The Four Color Media Monitor

A writer for the crummy Gizmodo site claims DC's doing a better job honoring the memory of King Kirby than Marvel is now. But there's at least a few signs they're not:

DC Comics recently announced six special one-shot comic books set to release throughout August, the month of Kirby’s actual 100th birthday. Each issue will tell a new story about one of Kirby’s famous DC creations: Darkseid (from Mark Evanier and Scott Kolins), the Newsboy Legion (Howard Chaykin), Sandman (Dan Jurgens, Steve Orlando, John Bogdanove, and Rick Leonardi), Manhunter (Kieth Giffen, Dan DiDio), Orion and the New Gods (Shane Davis and Michelle Delecki), and the Black Racer (Reginald Hudlin and Denys Cowan).

Wait a minute. DiDio is one of the writers for a Manhunter special? Nobody cared or wanted to buy the few books he's written to date, which sold very low as it is, and I doubt many want to now. Anything coming from DiDio is bound to be boring at best and unreadable at worst. As for artists, I wouldn't want to bother about Kolins, recalling how pretentious his work in the past 15 years was already. I certainly don't trust someone like him after the awful work he did on both Flash and Avengers.

It's worth recalling that nearly a decade ago, they published a most insulting miniseries called "Death of the New Gods" (written and illustrated, most regrettably, by Jim Starlin, in a show of artistic bankruptcy), which saw Big Barda, one of Kirby's favorite creations, put into the paganist afterlife almost immediately after it began. And if they don't point that out, then there's no point saying they're doing better now, if past mistakes won't be brought up today.

But, since they're on the subject, here's what they say about Marvel:

Meanwhile, Marvel Comics has been weirdly quiet about anything it plans to do to mark the occasion. Today’s Marvel solicits for August reconfirmed the already-announced special variant cover series honoring Kirby’s birthday, but the only other major thing the publisher is doing is a newly-announced series of $1 “True Believer” reprints of famous old issues featuring Kirby’s input. And that’s it. Nothing actually new, no new series inspired by Kirby’s creations, just some variants and some cheap re-releases.

Well what's the use of anticipating anything with excitement after their repellent mistreatment of Captain America? They've made it difficult for anybody to look forward to any plans for celebration. I don't think variant covers do justice for Kirby either. Only talented writing and respect for his creations does. And since they don't have even that much, that's why it's surely for the best that the Fantastic Four aren't being published as a series now.

However, they do bring up Kirby's legal hassles over his artwork:

...A Marvel Comics without Kirby’s contributions is unfathomable to comprehend, perhaps even moreso than a DC without his creations. It’s also interesting to note, given the tumultuous history Kirby has with Marvel, from his departure in the ‘70s to the only recently-concluded legal battle between the publisher and his estate.

Well sure, that's true. But a Marvel and a DC lacking respect for his creations like Steve Rogers and Big Barda is equally unfathomable to comprehend. So they'd do well not to flatter themselves by acting like they have any more respect for Kirby than the Big Two do.

Labels: bad editors, Captain America, dc comics, dreadful artists, dreadful writers, Fantastic Four, golden calf of death, good artists, marvel comics, misogyny and racism, msm propaganda