Daniel Bonner wrote to ask:
I recall reading that Jack Kirby's Forever People was inspired by/influenced by/a tribute to the shootings at Kent State. Discuss, please.
Not "inspired by." The Kent State Shootings were on May 4, 1970. Jack had already written and drawn the first issue of Forever People not long before that…I would guess about a month before.
"Influenced by?" I don't think so. Jack thought the shootings were one of the most shameful acts ever committed by any government, American or otherwise…but Forever People was inspired by a bigger picture. Jack was acutely aware in the late sixties that "his" generation was slowly stepping (or being shoved) aside by a new generation. It was that way everywhere, including in comic books with the influx of folks like Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, Gerry Conway, me and so many others.
I suppose you could say that his vision of the societal changes were influenced by Kent State but also thousands of other things. We talked a lot about what going on in the world then. I was going to U.C.L.A. during much of the time I worked for Jack and he was always asking me about the mood on campus, what seemed to matter to the students, etc. Jack also had a lot of young people visiting him in his studio along with his own kids.
And lastly, I don't think "tribute" is the right word to apply to Kent State, especially if you had Jack's reaction to it. I remember that he was pretty incensed at a statement that Al Capp made after the shooting; something about how the real "martyrs" at Kent State were the guys who fired the rifles. Jack fumed about that for a few days, then made some comment like, "Capp doesn't say those things because he believes them. He says them because they get attention."
Our second question is from Robert Grover…
I have been re-watching the '67 Fantastic Four Hanna-Barbera show and wondered if you ever discussed it with Jack Kirby. It's a fairly faithful adaptation of the comic, down to taking actual issues and using the characters, plots, some designs even. Knowing how the comic industry worked back then, work for hire, etc, it's extremely doubtful Jack received any sort of compensation for the use of his designs or stories.
Given what I've read of the man that must have been a sore point, but aside from the Captain America movie serial this is one of the first instances of his comic book work being adapted for another medium (yes, the Marvel Super-Heroes preceded it by a year or so, but those were such a bargain basement production by comparison they are best forgotten). Did the Fantastic Four give him any sort of gratification? I hope so. Sure, the cartoon is targeted for a younger audience, but it is recognizable from the source material and he is named in the credits. For a man working largely in isolation seeing your name on TV must have been an ego boost. Thanks in advance for sharing what you know.
We did talk about the show a bit…but only a bit because Jack couldn't stand to see things like that. You're right: He received no compensation from it…and to hear him tell it, some pretty rude responses when he suggested to Marvel management that such a thing might be in order. I don't think he received any gratification or ego boost from it either…just the feeling of being exploited and underpaid. I doubt he watched it much. Long after that show was on and off the air, I mentioned to Jack that Alex Toth had done the main design work on it and that came as news to Jack.
