Kirby Studies

26 November 2015

Thanksgiving

The exhibition I curated, Comic Book Apocalypse: The Graphic World of Jack Kirby, closed over a month ago, and I still feel as if I’m waking from a dream. This show has been the most challenging, rewarding, and flat-out dizzying experience of my years at CSUN, taking me to new areas, teaching me new kinds of work, and bringing me into contact with wonderful new people. I’ve learned so much from it. To have shown Kirby artwork to a vast public, and had the pleasure of acting as docent and guide for so many folks — that’s an honor I never could have expected when I came to CSUN, and I’ll always be grateful for it. To me, Comic Book Apocalypse was a rare and wonderful example of taking scholarship public and making of it a genuine shared experience.

Attendance-wise, Comic Book Apocalypse was the biggest show in the history of the CSUN Galleries, drawing about 6000 visitors during its seven-week run. From the very first day (Aug. 24), when more than a hundred people showed up in the first two hours, to our opening reception (Aug. 29), which drew more than 600, to our panel discussion (Sept. 26), which also drew several hundred, to the last day (Oct. 10), i.e. the very last few hours of the show, which, incredibly, drew another 500 — this exhibition proved that many, many people want to see the work of Jack Kirby. I’m proud of those numbers, and dearly hope that further comic art exhibitions, both at CSUN and elsewhere, will be in my future. I’m planning on it.

(BTW, the exhibition catalog is now available for purchase through the CSUN Galleries’ online store. More to come about this!)

My work on Kirby has always been about thanks: my profound gratitude to Jack for boosting my imagination, for enriching the comics field and my life, and for the sheer generosity of his work. And this feels like the right time to express my thanks — many, many thanks — to the people and institutions who made this show possible, or enriched it, or helped spread the word:

The Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication, CSU Northridge:

Dan Hosken, Dean

Jay Kvapil, former Dean

Michael Ryan, Director of Development

The College of Humanities, CSU Northridge:

Elizabeth Say, Dean

Suren Seropian, Director of Development

Chhan Mech, Systems and Technology Coordinator

Teresa Morrison, Grants Officer

Judith Spiegel, Web Developer

CSUN Art Galleries:

Jim Sweeters, Gallery Director

Michelle Giacopuzzi, Exhibitions Coordinator

Jack Castellanos, Gallery Assistant

Janet Solval, Gallery Assistant

The entire Gallery team!

Ben Saunders, University of Oregon, catalog co-editor and curatorial consultant

The Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center (www.kirbymuseum.org)

Mark Evanier

The Rosalind Kirby Trust

Lisa Kirby

Paul S. Levine

Neal, Connie, and Jillian Kirby

CSUN Department of English:

Jackie Stallcup, Chair

Marjie Seagoe, Graduate Administrative Support Coordinator

All of my colleagues

CSUN Department of Art

University of Oregon Comics and Cartoon Studies Program

CSUN Office of Research and Sponsored Projects

Comics@CSUN

Louis Solis, graphic design and banner production

Geoff Grogan, banner design

Tom Kraft, iBook design; image acquisition and production

Our generous lenders:

Glen Brunswick

Carr D’Angelo, Earth-2 Comics

Jackie Estrada

David Folkman

Barry Ira Geller

Glen David Gold

Richard Howell

Tom Kraft

Erik Larsen

Jud Meyers, Blastoff Comics

Ethan Roberts, Ph.D.

Steve Roden

Dick Swan

Wally Wolodarsky

And our anonymous lenders

IDW Publishing

Scott Dunbier, catalog project manager

Randy Dahlk, catalog designer

David Althoff, Marvel Entertainment

Robert Boyd

Scott Bukatman

CSUN University Advancement

Mark Farquhar, CSU Northridge

Doug Harvey

Rand Hoppe

Neil Kendricks

Jay Kogan, DC Entertainment

Harry Mendryk

Aubry Mintz, CSU Long Beach

John Morrow

Paul Sager, Continental Comics

Diana Schutz

Tom Spurgeon

Robert St. Pierre, CSUN

Terry Wilson

Our catalog contributors:

Mark Badger

Scott Bukatman

Howard Chaykin

Brian Cremins

Ramzi Fawaz

Craig Fischer

Glen David Gold (again!)

Doug Harvey (again!)

Adam McGovern

Carla Speed McNeil

Andrei Molotiu

Dan Nadel

Adilifu Nama

Ann Nocenti

Tony Puryear

James Romberger

Ben Saunders (again!)

Diana Schutz (again!)

All the journalists who covered the show

All of the local comic shops that helped promote it

All of my friends who came to see it!

As always and above all, my family:

My mom and dad, Ella and Jerry Hatfield

My brother Scott and my sister-in-law Corine

My New England side of the family, for cheering us on

My kids, Nami and Nick

My wife and my rock, Michele, who knows the whole story better than anyone!

I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone. The list of people who made a difference is very, very long, and no words will be enough.

30 October 2015

Apocalypse at your LCS!

Coming to your Local Comic Shop this January: the catalog to our just-finished exhibition, Comic Book Apocalypse: The Graphic World of Jack Kirby. Please ask your shop to order it!

Comic Book Apocalypse is more than a catalog and more than a memento. It’s a book of gorgeous Kirby art and smart writing that I hope will have a long shelf life and inform discussions of Kirby’s work going forward. Details below!

The book can be found in the IDW section of the latest, i.e. November, issue of Previews, the comic shop catalog from Diamond Comic Distributors (that issue solicits orders for products shipping to shops in January). Look on page 170 for a full-page ad. The order code for the book is NOV15 0459.

Scores of people have asked me about getting this book, and we at the CSUN Art Galleries have a list of buyers hundreds of names long, mostly folks who got to visit the exhibition in person. (In fact we’re anxiously waiting on a new shipment of books so that we can fulfill those orders!) But if you weren’t able to see the exhibit, and haven’t been in touch with the Galleries, ordering the book through your LCS could be the best way to go!

THE DETAILS

Previews has an info page on the book here. Here’s the relevant page in the printed catalog:

Again, that’s page 170, item number NOV15 0459

Comic Book Apocalypse is a 168-page color softcover at 8 x 12 inches that lists at $39.99. Co-edited by my fellow prof Ben Saunders and me, it’s a publishing collaboration between the CSUN Galleries and IDW. Scott Dunbier, the visionary behind IDW’s famed Artists’ Editions, supervised the project, and Randy Dahlk, the designer behind IDW’s incredible Kirby Artist Editions, designed it. It’s like no other book about Kirby: a mashup of history, art criticism, and appreciation, written from academic, professional, and fan perspectives. It boasts over 120 images, most shot from Kirby’s originals—as well as the complete checklist of the exhibition and some twenty essays, written by these 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

It’s a beautiful book—just paging through it makes me a bit dizzy! We expect that it will get people talking in new ways about Kirby, his art, and his towering, lifelong achievement. Please ask your LCS to order it!

NOTE: Just as a reminder, those who have already contacted the Gallery about buying the book 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.

10 October 2015

Day of Omega, or Day of Alpha?

Today is the last day of the Comic Book Apocalypse exhibition at the CSU Northridge Art Galleries—we’re open from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m.! Join us for the big sendoff, eh?

While today marks the end of this particular exhibition, I confidently predict future Kirby exhibitions and further developments in Kirby studies, not to mention further comic art events at CSU Northridge! Watch this space—things will be happening. 🙂

6 October 2015

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Comic Book Apocalypse, Kirby in Academia, Press

Five More Days of Apocalypse; plus, Book News

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!

1 October 2015

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Comic Book Apocalypse, Kirby in Academia

Nine More Days of Apocalypse!

The exhibition I’ve curated, Comic Book Apocalypse: The Graphic World of Jack Kirby, will be up for NINE MORE DAYS at the CSU Northridge Art Galleries—that is, through Saturday, October 10. Readers, I hope you can make it!

This past Saturday, Sept. 26, the Galleries hosted a jam-packed panel discussion of Kirby at CSUN’s Noski Auditorium, followed by a well-attended catalog signing in the Main Gallery itself, amidst all that Kirby art!

(More photos to come!)

On the panel were six Kirby experts, all catalog contributors and/or lenders to the exhibition: Scott Bukatman, Doug Harvey, Adam McGovern, Andrei Molotiu, Steve Roden, and Ben Saunders. I had the pleasure of moderating. Also in attendance were catalog contributors Mark Badger, Glen David Gold, and Diana Schutz.

Catalog signing, CSUN Main Gallery, 26 Sept. 2015. In the center, Diana Schutz signs, and Adam McGovern makes conversation. At the edges, a bunch of the rest of us are sort of visible.

Again with the catalog signing. You probably can’t quite see from the photo, but, from left, we are CH, Ben Saunders, Mark Badger, Adam McGovern, Diana Schutz, and Andrei Molotiu. (Is Scott Bukatman visible on the end? He should be!)

Many of us joined together to create an impromptu signing line in the Gallery—and so it was that our long-expected exhibition catalog, a beautiful tome co-published by IDW Publishing and the CSUN Art Galleries, finally made its public debut!

Thanks to everyone who made this event possible, from Gallery Director Jim Sweeters and his hardworking team to IDW’s Scott Dunbier, to all of our contributing writers, panelists, and lenders.

Dream of a lifetime, folks—happily fulfilled at my school, Cal State Northridge!

If you haven’t been able to see Comic Book Apocalypse yet, please pay a visit by October 10!