalog:

Thanks to all of you who have contacted me or the CSUN Art Galleries asking about the catalog. It is an unusual, and beautiful, full-color book, designed by Randy Dahlk, edited by Ben Saunders and me, and co-published by IDW Publishing and CSUN. It runs 168 pages in roughly 8 x 11 inch softcover form, and lists for $39.99. Further details about the book can be found at the bottom of this post.

Q: Where is the catalog???

A: Coming soon! Thanks, everyone, for your patience as we work to make this long-promised book available! The Gallery has seen a huge show of interest in the catalog; since the exhibition opened in August, we have taken down hundreds of names from visitors interesting in buying it. We received an initial shipment of 150 copies by express freight in time for our panel and signing on Sept. 26, but that supply ran out almost immediately. We await a corrected second printing from the printer, which should arrive in late October or early November (a misprint in the first printing did not deter sales!). Please accept our apologies for the further delay of the book—we are waiting breathlessly for that second shipment.

Those of you who have already contacted the Gallery about buying the book, you do not need to do anything else at this point. Once we receive our shipment, you’ll be getting an email from us with a link to purchase the book, which will include a place for you to add your full shipping address. Once payment has been received we will ship the book to you ASAP.

For those who have not contacted the Gallery about the book, rest assured, there will be a page on the CSUN Art Galleries site where the book can be purchased (and I’ll be making announcements here and on social media). Also, IDW expects to make the book available to comic book shops via Diamond Comic Distributors in January—which means that Diamond should be soliciting orders for the book in the next month or so (ask your local shop if the catalog is listed in the November Previews).

Q: What exactly is this catalog like?

A: Here are the specs: again, the catalog is a 168-page color softcover, at 8 x 11 inches. It lists at $39.99. However, when ordering it from CSUN you must add $5.00 for shipping. California residents must also add an in-state tax of 9%.

The catalog contains over 120 images, including more than seventy shot from Kirby’s original art as well as several previously unpublished photos of Jack at work in his studio (taken by David Folkman in the 1970s). It also includes the complete exhibition checklist and some twenty essays, short and long, totaling about 40K words, written by nineteen different creators, storytellers, and scholars:

• Mark Badger
• Scott Bukatman
• Howard Chaykin
• Brian Cremins
• Ramzi Fawaz
• Craig Fischer
• Glen David Gold
• Doug Harvey
• Charles Hatfield
• Adam McGovern
• Carla Speed McNeil
• Andrei Molotiu
• Dan Nadel
• Adilifu Nama
• Ann Nocenti
• Tony Puryear
• James Romberger
• Ben Saunders
• Diana Schutz

Topics run the gamut, from superheroes, romance, and SF comics, to The Fantastic Four, The Fourth World, and Kamandi, to Kirby’s collages, the power of his visual storytelling, and the impact of his war experiences. Whether your interest is “Toxl the World Killer” or “Big Barda and Her Female Furies” or simply how and why Jack drew so many double-page spreads, this book has something for you.

I’ll let you know when it’s available!