Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby

Chapter 7: “Unexpected Constants”: Kirby’s Eternals versus the Marvel Universe

228 7 “UNEXPECTED CONSTANTS” Kirby’s Eternals versus the Marvel Universe Consider the following comments culled from the letter column of Marvel’s Black Panther during Jack Kirby’s 1977–78 tenure on that series: [Don] McGregor’s storylines were as complex as the real world, and his characters were genuine human beings. After [McGregor’s] “The Panther ’s Rage” and “The Panther vs. the Klan,” there is only one word to describe [Kirby’s first issue]: obscene. . . . The Panther as originally depicted in the Avengers was deeply concerned with the position of blacks in America, and again [McGregor’s] storyline . . . developed this original background in an adult fashion. Please, please don’t abandon this real world to go careening throughout the universe. (3, May 1977) I was unhappy to see Kirby take over the series, because he approaches comics with a different type of fantasy. His version of T’Challa [the Black Panther] detracts from the character as [previously] developed . . . I’m in the strange position of liking Kirby’s work very much, but detesting what he has done to a character I had really come to like. (4, July 1977) I’m not sure which technique you used while operating on him—psychosurgery , electroshock therapy, lobotomy, or thorazine treatments— but whatever it was, it wiped out the Panther’s character completely. (5, Sept. 1977) Kirby’s Eternals versus the Marvel Universe 229 . . . to have this realistic Panther exist at the same time as Kirby’s fantasy Panther detracts from both characterizations. Would it be possible to draw some sort of distinction between the two . . . say, Kirby’s T’Challa exists in the past, while the Panther currently appearing in The Avengers is the modern man? (8, Mar. 1978) . . . one of the disturbing qualities of Kirby’s projects is that they seem too unrestrained, too outrageous, too “comic book-ish.” I find myself cringing at bits of dialogue. (6, Nov. 1977) No offense, but a lot of the time your writing is childish. (5) These comments, and others like them, pepper the “Panther Postscripts” column throughout most of Kirby’s run. They represent, if not a gathering consensus , then apparently a vocal plurality of fans. Consider likewise the following commentary by letter-writer Larry Twiss during Kirby’s 1976–77 run on Captain America and the Falcon: “When the King returns, he returns. All of the wonder and power of the old Marvel magic is with us once again. It’s really like a step back to what everybody is always calling the good old days. But the good old days change to what-is-to-be the good old days of tomorrow, or today. And today, characterization plays such a big part. I miss it in Jack’s current work, especially since we all have the subplot-filled days of Steve Englehart fresh in our minds” (200, Aug. 1976). Twiss’ comments appeared in Captain America’s “bicentennial” issue, the climax of Kirby’s lengthy “Madbomb” story (issues 193–200). But such comments echoed throughout Kirby’s run, occasioning a protracted debate in the series’ letter column (whose title, “Let’s Rap with Cap,” nicely sums up the spirit of the era). Fan criticism ran from the mild or bemused, such as “The extreme changes in personality that occurred in the heroes when you took over were unsettling” (206, Feb. 1977), to the downright vituperative: “I suppose it’s fitting that the man who created Captain America be allowed to destroy him, but I can’t let it go unnoticed . . . Does Jack know how to write in the real world?” (206). In these columns there is the persistent, nagging sense that Kirby might be an anachronism, a concern encapsulated by a letter in 207 (Mar. 1977) that begins, “The problem, put simply, is that Jack Kirby is scripting 1963 comics.” This same letter underlines a question asked by many fans, namely, why is Kirby regarded as “a law unto himself? Why ignore the last six years . . . ? Why sacrifice logic and realism in the name of action?” In fact, the letter columns of both Black Panther and Captain America were preoccupied Kirby’s Eternals versus the Marvel Universe 230 during Kirby’s tenure with questions of logic, consistency, and verisimilitude, questions tethered to assumptions about Marvel’s efforts at social realism and, above all, its maintenance of continuity. Kirby’s return to Marvel in the...