Tales of Asgard might well be Jack Kirby's most personally distinctive work during his legendary Silver Age tenure at Mighty Marvel. The Fantastic Four was incredible, the run on the lead Thor feature was awe-inspiring, but somehow the humble back-up feature "Tales of Asgard" is the story which connects to The King's highly intoxicating Fourth World work the most directly.For there to be "New Gods" there had to old, and these are them.
One of my nostalgic favorites was the totally awesome Tales of Asgard annual which hit the stands in 1968 collecting the earliest of these epic stories. These vivid tales were again collected up a few years ago and given a new modern gloss, a new coloring which some have objected to. To my eye it seems to give them a freshness which I'm eager to sample. So this year to celebrate the birthday of Jack "King" Kirby, I think I'll order up this handsome collection.
Here's a look at the enticing splash pages featuring inks by the likes of "George Bell" (George Roussos), Paul Reinman, Chic Stone, Don Heck, Bill Everett and Vince Colletta.
