Jack Kirby on Entertainment Tonight - 28 Oct 1982

Kirby is interviewed by Catherine Mann.

[@acepedro12]

"How many character have you created?" "Oh, all of them."

[@breadlover302]

He's a legend, he deserved more recognition and respect.

[@ethanlaborde]

Jack Kirby sounds like Ben Grimm/The Thing.

[@aftacomics5865]

I've always thought that too! I felt Ben Grimm was Jack Kirby in so many ways.

[@NickPiers]

That's actually completely intentional. In Kirby's biography by Mark Evanier - Kirby: King of Comics - Jack's quoted about The Thing: "If you'll notice the way The Thing talks and acts, you'll find that The Thing is really Jack Kirby. He has my manners, he has my manner of speech, and he thinks the way I do. He's excitable, and you'll find that he's very, very active among people, and he can muscle his way through a crowd. I find I'm that sort of person."

[@KTF0]

I imagined a very similar accent. If I were to ever draw Ben Grimm in human form I'd draw a bulky Jack Kirby, like the pics you see when he was fighting in the war.

[@KairuHakubi]

IT'S COLLABORATIN' TIME!

[@johnminehan1148]

Great New York voice; someone who was an auto didact and conspicuously brave and able when called on. He told great stories, possibly because he was one himself.

[@Senorcyborg]

We miss you Jack.

[@tdickensheets]

I wish I see him when he still alive.

[@chimera916]

We can see him in his works of art

[@mindandbody7971]

We owe him so much. Even years after his passing, I am still learning from him. Rest in glory.

[@flappospammo]

the leonardo da Vinci of modern media

[@wasteland70]

You may not believe me, but when I was a boy in Southern California my sister was friends with Mr. Kirby's grand-daughter. I was at his house numerous times, swimming in his pool and spending the day there. I wish I still had the comics and posters he gave me. I can tell you, honestly, he was a sweet, kind, wonderful man. Visits to Mr. Kirby's, or as my mother called him "Mr. Creator" are likely the fondest of my childhood.

[@MRF1983]

That's spectacular to have those experiences and memories. In all the media I've seen of him, he seems a genteel and decent as he appears in this interview. I would say he seems closest to the Thing to me in personability and relatablity. Thanks for your leaving your comment, friend! 🖖🙂

[@marvelmax03191]

After years of reading comics this is the first time I've ever heard Jack Kirby's voice.

[@salonsourcemag]

Jack King Kirby...LONG LIVE THE KING

[@MrKing8050]

RIP Jack such a creative genius

[@paulpolpiboon9535]

Thanks for posting this. "We can be better!" Kirby

[@benmiddleton9984]

Lee,Ditko and Kirby. The Holy Trinity of the comic world

[@Gamer-lq4wl]

I agree with you, but they're not equals. Jack Kirby > Steve Ditko Steve Ditko > Stan Lee. You're welcome ;)

[@badfoody]

Lee is a thief

[@Gamer-lq4wl]

@@badfoody and a scumbag too 😉

[@AliFareedMC]

@@Gamer-lq4wl Alan Moore > Stan Lee

[@AliFareedMC]

@Griffin Chalem stan wasn't an artist

[@joetophat2121]

It's a shame he never got rich off of his creations.

[@ChaunceyBlakey]

John Stern His friends and family say he couldn't step inside a toy store, because he didn't want to see his art on packages without compensation.

[@cyberpunkholiday]

I hate to break your heart, but Jack Kirby got millions of dollars before he died from Marvel for his creations. I believe it was in the sum of 11 to 18 million. He did not pass away without money and to me...it should have come faster. But he got his due before he passed. So, dont worry. He got his money and it wasn't enough.

[@ew1068]

He had money. He just was a private man who didn’t flash his wealth. Unlike today’s society where that’s common.

[@batfreeze56]

@@cyberpunkholiday Stan Lee got tens of millions each year. Jack Kirby got 11 to 18 million on his deathbed. Steve Ditko died on assisted living, with no compensation for his creations, no royalties. It's not right.

[@badfoody]

He did. But not super rich

[@themangoman9315]

It's crazy how there was a time when comic books were still seen as a nerdy hoppy it's a shame Jack never lived to see his creations brought to life on the big screen hail to the king baby

[@TheAlmightyAss]

Unsure how he'd have felt seeing Stan Lee all over them.

[@Blackjack-2028]

It's still nerdy. There are just a lot of nerds.

[@capnmo6718]

Hail to the King.

[@wk3820]

I still remember watching this segment when it first aired. It was the first time I had ever heard Kirby speak, and it inspired me. I think I had read a Comics Scene interview with him shortly before that, too, so this segment was a big deal to me! I still have a sketch I did that day copying Kirby's drawing of the lady thrown from a helicopter only to be rescued.

[@ВладСвистунов-ы8ж]

His Art is Immortal! Even now it looks amazing, uncanny, incredible, mighty, fantastic and just marvelous.

[@Toshiko-y1u]

Rest In Peace: Feb 6 1994: Jack Kirby Nov 12 2018: Stan Lee Goodbye, mr. excelsior. The World always be remember you.

[@slothbaby2104]

Don't forget Jack Kirby's nick name The King so we have Mr Excelsior and The King

[@The_Punisher]

Thank you Mr. Kirby for helping create the characters for the MCU RIP

[@juliofalkenhagen]

we could do better we wanna do better we have totally to do better

[@eatshrots]

pretty sure he said "we haven't time to do better"

[@majestyvondoom]

@@eatshrots we have *the time to do better

[@gregggaldo9181]

One of my BIGGEST influences...long live the KING!!!

[@comicsggk]

"Oh Jack, you're endowing me nicely heh heh *snort*" "It's my normal masculine instinct. " Awesome :3

[@SgtSega]

Artists never had trouble impressing women. lol

[@pulsarstargrave256]

I'm impressed with his nailing her hairstyle on apparently the first try!

[@michellesanctuary9089]

Jack Kirby, gotta love that man.

[@johnnyboy_]

"If you look at my characters you'll find me" I just noticed that all the characters seem to have his face.

[@matheusfiorellibellomo7618]

O verdadeiro mestre dos quadrinhos de herói. Jack kirb. Não é o Stan Lee como sempre disseram.🇧🇷

[@felicity4711]

OMG he does sound like Pacino! I’ve never noticed that before!

[@MaulSlasher]

Been reading Fourth World for this last months. His run on Jimmy Olsen and Forever People are so great. The love he felt for the medium jumps out of every page.

[@orendo]

My son will be 2 years this month, and in a year, when he's 3, I can assure you, he WILL read comics, just like his 40 years old dad :)

[@upon136]

8 years later does he read comics?.

[@orendo]

@@upon136, he does indeed! He’ll be 11 next month and his knowledge of Marvel characters rivals mine. Thanks for asking :)

[@apexone5502]

I was just about to ask if your plan came into fruition but I see that you’ve been asked already. Good stuff.

[@SteveDave5763]

The create of Big Barda and Mister Miracle!!!

[@reason827]

He created Darkseid, Kalibak, Desaad, Orion, etc.

[@chrisconidis1]

Jack Kirby - It Is Good to Be The King

[@joeofmacabre07]

Hey look its Detective Turpin!!!

[@derossetmyers47]

joeofmacabre07 You may already know this, but Dan Turpin was drawn to resemble Jack Kirby.

[@simonedwards8888]

DeRosset Myers terrible Turpin !!!!!!yes !!!!!!!!

[@YouToolz]

imagine the value of that sketch?

[@Bingusandtheallstars]

I wish he was still alive, he was the best.

[@totustuus333]

I miss you Jack, You and your world taught me how to read. God bless you and your family

[@mattschroeder3432]

a true legend its a amazing to hear him wow 😂😍😇

[@ovalvox7888]

If it wasn’t for him my childhood would have sucked. The art was always the best part of comic books.

[@artbyvince]

Wow! Thanks for posting. I remember seeing this way back when it aired. It was the first time I saw an interview on tv with Kirby... the greatest comic book artist ever!

[@mavhunter8753]

What a beautiful human being.

[@GrimSqueaker627]

Love Jack Kirby not just for his art but he's a really cool guy that I wish I could've had the chance to meet. Also can we acknowledge the video ending on that sick burn?

[@davedogge2280]

the one and only true master of comics

[@DanielleA2023]

A piece of history Thanks!

[@wtk6069]

I remember watching this when it originally aired. Brings back memories!

[@rlgood]

Video of the Master at his drawing table! Priceless!! *****

[@otherpeople8903]

Hes a man who enjoys his own world.

[@arcanjo301]

Imortal rei dos quadrinhos, obrigado Jack Kirby, por nos fazer sonhar , tive uma infância feliz e hoje coleciono tudo que trás seu nome.

[@classicartfoundation639]

Such an amazing, natural artist

[@JW-do2wc]

The man's a legend. Continued drawing and doodling for most of his entire life.

[@Mike_The_1950s_Historian]

I think he gave a decent interview. I've read that, when compared to Stan, Jack gave "bad" interviews...but I don't see that here. He seems well spoken and very charming. Long live the king...

[@samuraireflection]

Thank you jack, you are one of my favorite kinds of people.

[@cameronarthur0]

RIP Jack Kirby. I love Jack Kirby's work. But those host didn't give a shit about meeting him. Don't trust the media. Kirby was a great man.

[@etanaedelman9011]

I love how he sounds exactly like what you'd imagine Ben Grimm sounds like.

[@studlygrish]

Marvel comics wasn't just Stan Lee ! Both Stan and Jack made Marvel what it is today ,great art with a great story

[@drstrangelove9851]

It was mostly Kirby. Kirby came up the with stories too. (And Steve Ditko was a big part of the success of Marvel too)

[@a.f.watcher8898]

He did contribute to the dialogue and still gave credit to most of his collaborators, he did plenty of work himself which is more than what Bob Kane did.

[@darkmyro]

Alex Acerra Jack did the art and some dialogue and Stan did the scripting at marvel, both of them were prolific in their fields. Jack did plenty of writing on his own too. There are plenty of conflicting reports on who did what, but even if you look at Jack purely from artistic point of view he's still one of the biggest artists in the medium. Stan us pretty prolific to being the creator and scripter of countless superheroes. So can't both be great?

[@mmmmmmmmm95]

Stan lee is a thief, passed decades of his death, and never mentions the kirby legacy, neither in his comics nor when he sold disney

[@benmiddleton9984]

studlygrish exactly

[@Mancomic3000]

there would no marvel without the king

[@XXXXXX-su4zb]

That man was prolific and his legacy is mind boggling. Love u Stan Lee, rip, but the KING really is the creator of all these characters... it’s always the artist image in his mind that becomes what is cherished...

[@ignskeletons]

We may never see another creative force with such output ever again. Jack Kirby was truly a one of a kind. Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, The Black Panther, The Eternals, I mean this guy's vision molded the way we think of super heroes today. Jack Kirby didn't have a blue print, he wrote the blue print.

[@AliFareedMC]

Without Him, stan lee would remembered as the guy who did SNAFU lol

[@UltimateDragon709]

Boy we've come a long way since then.

[@patriciooliver]

this is amazing!

[@City2x]

The King!

[@jaymusseato]

>THANK YOU for POSTING THIS....my FAVORITE BAND and my FAVORITE ARTIST mentioned TOGETHER is almost UNIMAGINABLE... Cheers!

[@KTF0]

Man I wish I got to meet Jack. Just to pick his mind about anything: life, art, comic history, storytelling. His pages alone are an encyclopedia on how to make comics.

[@iaMk69]

Kirby is the reason why we have the type of comic book illustrations we have now, among many many other things.

[@miketalife]

This is my first time hearing JK in an interview. An awesome mind.

[@ChubbyCheeks01]

A throw away segment about the co-creator of the biggest entertainment franchise ever. If only they knew who they were really talking to.

[@maxrebo2466]

He Deserves way more credit for creating marvel superheroes than Stan Lee. Stan lee was mainly an editor while Jack Kirby was a writer and artist.

[@Dyler]

Stan didn't fuse genres. He was actually leaving comic books when his publisher Martin Goodman petitioned him to copy the Justice League. Since he was going to quit comics, because of the lack of freedom the CCA imposed, he did the book his way in a show of defiance. That copy was the Fantastic Four and the rest is history. The reason Superheroes remained on top was because the code didn't truly evaporate until the early 2000's. People didn't choose superheroes they were the only genre left.

[@AliFareedMC]

Fantastic Four was Kirby's Idea, it was Super Powered Challengers of the Unknown

[@Dyler]

@@AliFareedMC Absolutely. Kirby is the majority creator of the FF.

[@spunkyspaz]

Back when Entertainment Tonight was good.

[@IggyM]

Definitely one the coolest guys EVER

[@SuperAntgarcia]

Wow,an amazing man,I had the good forture of meeting the ''king'' just before his pasting'',long live the king''

[@irishelk3]

I've been an artist for many years, never been a big comic book fan, i don't dislike them, but I'm just not into them, but i will say, there are some great comic book artists out there and my area of interest is almost always the originals, the guys who started something, be it the Dada guys, the Surrealists, Impressionists and so on. I've only just found out about this guy and he seemed to have a real presence about him. The figure work is what impresses me the most and comic art always has amazing figures, muscles everywhere and great postures.

[@followthewhiterabbit2549]

I wonder how new generations and Marvel fanboys would react if you put this interview at the beginning of Avengers Endgame. I would love to see their confused faces 😂 Long live the King !

[@hbcreates8355]

Darth Sidious they would sadly be like, „who’s this guy?“

[@gutsbigfan]

Well you're wrong because i know who both jack Kirby and stan lee is soooo...yeah

[@ILoveRavenclaw9]

Gatekeeping isn't a good look, gramps. I love history, and I love shit like this, and it all ties into one big love for Marvel but to you and I it means different things, we have different memories of these things. I wasn't alive when this interview came out, saw the first Raimi Spider-Man in the theater when it came out as a kid, read marvel.com entries, watched videos like these, watched the MCU, and all that was my gateway into reading the comics. Now I have long boxes full of them and love the stories and the art, and the history. So yeah, you and I love Marvel just the same and I guarantee if they did put this before Endgame, a lot of people would research it later and you'd probably see a resurgence in artists and interest in comics among my generation, and a lot of us already read comics and know this stuff.

[@TowDow3]

@@ILoveRavenclaw9 gatekeeping is a great thing. you cant just let any tool or Joe Schmo write and draw. thats how you get trash.

[@gurugeorge]

When the Clash were new on the scene. Charming little interview.

[@aaronelliman2628]

Rip jack kirby

[@latenite.comics4378]

“We are not rich by what we possess but by what we can do without”

[@Majewski79]

The King

[@BrianCinBengals]

That drawing at the end probably paid for Catherine’s posh retirement.

[@kevp9601]

R.I.P Jack Kirby, We'll See You in Comic Book Con Heaven with Stan Lee in Heaven, You Old Friend. :'-(

[@hipstermi]

Jack Kirby and the Clash on the same show?? AWESOME!

[@simonedwards8888]

hipstermi mick Jones and strummer were HUGE Kirby fans !!!!!!!! Mick Jones especially loved comic's and his mum sent him books regularly from the USA !!!!!! Ummmm so they wasn't so bored of the USA !!!!!!! Lol

[@bobateaandentertainment4359]

I think kirby, Ditko and romita are the greatest at comic art

[@braviafeed]

The King.

[@jacobgarrity9055]

Stan Lee is like the Marvel version of Walt Disney and Jack Kirby is like the version of Ub Iwerks

[@DBAWFUL]

those sound effects are disrespectful as hell. Treating a friggin KING like that.

[@manziraman]

Genius.

[@chrisbarrettFilmstudio]

Could have done with out the sound effects. Love seeing these interviews.

[@dartagnan8238]

A comic book legend! 'Nuff said!

[@felicity4711]

This is an excellent artifact of popular culture and I’m so glad you’ve uploaded it. At the same it’s all so exquisitely painful. [chuckle] And square, too-it’s 1982 and ET is surprised by the existence of the Clash?

[@charlesfuentes3695]

Stan Lee mentions him in his Documentary "With Great Power" a must see. Watch it till the very end. It has a Marvel-esque finish. He was sad to loose him. R.I.P. Jack & Stan🙏

[@AliFareedMC]

that documentary full of lies

[@Dyler]

Not true. Justice League, Superman, and Batman were prosperous titles in the early 60's pre Marvel. I'm not saying superheroes were literally the only genre left. I'm implying that the castration of content reduced the complexity that afforded the other genres to balloon the way they had in the first place. If you look at War comics pre code and post code you see a dramatic difference in the stories and their intended demographic. Post code told more simplistic stories because of limitations.

[@joshuawaldorf9559]

Jack Kirby and Stan Lee both legends in their right. One being an artist and creator while the other being a writer and creator.

[@peace8381]

Jack Kirby not only drew those comics but also wrote the stories too. In fact he left dialog suggestions on the margins of the artwork for Stan Lee so he could understand the story and do his job...I mean EDITING ! The "Marvel Method" the way Marvel worked those days confirms what I said. Stan Lee was an editor not a writer of those comics.

[@JW-do2wc]

Stan Lee may have been the brains behind the comic book heroes but Jack Kirby was the guy who drew it down to the last ink. Out of all the other comic book drawers, Jack Kirby is the greatest comic book ink artist of all time.

[@AliFareedMC]

Stan lee wasn't the brain he was the editor

[@hugoleal7225]

You can see the hulk in his eyes. The real jade giant. Legendary Jack Kirby.

[@RadicalGirl]

Ah yes, the people who nibble at the edges of the entertainment world...the clash and jack kirby 😂

[@Jalanko13]

@Dyler you have to realize this was from the 80's and about comics from the late 70's. back then, that's what comics were, a juvenille medium.

[@elav126]

Big Lost and Crime that there are close to No Interviews with Kirby, Ditko, Finger and other true Artists of comic world. This Lost is painfully to recognise, when you hear this unique interviews of Them.

[@hbcreates8355]

Yet there’s hundreds of interviews with Stan Lee. Guess that’s what you get for being a show man and promoter. Even though Stan did give credit to his fellow artists and more often than not actually gave credit unlike others (cough Bob Kane cough), the artists Stan worked with were often overshadowed by the media. Artists need more recognition for their contributions

[@pranky4]

That is an insane laugh

[@RockandrollNegro]

I love how they felt the need to include "wacky" sound effects, as if they couldn't let the viewer forget that comic books are childish, lowbrow fare for stunted adults and moronic children.

[@jessea5523]

RIP to Stan Lee, but I feel like this man is the true creator. I wonder why Stan gets all the credit?

[@wtk6069]

Stan's role wasn't nothing, but it was definitely more editorial than creative. He was basically similar to Julie Schwartz over at DC at the same time: and editor who often gave thumbnail plots (or even covers) to creators and had them write stories around the bare-bones idea.

[@BrendanJSmith]

He's literally the real life Ben Grimm.

[@hbcreates8355]

For sure. I would say all his characters are reflections of the person who made them, but the thing is definitely the closest to a self insert type of character for Jack

[@snakes3425]

The King and the Man together again in heaven reflecting on the legacy they left behind

[@peace8381]

And millions of kids missing and praising Stan Lee without any idea who Jack Kirby was. That's unfair !

[@Timd92]

Like that band The Clash is a perfect description