[Sadly, due to a potential IP issue with the Kirby estate, the story "Head of the Family", which many of the comments here are referring to, had to be removed. -- Nequam]
And this is why inbreeding should be illegal, "nature" my @#%!. Just kidding, and i have to admit i felt really sorry for Hugo and his puppets, it's not like they were evil. As for the art, it's proof Jack was skilled in almost all genres, not just superheroes as his critics say(for my opinion, although everyone has individual tastes, and some of his critics point out real flaws now and then; i think the majority of Kirby's detractors just want to get their names out there for attention, since they usually criticize Alan Moore's writing(!!?), defend Rob Liefeld(????)and insist that Fredric Wertham created the Marvel Universe(!!!!????)(check some messageboards(which will remain nameless out of respect)i'm not kidding about this crap.), really looking forward to more!.
I'm addicted to this blog. It's my next stop after Buzzflash, every day. (Oh, blast! Are my roots showing?) If stories like this one keep cropping up, Blackwalnut will soon need therapy. "The Head of the Family" is just the sort of mindbending fare that warped a generation. Soon as we learn this guy is called Hugan Fesker, we know we're in the Land No One Comes Back From in the Same Condition They Left. On the heels of Dick Briefer's "The Magic Word" yesterday... cripes! I need a nap! I don't know where you keep finding these. Black Magic had some real moments, eh? And sometimes a whole issue will hit it just right, every tale a gem (e.g. the previously posted Chamber of Chills #6). Looking forward to this week. Thanks Karswell.
Man, the inevitable "Kirby Weirdo's" appearance on page six made my day. This was awesome.
And Horror Pariah, my favorite Kirby stuff is his late forties-early fifties sci-fi stuff, just to share my own opinion. I still haven't decided whether I like that guy's art or writing better. He was certainly an all-round comics threat for sure.
As for the quickie, I am always flabbergasted when the art deviates so importantly from the descriptive balloon. Panel three. The balloon says "face down" but the artist drew the fallen portrait face up. Was there a last minute edit? I mean, the artist drew the rest of the panel description accurately; me must have read it. What preparatory misfire created this inconsistency? Whatever, I think I'll be propping my own giant, lovingly painted and ego-bolstering portraits on nice solid tables from now on....
This story must have been reprinted in the early 1970s. I remember it well, because as a wee lad, I was deeply disturbed by big head Hugo. That unsettling feeling I had carried over to Iron man villain MODOK, another big head in a chair.
Having said that, how awesome would it be to have MODOK as the villain in the Iron Man movie sequel? Who would they cast?
Thanks for triggering long repressed feelings of dread.
Sorry. I just tend to get really defensive of Kirby, so i thought i'd chime in about him before some wannabe iconoclast started mouthing off(i guess trolls dislike him over the way he depicted them in THOR :D). As for John Rozum's sighting of this in the '70's; it was probably from DC's reprints of BLACK MAGIC.
Yes, this story was later reprinted in the very first silver age issue of Black Magic from the 70's. It's where I first read it too. Also, I just now added the issue link to GCD, for some reason the site was not accessible for the last fews days. Anyone else have any problems with it?
This story seems to have been highly influential. The idea of multiple births having only one brain between them was later explored in "Brain Trust" from Creepy #10 (script by Archie Goodwin, art by Angelo Torres).
And this is why inbreeding should be illegal, "nature" my @#%!. Just kidding, and i have to admit i felt really sorry for Hugo and his puppets, it's not like they were evil. As for the art, it's proof Jack was skilled in almost all genres, not just superheroes as his critics say(for my opinion, although everyone has individual tastes, and some of his critics point out real flaws now and then; i think the majority of Kirby's detractors just want to get their names out there for attention, since they usually criticize Alan Moore's writing(!!?), defend Rob Liefeld(????)and insist that Fredric Wertham created the Marvel Universe(!!!!????)(check some messageboards(which will remain nameless out of respect)i'm not kidding about this crap.), really looking forward to more!.
ReplyDeleteI'm addicted to this blog. It's my next stop after Buzzflash, every day. (Oh, blast! Are my roots showing?) If stories like this one keep cropping up, Blackwalnut will soon need therapy. "The Head of the Family" is just the sort of mindbending fare that warped a generation. Soon as we learn this guy is called Hugan Fesker, we know we're in the Land No One Comes Back From in the Same Condition They Left. On the heels of Dick Briefer's "The Magic Word" yesterday... cripes! I need a nap! I don't know where you keep finding these. Black Magic had some real moments, eh? And sometimes a whole issue will hit it just right, every tale a gem (e.g. the previously posted Chamber of Chills #6). Looking forward to this week. Thanks Karswell.
ReplyDeletehey, you! yeah YOU, with the gun! YOU'RE the Vicious, Freakish Monster!
ReplyDeleteJerk!
sorry, but i hate fuckheads with guns who shoot first and spout off about their moral/physical/spiritual superiority later!
ok, bedtime! sweet dreams! GOODNIGHT!!!
oh yeah, by the way, EL Desvan del Abuelito IS fantastic!
ReplyDeleteMan, the inevitable "Kirby Weirdo's" appearance on page six made my day. This was awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnd Horror Pariah, my favorite Kirby stuff is his late forties-early fifties sci-fi stuff, just to share my own opinion. I still haven't decided whether I like that guy's art or writing better. He was certainly an all-round comics threat for sure.
As for the quickie, I am always flabbergasted when the art deviates so importantly from the descriptive balloon. Panel three. The balloon says "face down" but the artist drew the fallen portrait face up. Was there a last minute edit? I mean, the artist drew the rest of the panel description accurately; me must have read it. What preparatory misfire created this inconsistency? Whatever, I think I'll be propping my own giant, lovingly painted and ego-bolstering portraits on nice solid tables from now on....
This was some nice art for sure. It is always interesting how many ideas you see in some of the Kirby stuff which later resurfaced in his Marvel work.
ReplyDeleteI guess the best way to put it is to say that I found the story predictable in an unpreditable way.
ReplyDeleteInteresting comments here this morning, Kirby obviously brings out the viciousness in some of you! haha
ReplyDeleteWe've got lots more predictable unpredictableness from this issue for you until Thursday, and for more great Kirby Black Magic check out my archives:
NASTY LITTLE MAN:
http://thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/2008/04/nasty-little-man.html
THE GREATEST HORROR OF THEM ALL:
http://thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/2007/10/greatest-horror-of-them-all.html
I always hate it when monsters that pose no threat to anybody get killed.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how marriage would have worked out. Or what Hugo ate, or how, for that matter.
KIRBY RULES! NUFF SAID!
ReplyDeleteThis story must have been reprinted in the early 1970s. I remember it well, because as a wee lad, I was deeply disturbed by big head Hugo. That unsettling feeling I had carried over to Iron man villain MODOK, another big head in a chair.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, how awesome would it be to have MODOK as the villain in the Iron Man movie sequel? Who would they cast?
Thanks for triggering long repressed feelings of dread.
So... appearance and genetic history count for more than actions? People are judged not by what they do, but by how they look and how they breed?
ReplyDeleteRiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
In this case, I'd rather have seen the "monsters" win! :)
Mark dq405
I liked everything but the title: I would have called it, Brideshead Revisited.
ReplyDeleteSorry. I just tend to get really defensive of Kirby, so i thought i'd chime in about him before some wannabe iconoclast started mouthing off(i guess trolls dislike him over the way he depicted them in THOR :D). As for John Rozum's sighting of this in the '70's; it was probably from DC's reprints of BLACK MAGIC.
ReplyDeleteYes, this story was later reprinted in the very first silver age issue of Black Magic from the 70's. It's where I first read it too. Also, I just now added the issue link to GCD, for some reason the site was not accessible for the last fews days. Anyone else have any problems with it?
ReplyDeleteTOMORROW: Al Eadeh again!
This is - both the story and the art - my favorite THOIA post ever.
ReplyDeleteHey, check this out:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116503/
Coincidence, unintentional homage from a distant childhood memory, or blatant ripoff?
This story seems to have been highly influential. The idea of multiple births having only one brain between them was later explored in "Brain Trust" from Creepy #10 (script by Archie Goodwin, art by Angelo Torres).
ReplyDelete