Until a comprehensive bio comes out, this will have to do.

Filled with phenomenal examples of Kirby's art, KIRBY: KING OF COMICS is a great primer to the work of one of comics' true legends. "Street Code," Kirby's look at childhood on the mean streets of NY, alone is worth the price of admission, but the book is filled any number of rarely published pieces, often from the original pencils. The text from Mark Evanier, a talented writer and longtime Kirby associate, proves to be a bit of a disappointment. Evanier does a fine job of encapsulating Kirby's life, focusing on the high and low points of Kirby's storied career, but the work is simply lacking in the depth that I have come to expect from current biographies. Simon and Kirby, the Marvel years, the creation of the "Fourth World" are looked at, but it's little more than a cursory glance. Less than half the book is text, and even with the oversize pages, (Great for the art repros!) it still feels skimpy on details. Maybe, at some point in the future a definitive bio will come out; until then fans will have to make due with this loving tribute.

WOW!!! A great achievement!
I began collecting comics in the mid 90's and didn't start looking backwards to the masters until several years later. I had seen Kirby's work here and there and never really was that impressed with it, but years later I pick up this book and read it (for hours last night and all afternoon today :) and I couldn't put it down. I was really taken with the work and life of this (now I see it) comics "master." Into the first few pages I was hooked on the writing. It moves along at a quick pace and Evanier doesn't get bogged down with the extraneous stuff... he just keeps speeding forward, which complements the art tremendously. His writing is not overly sentimental and yet Evanier clearly admires Kirby and his work and it really shows through with the heart behind the writing. Many passages were really quite moving, and some very funny.

Here's an example of Evanier's words: "The head librarian turned to the man next to her, who happened to be Kirby, and asked him if he thought comics mirrored reality. Jack said, 'No, comics transcend reality.' The answer startled the librarian, and she said, 'If you were to mirror reality, then perhaps others could begin to understand it.' Jack popped a piece of cheddar into his mouth and fixed her with a stare he'd learned either on the streets of New York or on Omaha Beach during World War II. 'Madam,' he said, 'when you mirror reality, you see it all backward. When you start transcending it, that's when you have a real good shot at figuring out what's going on.' Then he went over to Roz and told her her he was ready to leave."

The art itself is grandly reproduced, often completely covering the page and at such a quality that one can see the tones and pencil smudges in the drawings. This quality of reproduction gave me whole new insight into the beauty and power of this man's work. In the end, I've been transformed into a fan and can't wait to get my hands on more of Kirby's work.

Homage to the King
A beautifully researched, written and illustrated book. Rare images and insights into the life of this prolific and influential artist.

King Kirby Lives!!!!
Mark Evanier does a fantastic job paying tribute to the king of comic books.This would make an excellent coffee table book for any Kirby afficianado!The illustrations and uses of Kirby's sketches are also effective.
But the book does have a sad note.Evanier writes of the injustices suffered by Kirby and his widow.This man essentially,except for Spiderman,was responsible for creating Marvel's Silver Age.Yet Marvel begrudgingly paid Kirby's widow a MEAGER pension after his death in 1994.
The book is not only decorative but informative and with Kirby's work being so vast I look forward to a "sequel" by Mr.Evanier.Kudos!Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Captain America Comics 1

This isn't a comprehensive biography of Jack Kirby, but it's an exceptionally well-done overview of his career
Read this in an evening. Well-researched (the author was an assistant of Kirby's in the late '60s and early '70s), well-organized and well-illustrated. This isn't a comprehensive biography of Jack Kirby, but it's an exceptionally well-done overview of his career. Only complaint: I would have enjoyed seeing more examples of Kirby's non-comics projects, such as his production designs for the never-produced adaptation of "Lord of Light".