This is a blast, to get a glimpse at Jack "King" Kirby's original work (already inked in this case) for a favorite cover. The Marvel annuals were a big deal to me back when I was a youngster. These reprints gave me, a latecomer to the Marvel Age, a glimpse into the early days of the heroes I followed. It was a real treat each year to get another helping of classic comics stories. I think of the Showcase and Essentials volumes the same way today. This collection of old myths/superhero tales was especially enjoyable.
As we close in on the Winter Solstice, this sort of celebration of pagan times seems appropriate.
Who is the inker on this? The GCD doesn't offer any idea, but I'm guessing Frank Giacoia. It seems to have his distinctive edges in several of the figures. Or is this the King inking himself? I wonder.
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I recall the later 1970s marvel poster book,with not just this cover inside,as a poster,but with the full art,cropped from the sides.Marvel should have calculated how many more annuals would have been needed to reprint all the tales of asgard,that went from JIM 97,to 144,a total of 48 5 page stories.Four specials would have done it,then had kirby do up four covers.That just had to have been,Kirby at his absolute peak of his talent.
ReplyDeleteActually, good as this cover is, it's a little stilted in comparison to the first one Kirby did. It was essentially the same, but Stan wanted some characters repositioned. In the initial version, the Thor figure is a lot better.
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