Posted By Dan Greenfield on Aug 30, 2025 | 3 comments

SCOTT SHAW! SATURDAYS…

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Jack Kirby was born 108 years ago this week, on Aug. 28, 1917. You can find other tributes here, here and here. — Dan

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By SCOTT SHAW!

While most of Jack Kirby’s fans know him for his superheroes — Captain America, Fantastic Four, Thor, Black Panther, the Silver Surfer, the Avengers, the X-Men, the New Gods, Mister Miracle and many more — they’re only a slice of the King’s career.

He and Joe Simon were the creators of romance comics as well as the “kid gang” concept. They also did dozens of horror and crime comics together. Jack also wrote and drew comics based on monsters, Westerns, fantasy… and humor, with funny animals, parodies of his own superheroes, Mad magazine-style stuff, and even characters based on his favorite comedian. Humor was essential to Jack Kirby, and he wished he had more opportunities to be funny. It’s a shame, because Jack wasn’t just funny, he had a unique sense of humor. And not surprisingly, back when he was young and his name was Jacob Kurtzberg, his career began with humorous characters.

Well after Jack was established…

While most of Kurtzberg’s peers in his neighborhood saw their future as policemen, politicians or gangsters, Jacob wanted to be an artist, but only lasted less than a week at art class at Pratt Institute because his father lost his job. Jacob dropped out and needed to find paying work. He started doing some art and comic strips for Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate,  a new outfit that mostly provided the funnies for Jewish news tabloids.

“Frustrated by bad spelling, I turned to bad drawing and improved both enough in my late teens to land a job in a small syndicate servicing weekly newspapers,” Jack once told John Morrow (Jack Kirby Collector #5).

During that period, prolific Jacob created so many new strips, editorial cartoons, and features that he was asked to use a number of different signatures so their readers would assume their newspapers had a large team of cartoonists to entertain them daily. Jacob conceived a number of names that, to him, sounded more like those of typical cartoonists. Ultimately, he picked “Jack Kirby.” The former Jacob explained to his friends and family, “I’m not ashamed of being a Jew, I just like the name.”

One of those comic strips was a rather obvious lift of E. C. Segar’s Popeye named Socko the Seadog. The earlier strips look like Jack was attempting to draw in Segar’s style, but it wasn’t long before his own approach began to appear in the comic strip.

Socko the Seadog syndicated comic strip by Jacob Kurtzberg

Speaking of Popeye, about the same time, in 1935, Jacob also got a job as an “in-betweener” animator at the Fleischer Studios in New York City, earning around 15 dollars a week. This was his earliest formal art training, which taught him about movement and exaggeration.

“From there to Max Fleischer’s animation studios – where, for negligible wages, I learned that the human body, in motion, has value and beauty. When Popeye and Betty Boop took the initial steps to throw their pies, it was my job to complete the movements and speed of the action. This operation was called in-betweening. When comic magazines blossomed as a field, I leaped in and drew for anyone who would let me tell a story, ” Jack said to Morrow.

Popeye “in-betweening” animation art by Jacob Kurtzberg

After World War II, superhero comics weren’t selling as popularly as they had been, including those of the noted team of Simon and Kirby. Other genres were getting more attention, including kiddie comics, so Jack jumped in with three new characters for Hillman: Lockjaw the Alligator; Earl the Rich Rabbit, and Toby and his Band. Two decades later, Jack created another “Lockjaw,” the super-powered canine member of the Inhumans. I seriously doubt that it was merely a coincidence.

Toby and his Band, “The Mystery Crooner,” Page 1, Punch and Judy Comics Vol. 2 #12, Hillman, Aug. 1947. Written and drawn by Jack Kirby.

Earl the Rich Rabbit, Page 1, Punch and Judy Comics Vol. 3 #2, Hillman, Dec. 1947. Written and drawn by Jack Kirby.

In the late 1940s, Jack and Joe were primarily working on their own crime title, Headline Comics. Here’s one that must have been fun to do, a photo cover with policeman Simon busting thief Kirby:

Headline Publications Inc./Prize, Sept.-Oct. 1949.

In the mid-1950s, many of America’s comics publishers were again sticking their communal toe into the superhero pond. Simon and Kirby were on it with Fighting American, originally similar to Captain America’s origin with gangsters instead of Nazis. However, by the third issue Fighting American and his junior aide, Speed Boy, were primarily fighting hilariously bizarre Communist baddies.

Fighting American #3, Headline Publications Inc./Prize, Aug.-Sept. 1954. Cover by Kirby.

When Mad magazine became successful, it provided a template for comic book publishers. Most of them weren’t very clever and quickly disappeared from the newsstands, such as Charlton’s From Here to Insanity and Crazy, Man, Crazy. Still, both provided memorable Kirby work.

August 1955. Cover by Jack Kirby.

In the mid-1960s, Ben Grimm — the Thing — was fandom’s favorite superhero, partially due to his sense of humor. His personality gelled in the 11th issue of Fantastic Four as he dealt with the Yancy Street Gang, as well as the nutty Impossible Man.

Impy’s origin, Fantastic Four #11, Feb. 1963. Dick Ayers inks.

A few years later, there was Not Brand Echh, where many of Marvel’s top artists’ made fun of their characters. Jack parodied the FF, Thor, and other superheroes.

August 1967. Mike Esposito inks.

Issue #1

When Jack left Marvel to return to DC in 1970, he asked, in addition to his new Fourth World line, to write and draw a low-selling series, which turned out to be Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen. He added elements from the Fourth World to the title and gave it an injection of offbeat humor — for example, the arrival of Goody Rickels, a riff on Don Rickles. The cover blurb “DON’T ASK! JUST BUY IT!” still bounces around my brain… and now yours!

September 1971. Inks by Neal Adams.

Rickles also inspired Comet Feldman, the Levitating Levite, a never-published hero infused with classic Jewish humor. Mark Evanier, Jack’s onetime assistant, thinks it was done for a Steve Gerber project.

In the mid-’70s, Joe and Jack — the creators of “kid gangs” — each created new ones for 1st Issue Special. Joe’s was the Green Team, a group of teenage zillionaires who travel the world. Jack’s was the reverse, an inner-city team with more chutzpah than cash, the Dingbats of Danger Street. Neither one took off, although Jack was so confident that his would be successful that he wrote and drew a few more issues, which were never published until TwoMorrows’ 2000 book, Jack Kirby’s Dingbat Love.

September 1975. Mike Royer inks.

Finally – and I know I’ve shown this to you before — but this drawing that Jack sent me shows just how unique his sense of  humor really was:

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Want more ODDBALL COMICS? Come back next week!

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MORE

— ODDBALL COMICS: MARIE SEVERIN, Marvel’s Master of Mirth. Click here.

— ODDBALL COMICS: Dell’s Wild 1960s Series BRAIN BOY. Click here.

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For over half a century, SCOTT SHAW! has been a pro cartoonist/writer/designer of comic books, animation, advertising and toys. He is also a historian of all forms of cartooning. Scott has worked on many underground comix and mainstream comic books, including Simpsons Comics (Bongo); Weird Tales of the Ramones (Rhino); and his co-creation with Roy Thomas, Captain Carrot and his Amazing Zoo Crew! (DC). Scott also worked on numerous animated series, including producing/directing John Candy’s Camp Candy (NBC/DIC/Saban) and Martin Short’s The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley. As senior art director for the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency, Scott worked on dozens of commercials for Post Pebbles cereals with the Flintstones. He also designed a line of Hanna-Barbera action figures for McFarlane Toys. Scott was one of the comics fans who organized the first San Diego Comic-Con.

Need funny cartoons for any and all media? Scott does commissions! Email him at shawcartoons@gmail.com.

His latest project is Kilgore Home Nursing, based on stories that his home-care nurses told him about their jobs. He’ll have lots of copies for sale at the upcoming shows at which he’ll be a guest, including the Burbank Toon Con on September 7, 2025.