Mister Miracle is the name of three fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics .
166-567: The Scott Free version of Mister Miracle first appeared in Mister Miracle #1 (April 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby . Mister Miracle debuted in the first issue of the eponymous series cover dated April 1971 as part of the Fourth World tetralogy. Big Barda , the character's love interest, was introduced in Mister Miracle #4 (October 1971). According to creator Jack Kirby 's then-assistant Mark Evanier , Kirby wanted to be
332-676: A Cartoonist Kayfabe YouTube interview in May 2020. Steranko wrote, drew, and produced the illustrated novel Chandler: Red Tide in 1976, for Byron Preiss Visual Publications / Pyramid Books. Aside from occasional covers and pinup illustrations, he has rarely worked in comics since, although he did illustrate a serialized comics adaptation of the Peter Hyams 1981 sci-fi thriller Outland for Heavy Metal magazine. His only major work for DC Comics appeared in Superman #400 (Oct. 1984),
498-514: A horror story that precipitated a breakup with Marvel. Though that seven-page tale, "At the Stroke of Midnight", published in Tower of Shadows #1 (Sept. 1969), would win a 1969 Alley Award , editor Lee, who had already rejected Steranko's cover for that issue, clashed with Steranko over panel design, dialog, and the story title, initially "The Lurking Fear at Shadow House". According to Steranko at
664-509: A "split book" that shared each issue with another feature. Future Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas , then a staff writer, recalled, [H]e came up to the office ... and I was sent out by Sol [Brodsky] to look at his work and basically brush him off. Stan was busy and didn't want to be bothered that day. But when I saw Jim's work, ... on an impulse I took it in to Sol and said, 'I think Stan should see this'. Sol agreed, and took it in to Stan. Stan brought Steranko into his office, and Jim left with
830-420: A 2006 panel and elsewhere, Lee disliked or did not understand the homage to horror author H. P. Lovecraft , and devised his own title for the story. After much conflict, Steranko either quit or was fired. Lee phoned him about a month later, after the two had cooled down. In a contemporaneous interview, conducted November 14, 1969, Steranko reflected on the tiff: The reason I had a little altercation with them
996-441: A career illustrating dozens of paperback covers, popularly including those of Pyramid Books ' reissues of the 1930s pulp novels of The Shadow . When DC Comics gained the comic book publishing rights to The Shadow, they contacted Steranko to work on the new series but ultimately chose Dennis O'Neil and Michael Kaluta to produce the title instead. Steranko also formed his own publishing company, Supergraphics, in 1969, and
1162-422: A comics creator and creative supervisor at DC Comics, rather than a regular writer-artist: "... we were going to turn Mr. Miracle over to Steve Ditko after a couple of issues and have me write it and Ditko draw it. Carmine Infantino , publisher of DC at the time, vetoed that and said Kirby had to do it all himself." Evanier did unofficially co-plot most issues of the series. The original title featuring Miracle
1328-594: A comics historian who published a pioneering two-volume history of the birth and early years of comic books, and to create conceptual art and character designs for films including Raiders of the Lost Ark and Bram Stoker's Dracula . He was inducted into the comic-book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2006. Steranko was born in Reading, Pennsylvania . According to Steranko's authorized biography, his grandparents emigrated from Ukraine to settle in
1494-697: A complete reprint of one The Spirit story by Will Eisner , it included some of the first and in some cases only interviews with numerous creators from the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books . Supergraphics projects included the proposed Talon the Timeless , illustrations of which appeared in a portfolio published in witzend magazine #5, and a pinup girl calendar, "The Supergirls", consisting of 12 illustrations of sexy superheroines in costumes recalling such superheroes as Captain America and Green Lantern . Through Supergraphics he also published
1660-524: A contractual dispute in which editor Jack Schiff , who had been involved in getting Kirby and the Wood brothers the Sky Masters contract, claimed he was due royalties from Kirby's share of the strip's profits. Schiff successfully sued Kirby. Some DC editors had criticized him over art details, such as not drawing "the shoelaces on a cavalryman's boots" and showing a Native American "mounting his horse from
1826-494: A cosmic purview informed by Kirby's seemingly boundless imagination—one well-matched with the consciousness-expanding youth culture of the 1960s. For almost a decade, Kirby provided Marvel's house style, creating many of the Marvel characters and designing their visual motifs. At the editor-in-chief's request, he often provided new-to-Marvel artists "breakdown" layouts, over which they would pencil in order to become acquainted with
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#17327828304831992-695: A day. His first published work at Atlas was the cover of and the seven-page story "I Discovered the Secret of the Flying Saucers" in Strange Worlds #1 (Dec. 1958). Initially with Christopher Rule as his regular inker, and later Dick Ayers , Kirby drew across all genres, from romance comics to war comics to crime comics to Western comics, but made his mark primarily with a series of supernatural-fantasy and science fiction stories featuring giant, drive-in movie -style monsters with names like Groot ,
2158-464: A fan and was treated to a tour of the office by editor Julius Schwartz , who gave Steranko a copy of a script featuring the science-fiction adventurer Adam Strange . Steranko recalled in 2003, "It was the first full script I'd ever seen, complete with panel descriptions and dialogue. I learned a lot from it and eventually went on to create a few comics of my own." He initially entered the comics industry in 1957, not long out of high school, working for
2324-753: A format that would later be called the trade paperback , which would eventually become standard practice in the industry. However, Infantino and company were not receptive and Kirby's proposals only went as far as producing the one-shot black-and-white magazines Spirit World and In the Days of the Mob in 1971. Kirby later produced other DC series including OMAC , Kamandi , The Demon , and Kobra as well as working on such extant features as " The Losers " in Our Fighting Forces . Together with former partner Joe Simon for one last time, he worked on
2490-474: A handful of additional covers, then dropped the book. Decades afterward, however, their images are among comics' best known, and homages to his art have abounded – from updates of classic covers with different heroes in place of Fury, to recreations of famous pages and layouts. Steranko also had short runs on X-Men (#50–51, Nov.–Dec. 1968), for which he designed a new cover logo, and Captain America (#110–111, 113, Feb.–March, May 1969). Steranko introduced
2656-557: A hospital together and made a bet that Brown could not escape death. While practicing an escape of being tied to a tree with a projectile speeding toward him, Brown was shot by a sniper working for Steel Hand while Scott and Oberon stood by helplessly. After Brown's murder, Scott put on Brown's costume and exacted his revenge on Steel Hand by bringing him down. Scott Free took up the Mister Miracle name and hired his assistant Oberon. Scott and Oberon, later joined by Big Barda , toured
2822-634: A house for his family in Mineola, New York on Long Island . It was the family's home for the next 20 years; Kirby worked out of a basement studio just 10 feet (3.0 m) wide, which the family referred to jocularly as "The Dungeon". He moved the family to Southern California in early 1969, both to live in a drier climate for the sake of daughter Lisa's health and to be closer to the Hollywood studios Jack Kirby believed might provide work. In an interview, Kirby's granddaughter Jillian Kirby said Jack Kirby
2988-513: A la Emma Peel in the Avengers TV show. The graphic influences of Peter Max , Op Art and Andy Warhol were embedded into the design of the pages – and the pages were designed as a whole, not just as a series of panels. All this, executed in a crisp, hard-edged style, seething with drama and anatomical tension." Steranko introduced or popularized in comics such art movements of the day as psychedelia and op art , drawing specifically on
3154-418: A lieutenant, learning that comics artist Kirby was in his command, made him a scout who would advance into towns and draw reconnaissance maps and pictures, an extremely dangerous duty. After the war, Simon arranged work for Kirby and himself at Harvey Comics , where, through the early 1950s, the duo created such titles as the kid-gang adventure Boy Explorers Comics , the kid-gang Western Boys' Ranch ,
3320-609: A lifelike robot who was ultimately murdered by Despero during his first mission with the Justice League. Scott ultimately escaped from Manga Khan's clutches and reunited with his wife and friends, though the shock was enough to cause Scott to ultimately quit the League and to take on a protégé in the form of Shilo Norman. In the conclusion of Final Crisis , many of the New Gods are all seemingly reborn. Among their numbers are
3486-431: A limited healing factor and a great variety of mental tricks that allow him to break free of psychic influence. Mister Miracle is still a super escape artist and an expert combatant, successfully defeating Fury, Wonder Woman 's daughter. The Mister Miracle series plus Forever People , New Gods , and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen earned Jack Kirby the 1971 Shazam Award for Special Achievement by an Individual in
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#17327828304833652-705: A new incarnation of the Sandman . Kirby produced three issues of the 1st Issue Special anthology series and created Atlas the Great , a new Manhunter , and the Dingbats of Danger Street . Kirby's production assistant of the time, Mark Evanier , recounted that DC's policies of the era were not in sync with Kirby's creative impulses. Also Evanier said that he was often forced to work on characters and projects which he did not like. Meanwhile, some artists at DC did not want Kirby there, as he threatened their positions in
3818-562: A painter, his decision to effectively quit comics in 1969 led him to "an artist friend who earned his living as a painter", from whom Steranko obtained an "hour-long lecture", and the suggestion that he work in acrylics rather than oils , for the sake of speed. From these inauspicious beginnings, he compiled a portfolio of half a dozen paintings ("two Westerns , two pin-up girls , two gothic horror and one sword-and-sorcery " ) and met with Lancer Books ' art director Howard Winters, to whom he immediately sold his fantasy piece. This led to
3984-479: A rarity, Kirby inked himself. Kirby recast the archer as a science-fiction hero, moving him away from his Batman-formula roots, but, in the process, alienating Green Arrow co-creator Mort Weisinger . He began drawing Sky Masters of the Space Force , a newspaper comic strip, written by the Wood brothers and initially inked by the unrelated Wally Wood . Kirby left National Comics Publications due largely to
4150-479: A sense, like my father's factory. They were manufacturing pictures." Around that time, the American comic book industry was booming. Kirby began writing and drawing for the comic book packager Eisner & Iger , one of a handful of firms creating comics on demand for publishers. Through that company, Kirby did what he remembered as his first comic book work, for Wild Boy Magazine . This included such strips as
4316-714: A series of interlinked titles under the blanket sobriquet " The Fourth World ", which included a trilogy of new titles— New Gods , Mister Miracle , and The Forever People —as well as the extant Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen . Kirby picked the latter book because the series was without a stable creative team and he did not want to cost anyone a job. The three books Kirby originated dealt with aspects of mythology he had previously touched upon in Thor . The New Gods would establish this new mythos, while in The Forever People Kirby would attempt to mythologize
4482-493: A short time inking pencil art by Vince Colletta and Matt Baker in Colletta's New York City studio before returning to Reading. In 1966, he landed assignments at Harvey Comics under editor Joe Simon , who as one writer described was "trying to create a line of super heroes within a publishing company that had specialized in anthropomorphic animals ." Here Steranko created and wrote the characters Spyman , Magicmaster and
4648-551: A similar capacity as "project conceptualist" on Francis Ford Coppola 's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), and wrote the episode "The Ties That Bind" of the DC Comics animated TV series Justice League Unlimited . In 2003, Steranko was interviewed by the History Channel for the documentary titled Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked . He has "amassed an enormous portfolio of more than sixty projects (which he called
4814-586: A six-issue miniseries spinning out of the events of " DC Future State " and tying into " Infinite Frontier ". Like all the New Gods , Scott Free is functionally immortal; having stopped aging around the age of 30, he has developed an immunity to toxins and diseases. Scott has superhuman strength, agility, speed, coordination and reflexes, along with incredible stamina. Due to his exhausting and rigorous life on Apokolips, his body has tremendous resistance to extreme temperatures, physical injury, psychic influence and he
4980-426: A special announcement to make. As I started telling about Jack's return, to a totally incredulous audience, everyone's head started to snap around as Kirby himself came waltzin' down the aisle to join us on the rostrum! You can imagine how it felt clownin' around with the co-creator of most of Marvel's greatest strips once more." Back at Marvel, Kirby both wrote and drew the monthly Captain America series as well as
5146-572: A staggering 92% of its print run, inspiring Crestwood to increase the print run by the third issue to triple the initial number of copies. Initially published bimonthly, Young Romance quickly became a monthly title and produced the spin-off Young Love —together the two titles sold two million copies per month, according to Simon —later joined by Young Brides and In Love , the latter "featuring full-length romance stories". Young Romance spawned dozens of imitators from publishers such as Timely, Fawcett , Quality , and Fox Feature Syndicate . Despite
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5312-493: A then-reasonable $ 15-a-week salary. He began to explore superhero narrative with the comic strip The Blue Beetle , published from January to March 1940, starring a character created by the pseudonymous Charles Nicholas , a house name that Kirby retained for the three-month-long strip. During this time, Kirby met and began collaborating with cartoonist and Fox editor Joe Simon , who in addition to his staff work continued to freelance. Simon recalled in 1988, "I loved Jack's work and
5478-451: A three-room house with a tar-paper roof and outhouse toilet facilities. He slept on a couch in the nominal living room until he was more than 10 years old. Steranko's father and five uncles showed musical inclination, performing in a band that played on Reading radio in the 1930s, Steranko has said. Steranko recalled beginning school at age 4. Later, "Because my father had tuberculosis (and I tested positive), I began third grade at what
5644-743: A training session, proving that she could take care of herself! She looked like a character who had just stepped out of a James Bond poster. She and Steranko's other skintight leather-clad version of Bond girls pushed what was allowable under the Comics Code at the time. One example is a silent, one-page seduction sequence with the Countess in Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #2, described by Robin Green in Rolling Stone : So one panel had
5810-518: A two-page Jack Kirby sample of typical art for the superspy feature " Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. " Steranko self-published it in 1970 in the limited-edition "Steranko Portfolio One"; it appeared again 30 years later in slightly altered form in the 2000 trade-paperback collection Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. This led to Lee's assigning him the Nick Fury feature in Strange Tales ,
5976-467: A year's worth of material. Kirby was drafted into the U.S. Army on June 7, 1943. After basic training at Camp Stewart , near Savannah, Georgia, he was assigned to Company F of the 11th Infantry Regiment . He landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on August 23, 1944, 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 months after D-Day , although Kirby's reminiscences would place his arrival just 10 days after. Kirby recalled that
6142-464: Is Scorpio ?" (issue #1); "So Shall Ye Reap ... Death" (#2), inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest ; "Dark Moon Rise, Hell Hound Kill" (#3), a Hound of the Baskervilles homage, replete with a Peter Cushing manqué ; and the spy-fi sequel "What Ever Happened to Scorpio?" (#5). Yet after deadline pressures forced a fill-in "origin" story by another team in issue #4, Steranko produced merely
6308-548: Is because they edited some of my work. They changed certain things that I didn't feel should be changed. And I insisted that we couldn't continue on that basis. ... For example, my horror story "At the Stroke of Midnight" had a line of dialogue added. The meek husband said, "I'm nervous because it's closer to midnight" or something like that; simply a gratuitous line. It wasn't my title and it didn't have that line in it. Stan originally wanted that story to be called "Let Them Eat Cake," which I didn't approve of. We had disagreements about
6474-448: Is capable of extremely rapid recovery. Scott has a genius-level intellect and is knowledgeable about much of the universe. During his life on Apokolips, he was instructed by Himon in the science and use of advanced Fourth World's technology. He is a genius inventor who has designed most of the equipment in his costume, including his Mother Box . Scott was trained by Granny Goodness as an Aero-trooper. Although he despises violence and
6640-525: Is considered Marvel's first graphic novel . Still dissatisfied with Marvel's treatment of him, and with an offer of employment from Hanna-Barbera , a job located in nearby Hollywood, Kirby left Marvel to work in animation. In that field for Ruby-Spears Productions he did designs for Turbo Teen , Thundarr the Barbarian and other animated series for television. In addition to a superior pay to his comics work, Kirby enjoyed excellent relations with
6806-463: Is often portrayed as a pacifist, he is still an exceptional warrior, instructed in all combat techniques of Apokolips and very skilled with weapons. On one occasion, he was able to beat Big Barda. Also, he is a master escapologist and acrobat. He is considered better at escapes than Batman , and much of his skill is the result of his advanced physiology. Scott Free is heir of the Alpha Effect,
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6972-400: Is one of the greatest storytellers of all time. Fans seem to have a lot less [of an] opinion of Robbins for some reason, just because they're more enamored of lines. Fans seem to think that the more lines that go into a drawing the better it is. Actually, the opposite is generally true. The fewer lines you can put into a drawing the quicker it reads, and the simpler it is. [Alex] Toth is one of
7138-644: The CIA 's " Canadian Caper ", in which some members of the U.S. embassy in Tehran , Iran, who had avoided capture in the Iran hostage crisis , were able to escape the country posing as members of a movie location-scouting crew. In the early 1980s, Kirby and Pacific Comics , a new, non-newsstand comic-book publisher, made one of the industry's earliest deals for creator-owned series, resulting in Captain Victory and
7304-573: The Captain America's Bicentennial Battles one-shot in the oversized treasury format . He created the series The Eternals , which featured a race of inscrutable alien giants, the Celestials , whose behind-the-scenes intervention in primordial humanity would eventually become a core element of Marvel Universe continuity. He produced an adaptation and expansion of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey , as well as an abortive attempt to do
7470-590: The European Theater in World War II , Kirby produced work for DC Comics, Harvey Comics , Hillman Periodicals and other publishers. At Crestwood Publications , he and Simon created the genre of romance comics and later founded their own short-lived comic company, Mainline Publications . Kirby was involved in Timely's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics , which in the next decade became Marvel. There, in
7636-556: The Gladiator for the company's short-lived superhero line, Harvey Thriller . His first published comics art came in Spyman #1 (Sept. 1966), for which he wrote the 20-page story "The Birth of a Hero" and penciled the first page, which included a diagram of a robotic hand that was reprinted as an inset on artist George Tuska 's cover. Steranko also approached Marvel Comics in 1966. He met with editor Stan Lee , who had Steranko ink
7802-593: The Helicarrier – an airborne aircraft carrier – as well as LMDs ( Life Model Decoys ) and even automobile airbags . Marvel's all-purpose terrorist organization Hydra was introduced here as well. Steranko began his stint on the feature by penciling and inking "finishes" over Kirby layouts in Strange Tales #151 (Dec. 1966), just as many fellow new Marvel artists did at the time. Two issues later, Steranko took over full penciling and also began drawing
7968-743: The Hulk , Thor , the X-Men and Magneto , Doctor Doom , Uatu the Watcher , Ego the Living Planet , the Inhumans and their hidden city of Attilan, and the Black Panther (comics' first black superhero) and his Afrofuturist nation, Wakanda . Kirby initially was assigned to pencil the first Spider-Man story, but when he showed Lee the first six pages, Lee recalled, "I hated the way he
8134-585: The Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City ; he grew up there. His parents, Rose (Bernstein) and Benjamin Kurtzberg, were Austrian-Jewish immigrants, and his father earned a living as a garment factory worker. Kirby grew up in the Lower East Side neighborhood of New York City . Among his close friends was Leon Klinghoffer , who grew up in the same neighborhood, and who in 1985
8300-626: The Madame Hydra character in his brief Captain America run . With no new work immediately forthcoming, a "Marvel Bullpen Bulletins " fan page in spring 1969 announced that, "In case you've been wondering what happened to Jaunty Jim Steranko, ... [he] is working on a brand-new feature, which will shortly be spotlighted in Marvel Super-Heroes . And talk about a secret – he hasn't even told us what it is!" The referred-to project never appeared. Steranko went on to write and draw
8466-533: The Marvel Cinematic Universe . Kirby was married to Rosalind Goldstein in 1942. They had four children and remained married until his death from heart failure in 1994, at the age of 76. The Jack Kirby Awards and Jack Kirby Hall of Fame were named in his honor, and he is known as " The King " among comics fans for his many influential contributions to the medium. Jack Kirby was born Jacob Kurtzberg on August 28, 1917, at 147 Essex Street on
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#17327828304838632-512: The Merry Marvel Marching Society and Marvelmania . Steranko served as editor and also produced the covers for the magazine's inaugural four issues before being succeeded editorially by Tony Isabella . He had previously been associated with Marvelmania, producing two of the club's 12 posters. Steranko then branched into other areas of publishing, including most notably book-cover illustration. Lacking any experience as
8798-547: The New York Times : Jim Steranko James F. Steranko ( / s t ə ˈ r æ ŋ k oʊ / ; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist , comic book writer/artist , comics historian , magician , publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with the 1960s superspy feature " Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. " in Marvel Comics ' Strange Tales and in
8964-535: The Sandman feature in Adventure Comics and created the superhero Manhunter . In July 1942 they began the Boy Commandos feature. The ongoing "kid gang" series of the same name, launched later that same year, was the creative team's first National feature to graduate into its own title. It sold over a million copies a month, becoming National's third best-selling title. They scored a hit with
9130-622: The Sub-Mariner and Captain America. In later years, Lee and Kirby disputed over who deserved credit for such creations as The Fantastic Four . The story frequently cited as Lee and Kirby's finest achievement is " The Galactus Trilogy " in Fantastic Four #48–50 (March–May 1966), chronicling the arrival of Galactus , a cosmic giant who wanted to devour the planet, and his herald, the Silver Surfer . Fantastic Four #48
9296-588: The U.S. Army and serving in the European Theater in World War II , Kirby corresponded with his wife regularly by v-mail , with Roz sending daily letters while she worked in a lingerie shop and lived with her mother at 2820 Brighton 7th Street in Brooklyn. During the winter of 1944, Kirby suffered severe frostbite and was taken to a hospital in London for recovery. Doctors considered amputating Kirby's legs, which had turned black, but he eventually recovered and
9462-494: The anthracite coal-mining region of eastern Pennsylvania. Steranko's father, one of nine siblings, began working in the mines at age 10, and as an adult became a tinsmith . Steranko later said his father and uncles "would bootleg coal – they would go up into a mountain and open up a shaft." One of three children, all boys, Steranko spent his early childhood during the American Great Depression living in
9628-459: The subsequent eponymous series . Steranko earned lasting acclaim for his innovations in sequential art during the Silver Age of Comic Books , particularly his infusion of surrealism , pop art , and graphic design into the medium. His work has been published in many countries and his influence on the field has remained strong since his comics heyday. He went on to create book covers, become
9794-521: The "aesthetic of [Salvador] Dalí ," with inspiration from Richard M. Powers , ultimately synthesizing a style he termed "Zap Art." A.M. Viturtia notes Steranko drew on the James Bond novels, and claims that the influence went both ways: "Although Steranko was primarily influenced by spy movies, after Nick Fury came on the comics scene, the directors of those same movies began to borrow heavily from Steranko himself!" He absorbed, adapted and built upon
9960-470: The 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' assignment. ... I think Jim's legacy to Marvel was demonstrating that there were ways in which the Kirby style could be mutated, and many artists went off increasingly in their own directions after that. Lee and Kirby had initiated the 12-page "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." feature in Strange Tales #135 (Aug. 1965), with Kirby supplying such inventive and enduring gadgets and hardware as
10126-539: The 'Theater of Concepts') designed to be seen in multimedia form". In a joint venture with Marvel Comics and Diamond Comic Distributors , Vanguard Productions in 2002 sponsored Steranko's "The Spirit of America" benefit print, created to fund an art scholarship "for victims of anti-American terrorism". Steranko has won awards in fields as varied as magic, comics and graphic design. A partial list includes: Steranko's work has been exhibited internationally in more than 160 shows. Among others, his work has been shown in
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#173278283048310292-564: The 10-page story "The Exile at the Edge of Eternity," which he wrote, drew, colored and lettered. A 1997 attempt to negotiate Steranko's return to S.H.I.E.L.D. did not bear fruit. In 2008, he worked with Radical Comics , doing covers, character and logo designs for its Hercules: The Thracian Wars title and Ryder on the Storm . In 2012, he did poster art for RZG Comics and a variant cover for DC's Before Watchmen: Rorschach #1. Steranko drew
10458-473: The 1960s, Kirby cocreated many of the company's major characters, including Ant-Man , the Avengers , the Black Panther , the Fantastic Four , the Hulk , Iron Man , the Silver Surfer , Thor , and the X-Men , among many others. Kirby's titles garnered high sales and critical acclaim, but in 1970, feeling he had been treated unfairly, largely in the realm of authorship credit and creators' rights, Kirby left
10624-517: The 1970s variant cover for Action Comics #1000 (June 2018). For the film industry, Steranko has done sketches and preliminary paintings for movie posters, including for the 1977 Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger and was a conceptual artist on Steven Spielberg 's Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), doing production designs for the film and designing the character of Indiana Jones . He also served in
10790-526: The 1980s, including a brief revival of his "Fourth World" saga in the 1984 and 1985 Super Powers miniseries and the 1985 graphic novel The Hunger Dogs . DC executives Jenette Kahn and Paul Levitz had Kirby re-design the Fourth World characters for the Super Powers toyline as a way of entitling him to royalties for several of his DC creations. In 1985, Kirby and Gil Kane helped to create
10956-549: The Bible, made for a heady brew, but the scope of his vision has endured." In 2007, comics writer Grant Morrison commented that "Kirby's dramas were staged across Jungian vistas of raw symbol and storm ... The Fourth World saga crackles with the voltage of Jack Kirby's boundless imagination let loose onto paper." In addition to his artistic efforts, Kirby proposed a variety of new formats for comics such as planning to collect his published Fourth World stories into square-bound books,
11122-756: The Bold . The title was revived in September 1977 by Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers . Steve Gerber and Michael Golden produced three issues ending with #25 (September 1978) with several story lines unresolved. Mister Miracle teamed with Superman in DC Comics Presents #12 (August 1979) and met the Justice League of America and the Justice Society of America in Justice League of America #183–185 (October–December 1980). When
11288-504: The Countess on one knee, getting up. Another reprinting, in Marvel Masterworks : Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Volume 2 (Marvel Publishing, 2009; ISBN 978-0-7851-3503-6 ), used the published final panel, although the appendix included the original art, showing the page as initially drawn. Each instance uses Steranko's original telephone panel, not the redrawn published version. Fury's adventures continued in his own series, for which Steranko contributed four 20-page stories: "Who
11454-409: The Galactic Rangers , and the six-issue miniseries Silver Star (later collected in hardcover format in 2007). This, together with similar actions by other independent comics publishers as Eclipse Comics (where Kirby co-created the character Destroyer Duck in a benefit comic-book series published to help Steve Gerber fight a legal case against Marvel), helped establish a precedent to end
11620-415: The Marvel look. As artist Gil Kane described: Jack was the single most influential figure in the turnaround in Marvel's fortunes from the time he rejoined the company ... It wasn't merely that Jack conceived most of the characters that are being done, but ... Jack's point of view and philosophy of drawing became the governing philosophy of the entire publishing company and, beyond the publishing company, of
11786-480: The San Francisco rock concert poster of the period". His peers took note of his experimentation. Writer-artist Larry Hama , in an introduction to Nick Fury collection, said Steranko "combined the figurative dynamism of Jack Kirby with modern design concepts", and recostumed Fury from suits and ties to "a form-fitting bodysuit with numerous zippers and pockets, like a Wally Wood spacesuit revamped by Pierre Cardin . The women were clad in form-fitting black leather
11952-600: The Silver Age, and one of comics' most groundbreaking, innovative and acclaimed features. Wrote Les Daniels , in his Comix: A History of Comic Books in America , "[E]ven the dullest of readers could sense that something new was happening. ... With each passing issue Steranko's efforts became more and more innovative. Entire pages would be devoted to photocollages of drawings [that] ignored panel boundaries and instead worked together on planes of depth. The first pages ... became incredible production numbers similar in design to
12118-599: The Thing from Planet X; Grottu, King of the Insects; and Fin Fang Foom for the company's many anthology series, such as Amazing Adventures , Strange Tales , Tales to Astonish , Tales of Suspense , and World of Fantasy . His bizarre designs of powerful, unearthly creatures proved a hit with readers. Additionally, he freelanced for Archie Comics around this time, reuniting briefly with Joe Simon to help develop
12284-511: The Western Bullseye: Western Scout ; the war comic Foxhole because EC Comics and Atlas Comics were having success with war comics, but promoting theirs as being written and drawn by actual veterans; In Love because their earlier romance comic Young Love was still being widely imitated; and the crime comic Police Trap , which claimed to be based on genuine accounts by law-enforcement officials. After
12450-432: The agreement, but reserved the right to reclaim the art if Kirby violated the deal. After Kirby publicly slammed Marvel, calling the company thugs and claiming they were arbitrarily holding his creations, Marvel finally returned (after two years of deliberations) approximately 1,900 or 2,100 pages of the estimated 10,000 to 13,000 Kirby drew for the company. For the producer Charles Band , Jack Kirby made concept art for
12616-414: The anthology title Chamber of Darkness , and received full credit for doing so; but in 1970, Kirby was presented with a contract that included unfavorable terms such as a prohibition against legal retaliation. When Kirby objected, the management refused to negotiate any contract changes, bluntly dismissing his contribution to Marvel's success since they considered Lee solely responsible. Kirby, although he
12782-467: The antithesis of Darkseid's Omega Energy. This power was almost unlimited and allowed him to manipulate energy in many ways; for example, he was able to knock out "The Asgardian God Thor", draining his vital power. Also, Mister Miracle used his godlike powers to resurrect his wife and battle against Steppenwolf and Kalibak , temporarily stopping the war between New Genesis and Apokolips. Later, Scott relinquished his heritage. Scott possesses greater power as
12948-427: The apparently resurrected Mister Miracle and Barda. In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, Mister Miracle appears alongside Big Barda flying around the ruins of Gotham City on Earth 2. Their purpose is revealed to find the mysterious new Batman, which is thwarted when both are attacked by Fury . Abandoned by his mother when he was only an infant, Shilo Norman's desire to escape
13114-537: The art for the remaining issues of the series after Kirby died. In the early 1940s, Kirby and his family moved to Brooklyn . Kirby met Rosalind "Roz" Goldstein, who lived in the same Brooklyn apartment building. The pair began dating soon afterward. Kirby proposed to Goldstein on her 18th birthday, and the two became engaged. They married on May 23, 1942. The couple had four children: Susan (b. December 6, 1945), Neal (b. May 1948), Barbara (b. November 1952), and Lisa (b. September 1960). After being drafted into
13280-798: The bottle deposit and bundled old newspapers to sell to scrap-paper dealers. He studied the Sunday comic strip art of Milton Caniff , Alex Raymond , Hal Foster , and Chester Gould , as well as the characters of Walt Disney and Superman , provided in "boxes of comics" brought to him by an uncle. Radio programs , Saturday movie matinées and serials , and other popular culture also influenced him. Steranko in 1978 described some influences and their impact on his creative philosophy: Early influences were Chester Gould's [comic strip] Dick Tracy (not particularly in my drawing style but in subject matter and an approach to drama), Hal Foster, and Frank Robbins ' [comic strip] Johnny Hazard . I still think Robbins
13446-580: The by-then-defunct Pacific Comics, and then licensed to Topps for what became the " Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga " mythos. Phantom Force was the last comic book Kirby worked on before his death. The story was co-written by Kirby with Michael Thibodeaux and Richard French, based on an eight-page pitch for an unused Bruce Lee comic in 1978. Issues #1 and 2 were published by Image Comics with various Image artists inking over Kirby's pencils. Issue #0 and issues #3–8 were published by Genesis West, with Kirby providing pencils for issues #0 and 4. Thibodeaux provided
13612-476: The character returned in a 12-issue limited series written by Tom King and illustrated by Mitch Gerads. From July 2021 to January 2022, Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom was published as a six issue miniseries starring Shilo Norman as Mister Miracle. The series was written by Brandon Easton and drawn by Fico Ossio. Mister Miracle was one of four DC Comics series in Kirby's ambitious, but short-lived, Fourth World saga. Mister Miracle, Super Escape Artist
13778-611: The character was revived as part of the Justice League International lineup in 1987, a one-shot special by writer Mark Evanier and artist Steve Rude was published in 1987. This special was followed by an ongoing series that began in January 1989, written by J. M. DeMatteis and drawn by Ian Gibson . Other writers who contributed to the title include Keith Giffen , Len Wein , and Doug Moench . This run lasted 28 issues before cancellation in 1991. The series
13944-523: The comic industry. The Mister Miracle series by Tom King and Mitch Gerads won the 2019 Eisner Award for Best Limited Series. Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg ; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist , widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew up in New York City and learned to draw cartoon figures by tracing characters from comic strips and editorial cartoons. He entered
14110-635: The company for rival DC. At DC, Kirby created his Fourth World saga which spanned several comics titles. While these series proved commercially unsuccessful and were canceled, the Fourth World's New Gods have continued as a significant part of the DC Universe . Kirby returned to Marvel briefly in the mid-to-late 1970s, then ventured into television animation and independent comics . In his later years, Kirby, who has been called "the William Blake of comics", began receiving great recognition in
14276-557: The company; they also had bad blood from previous competition with Marvel and legal problems with him. Since he was working from California, they were able to undermine his work through redesigns in the New York office. At the comic book convention Marvelcon '75, in 1975, Stan Lee used a Fantastic Four panel discussion to announce that Kirby was returning to Marvel after having left in 1970 to work for DC Comics. Lee wrote in his monthly column, "Stan Lee's Soapbox", "I mentioned that I had
14442-609: The concept and designs for the Ruby-Spears animated television series The Centurions . A comic-book series based on the show was published by DC and a toy line produced by Kenner . In the twilight of his life, Kirby spent a great deal of time sparring with Marvel executives over the ownership rights of his original page boards. At Marvel, many of these pages owned by the company (due to outdated and legally dubious copyright claims) were given away as promotional gifts to Marvel clients or simply stolen from company warehouses. After
14608-520: The country as the Mister Miracle Super Escape Artist show. Thaddeus was later revealed to have a son named Ted. In 2016, DC Comics implemented another relaunch of its books called " DC Rebirth " which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to " The New 52 ". Thaddeus was one of Batman 's teachers, educating him in the art of escape. At the end of the " Flashpoint Beyond " limited series, Thaddeus Brown
14774-486: The cover artist for 15 comics beginning with Doc Savage #2–3, Shanna the She-Devil #1–2, and Supernatural Thrillers #1–2 (each successively cover-dated Dec. 1972 and Feb. 1973), and ending with the reprint comic Nick Fury and his Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #2 (April 1973). In 1973, Steranko became founding editor of Marvel's official fan magazine, FOOM , which superseded the two previous official fan clubs,
14940-477: The duo 25 percent of the profits from the feature. The first issue of Captain America Comics , released in early 1941, sold out in days, and the second issue's print run was set at over a million copies. The title's success established the team as a notable creative force in the industry. After the first issue was published, Simon asked Kirby to join the Timely staff as the company's art director. With
15106-479: The duo rearranged and republished artwork from an old Crestwood story in In Love , Crestwood refused to pay the team, who sought an audit of Crestwood's finances. Upon review, the pair's attorneys stated the company owed them $ 130,000 for work done over the past seven years. Crestwood paid them $ 10,000 in addition to their recent delayed payments. The partnership between Kirby and Simon had become strained. Simon left
15272-422: The early days of rock and roll . Steranko, whose first band, in 1956, was called The Lancers, did not perform under his own name, claiming he used pseudonyms to help protect himself from enemies. He also claims to have put the first go-go girls onstage. The seminal rock and roll group Bill Haley and his Comets was based in nearby Philadelphia and Steranko, who played a Jazzmaster guitar, often performed in
15438-500: The embodiment of the Anti-Life Equation . The ability is fueled by rage and negative emotions. The Anti-Life Equation can give any being the power to dominate the will of all sentient and sapient races and alter the reality, space, time, matter and anti-matter at the cosmic level. Mister Miracle proved to be powerful enough to fight Superman and Orion together. In The New 52 rebooted DC continuity, Mister Miracle retains
15604-553: The entire field ... [Marvel took] Jack and use[d] him as a primer. They would get artists ... and they taught them the ABCs, which amounted to learning Jack Kirby ... Jack was like the Holy Scripture and they simply had to follow him without deviation. That's what was told to me ... It was how they taught everyone to reconcile all those opposing attitudes to one single master point of view. Highlights of Kirby's tenure also include
15770-416: The every-other-issue "Nick Fury" cover art. Then, in a rarity for comics artists of the era, he took over the series' writing with #155 (April 1967), following Roy Thomas , who had succeeded Lee. In another break with custom, he himself, rather than a Marvel staff artist, had become the series' uncredited colorist by that issue. "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." soon became one of the creative zeniths of
15936-431: The few guys who can simplify an illustration to a minimum of lines with a maximum of impact. By his account, Steranko learned stage magic using paraphernalia from his father's stage magician act, and in his teens spent several summers working with circuses and carnivals , working his way up to sideshow performer as a fire-eater and in acts involving a bed of nails and sleight-of-hand . At school, he competed on
16102-591: The films Doctor Mortalis and Mindmaster , which were later released as Doctor Mordrid (1992) and Mandroid (1993), respectively. Doctor Mordrid began as a planned adaptation of the Marvel Comics character Dr. Strange , but Band's option expired. For Topps Comics , founded in 1993, Kirby retained ownership of characters used in multiple series of what the company dubbed " The Kirbyverse ". These titles were derived mainly from designs and concepts Kirby had kept in his files, some intended initially for
16268-469: The first time I saw it I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He asked if we could do some freelance work together. I was delighted and I took him over to my little office. We worked from the second issue of Blue Bolt through... about 25 years." After leaving Fox and collaborating on the premiere issue of Fawcett Comics ' Captain Marvel Adventures ([March] 1941), the first solo title for
16434-516: The following year worked with writer-entrepreneur Byron Preiss on an anti-drug comic book, The Block , distributed to elementary schools nationwide. In 1970 and 1972, Supergraphics published two tabloid -sized volumes entitled The Steranko History of Comics , a planned six-volume history of the American comics industry, though no subsequent volumes have appeared. Written by Steranko, with hundreds of black-and-white cover reproductions as well as
16600-680: The future DC Comics , Kirby drew 20 stories for Atlas from 1956 to 1957: Beginning with the five-page "Mine Field" in Battleground #14 (Nov. 1956), Kirby penciled and in some cases inked (with his wife, Roz ) and wrote stories of the Western hero Black Rider , the Fu Manchu -like Yellow Claw , and more. But in 1957, distribution troubles caused the "Atlas implosion" that resulted in several series being dropped and no new material being assigned for many months. The next year Kirby returned to
16766-500: The glut, the Simon and Kirby romance titles continued to sell millions of copies a month. Bitter that Timely Comics ' 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics , had relaunched Captain America in a new series in 1954, Kirby and Simon created Fighting American . Simon recalled, "We thought we'd show them how to do Captain America". While the comic book initially portrayed the protagonist as an anti-Communist dramatic hero, Simon and Kirby turned
16932-448: The groundbreaking work of Jack Kirby, both in the use of photomontage (particularly for cityscapes), and in the use of full- and double-page-spreads. Indeed, in Strange Tales #167 (Jan. 1968), Steranko created comics' first four-page spread, upon which panorama he or editor Lee bombastically noted, "to get the full effect, of course, requires a second ish [copy of the issue] placed side-by-side, but we think you'll find it to be well worth
17098-610: The gymnastics team, on the rings and parallel bars , and later took up boxing and, under swordmaster Dan Phillips in New York City, fencing. At 17, Steranko and another teenage boy were arrested for a string of burglaries and car thefts in Pennsylvania. Up through his early 20s, Steranko performed as an illusionist , escape artist , close-up magician in nightclubs , and musician, having played in drum and bugle corps in his teens before forming his own bands during
17264-685: The homefront kid-gang team, the Newsboy Legion , featuring in Star-Spangled Comics . In 2010, DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz observed that "Like Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster , the creative team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby was a mark of quality and a proven track record." With World War II underway, Liebowitz expected that Simon and Kirby would be drafted , so he asked the artists to create an inventory of material to be published in their absence. The pair hired writers, inkers, letterers, and colorists in order to create
17430-425: The idea to comic books and with Kirby created a first-issue mock-up of Young Romance . Showing it to Crestwood general manager Maurice Rosenfeld, Simon asked for 50% of the comic's profits. Crestwood publishers Teddy Epstein and Mike Bleier agreed, stipulating that the creators would take no money up front. Young Romance #1 (cover-date Oct. 1947) "became Jack and Joe's biggest hit in years". The first title sold
17596-599: The industry for a career in advertising, while Kirby continued to freelance. "He wanted to do other things and I stuck with comics," Kirby recalled in 1971. "It was fine. There was no reason to continue the partnership and we parted friends." At this point in the mid-1950s, Kirby made a temporary return to the former Timely Comics , now known as Atlas Comics, the direct predecessor of Marvel Comics . Inker Frank Giacoia had approached editor-in-chief Stan Lee for work and suggested he could "get Kirby back here to pencil some stuff. While freelancing for National Comics Publications,
17762-409: The institution's torturous training. As he matured, Scott rebelled against the totalitarian ideology of Apokolips. Hating himself for being unable to fit in despite his unfailing defiance of the abuse he suffered, Scott was influenced by Metron to see a future beyond Darkseid. Scott became part of a small band of pupils led by Himon , a New Genesian living under cover as a Hunger Dog on Apokolips. It
17928-638: The insult when confronted about it by Lee's protege, Roy Thomas , who was similarly insulted with Flashman's sidekick, Houseroy. The central villain of the Fourth World series, Darkseid , and some of the Fourth World concepts, appeared in Jimmy Olsen before the launch of the other Fourth World books, giving the new titles greater exposure to potential buyers. The Superman figures and Jimmy Olsen faces drawn by Kirby were redrawn by Al Plastino , and later by Murphy Anderson . Les Daniels observed in 1995 that "Kirby's mix of slang and myth, science fiction and
18094-528: The kind of student that Pratt was looking for. They wanted people who would work on something forever. I didn't want to work on any project forever. I intended to get things done". Kirby joined the Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate in 1936, working there on newspaper comic strips and on single-panel advice cartoons such as Your Health Comes First!!! (under the pseudonym Jack Curtiss ). He remained until late 1939, when he began working for
18260-523: The launch of Jack Kirby's Fourth World . In addition, Scott's ally and wife Big Barda was made a member of the revived Justice League and appeared regularly in the Jack Kirby's Fourth World series by John Byrne . With the launching of Grant Morrison 's meta-series Seven Soldiers (2005–2006), Mister Miracle was revived as a four-issue miniseries. This miniseries focused instead on Scott's sidekick and apprentice Shilo Norman, who died. In 2017,
18426-443: The lives of the young people he observed around him. The third book, Mister Miracle was more of a personal myth. The title character was an escape artist, which Mark Evanier suggests Kirby channeled his feelings of constraint into. Mister Miracle's wife was based in character on Kirby's wife Roz, and he even caricatured Stan Lee within the pages of the book as Funky Flashman , a depiction Lee found hurtful while Kirby tried to downplay
18592-576: The magazine Comixscene , which premiered with a December 1972 cover date as a folded-tabloid periodical on stiff, non-glossy paper, reporting on the comics field. It evolved in stages into Mediascene (beginning with issue #7, Dec. 1973) and ultimately into Prevue (beginning with #41, Aug. 1980), a general-interest, standard format, popular culture magazine, running through 1994. Fantagraphics publisher Gary Groth recounts his time living with and working for Sterkano and Prevue in Reading, PA during
18758-482: The mainstream press for his career accomplishments, and in 1987 he was one of the three inaugural inductees of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame . In 2017, Kirby was posthumously named a Disney Legend for his creations not only in the field of publishing, but also because those creations formed the basis for The Walt Disney Company 's financially and critically successful media franchise,
18924-439: The monopoly of the work-for-hire system, wherein comics creators, even freelancers, had owned no rights to characters they created. In 1983 Richard Kyle commissioned Kirby to create a 10-page autobiographical strip, " Street Code ", which became one of the last works published in Kirby's lifetime. It was published in 1990, in the second issue of Kyle's revival of Argosy . Kirby continued to do periodic work for DC Comics during
19090-674: The nascent Marvel. For DC around that time, Kirby co-created with writers Dick and Dave Wood the non-superpowered adventuring quartet the Challengers of the Unknown in Showcase #6 (Feb. 1957), while contributing to such anthologies as House of Mystery . During 30 months freelancing for DC, Kirby drew slightly more than 600 pages, which included 11 six-page Green Arrow stories in World's Finest Comics and Adventure Comics that in
19256-509: The nascent comics industry in the 1930s, drawing various comics features under different pen names, including Jack Curtiss , before settling on Jack Kirby. In 1940, he and writer-editor Joe Simon created the highly successful superhero character Captain America for Timely Comics , predecessor of Marvel Comics . During the 1940s, Kirby regularly teamed with Simon, creating numerous characters for that company and for National Comics Publications , later to become DC Comics . After serving in
19422-551: The news", was "inspired" to create the escape artist character Mister Miracle "by an earlier career of writer-artist Jim Steranko". During the day, Steranko made his living as an artist for a printing company in his hometown of Reading, designing and drawing pamphlets and flyers for local dance clubs and the like. He moved on after five years to join an advertising agency , where he designed ads and drew products ranging from "baby carriages to beer cans". Interested in writing and drawing for comic books, he visited DC Comics as
19588-677: The now-adult Shilo was appointed security chief of the Slabside Island Maximum Security prison for Metahumans known as the Slab. He held his own during the Joker 's "Last Laugh" riot and was promoted to Warden of the Slab, which had by then been relocated to Antarctica . A somewhat reconceived Shilo Norman appears in Grant Morrison 's Seven Soldiers crossover. In Final Crisis #2, Shilo tells Sonny Sumo "There
19754-617: The passage of the Copyright Act of 1976 , which greatly expanded artist copyright capabilities, comics publishers began to return original art to creators, but in Marvel's case only if they signed a release reaffirming Marvel's ownership of the copyright. In 1985, Marvel issued a release that demanded Kirby affirm that his art was created for hire, allowing Marvel to retain copyright in perpetuity, in addition to demanding that Kirby forego all future royalties. Marvel offered him 88 pages of his art (less than 1% of his total output) if he signed
19920-487: The previously introduced superhero, and for which Kirby was told to mimic creator C.C. Beck 's drawing style, the duo were hired on staff at pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman 's Timely Comics (later to become Marvel Comics). There Simon and Kirby created the patriotic superhero Captain America in late 1940. Simon, who became the company's editor, with Kirby as art director, said he negotiated with Goodman to give
20086-406: The price to have the wildest action scene ever in the history of comics!" All the while, Steranko spun outlandishly action-filled plots of intrigue, barely sublimated sensuality, and a cool-jazz hi-fi hipness. Writer Steven Ringgenberg assessed that Steranko's Marvel work became a benchmark of '60s pop culture, combining the traditional comic book art styles of Wally Wood and Jack Kirby with
20252-414: The rights. In collaboration, Geller commissioned Kirby to draw set designs that would be used as architectural renderings for a Colorado theme park to be called Science Fiction Land; Geller announced his plans at a November press conference attended by Kirby, former American football star Rosey Grier , writer Ray Bradbury , and others. While the film did not come to fruition, Kirby's drawings were used for
20418-510: The ruler of New Genesis , and his wife, Avia. As part of a diplomatic move to stop a war with the planet Apokolips , Highfather agreed to an exchange of heirs with the galactic tyrant Darkseid . The exchange of heirs as hostages was supposed to guarantee that neither side would attack the other. Scott was traded for Darkseid's second-born son Orion . Scott grew up in one of Granny Goodness ' "Terror Orphanages" with no knowledge of his heritage, but still refused to allow his spirit to break under
20584-415: The saga were perfectly suited to the tastes of young readers in the 1960s", and Lee soon discovered that the story was a favorite on college campuses. Kirby continued to expand the medium's boundaries, devising photo-collage covers and interiors, developing new drawing techniques such as the method for depicting energy fields now known as " Kirby Krackle ", and other experiments. In 1968 and 1969, Joe Simon
20750-479: The same for the classic television series The Prisoner . He wrote and drew Black Panther and drew numerous covers across the line. Kirby's other Marvel creations in this period include Machine Man and Devil Dinosaur . Kirby's final comics collaboration with Stan Lee, The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience , was published in 1978 as part of the Marvel Fireside Books series and
20916-464: The same local venues, sometimes on the same bill, and became friendly with Haley guitarist Frank Beecher , who became a musical influence. By the late 1960s, Steranko was a member of a New York City magicians' group, the Witchdoctor's Club. Comics historian Mark Evanier notes that the influential comic-book creator Jack Kirby , who "based some of his characters ... on people in his life or in
21082-649: The same time, Kirby grew increasingly dissatisfied with working at Marvel, for reasons Kirby biographer Mark Evanier has suggested include resentment over Lee's media prominence, a lack of full creative control, anger over breaches of perceived promises by publisher Martin Goodman, and frustration over Marvel's failure to credit him specifically for his story plotting and for his character creations and co-creations. He began to both write and draw some secondary features for Marvel, such as "The Inhumans" in Amazing Adventures volume two , as well as horror stories for
21248-524: The science fiction adventure "The Diary of Dr. Hayward" (under the pseudonym Curt Davis ), the Western crimefighter feature "Wilton of the West" (as Fred Sande ), the swashbuckler adventure "The Count of Monte Cristo" (again as Jack Curtiss), and the humor features "Abdul Jones" (as Ted Grey ) and "Socko the Seadog" (as Teddy ), all variously for Jumbo Comics and other Eisner-Iger clients. He first used
21414-461: The series The Fly and The Double Life of Private Strong . Additionally, Kirby drew some issues of Classics Illustrated . At Marvel Kirby hit his stride once again in superhero comics, beginning with The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961), which some have observed, shares many elements of Kirby's Challengers of the Unknown . The landmark series became a hit that revolutionized the industry with its comparative naturalism and, eventually,
21580-659: The series into a superhero satire with the second issue, in the aftermath of the Army-McCarthy hearings and the public backlash against the Red-baiting U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy . At the urging of a Crestwood salesman, Kirby and Simon launched their own comics company, Mainline Publications , securing a distribution deal with Leader News in late 1953 or early 1954, subletting space from their friend Al Harvey 's Harvey Publications at 1860 Broadway. Mainline, which existed from 1954 to 1955, published four titles:
21746-673: The staff, especially with the younger artists who typically credited him as their inspiration. He worked on The New Fantastic Four animated series, reuniting him with scriptwriter Stan Lee and they kept their relations sufficiently cordial on a professional level. He illustrated an adaptation of the Walt Disney movie The Black Hole for Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales syndicated comic strip in 1979–80. In 1979, Kirby drew concept art for film producer Barry Geller's script treatment adapting Roger Zelazny 's science fiction novel, Lord of Light , for which Geller had purchased
21912-491: The status of a New God and has been reborn more powerful than before. Mister Miracle is able to lift at least 50 tons. He is shown to have a high level of invulnerability; enduring space's rigors, surviving the explosion of three "Boom Spheres", resisting attacks of powerful beings such as Darkseid . His combined reflexes, speed and agility make him able to dodge almost any attack, even from two Apokalitian assassins, as he did with Lashina and Kanto. In addition, Mister Miracle has
22078-524: The stereo in Fury's apartment to show there was music playing, cigarettes in the ash tray in one, there was a sequence of intercut shots where she moved closer to him, much more intimately, there was a kiss, there was a rose, and then there was one panel with the telephone off the hook, which the comic book code [ sic ; "Comics Code"] made him put back on. ... [T]he last panel on that page had Nick and his old lady kneeling, with their arms around each other, and that
22244-787: The suburbs when they were not involved in Justice League-related adventures. In particular, Free was recast as a hen-pecked husband, who often found himself on the receiving end of his wife's temper over her desire to live a quiet life on Earth. During his time in the League, Scott developed an intense rivalry with Justice League villain Manga Khan . The villainous intergalactic trader and black marketer repeatedly kidnapped Scott, ultimately convincing Scott's conniving former manager Funky Flashman into forging documents forcing Scott to work for Manga as his personal entertainer. To force him to go along willingly, Khan replaced Scott with
22410-753: The success of the Captain America character, Simon said he felt that Goodman was not paying the pair the promised percentage of profits, and so sought work for the two of them at National Comics Publications (later renamed DC Comics ). Kirby and Simon negotiated a deal that would pay them a combined $ 500 a week, as opposed to the $ 75 and $ 85 they respectively earned at Timely. The pair feared Goodman would not pay them if he found they were moving to National, but many people knew of their plan, including Timely editorial assistant Stan Lee . When Goodman eventually discovered it, he told Simon and Kirby to leave after finishing work on Captain America Comics #10. Kirby
22576-513: The superhero comic Stuntman , and, in vogue with the fad for 3-D movies , Captain 3-D . Simon and Kirby additionally freelanced for Hillman Periodicals (the crime-fiction comic Real Clue Crime ) and for Crestwood Publications ( Justice Traps the Guilty ). The team had its greatest success in the postwar period by creating romance comics . Simon, inspired by Macfadden Publications ' romantic-confession magazine True Story , transplanted
22742-542: The surname Kirby as the pseudonymous Lance Kirby in two "Lone Rider" Western stories in Eastern Color Printing 's Famous Funnies #63–64 (Oct.–Nov. 1939). He ultimately settled on the pen name Jack Kirby because it reminded him of actor James Cagney . However, he took offense to those who suggested he changed his name in order to hide his Jewish heritage. Kirby moved on to comic-book publisher and newspaper syndicator Fox Feature Syndicate , earning
22908-472: The surrealism of Richard Powers and Salvador Dalí. Steeped in cinematic techniques picked up from that medium's masters, Jim synthesized ... an approach different from anything being done in mainstream comics, though it did include one standard attraction: lots of females in skintight, sexy costumes. Countess Valentina (Val) Allegro De Fontaine [ sic ; "Valentina Allegra di Fontaine"] made her debut in Strange Tales #159 (Aug. 1967) by flooring Nick Fury during
23074-470: The theatrical animation company Fleischer Studios as an inbetweener (an artist who fills in the action between major-movement frames) on Popeye cartoons at the same time in 1935. He left the studio before the Fleischer strike in 1937. "I went from Lincoln to Fleischer," he recalled. "From Fleischer I had to get out in a hurry because I couldn't take that kind of thing," describing it as "a factory in
23240-465: The way I told stories. ... If you're a publisher and you want my work, you get it my way or you don't get it at all. ... Anyway, I have an agreement now, a working agreement with them, and everything's cool. Summing up this initial stint in comics, Steranko said in 1979, I was getting the top pay at Marvel, along with Kirby and John Buscema, and I felt privileged to be considered in their class. Both of them were better comic artists. But working at Marvel
23406-461: The wrong side." Several months later, after his split with DC, Kirby began freelancing regularly for Atlas despite harboring negative sentiments about Stan Lee (the cousin of Timely publisher Martin Goodman's wife), who Kirby had always found annoying on top of his aforementioned betrayal he suspected in the 1940s. Because of the poor page rates, Kirby would spend 12 to 14 hours daily at his drawing table at home, producing four to five pages of artwork
23572-424: Was Mister Miracle. Brown was impressed with Scott's skills (especially as supplemented with various advanced devices he had taken from his previous home). Scott befriended Brown's assistant, a dwarf named Oberon. When Thaddeus Brown was murdered, Free assumed the identity of Mister Miracle. Barda later followed Scott to Earth and the two used their New Gods powers, equipment and skills in the war against Darkseid, who
23738-529: Was a "liberal Democrat". Jack Kirby held anti-communist views, once saying that "I was against the reds. I became a witch hunter. My enemies were the commies—I called them commies. In fact, Granny Goodness was a commie, Doubleheader was a commie." On February 6, 1994, aged 76, Kirby died of heart failure in his Thousand Oaks, California home. He was buried at Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California . Brent Staples wrote in
23904-611: Was a cosmic war and the powers of evil won", prompting him to form a team to fight the evil gods. Shilo was later summoned by Nix Uotan to fight against Mandrakk the Dark Monitor . Shilo would later appear as Mister Miracle alongside his other Seven Soldiers team mates in Morrison and Dan DiDio 's series " Sideways ". Shilo Norman's Mister Miracle also appears in Mister Miracle: The Source of Freedom ,
24070-553: Was able to walk again. He returned to the United States in January 1945, assigned to Camp Butner in North Carolina, where he spent the last six months of his service as part of the motor pool. Kirby was honorably discharged as a private first class on July 20, 1945, having received a Combat Infantryman Badge , a European/African/Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with a bronze Battle Star . In 1949, Kirby bought
24236-469: Was also a serious cut in pay compared to my advertising work. My life was hectic then. I worked as the art director for an ad agency in the afternoon, played in a rock band at night, and worked on my comic book pages early in the morning. It's a peculiar thing, but the more I learned about storytelling, the slower I became. Eventually I had to stop playing in the band; later I left the agency. There were plenty of hassles with Stan Lee, of course. I felt that if I
24402-582: Was among the Thirteen in the custody of the Time Masters . The capsules containing Thaddeus and those with him were found to have failed and they were pulled back to the 1940s where history is rebuilding around them. During " The New Golden Age ", Thaddeus Brown' bio revealed that his history of being shot by a sniper working for Steel Hand remains intact, though it is claimed that Ted and a few people might know that Thaddeus faked his death. Mister Miracle
24568-433: Was at these meetings that Scott met Lieutenant Big Barda of Darkseid's Female Furies who would later become his wife. Eventually, Free escaped and fled to Earth. His escape, long anticipated and planned for by Darkseid, nullified the pact between Darkseid and Highfather; giving Darkseid the excuse he needed to revive the war with New Genesis. Once on Earth, Free met circus escape artist Thaddeus Brown, whose stage name
24734-421: Was bitterly convinced it was specifically Lee who betrayed them, ignoring Simon's willingness to give him the benefit of the doubt. Kirby and Simon spent their first weeks at National trying to devise new characters while the company sought how best to utilize the pair. After a few failed editor-assigned ghosting assignments, National's Jack Liebowitz told them to "just do what you want". The pair then revamped
24900-405: Was born when Steranko was 14, "severing even the minimal interaction between me and my parents." Steranko had begun drawing while very young, opening and flattening envelopes from the mail to use as sketch paper. Despite his father's denigration of Steranko's artistic talent, and the boy's ambition to become an architect, Steranko paid for his art supplies by collecting discarded soda bottles for
25066-438: Was called an 'open-window' school, a facility across the city that had a healthy program for kids with special problems. I was bused to school for four years, then dropped into standard junior high." There, being smaller and younger than his classmates, he found himself a target for bullies and young gang-members until he studied boxing and self-defense at the local YMCA and began to successfully fight back. His youngest brother
25232-536: Was chosen as #24 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel's readers in 2001. Editor Robert Greenberger wrote in his introduction to the story that "As the fourth year of the Fantastic Four came to a close, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby seemed to be only warming up. In retrospect, it was perhaps the most fertile period of any monthly title during the Marvel Age." Comics historian Les Daniels noted that "[t]he mystical and metaphysical elements that took over
25398-476: Was doing it! Not that he did it badly—it just wasn't the character I wanted; it was too heroic". Lee then turned to Steve Ditko to draw the story that would appear in Amazing Fantasy #15, for which Kirby nonetheless penciled the cover. Lee and Kirby gathered several of their newly created characters together into the team title The Avengers and brought back old characters from the 1940s such as
25564-400: Was earning $ 35,000 a year freelancing for the company (adjusted for inflation it was the equivalent of over $ 271,000 in 2024), then left Marvel in 1970 for rival DC Comics, under editorial director Carmine Infantino . Kirby spent nearly two years negotiating a deal to move to DC Comics, where in late 1970 he signed a three-year contract with an option for two additional years. He produced
25730-512: Was entirely too much for the Code, so the panel was replaced with a picture of a gun in its holster. When reprinted in Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Who Is Scorpio? (Marvel Enterprises, 2001; ISBN 0-7851-0766-5 ), however, Steranko's original final panel was reinserted: In a black-and-white long shot with screentone shading, the couple is beginning to embrace, with Fury standing and
25896-499: Was fostered in an abusive orphanage. He eventually ran away and ended up on the streets near the informal ward of escapologist Thaddeus Brown (the original Mister Miracle), and he served as an occasional stand-in . When Brown was murdered by Intergang mobster Steel Hand, Scott Free avenged his new friend's death by taking on the identity of Mister Miracle and brought Steel Hand to justice. After Brown's death, Shilo worked with Scott and his wife Barda. A master escape artist himself,
26062-459: Was good enough to work for them, then they should accept my work without a lot of maddening editorial changes. But now, I think I may have been wrong. After all, Marvel was paying the tab. Stan is a great editor. He stresses storytelling and really knows the comics business, probably better than anyone else. Steranko returned briefly to Marvel, contributing a romance story ("My Heart Broke in Hollywood", Our Love Story #5, Feb. 1970) and becoming
26228-414: Was inspired by comic book writer/artist Jim Steranko . Mister Miracle's relationship with his wife Big Barda is based on Kirby's relationship with his own wife Roz. Thaddeus Brown was a circus escape artist whose stage name was Mister Miracle. As the first escape artist to use the name Mister Miracle, Brown earned a modest living and practiced his art into his later years. Brown met Scott Free as he
26394-400: Was involved in litigation with Marvel Comics over the ownership of Captain America, initiated by Marvel after Simon registered the copyright renewal for Captain America in his own name. According to Simon, Kirby agreed to support the company in the litigation and, as part of a deal Kirby made with publisher Martin Goodman, signed over to Marvel any rights he might have had to the character. At
26560-510: Was largely humor-driven, per Giffen's reimagining Scott Free, his wife Big Barda, and their friend Oberon, who pretended to be Scott's uncle, as living in suburbia when they were not fighting evil with the Justice League. In 1996, a series written by Kevin Dooley showed Scott attempting to escape his destiny as a New God by working for a charitable foundation in New York. This ran for seven issues, before all Fourth World titles were canceled for
26726-426: Was practicing an outdoor escape with his long-time friend and assistant Oberon . Scott then aided Brown as he was being coerced by Intergang thugs working for Intergang member Steel Hand by fighting them off. Unbeknownst to Scott, Intergang was an Earth crime organization run by Darkseid . Brown then told Scott that he was being harassed by the local Intergang Capo known as Steel Hand. Brown and Steel Hand had been in
26892-669: Was rejected by the Educational Alliance because he drew "too fast with charcoal", according to Kirby. He later found an outlet for his skills by drawing cartoons for the newspaper of the Boys Brotherhood Republic, a "miniature city" on East 3rd Street where street kids ran their own government. At age 14, Kirby enrolled at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn , leaving after a week. "I wasn't
27058-550: Was revealed to have been part of a group called the Justice Society Dark. In 1941, Doctor Fate and Salem the Witch Girl came across Mister Miracle fighting Solomon Grundy while Zatara and Diamond Jack were having a spat. After Solomon Grundy was chained up, Mister Miracle suggested to Doctor Fate and Salem the Witch Girl that they should go apprehend Bride of Grundy. Scott Free is the son of Highfather ,
27224-487: Was shot, killed and thrown overboard from the cruise ship Achille Lauro by Palestinian Liberation Front hijackers . In his youth, Kirby desired to escape his neighborhood. He liked to draw, and sought out places he could learn more about art. Essentially self-taught, Kirby cited among his influences the comic strip artists Milton Caniff , Hal Foster , and Alex Raymond , as well as such editorial cartoonists as C. H. Sykes , "Ding" Darling , and Rollin Kirby . He
27390-429: Was still interested in recapturing both of them. Eventually, tired of being chased on Earth by Darkseid's servants, Scott returned to Apokolips and won his freedom by legal means, through trial by combat. Scott later met Brown's son Ted. Free later became a member of the Justice League International as did Barda and Oberon, which recast him and Big Barda as semi-retired super-heroes that sought to live quiet lives in
27556-529: Was the longest-lasting of the Fourth World titles, lasting 18 issues while the other titles, New Gods and The Forever People , were cancelled after only 11 issues. The most traditionally super-heroesque comic of the various Fourth World titles, the last seven issues as well as later incarnations of the series would downplay the Fourth World mythology in favor of more traditional superhero fare. The character teamed up with Batman three times in The Brave and
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