Kirby's Quantum Leap: Fantastic Four #44-#67 (How Stan & Jack changed the world)

A visual essay on the greatest two-year run in comics history.

[@pretorious700]

I was 14 in 1965. Marvel comics was my world. Hard to explain the excitement and anticipation those particular issues brought.

[@paulsimione4525]

I still think this is missing out on some of the best FF stories ever that were right before this group. The Battle of the Baxter Building and then the 3 issues when the Frightful Four turned Ben against the FF are classic

[@johnnynoir1452]

Kirby did what no camera can do. He drew the wind.

[@Brian_Boru]

KC, your captions are so well written and your selection of music always brings a smile to my face. These videos are quality through and through. Thank you for keeping Kirby alive this way. I never tire of learning about his work, especially on the Fantastic Four. Well done!

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

That's nice of you to say, Jer H. It's very encouraging and I appreciate it.

[@amosbarrow3802]

Excellent production sir! The MCU wouldn't be what it is without this series of books, I remember them well!

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Thanks, Amos.

[@tektoniks_architects]

Without a doubt, the creative peak of the FF and Marvel during the Silver Age.

[@mikebelbin]

Agreed, agreed. New landscapes, new tech, new characters nearly very issue. The great thing about the introduction of the Inhumans is they were ambiguous.When first read, you wondered whether they were villains, were they alien invaders? No, they turned out to be another society, with their own problems. Then enter Galactus, the mega threat, and the Silver Surfer - a reference to contemporary culture and a total alien - who is won round to rebelling against his master by the arguments of a non-superhero, Alicia. Talk about relevance! Then the Black Panther and the return of Doctor Doom. Mind-blowing. Kirby let rip, plus some great editing and character dialogue by Stan Lee. Like a Hendrix solo. Marvel stretching out.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Well said, Mike.

[@1971thedoctor]

This was the metamorphosis of Kirby’s art. This is the King’s style I love.

[@brunoghezzi5957]

Thank you KC. You are so incisive and so right in 'illustrating' how magnificent and vital Jack Kirby was. Lee was a reptile for hiding jack's genius.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

I think Lee did what he thought was right at the time. But he wasn't the visionary Jack was.

[@geenadasilva9287]

Thanks for this. As a kid in England in the 1970s I obviously read American comic books but reprints of many of these issues defined what comics were to me as a kid. As I watched the video i recognised panels that I genuinely loved. All Jack. The tec, the dynamism and those faces. So hard to pick one favorite but This Man This Monster would have to the one.

[@mikegibson50]

Thanks for your insights on various issues. I was a big fan of Jack Kirby way back when, he ignited my artistic/creative path. Years ago, I purchased a few original Kirby panels from FF #93, one of my favorite issues (Thing is kidnapped by the Skrulls to fight in their gladiator games galaxies away). These masterful, beautifully drawn, action packed pages have Jack's story line pencil notes on all the outside edges. Lee was not doubt a great editor, but we all know who was the real/true creator. In the early 1960's Jack saved Marvel from insolvency, had that happened, I suppose Stan might have tried writing light romance stories again, or maybe encyclopedia salesmen...

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Good comment, ThMChannel.

[@janorhypercleats]

I'm a big Jack Kirby fan, but we also have to give Stan Lee some credit! He was the guy who sort of "made it all happen", even if he did swipe the credits now and then. If nothing else, he rescued Kirby and Ditko from other companies, where they were stuck, cranking out crap! He was instrumental in creating Marvel comics and creating a format for Kirby and Ditko. He sort of set them loose and gave them a format where they could shine!

[@unclepatrick2]

Love the music choices . Great selection.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Thank you, unclepatrick2.

[@johnjackman22]

a brilliant read now but back when first released absolutely mind blowing

[@JAFludd]

This is one of the best videos I've ever seen. As a lifelong devotee of "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine" I commend you for creating it. It's given me the perfect start to my week and put me in the best mood. However, a few things. One: I don't accept that the cynical, dark, ugly, and nihilistic Dark Knight and Watchmen are in any way a match for the constant awe and wonderment of Fantastic Four #44-67. Two, and this is minor: I would have included FF Annual #4, whose story falls right about the time of FF #57-58. Three, and I'm surprised at you: It's RONAN the Accuser, not "Ronin!" Otherwise, I sincerely THANK YOU for this.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

I goof up sometimes J.A. I misspelled Chic Stone in another video as Chick. I think FF Annual 4 is not up to par with the main issues at that time, so I left it out. Personally, I agree with you about Dark Knight and Watchmen. But I didn't want to seem totally prejudice in favor of the FF, which I AM. Anyway, thanks for your comment.

[@marineboy1964]

Can I just encourage you to keep up the good work , the editing here is top notch

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Much appreciated, marine boy, and it is encouraging.

[@texticusrex7690]

Fantastic. I love this world of sight and sound. Thank You.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Happy to oblige, Barney.

[@sleepyreader666]

Man do I love this video. Thanks for making it.

[@azimovist]

At 6:39,it almost looks as though the king was channeling my favorite Spidey artist,Ross the boss Andrew. Sue at 16:50 a preview of the soft core cheesecake that Kirby would ladle out with a hot relish through out the 70s. Interesting call on the interchangeable aspect of the Inhuman's group personality.Even given their sterile yet sensual exoticism,they always struck me as something of a Maoist collective. Which is very much in keeping with the science fiction mind of Kirby vs the slap happy,capitalist,individualism of the Excelsior. What a wondrous experience,the privilege of enjoying these halcyon comics as they were published monthly. I beleive that the closest I got to that experience was plucking Perez and Wolfman's Teen Titans off the spinner as they were published. Excellent and insightful vid as per,sir. You're a national treasure.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Aw, shucks....

[@joelgreene7289]

That run was pure Jack unleashed. That Stan managed to steal credit for any of it is one of the biggest wrongs needing to be set right in creative history. If you follow Jacks later stuff, his work on Black Panter when he returned to Marvel, his work on the 4th world, and the Eternals, - it all rings similar to this period - incredible fantasty/technology/action and dynamism unleashed.

[@Stepper11]

I largely agree with your statements throughout the video. My only quibble is the suggestion that Watchmen and Dark Knight in some way match of surpass the accomplishments of this run. While those are milestone achievements, you must factor in threee things. One - the FF was decades earlier, and seismic cultural changes had occurred in the intervening years, allowing for a much wider pallet for the artists. Two - the FF created much of the context that allowed these later works to be created in the first place. They basically built on what Jack ( with the help of Stan ) had done decades before. Three - neither of these later works really hold a candle to the stuff Jack ( with the assistance of Stan ) did.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Hey, I agree with you. But it can be debated. That's all I was saying.

[@pretorious700]

Those were the highlights of early teen years, wonderful time to be alive. Just 3 years after issue #67, my father passed, my high school sweetheart got pregnant, and I spent 13 months in Vietnam.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Yikes!

[@johnminehan1148]

Lee & Kirby were having similar results on Thor at about the same time.

[@darrylwiggins4799]

Been collecting comics a long time and let me tell noone and I mean no one has ever drawn a cover the way Kirby did during this time. Just seeing it added to the excitement of buying it.

[@1voiceofstl]

You are right,,Kirby did not bring anymore great concepts for Stan,,,but his art did keep getting better abd better. At DC he did some great art work but I think he was over worked then he had the health crisis in the mid 70's and the decline started. I wonder how his art would have evolved if he had stayed at Marvel and just had the 3 books (FF, Captain America, Thor) to do?

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

I always wonder about that myself.

[@1voiceofstl]

What happen to Jack, from the crude early 60's to the dazzeling late 60;s work, In 7 years it was light years differance.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

The most amazing thing about that was it happened from age 42 to 52, an age when other artists are beginning to decline. He went the opposite direction.

[@azimovist]

Kubert kept it up until he climbed into the coffin.I bet his wife went out with a smile also.

[@sinchman1]

These issues are so great...I have all Jack kirby issues of the FF series twice plus the entire Silver Surfer series

[@alexismontalban515]

Excelsior! thanks in the name of all of us Kirby lovers. Loved to hear the Lennon/ McCartney analogy, which I have been using for years. I was right, yay. THANKS.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Sure thing, Alexis. Simon and Garfunkel could also be used, though not as on point.

[@FiveLiver]

I have many of these issues, but it's been 30 years or so since I dug them out. Thanks for putting together this film and bringing them vividly back to memory. I stopped collecting in 1977, and only flipped thru new comics since. You say these books have been 'surpassed over the decades', I cannot agree with that - I find graphic novels self-important and totally unreadable.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Thanks for your comment, FiveLiver.

[@azimovist]

Agreed completely.

[@KTF0]

I read new and old graphic novels and while there is good ones, Kirby is really hard to surpass. The dialogue is a bit outdated, but the overall story is still great and the storytelling and action is second to none. Funny part, I wasn't initially a Kirby fan, it was easy to shallowly say his anatomy wasn't great and characters were blocky. It wasn't until I was backlogging is when I truly appreciated Kirby's art and how creative and imaginative he was.

[@KTF0]

I dunno why, but, I always liked Lockjaw.

[@jamesschulziii9098]

If I had a team I planned on starting now? I myself would make lockjaw one of my first choices. 😀 That and all this imagination most high. Kirby was/is always the guy whom really influenced comics, and much more but yes. As of April 22, 2023, I only need 45,46, 48-50, 52 and 67 to complete this run 44-67. Little by little. As the kids still say(well,some lol) #kirbycontinum4ever

[@Noland55]

I think people should look at the success of Kirby at Marvel with Lee vs him without.

[@davewalters224]

WOW! Thanks for all the great videos!

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

You're welcome, Dave. Glad to do it.

[@randalwung8715]

Yeeaah, it was mind-blowing run, just like Thor when it basically became a grand, mythological space opera with Galactus, Ego, the High Evolutionary, the Rigellian colonizers, etcetera-I’d even argue that stuff was the pinnacle of his Marvel work because of the sci-f/mythology blend, two things dear to Jack's heart. Sadly, these FF and Thor runs SHOULD have been the start of bigger and better things, but because of continual "tweaking" by the Man who simply wanted to keep everything grounded and traditional and make it fit his limited idea of what you could or should do in the superhero genre-Kirby was all about FUCK genres; we can do whatever the hell we want-Jack began his famous and notorious pullback on new ideas and characters. As was pointed out, the Him storyline in particular was a huuuge nail in the coffin, but so was the Silver Surfer. All that Norrin Radd shit was Stan Lee. The Surfer was meant to be a being created by the hand of Galactus: a living tool with no moral core. He learns what compassion is through his interaction with Alicia Masters. In fact, if I'm recalling correctly, Jack's panel notes have him contemplating destroying her the whole time they're talking, not because he's evil or mindfully destructive but because she's so fucking alien to him and, well, “this chick is keeping me from doing my JOB, dammit,” lol. It reminds me of Harlan Ellison's original script for "The City On the Edge of Forever," where the whole time Kirk is falling for Edith Keeler, Spock is preparing to kill her and, at one point, hides a gun just as lovestruck Jim walks into the room-talk about some Lee-size rewriting! Anyway, when Jack wasn’t even offered the Surfer book, no doubt because Stan had his own vision for the series, that was yet another big-ass nail. How big? Well, check out the final page splash of the final issue, #18; ironically, the only one where Jack got to write and draw HIS character because, hey, it’s cancelled anyway so, what the heck, let’s throw the King a bone. That close-up of the Surfer screaming righteous vengeance against a world that's done nothing but wrong him? That was as big a metaphorical EFF YOU against the powers that be as you’re ever gonna see. All said and done, however, I still wonder what COULD have been…sigh.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Just saw this. Great comment, Randal.

[@mikebelbin]

Ah, I think Randal has got it. The rise and fall of Marvel Comics(i.e. Jack Kirby).

[@blackbolt2661]

"This is the hieroglyphics of the modern age." Midnight

[@l.a.gothro3999]

I like the "Not Brand Echh!" version of this story as much as I do this story!

[@karldisley5093]

I've always adored the Fantastic Four, my favourite comic book and this video has made my day, a delight! Xxxxxxxxx

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Thanks, Karl.

[@Panzer4F2]

What a wonderful tribute. We'll done.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Thanks, Panzer4F2

[@vincentfranklin17]

Top-notch work!

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Thanks, Vincent.

[@onewayAGR]

awesome work man!

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Much appreciated, Flaco.

[@AnthonyOldhandGarcia]

33:21 This machinery can be seen in Thor Ragnarok behind Loki where he is sitting during the battle of Thor and the Incredible Hulk.

[@texticusrex7690]

Kick Ass Jam in the intro

[@davidskaar3232]

Joy Kirby could produce art supreme.

[@dyrldouglas2087]

I was 10 at start of that run and remember the summer of 67 when I turned 12 when that #67 hit the stands .

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

I was about the same age.

[@cellmate1]

This was great

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Thanks, cellmate1.

[@texticusrex7690]

I love it here. I don't want to ever go home. : )

[@Spectre2434]

The Swinging Sixties ❤❤❤❤

[@jamesschulziii9098]

I have most of these(45,46,48-50,52 ) still elude me. #kirbyforever

[@realtimecity]

Fantastic video! Really appreciated it.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Thanks, David.

[@expressoric]

I don't think that the abduction of Alicia was a kindly act. I know that Hamilton is the only one among them who shows any compassion towards Alicia. The concept of the story arc was supposed to have been influenced by Kirby's reading of Objectivism, a very black and white ideology concerning good and evil. The character of Hamilton reveals a greyer area however, that I'm not sure is entirely Lee's or Kirby's idea. Lee didn't favour the principles of Objectivism, who liked villains who were evil but mad. The same ideology caused him to finally fall out with Steve Ditko, over the Green Goblin's origin in "Spider Man", because Lee wanted a more psychotic character. It's a pity that these two issues caused a rift and the creative energy of Kirby dwindled. It wasn't all "doom and gloom" however, Annihilus was one new character, appearing in the 1968 annual. Great story arcs still appeared, such as the Galactus/Silver Surfer saga, that I think was at least as good as the Dr Doom/Silver Surfer one, that had also got by without any new characters. Kirby and Sinnott still did some great art. The god-like "Him" was reintroduced in "Thor", where a few new characters still appeared. Torgo was another new, great character in the "Fantastic Four", that wouldn't be touched again by Lee and Kirby. The last year of their partnership wasn't fruitful, but they'd been a long time together, and Kirby wanted to go to DC so that he could start his "New Gods" project on his own.

[@mercurywoodrose]

these 2 years could make a great opera. what melodrama. imagine the characters singing. better than frozen 2.

[@wk3820]

I think Kirby and Ditko's Marvel works are similar in that each has a point where they take their books to where Stan couldn't really keep up anymore since the books began to get deep and his time was so divided as Marvel's only editor. He just let his two creative giants go town on their respective books solo. This is what Jack meant when he said Stan only wrote the credits. For Spider-Man, this point was around issues 18-21. For FF, it was the same. FF from the forties through the sixties was one of Kirby's creative peaks.

[@lourahkneeri0229]

Excellent!

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Thanks, Lou.

[@JustLooped]

Is Steve Jobs and Wozniak a comparable relationship between Stan & Kirby?

[@1voiceofstl]

over half the characters in the MCU were created in the FF.

[@carlb5558]

Wanted to thank you for an excellent chronicle done w such aplum! I really loved (dug) the 60's era, Hoyt Curtain-esque music! Where'd you get that from and what was it? Thanks, again!

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

You're welcome, Carl. That was all NFL music, most of it by Sam Spence.

[@texticusrex7690]

19:00 LOL

[@Muggy1997]

Marvelous,I dig. 👍🏻👍🏻🙂

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Thank you, Donna!

[@kevcatnip7589]

well done ,,maybe not the porno music

[@martinproctor6944]

I was wondering what the tracks were that you used for the segment covering Fantastic Four 63 and 65 (the concluding music with Blastaar and the subsequent music for the Sentry and the start of Ronin). I've tried to find the tracks on iTunes, but those two tracks don't seem to be by Sam Spence, or Syd Dale (one of the tracks you used was Hellraisers). By the way, and enjoyable look back at the Fantastic Four. Ironically I got introduced to the Fantastic Four via the Sixties Hanna Barbera cartoon. Now THERE'S some more music that I wish they would put out on CD! We had moved to Canada in 1965, so I wasn't very familiar with North American comics. As far as I can recall my first issues of Fantastic Four involved Doctor Doom. Issue 84 seems to register in my memory, but that was 1969 and I have to imagine I got an issue before that time. I know I was very quickly a Kirby fan. It's ages since I've looked at my Fantastic Four comics. I came in late in the Kirby era, but over the years I managed to get most of his FF issues. I'm missing issues 1-6, and given my budget and the cost of those issues, I'll have to make do with the hardcover reissues. Great little video. It makes me want to take the issues out of storage and have a read of them again.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

#63 is Jazz Undercurrents, I believe. But I don't know the title of #65 even though it's one of my favorite pieces. Sorry, but I'm glad you liked my "little" video, which took me a week and is the magnum opus of my Kirby videos.

[@martinproctor6944]

@@kirbycontinuum5700 Thanks for checking. That doesn't seem to be the track, but thanks for checking. I see it's over two years ago that you originally posted this video, so I can imagine it's hard to isolate a few tracks like that. I've enjoyed your musical choices and that has led me to a few tracks, including some more Syd Dale as well as Sam Spence. You've also encouraged me to go and dig out some of my old Kirby era Fantastic Four. By the way, did you ever do a review of the introduction of The Impossible Man. One of their wackier creations, but I liked him nonetheless. I still love his line "Names? We Popupians don't have names. We KNOW who we are." By the way it seems that at least one of your tracks on one of your videos comes from Keith Mansfield if I'm not mistaken, Exclusive Blend 1969. All the best and I'm enjoying your Kirby creations.

[@FredFlix]

@@martinproctor6944 Thanks, Martin. I have done an Impossible man intro video but I can't remember whether I've posted it. I use NFL Films music a lot because they don't get copyright strikes (so far).

[@stephenhowe244]

JACK changed the world. Kirby was THE pre-eminent creative genius. (Only Steve Ditko comes in second place.) Stan created zip (well, he "created Stripperella"), but took more than his fair share of the credit (like John Lennon's name appearing alongside McCartney's on "Yesterday"), and got away with it, since he was related to the publisher. No, Stan did NOT write the stories. that's NOT how Marvel operated. The artists would storyboard the premises & plots to each issue. Stan essentially wrote "the screenplay" by turning Jack's plots into *word balloon* dialog. Not an insignificant task, but Jack's was the true creative flame. IN ALL FAIRNESS, Stan got the idea to expand Marvel's target demographic BEYOND 10-12yo boys...to college students. Stan's "hip" lingo made Marvel comix "cool" to older kids...but without Jack's REVOLUTIONARY artwork and ideas, no amount of "Nuff said!" would have fed the bulldog.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

I agree. But I think Stan did more than you think. At the very least, he provided Kirby the springboard for his talent. Though there would have been Marvel Comics without Jack (albeit a very different and far less successful brand) there would have been no Marvel Comics...AT ALL...without Stan.

[@azimovist]

Agreed,KC,Ditko definitely gave Spider Man its frenetic and idiosyncratic visual dynamism,but the character would have been a very different person had Lee not written him.J.Jonah Jameson definitely is Stan Lee magic as is all of the New York ,gangster pomp and show biz bang that he infused The Amazing Spider-Man with. Also, Lee's existential spiritual writing on the Silver Surfer goes toe to toe with anything that Alan Moore infused Swamp Thing with. More,and I know this is a heretical statement given this platform,I would also say that Lee and Buscema's(for my money,Buscema is Marvel's third great architect after Ditko and before Romita)elegant outer limits adventure work transferred the Surfer soundly into the visual and dramatic ownership of Buscema. I now hand myself over to the bonfires and crucifixions. Smooch!

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

I put Romita third and Buscema fourth, although their women figures are equally alluring, though in different ways.

[@azimovist]

They're both also Stan's untempermental-unlike Kirby and Ditko- company men. I love all four of these guys of course,but give me the pain in the ass temperamental genius over the company man every time.

[@stephenabbott2145]

Read 2001 or captain victory and then tell me stan didn't do anything

[@Mort7an]

Enjoyable video, thank you. I must, however, take issue with the statement at around 7:10, that Kirby's creations lack the depth, dimension and humour of typical Lee creations. I love Stan as much as the next comic fan, but I have never read a Stan written chatacter that had anything like the depth of a Darkseid, or Himon and I have never read a Stan story that had the emotion depth and intelligence of somethoing like The Glory Boat, or The Death Wish of Terrible Turpin, from New Gods. Stan was great at humour and engaging the reader, but I tend to think that, if anything, he deliberately removes the depth from Kirby plotted stories in the interests of making them palatable for a broader, or less sophisticated, audience.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

I pretty much agree with everything you said, Mort7an. I'd have to watch this video again, but I think I said THE INHUMANS lacked the depth of typical Lee creations. But not ALL Kirby characters were lacking. I felt the Inhumans all pretty much talked and acted the same. But your points on the Fourth World stories are spot on.

[@tobykelly4606]

I wonder why the one downvote? This was awesome!

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Thanks, Toby. As for the thumb down, there's always one in every crowd. (Answered from my FredFlix login.)

[@HyperspacePictures]

Excellent observation and theories. Do you know how many pages Kirby did in a given day? Believe it or not, I am a new force in comics and I aim to reach those heights that this master storyteller have reached. I think I have some of that Kirby DNA in my system. Ill surprise you one day with a premiere of one of my working projects. Thank God there are people like you that can discern the differences to these mega-approaches to the comics form. Kirby's legacy will live on.

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

Kirby usually did three pages a day in the '60s. Good luck with your work. I look forward to seeing it.

[@1voiceofstl]

In the mid? to late 60's he did fewer books and his art took off.

[@carlb5558]

I've seen interviews state The King pushed up to 5 PAGES A DAY!! Unheard of! Good luck in your efforts, sir.

[@franek_izerski]

I've found my "Surfin' with the Alien" cover (Joe Satriani)!!! Issue #55. at 18:28.

[@texticusrex7690]

Where are the rest of the song titles and credits? You stopped after 10. Just saying

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

I didn't put those song credits on there.

[@OneFuckingHour]

Possible to get a track list of the music used here?

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

No, but it's mostly NFL Music by Sam Spence.

[@KamuiCage]

NFL films music from the 70s

[@JoeSmith-gi1lf]

Who’s the musical accompaniment?

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

NFL Films music, mostly by Sam Spence.

[@vincentfranklin17]

Curious... Why do you love the FF?

[@kirbycontinuum5700]

That's like asking why do I love to eat.

[@vincentfranklin17]

Kirby Continuum LOL!!

[@mrjackpotz]

blackbolt was always my least favorite marvel character