Marvel Artist - Jack Kirby

The late Jack Kirby is an artist and writer who has been associated with some of the best comics in the superhero genre, primarily with Marvel.

He was a loyal, and more importantly prolific, lieutenant to Marvel's editor Stan Lee. Sometimes his artistic quality slipped when he was simply drawing too many comics, but he was always a superb draughtsman and had an excellent eye for dramatic action sequences.

When Kirby had the time he could come up with some stunning visuals. One of my favourite comic covers is Fantastic Four # 72 which introduces a new character 'The Silver Surfer' .

Jack Kirby was the creator who envisaged a silvery skinned alien who flew through the universe on a surfboard! - This was the swinging sixties after all. :-)

When Stan Lee saw how Kirby had portrayed the Silver Surfer he realised that he had captured something truly cosmic, and the Surfer's portentous language flowed from that. This demonstrates how an artist can interact with the writer to create something that only a partnership could produce.

The Fantastic Four cover of #72 inspired me to paint the Surfer using traditional oils on canvas. Here is my version, which is a mirror image of the cover.

Hope you like it! :-)

John McNally

The Silver Surfer had religious overtones when it was first published. The alien Norrin Radd had offered himself as a sacrifice to save his planet Zenn-La from Galactus - 'the devourer of worlds'.

Galactus needed to consume living planets in order to survive. However he transformed Norrin Radd into the Silver Surfer to become his herald, finding suitable alternative planets throughout the universe.

When Galactus found the Earth it was so full of vibrant life that it offered an irresistible feast for him. Luckily for us he was unable to consume our planet because the Silver Surfer turned on his master, and fought him to a standstill.

Eventually the Silver Surfer had to sacrifice himself again to save the Earth, this time he sacrificed his freedom to roam the cosmos, when Galactus imposed a force field barrier around the planet. Subsequent stories had the barrier removed, mainly because confining the Silver Surfer to Earth restricted the full potential of universe-wide adventures.

The Surfer has always been my favourite Marvel character, and I'm currently painting a Jack Kirby cover from Fantastic Four #72. I don't think there is anyone painting these pictures using traditional oils on canvas, and I hope to sell them to comic fans over the Internet. When I have enough paintings completed, I shall create a separate web-site featuring original oil paintings for sale.

John McNally