I just got Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Volume 2 and on the back is a blurb from the LA Times:
"The work presented here shows why Kirby, who died in 1994, deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Will Eisner, say, or Alan Moore and Frank Miller."
Wrong-O! What they obviously meant is:
"Alan Moore and Frank Miller deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Will Eisner and Jack Kirby."
You compare the offspring to the parent, baby, not the other way around. It's Kirby, Kirby, KIRBY, then Kirby. With Jack Kirby.
Also, thank the New Gods this volume has Funky Flashman in it. Funky Flashman! Hot damn, I love that story. The angry, bitter lampooning of Stan Lee (who I still like, so don't send any letter bombs my way, True Believers) and the totally unfair swipe at Roy Thomas are hilarious. Here's how Kirby describes him in a "next issue" blurb:
You know him!! I know him!! Everbody gets to know -a "Funky Flashman" The question is --- "Do we need him?" This can become a desperate issue - if a "Funky Flashman" can decide your fate!!! Watch Mister Miracle get taken!!! --- By the con's con-man!! - The Funkiest Agent of them All!!!
We do all get to know a Funky Flashman at some point or other. In some cases, several. What's your worldview? Do Funkys outnumber Kirbys or are you optimistic enough to believe it's the other way around? Find your Kirby wherever you may and love and protect him or her as best you can. That's what Scott Free would do. I'm no pessimist but I have a feeling we're all more Funky inside than Scott Free. That's why we have to cherish our Kirbys all the more.
Oh yeah, Funky Flashman, the conclusion to the infamous Don Rickles/Goody Rickels story, the first appearance of Big Barda and the awesome epic "The Glory Boat," all in one hefty, hardcover volume that's infinitely more fun and more creative than all the monthlies DC has put out in the past 15 years or so... combined! Is this the greatest archival hardcover ever released?
If not, I'd love to know what is!
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