Here's a photo from the Jack Kirby Tribute Panel at the Comic-Con International in San Diego. Left to right, that's Michael Chabon (author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay), Marvel Comics guru Stan "the Man" Lee, longtime Marvel artist Sal Buscema, longtime Spider-Man artist Larry Lieber, Archie artist Stan Goldberg, and me. In the front row, we have Wendy Pini (co-creator of Elfquest) and one of Kirby's favorite inkers, Mike Royer. The photo was taken by the other co-creator of Elfquest, Richard Pini, and can also be seen over on their website along with plenty of other peachy things.
Of all the Jack Kirby Tribute Panels I've done at conventions since Jack passed on, this may have been the best. Everyone had meaningful, insightful things to say…like the way Wendy spoke of showing her artwork to Jack when she was just starting out. He decided she was too good for what was then a very bleak, confining business and he told her, "If I ever catch you working in comics, I'll spank you." She went on to do some wonderful comics as it happened, and every time she saw Jack after that, she said, "I'm ready for my spanking, Mr. Kirby." Stan Goldberg spoke about how when he was coloring Jack's work for Marvel in the sixties, he'd go out to lunch with Kirby and inker Frank Giacoia. Crossing streets, Stan and Frank would walk on either side of Kirby to protect him because, they joked, if he got run over, there'd be no company left. Sal Buscema, who never got to meet Jack, spoke of the challenge of carrying on a Kirby-designed character. Larry Lieber, who scripted those early monster comics Jack drew for Marvel for a time explained that Jack could even draw a rock and make it interesting. And the two Michaels both spoke of what Jack's work had meant to them — Chabon, of how it had inspired his Pulitzer-winning novel; Royer, of how the aroma of Roi-Tan cigars, which permeated the drawings he received from Jack to work on caused him to take up cigar-smoking.
A big treat was the "surprise" appearance of Stan Lee who was nice enough to accept my invite to stop by. Now that Bob Hope is no longer available to make surprise walk-ons, I think the mantle should be passed on to Stan. He does a good surprise walk-on.
You'll be able to read the full text of all that was said when The Jack Kirby Collector gets around to running a transcript. For now, I just wanted to show the photo, mention how good it all was, and thank all the participants for participating. Next year will be the tenth anniversary of Jack's passing but, in part because of folks like the ones on the panel, it feels like he's still around. And in a way, he is.