There are many questions that you can ask any group of comic book folks that will immediately touch off a barrage of opinions and disagreements: Which Iron Man costume looked best? Who was the best Wolverine artist? Was Stan Lee really that instrumental in writing all those great Silver Age Marvel stories? Was Robert Kanigher really as good as Ernest Hemingway? Who would you rather make it with: Betty or Veronica?

However, there is one thing that all will agree on: ask any comic book artist, writer, editor, store clerk or fanboy just how much impact the work of Jack "the King" Kirby had on the field of upon the field of comic book art and publishing. The answer will be "inestimable."

For several years, TwoMorrows Publishing has been paying exhaustive and worthy tribute to Kirby's work, life and influence through the wonderfully packaged Jack Kirby Collector. The Collector is no mere magazine. Like the work it celebrates, these editions are bigger than life -- an oversized 11x14 format between sturdy cardstock covers, almost as big a page of modern comic-book art. Routinely, the magazine gives enlightening overviews of various phases of the King's career and the characters he created, as well as articles and interviews featuring people who knew and worked with Kirby and famous artists speaking candidly about the lessons they've learned studying Kirby's art.

The layouts are wonderful, clear and professional. Page after page of examples of the master's work are can be found between the Collector's durable covers, often in both pencil and final inked form. Unpublished pages are also a regular sight. For the comic book fan and perhaps especially for the comic book artist, each issue of the Kirby Collector is a treasure trove of information.

The most recent issue is no exception: editor John Morrow answers the oft-asked "how do you locate those hundreds and hundreds of unpublished pages and pencil art?" In the issue's most revealing and interesting article, the evolution of Kirby's drawing style is traced from his early work on the Blue Beetle comic strip in January 1940 (age 23) through his groundbreaking work as an illustrator, designer and packager with creative cohort Joe Simon in the '40s and '50s, his early 60's Marvel comics work, the origins of his "Kirbytech" style machinery, his later Marvel and early DC work in the '70s to such later creations as Destroyer Duck and Silver Star in the '80s.

Mike Royer, who inked and lettered most of Kirby's work during the '70s, is interviewed, talking about the tools and techniques of the trade and giving various first-hand technical insights into Kirby's work and offering several anecdotes about what it was like to share a studio with the man. Kirby expert, comics and screenwriter Mark Evanier gives his own insights into various aspects of Kirby's composition and drawing techniques. Hal Foster's influence on Kirby -- and, as a direct result, Kirby's influence on Barry Windsor-Smith -- are discussed.

For artists, the issue's most worthwhile essay is provided by Shane Foley. Foley dissects the compositions of several Kirby pages and, via a number of careful, clear diagrams, charts the various methods that Kirby used to direct a reader's eye through the page. It's such articles that elevate the Jack Kirby Collector above the overly zealous "Kirby fan-geek" tome that it might appear to be at first glance. TwoMorrows is giving the world an ongoing, careful study of the work of the man who was the most important figure in comics -- a tributes that is both entertaining and scholarly.

As for this issue of the Collector reports, Kirby himself said it best: "I don't like to draw slingshots; I draw cannon." Jack showed us all the way things were to be done.

- Rambles
written by Timothy Truman
published 26 July 2003