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Matt Hawes Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 16428
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Posted: 04 October 2022 at 6:24am | IP Logged | 1
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I came across this piece while searching for images of Jack Kirby on Google images:
I am pretty darn certain that is NOT really Jack Kirby's artwork, later period or otherwise. Besides some details not looking right to me, Jack's pencils usually have a... less labored look. This feels like someone really trying to draw like Kirby, but it has a certain stiffness to it.
Does anyone here know anything about this piece?
What's your opinion about it?
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Darren Ashmore Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 30 April 2004 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 947
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Posted: 04 October 2022 at 7:18am | IP Logged | 2
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Sue looks way off the Kirby style and Johnny's left hand seems awkward too. Might be legit, might not, it wouldn't be the first time a bogus piece has appeared on that site.
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Conrad Teves Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 January 2014 Location: United States Posts: 2172
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Posted: 04 October 2022 at 7:37am | IP Logged | 3
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In addition to what Darren said, I'd point out somethin "off" about the signature too. Kirby does what's called a "crook's claw" or "felon's claw" in his capital "J"s. The bottom curve on the J is usually pointy on anyone who does this. Looks oddly round to me, very much so compared to any other samples I googled. (This caught my eye immediately since I read a number of books on handwriting analysis back in the 90's)* On the other hand, maybe he was just tired.
Also, I seem to recall Kirby being much sharper with perspective in the backgrounds? This is kinda janky. Look at the windows between Sue and Galactus.
*Eventually decided the practice was very unscientific, mostly nonsense, particularly stroke-trait analysis, where the name for the "crook's claw" comes from. The fact that some people draw their Js that way is obviously quite real, though.
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Joe Hollon Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 08 May 2004 Location: United States Posts: 13674
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Posted: 04 October 2022 at 12:13pm | IP Logged | 4
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Doesn’t jump out as fake to me and based on the rest of that guys collection I would think it’s legit.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 132231
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Posted: 04 October 2022 at 12:16pm | IP Logged | 5
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Looks like late vintage Kirby to me.
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Brian Miller Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 28 July 2004 Location: United States Posts: 30884
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Posted: 04 October 2022 at 12:17pm | IP Logged | 6
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The Torch doesn’t look right at all
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Vinny Valenti Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 8030
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Posted: 04 October 2022 at 2:34pm | IP Logged | 7
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Along the lines of what JB said, later Kirby started to go off his own model, so I agree.
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Eric Smearman Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 02 September 2006 Location: United States Posts: 5798
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Posted: 04 October 2022 at 2:59pm | IP Logged | 8
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Looks legit to me. Looks like it could have been done in or around the time that Kirby was doing SUPER POWERS at DC.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 132231
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Posted: 04 October 2022 at 3:50pm | IP Logged | 9
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SUPER POWERS is just what I found myself thinking of as I looked at this piece. We see here the same kind of line and shading Kirby used there.At the risk of calling down the Wrath of God on my pointy little head, there is much evidence of someone very much at the end of his period of peak creativity. Sad but true--and something that would make for a curious choice if the piece was forged. Compare:
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Jason Ladwig Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 29 April 2020 Location: United States Posts: 198
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Posted: 04 October 2022 at 3:52pm | IP Logged | 10
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A little off topic but maybe along the lines of an artists early work versus later:
JB: As you've aged, how much ( if any) do you think your drawing ability changes by choice( purposefully doing something different) versus age related changes ( vision, arthritis, etc)?
*edited for punctuation
Edited by Jason Ladwig on 04 October 2022 at 3:53pm
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 132231
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Posted: 04 October 2022 at 3:55pm | IP Logged | 11
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JB: As you've aged, how much ( if any) do you think your drawing ability changes by choice( purposefully doing something different) versus age related changes ( vision, arthritis, etc)•• A LOT!! I was looking at the hardcover collection of my NEXT MEN: AFTERMATH miniseries the other day, and really missing the kind of line that I'd evolved by that point. Forgive the towering immodesty, but that was some sweet stuff. Alas, I could not hang onto it.
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Mark Haslett Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 19 April 2004 Location: United States Posts: 6093
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Posted: 04 October 2022 at 3:59pm | IP Logged | 12
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Looks authentic to me.
Trying to isolate a piece of evidence: Reed’s face is a late-Kirby face instead of a recognizable “Kirby’s Reed” face. This is something difficult to forge: how would late Kirby re-invent his style for Reed’s face?
So many details seem correct to me for that late vintage and I’ve seen other highly finished pencil pieces by him.
Edit: while I typed this up, JB made a much better case in other posts that went up before I finished and posted this.
Edited by Mark Haslett on 04 October 2022 at 4:06pm
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