For the record, I just deleted a series of comments because they annoyed me so much that I couldn’t stand to have them on our site. Which is saying a lot considering some of the crap that gets tossed around here.
ah sorry, didn’t mean to post this without the wrap-around image and a little commentary.
For the one or two of you who aren’t aware, the super-perspective-enhanced-fist is basically Kirby’s trademark (and possibly even invention).
—
, 2008-03-11 06:52:00 -0400
This is not how the cover looks. There is a big serif title crossing over the whole front, spine and back. It makes the book look totally different than this. As if there was not enough happening with this design, there is a huge title wrapping across the whole book cover. Totally unnecessary in my opinion. Hope this comment does not get deleted.
Auguste, I highly doubt that Paul would illustrate this? Jack was enough of a comic illustration legend. This is probably a collage of Jacks work by Paul… with perhaps Paul’s typography.
Looks like a gray Hulk. It would be cool to see all the pieces of art this was constructed from.
i recently posted this on my site and included this cover under “regrets.”
http://www.paulsahre.com/regrets/
the cover you have posted IS the final cover. it is similar to the cover that i did which was used for promoting the book. the wrap around (posted by tal) is an even earlier study before we abandoned the large title which was set in mercury.
The art is a collage using kirby art (i can drawn, but i can’t draw like that…)
long story short: because of disagreements i bailed midway thru this project. the cover i started was suppose to fold out into a poster, but because of legal issues it doesn’t. my revised cover was rejected and the author hated what i was doing on the interior so i quit, sent them the files and wished them luck.
The only thing they changed from my earlier cover was the type in the lower left (if you look at the actual cover it looks a little weird). The spine and the flaps i had nothing to do with. I requested that i not be credited.
In the end (cropped like this and just showing the cover), I like it, but the whole package is kind of a mess.
—
, 2008-03-11 08:59:00 -0400
Cool. At least that wrapping type did not make the final cut. I remember picking up an old promotional poster for this at the BEA in NYC I think last year. Was that the poster design? It said Abrams on the bottom left.
ahhh, the BEA poster. No, they blew up low rez art from the cover comp and did that in-house.
—
, 2008-03-12 05:48:00 -0400
Whatever the version, they all come across as a gorgeous definitive collection of The Great Jack Kirby’s work that I just had to impulse buy. Yet another book to add to my pile of books that I’ll never get the chance to read in this lifetime. Great job Paul. And I love your surviving interior page. I would like to hang that up on my wall.
While this is nice and in keeping with the typical comic book aesthetic, I am really fond of the stripped down cover on the Fletcher Hanks retrospective, I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets.
“How about just a “Kabam!” bubble on a plain background? C’mon, let’s get crafty…”
...Ugh.
I think you’re taking the whole “don’t put anything literal on the cover” rule a little too seriously. They already explained, in the above comments, why the art was used.
This is a beautiful cover, and the idea is perfect! I’d be more than pleased to place this on my shelf at home. The concept of the “super-perspective-enhanced-fist” is touched on wonderfully.
I recently saw the book on the shelves of a comic book shop in Brooklyn and the jacket was the one posted here. Which has me curious as to where the jacket shown on Boing Boing that was linked earlier comes from.
—
, 2008-03-18 10:08:00 -0400
sucks
—
, 2008-03-18 21:32:00 -0400
What does “sucks” even mean? Let’s attempt to be a little bit more descriptive and rational.
—
, 2008-03-19 04:11:00 -0400
“not a sucker” sure sounds like a sucker to me. what have you ever designed?
Right. That’s why I’m not a design critic writing for a magazine. I am posting on a blog. “Sucks” will suffice unless the mood moves me to type further.
Despite Paul Sahre’s displeasure with the results (he freely admits to bailing on the project at the least convenient point for the publisher-and for a project like this, “THE” Kirby book, by an author who is “THE” person best suited and qualified to write on the subject), the cover package turned out exceedingly well-a naturalistic (if you will) evocation of the essence of Jack Kirby, without excess frill and designerisms (unusual, considering what appears to be a conflicted design process). Having been put through the wringer by numerous authors myself, there is still a point where one’s divergent artistic vision and doing right by the subject matter need to be reconciled, be it baseball, the civil war or the bio-history of one of the cornerstones comic book history. And yes, I’ve taken my name off of many, many covers thank you very much. Sometimes, some projects can’t be so easily dismissed.
Perhaps, in an odd way, the results worked out best in spite of the designer’s desires and the author’s.
—
, 2008-04-30 03:49:00 -0400
..But my pet peeve is The Hulk should’ve been green!
In The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962) the Hulk was gray.
“The Hulk debuted in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962), by writer Stan Lee, penciller and co-plotter Jack Kirby, and inker Paul Reinman. In the first issue, the Hulk was grey rather than green. Writer and Marvel editor-in-chief Lee had wanted a color that did not suggest any particular ethnic group.[1] Colorist Stan Goldberg, however, insisted to Lee that the coloring technology at the time could not present the color grey clearly or consistently, resulting in different shades of grey, and even green, in the issue. From issue #2 (July 1962) on, Goldberg colored the Hulk’s skin green.[2] Green was used in retellings of the origin, even to the point of reprints of the original story being re-colored, for the next two decades. The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #302 (Dec. 1984), reintroduced the grey Hulk in flashbacks set close to the origin story. This was reaffirmed in vol. 2, #318 (April 1986), which showed the Hulk was grey at the time of his creation. Since then, reprints of the first issue have displayed the original grey coloring.”
True, all true. But that the Hulk was presented as gray originally is no longer germane, he has been “ol’ greenskin” (as Stan Lee would say) for 46 years (and counting). Yes, the modern incarnation of Marvel Comics has played around with this anomaly, creating a storyline to go with a gray-skinned Hulk, but it is not how the masses know the character as it has passed from the arena of comicdom, with all of its inherent contradictions (i.e., depending upon what writer wants to do what at any given time) to the broader popular culture. Putting a gray Hulk on the cover of Kirby’s monograph may be a nerd’s nerd’s nerd nod to obscure pop-historic trivia, but it belies the iconic significance of the character. Kirby is a creator of icons, and in this case, the icon is green.
—
, 2008-05-06 07:46:00 -0400
Covers is dedicated to the appreciation of brilliant book cover design. Covers is a Fwis project.
Kirby: King of Comics
kapow
— , 2008-03-10 04:54:00 -0400
I’d like to see how this wraps.
Thanks for nothin!
— Ben Pieratt , 2008-03-10 07:22:00 -0400
It wraps like this:
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/03/07/new-jack-kirby-coffe.html
— Tal , 2008-03-10 07:38:00 -0400
Thanks Tal!
— Ben Pieratt , 2008-03-10 07:44:00 -0400
For the record, I just deleted a series of comments because they annoyed me so much that I couldn’t stand to have them on our site. Which is saying a lot considering some of the crap that gets tossed around here.
— Ben Pieratt , 2008-03-10 15:29:00 -0400
Did Paul illustrate this cover? himself?
— Auguste , 2008-03-10 16:28:00 -0400
thanks for putting that on the record, Ben
— Mike , 2008-03-10 17:26:00 -0400
Glade to be a help…
— khokhar , 2008-03-11 01:33:00 -0400
ah sorry, didn’t mean to post this without the wrap-around image and a little commentary.
For the one or two of you who aren’t aware, the super-perspective-enhanced-fist is basically Kirby’s trademark (and possibly even invention).
— , 2008-03-11 06:52:00 -0400
This is not how the cover looks. There is a big serif title crossing over the whole front, spine and back. It makes the book look totally different than this. As if there was not enough happening with this design, there is a huge title wrapping across the whole book cover. Totally unnecessary in my opinion. Hope this comment does not get deleted.
— ian shimkoviak , 2008-03-11 07:41:00 -0400
Auguste, I highly doubt that Paul would illustrate this? Jack was enough of a comic illustration legend. This is probably a collage of Jacks work by Paul… with perhaps Paul’s typography.
Looks like a gray Hulk. It would be cool to see all the pieces of art this was constructed from.
— ian shimkoviak , 2008-03-11 08:25:00 -0400
i recently posted this on my site and included this cover under “regrets.”
http://www.paulsahre.com/regrets/
the cover you have posted IS the final cover. it is similar to the cover that i did which was used for promoting the book. the wrap around (posted by tal) is an even earlier study before we abandoned the large title which was set in mercury.
The art is a collage using kirby art (i can drawn, but i can’t draw like that…)
long story short: because of disagreements i bailed midway thru this project. the cover i started was suppose to fold out into a poster, but because of legal issues it doesn’t. my revised cover was rejected and the author hated what i was doing on the interior so i quit, sent them the files and wished them luck.
The only thing they changed from my earlier cover was the type in the lower left (if you look at the actual cover it looks a little weird). The spine and the flaps i had nothing to do with. I requested that i not be credited.
In the end (cropped like this and just showing the cover), I like it, but the whole package is kind of a mess.
— , 2008-03-11 08:59:00 -0400
Cool. At least that wrapping type did not make the final cut. I remember picking up an old promotional poster for this at the BEA in NYC I think last year. Was that the poster design? It said Abrams on the bottom left.
— ian shimkoviak , 2008-03-11 13:13:00 -0400
ahhh, the BEA poster. No, they blew up low rez art from the cover comp and did that in-house.
— , 2008-03-12 05:48:00 -0400
Whatever the version, they all come across as a gorgeous definitive collection of The Great Jack Kirby’s work that I just had to impulse buy. Yet another book to add to my pile of books that I’ll never get the chance to read in this lifetime. Great job Paul. And I love your surviving interior page. I would like to hang that up on my wall.
— Henry Sene Yee , 2008-03-12 07:34:00 -0400
I just have to say—I followed the link to Paul’s site and this gave me such a delight:
http://www.paulsahre.com/work07/plan_b/
The “magic eye” magic worked, even on the computer screen! This takes me back 15 years… wow.
— anonymous admirer , 2008-03-12 09:13:00 -0400
Fucking love it.
— Blake , 2008-03-14 02:28:00 -0400
Wow… a comic on the cover of a book about comics. Fvcking ingenious. Sarcasm.
How about just a “Kabam!” bubble on a plain background? C’mon, let’s get crafty…
— C-Dog , 2008-03-14 16:15:00 -0400
While this is nice and in keeping with the typical comic book aesthetic, I am really fond of the stripped down cover on the Fletcher Hanks retrospective, I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets.
— PF , 2008-03-15 04:16:00 -0400
“How about just a “Kabam!” bubble on a plain background? C’mon, let’s get crafty…”
...Ugh.
I think you’re taking the whole “don’t put anything literal on the cover” rule a little too seriously. They already explained, in the above comments, why the art was used.
— j , 2008-03-17 05:04:00 -0400
This is a beautiful cover, and the idea is perfect! I’d be more than pleased to place this on my shelf at home. The concept of the “super-perspective-enhanced-fist” is touched on wonderfully.
— Jason Gabbert , 2008-03-17 14:28:00 -0400
I recently saw the book on the shelves of a comic book shop in Brooklyn and the jacket was the one posted here. Which has me curious as to where the jacket shown on Boing Boing that was linked earlier comes from.
— , 2008-03-18 10:08:00 -0400
sucks
— , 2008-03-18 21:32:00 -0400
What does “sucks” even mean? Let’s attempt to be a little bit more descriptive and rational.
— , 2008-03-19 04:11:00 -0400
“not a sucker” sure sounds like a sucker to me. what have you ever designed?
— Eric N , 2008-03-19 05:17:00 -0400
—> new cover
P.S. “not a sucker’s” pièce de résistance:
http://www.amazon.com/Think-BIG-Kick-Business-Life/dp/0061547832/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205947659&sr=1-1
— Auguste , 2008-03-19 06:31:00 -0400
“what have you ever designed?”
Heh… that’s like saying movie critics can’t critique movies unless they’ve made critically successfull movies themselves. It can’t work that way.
— C-Dog , 2008-03-24 21:12:00 -0400
c-dog, you have a valid point. however, ‘critics’ generally have something a bit more relevant and insightful to say than ‘sucks.’
— Eric N , 2008-03-25 02:34:00 -0400
Right. That’s why I’m not a design critic writing for a magazine. I am posting on a blog. “Sucks” will suffice unless the mood moves me to type further.
— C-Dog , 2008-04-10 05:09:00 -0400
Why not keep “sucks!” to yourself or write it in your journal, not on a blog.
— Anonymous , 2008-04-11 07:14:00 -0400
c-dog is a joke.
— , 2008-04-28 09:26:00 -0400
cool jack
— , 2008-04-29 06:15:00 -0400
Despite Paul Sahre’s displeasure with the results (he freely admits to bailing on the project at the least convenient point for the publisher-
and for a project like this, “THE” Kirby book, by an author who is “THE” person best suited and qualified to write on the subject), the cover package turned out exceedingly well-a naturalistic (if you will) evocation of the essence of Jack Kirby, without excess frill and designerisms (unusual, considering what appears to be a conflicted design process). Having been put through the wringer by numerous authors myself, there is still a point where one’s divergent artistic vision and doing right by the subject matter need to be reconciled, be it baseball, the civil war or the bio-history of one of the cornerstones comic book history. And yes, I’ve taken my name off of many, many covers thank you very much. Sometimes, some projects can’t be so easily dismissed.Perhaps, in an odd way, the results worked out best in spite of the designer’s desires and the author’s.
— , 2008-04-30 03:49:00 -0400
..But my pet peeve is The Hulk should’ve been green!
— , 2008-04-30 05:20:00 -0400
Apparently there was a gray hulk at some point…
— ian shimkoviak , 2008-05-03 10:50:00 -0400
In The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962) the Hulk was gray.
“The Hulk debuted in The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962), by writer Stan Lee, penciller and co-plotter Jack Kirby, and inker Paul Reinman. In the first issue, the Hulk was grey rather than green. Writer and Marvel editor-in-chief Lee had wanted a color that did not suggest any particular ethnic group.[1] Colorist Stan Goldberg, however, insisted to Lee that the coloring technology at the time could not present the color grey clearly or consistently, resulting in different shades of grey, and even green, in the issue. From issue #2 (July 1962) on, Goldberg colored the Hulk’s skin green.[2] Green was used in retellings of the origin, even to the point of reprints of the original story being re-colored, for the next two decades. The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #302 (Dec. 1984), reintroduced the grey Hulk in flashbacks set close to the origin story. This was reaffirmed in vol. 2, #318 (April 1986), which showed the Hulk was grey at the time of his creation. Since then, reprints of the first issue have displayed the original grey coloring.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hulk1.jpg
— Charles Brock , 2008-05-04 07:41:00 -0400
True, all true. But that the Hulk was presented as gray originally is no longer germane, he has been “ol’ greenskin” (as Stan Lee would say) for 46 years (and counting). Yes, the modern incarnation of Marvel Comics has played around with this anomaly, creating a storyline to go with a gray-skinned Hulk, but it is not how the masses know the character as it has passed from the arena of comicdom, with all of its inherent contradictions (i.e., depending upon what writer wants to do what at any given time) to the broader popular culture. Putting a gray Hulk on the cover of Kirby’s monograph may be a nerd’s nerd’s nerd nod to obscure pop-historic trivia, but it belies the iconic significance of the character. Kirby is a creator of icons, and in this case, the icon is green.
— , 2008-05-06 07:46:00 -0400