Monthly Archives: May 2008

Those of you who are interested in comics oughta be interested in this article about Ernie Colón and Sid Jacobsen, two veteran creators who have new careers in the industry. Good for them.

Did you ever have really, really bad food poisoning? The kind where you spend days within three yards of a toilet because you never know when you're about to upchuck your entire esophagus? That kind of food poisoning?

Well, George W. Bush is now about as popular as that kind of food poisoning.

Two more points and he'll even be less popular than having all your body hair burned off with Ronson lighter fluid and a box of fireplace matches.

I'm not completely sold on Barack Obama as my pick for '08…but in a way, the current flap about this Jeremiah Wright guy is making me think more highly of the likely Democratic nominee. It's like his attackers are saying, "We can't find much in what Obama's said to attack him about so we're going to attack him for what somebody else said." I think Obama's about as responsible for what Reverend Wright has said as John McCain is for the utterances of the nuttier pro-G.O.P. ministers and faux clergymen whose endorsements he welcomes.

For the record: Within my circle of friends, there are several who have theories, beliefs and ideas that I think are nuttier than a case of Almond Roca. You can judge me by what these friends say and do if you want but I think it's a lot fairer and more accurate to judge me by what I say and do. I'd be in enough trouble just over that.

After debating back and forth with myself for a few days, I've decided to post this message I received from Tim Hodgson…

Your modesty (like your geniality) is an appealing trait, Mr. Evanier. However, the fact you occasionally back out of the limelight at the very time you should be basking in it does a disservice to both you and your splendiferous new book! You seem to be taking considerable pains to avoid giving the impression that newsfromme is an online advertising vehicle for Kirby: King of the Comics. But you really should provide links to some of the more intelligent and insightful critiques the book has received — like this one by Glen David Gold in The Washington Post.

It's not as if you pat yourself on the back so often that you're in any danger of dislocating your shoulder! Sharing some of the accolades you've recently received with your online readers won't do any lasting harm to your reputation — or your book sales!

Hugely impressed by Kirby: King of the Comics — the choice of illustrations (and, God knows, choosing what was ultimately included must have been a Herculean undertaking!), the quality of the reproductions and, of course, the characteristically informative and entertaining text will ensure it becomes one of the most well-thumbed, dog-earred volumes in my library. I know this isn't the Kirby biography you plan to publish one day. But as a book intended to introduce Kirby to a general audience, one largely unfamiliar with both him (at least by name) and the history of the comics medium, it really is a magnificent achievement: readable, accessible and comprehensive.

Might end up running a review I'm currently drafting in the paper I edit in Bermuda. That'll be good for something like three more sales! Anyway, my sincerest congratulations to you, good sir.

This may sound odd but I really don't see the point in doing much more here than letting folks know the book is out…and I have that banner that makes it easy to order it from Amazon (and give me a teensy commission on the sale). I figure that anyone interested in Kirby is going to purchase a copy sooner or later. Or at least, they'll come across a copy in a store or at a convention and flip through it. If that doesn't make them want to buy it, nothing I say here is going to matter a lot.

However, since I haven't been mentioning the reviews here, my e-mailbox is full of messages telling me about them. I've received over a hundred telling me, for example, of this review by J. Hoberman that was cover featured on Bookforum. Or this review by Adam McGovern at comiccritique.com. Or this review by Jeff Dyer over in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald. Or this piece in Maclean's by Mark Steyn. Or what Joal Ryan wrote over on the E!Online site. Or reviews in the blogs of Sean Kleefeld, Todd Klein, Gary Sassaman, Andrew Smith, Mark Verheiden and quite a few others I could mention.

The comments have, so far, been mostly positive. Well, why wouldn't they be? It's a book full of Jack Kirby art. Thanks to all those who've helped spread the word.