End Of The Tabloid King!

I picked up the latest issue of The Jack Kirby Collector and unsurprisingly found a regular magazine-sized magazine and not the vast tabloids which have been the format for this publication for many years now. I was a bit chagrined that because of the addition of color, the price had not changed a jot, but then price and format have always been a balancing act for magazines when they seek to find a solution for the ultimate bottom line.

I like the new/old look because frankly it's easier to read. I don't have concerns over storage as is alluded to in the issue itself as a complaint from some regulars, as I have scuds of tabloids to keep it company. But I did find that to read it I had to spread it out on the floor and that got a bit uncomfortable at times. It's handy to have this precious info in a more accessible form.


TJKC has been a staple of my reading for nearly as long as it has been published. I found the devotion to one of my favorite artists arresting, and the insights into his work have been fascinating. I will confess that in more recent years, there seems to be a thinner value to content as frankly much of what can be said about Kirby has been said. Now and again we find some new thing, but largely it's a rehash. That doesn't make it an unpleasant read, just not as vivid as it was once upon a time.

The Jack Kirby Collector and Alter Ego are regular reads, along with the occasional issue of Back Issue. I hope Twomorrows is able to keep it going, and I know that barring the unforeseen I'll be along for the ride.


This fantastic image by Kirby and inked by Dashing Don Heck is the back cover for this issue, and it's material like that which keeps me coming back. That and the outstanding complete story "Fears of a Go-Go Girl Can Come True" from Kirby's defunct romance comic/magazine Soul Love he produced for DC way back when he stormed their gates so very long ago. Treasures like these are precious indeed. You can find this story online in a few places, but it's very cool to have it in print.

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