That Incomparable Inhuman, Jack Kirby

Today's the 97th anniversary of the birth of artistic!! genius!!! Jack Kirby, who worked in and largely defined the field of comic books. His talent was incomparable! His imagination nearly inhuman! Of course, by "inhuman" I mean the less common definition - as in "superhuman, unearthly, extraordinary, phenomenal, exceptional, incredible, unbelievable" - not the more common meaning "lacking human qualities of compassion and mercy; cruel and barbaric." Indeed, that Kirby spent so much of his artistic efforts on superhumans is wholly appropriate, considering his wholly uncommon creativity was so unearthly and boundless. Conversely, his work is full of humanity and compassion. And so I provide this little gallery of the incomparable Inhumans. With perhaps a couple of exceptions, these aren't actually examples of his very greatest drawings - there's an endless supply of those. But there is something about the Inhumans that I find quintessentially Kirby, some sort of perfect representation of his aesthetic in his prime (his prime lasted a couple of decades at least). And while I think it's a shame there's a relatively low number of Kirby Inhumans stories, I'm kinda glad the characters have until recently at least not been too frequently assaulted by the hands of hacks who followed in Kirby's wake, unlike many of his more famous creations. And lastly, there's something in the purity of Kirby's design work for the Inhumans that I think shines through whether drawn by the most or least capable comics artists. And yeah if Marvel/Disney called me tomorrow and said we want you to write a movie or comic or perhaps best of all an animated feature from one of our properties, I'd say "gimme the Inhumans" and my story, and everything, would end with Black Bolt opening his mouth.