The Jack Kirby Omnibus Vol. 2 Hardcover – May 7, 2013

I'm a hardcore Kirby fan, and to people like me this is a very welcome volume. It's not Jack's greatest work to be sure, but there are moments of brilliance throughout the 600+ pages represented here. I recently got an email asking me about the Sandman content in this book, as there have evidently been differing reports about what's in here ... so to clarify for all, here's what you get in this Omnibus (note that the Black Magic issues were published in the 70s, but they reprint pre-Code material from Jack and Joe Simon published in the 50s in Black Magic and Strange World of Your Dreams):Black Magic #1 (Oct-Nov/73) -- three stories (Maniac, The Head of the Family, The Greatest Horror of Them All)Black Magic #2 (Dec/73-Jan/74) -- four stories (Fool's Paradise, The Cat People, Birth After Death, Those Who Are About to Die)Black Magic #3 (Apr-May/74) -- two stories (Nasty Little Man, The Angel of Death)Black Magic #4 (Jun-Jul/74) -- cover art and one story (Last Second of Life)Black Magic #5 (Aug-Sep/74) -- two stories (Strange Old Bird, Up There)Black Magic #6 (Oct-Nov/74) -- one story (The Girl Who Walked on Water)Black Magic #7 (Dec/74-Jan/75) -- cover art and two stories (The Cloak, Freak)Black Magic #8 (Feb-Mar/75) -- two stories (The Girl in the Grave, Send Us Your Dreams)Black Magic #9 (Apr-May/75) -- one story (The Woman in the Tower)First Issue Special #1 (Apr/75) -- Atlas the GreatFirst Issue Special #5 (Aug/75) -- ManhunterFirst Issue Special #6 (Sep/75) -- Dingbats of Danger StreetRichard Dragon, Kung-Fu Fighter #3 (Aug-Sep/75) -- Claws of the DragonKobra #1 (Feb-Mar/76) -- Fangs of the KobraSandman #1 (Winter/74) -- General ElectricSandman #2 (Apr-May/75) -- cover artSandman #3 (Jun-Jul/75) -- cover artSandman #4 (Aug-Sep/75) -- Panic in the Dream StreamSandman #5 (Oct-Nov/75) -- The Invasion of the Frog MenSandman #6 (Dec/75-Jan/76) -- The Plot to Destroy Washington DCBest of DC #22 (Mar/82) -- The Seal Men's War on Santa ClausSuper Powers #1 (Jul/84) -- Power Beyond PriceSuper Powers #2 (Aug/84) -- Clash Against ChaosSuper Powers #3 (Sep/84) -- Amazons At WarSuper Powers #4 (Oct/84) -- Earth's Last StandSuper Powers #5 (Nov/84) -- Spaceship Earth: We're All On ItSuper Powers promotional posterDC Comics Presents #84 (Aug/85) -- Give Me Power ... Give Me Your WorldSuper DC Giant S-25 (Jul-Aug/71) -- cover artSuper Powers #1 (Sep/85) -- Seeds of DoomSuper Powers #2 (Oct/85) -- When Past and Present MeetSuper Powers #3 (Nov/85) -- Time Upon Time Upon TimeSuper Powers #4 (Dec/85) -- There's No Place Like RomeSuper Powers #5 (Jan/86) -- Once Upon TomorrowSuper Powers #6 (Feb/86) -- Darkseid of the MoonWho's Who Profiles from The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe 1985-1987

Now THIS is how an omnibus should be done! Great reproduction, great color and great artwork by the King himself, Jack Kirby! This edition covers Jack's work at DC Comics after he had created his Fourth World opus, and after he had returned to Marvel Comics, gone into animation, and become a free agent, as it were.The selections here are a strange cross-section of DC Comics in the seventies and eighties. Black Magic reprints some old Kirby tales from the fifties, including some of his Dream Detective stories. Following that up was Kirby's revival of the Sandman, this time as a character who could control dreams, an issue of Kung Fu Fighter, the first issue of Kobra, some First Issue Specials (including the revival of Manhunter), Superman meeting the Challengers, and the first two Super Powers toy tie-in series.My one qualm with the book is the addition of all the Super Powers issues; Jack did plot the series, but only wrote and drew the final issue. The first four had some truly atrocious art (which had the saving grace of some Alan Kupperberg inking on a few issues), and had little to do with Jack; it comes off as four issues of filler in an otherwise excellent volume. Having Kirby do the entirety of the the second series more than makes up for it, since we get Jack's take on Doctor Fate, Red Tornado, Martian Manhunter and even the modern-look Green Arrow.Speaking of GA, I've read a lot of complaining reviews on the first Kirby Omnibus, since it had Green Arrow on the cover and wasn't completely Green Arrow all the way through; apparently no one bothers to look to see exactly how much of the feature Kirby actually did - it was only about nine or ten eight-page stories. That's obviously not going to fill 300+ pages. If the rest of that book is anything like this, I'm definitely grabbing it as soon as I find an affordable copy.If you like good comics, and/or if you like Jack Kirby, THIS is definitely a book for you!

Jack Kirby, came back to DC in the 1970s after leaving Marvel; he then went back to Marvel; then returned again to DC with mixed results. This books starts off with material from Kirby's reprint run of Black Magic (the original was out in the 1950s the reprints in the 1970s). We get to see two one shots from 1st Issue Special: The Dingbats of Danger Street (an updated kid gang) and Atlas. Sadly there were more issues of the Dingbats but they were never published: it is a shame they did not make this volume. The highlight of the book is Kirby's Sandman; a fun take on the character. This and Kobra (a book based on a villain) are unique high points of this collection.Now about Super Powers- this was a series drawn by Kirby to promote a toy line. In one way it is cool to see Jack handle the Justice League on his own; in another way it is sad to see his art in decline; I am not trying to disrespect him but then again Kirby even at his weakest is better than others at their top.The book itself uses non-glossy paper which I like as it gives the volume more of a "real" comics feel. Even at the cover price I think it is worth it; but at the discount price (at least at the time I write this review) I think it is well worth it to see why Jack was known as King Kirby.

Never judge a book by its cover, the saying goes, and it's true. I judged this one for years by the fact that it says 'Starring the Super Powers' on the cover, and I already have both series in the original comic books. I finally gave in because I have  The Jack Kirby Omnibus - Volume 1 Starring Green Arrow , which is brilliantly produced and full of extras. Well what do you know, volume 2's equally chock full of goodies. Yes, around half the book is the two Super Powers series that Kirby worked on at DC in the mid-1980s, but that leaves around three hundred pages of additional wonderment, kicking off with a whopping eighteen stories from Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's 1950s horror anthology, Black Magic. This was one of the series that upset Frederic Wertham, the American psychologist whose book, Seduction of the Innocent, blamed comic books for juvenile delinquency. They're neat stories, though Simon's inking is a little scrappy at times, betraying the breakneck speed at which he and Kirby worked. Kirby's pencilling, on the other hand, shows him, as ever, to be a master of his craft. His layouts, pacing, characterisation, choice of angles, all work to carry the stories forward. Being pre-code, some of the images he produces are genuinely creepy and/or gruesome. There are tales inspired by movies, including Val Lewton's 1942 Cat People and Tod Browning's 1932 classic, Freaks, albeit altered enough to make them interesting and avoid copyright problems.Other tales in this collection include Kirby's mid-70s try-outs in DC's 1st Issue Special series; Atlas the Great, Manhunter and The Dingbats of Danger Street. These are also fun, benefiting from the production values of these DC anthologies, which use good quality matt paper, high quality art restoration and excellent colouring, creating the sort of look that artists could only hope for but the original comics could never approach.Also included are the mid-70s Sandman stories that were the last collaborations between Kirby and Joe Simon, the partner with whom he'd created Captain America back in the early 40s. One has the wonderful title, The Seal Men's War On Santa Claus.The mid-1980s Super Powers series are fun because they represent the only time Kirby got to play in the DC sandpit with all their biggest characters, featuring as it does a pretty complete roster of the Justice League, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Hawkman et al. Better still, the heroes are pitched against one of Kirby's greatest creations and DC's baddest bad guy, the lord of Apokolips himself, Darkseid. By this time, Kirby's eyesight and manual dexterity were beginning to show signs of deteriorations, particularly in his figure drawing. Nevertheless, he still creates amazing vistas in many panels that are comparable with the work of his golden era of the late 60s, early 70s.Overall then, what you have here is 624 pages of varied work by probably the greatest and most influential artist and storyteller ever to work in comic books. What's not to love? The Jack Kirby Omnibus - Volume 1 Starring Green Arrow

Jack Kirby the king of comic books

I gave this book 4 stars as a bit of an average. Looked at as a history of kirby's final years at DC the book is fascinating and in that context probably 5 stars. However as a book of comic book stories to be enjoyed on their own merits this volume is very hit and miss and probably deserves 3 stars( just). The best stories in the book are actually Simon/kirby horror stories from the 1950s which DC bought and repackaged in the 1970s. A lot of the 70s stories show glimmers of the kirby genius but never given enough time to be fleshed out past a first issue. The Sandman stories look beautiful but the stories were not to my taste. Kirby is to be credited for creating interesting concepts that other writers later ran with. The final toy tie-in Super powers mini series were very strange and whilst " must reads" because they are really the only example of Kirby doing any thing with the Justice League I'm not sure how many action figures they sold on the back of it . Overall if you buy it to see the final DC series at a great price - fine. But be aware this is not Kirby at his very best.

I make no apologies for stealing Stan Lee's phrase but that is how I feel about Kirby. His vision was so beyond his time - as an artist and creator he was most probably born in the wrong era. He gave us comic fans the New Gods, Darkseid, Granny Goodness, The Eternals, The Inhumans and basically created a ton load of Marvel characters. His legacy is supreme. Here is Kirby's last pieces he worked on and although they don't have the vision of the New Gods or his earlier work, you can see from a mile that it is Kirby's artwork. The man was a supreme artist and anything he drew should be cherished. From this review you may gather I love this man's work. His imagination knew no bounds and we are lucky to have benefitted from his amazing ideas. So, any book with Kirby's artwork in it is a cause to rejoice.

Jack Kirby was the King ! It's clear that he contributed so much to the Marvel Universe and his Fourth World epic has never been bettered (or finished). Sadly, this is not his best stuff and you may be forgiven for asking what all the hype about Kirby is down to if this was all he was known for.Most of the stuff in here Jack Kirby completed to simply fulfill his contract at DC , whilst he awaited his ill-fated return to Marvel, or in order to receive royalties on the toys based on many of the characters he created. It's my understanding that by the time he drew the Super Powers stories his eye sight was diminishing and it shows. However, that said there are still glimpses of the greatness that punctuated his career and if you are a Kirby fan like me then it is worth having this to complete the collection.