My e-mailbox this morning is full of all sorts of questions about the work Jack Kirby did for DC Comics in the seventies known as his "Fourth World." It was an extraordinary body of work which — though Jack did a belated, truncated ending to its main storyline — I will always regard as comics' greatest unfinished symphony. I believe I would still love it even if I hadn't (a) been present to witness its creation and (b) gotten to know and love its maker.
I am aware there are those out there who prefer other Kirby work — or in some cases, no Kirby work at all — and I'm fine with that. I am not a salesperson for it. If you try it, it will either sell itself to you or it won't…and it doesn't matter much to me if it doesn't. I just like the fact that it has remained in print for so long (even though many at DC then proclaimed it a flop) and the characters have appeared in/on toy shelves and TV and movies (even though DC's merchandising division back then thought Jack was nuts to think that could ever happen).
I'll be answering questions about Jack's creations and discussing it tomorrow evening (Wednesday) with Pop Culture Man Arlen Schumer. The audio podcast commences at 8 PM Eastern Time (5 PM where I am) and can be heard by clicking here.
That show is kind of a prelude to an online video lecture Arlen is doing the following night (Thursday) at 7 PM Eastern, celebrating and speaking about the Fourth World:
Join Pop Culture Man Arlen Schumer tonight as he explores the comic book origins of these unique Kirby characters and stories, and how they've been a steady influence on pop culture over the decades — most notably on George Lucas' Star Wars franchise!
Tickets for Arlen's talk are available now at this link. I'll be watching.