Customer Rating: 
Summary: More than a Penciller
Comment: Flipping through this book it's very clear how much Kirby meant to the visual style of Marvel Comics. The splash pages, innovative page layouts and costume design of the Marvel Pantheon owes itself, in great measure, to the genius of Kirby.
If you're on this page reading this review you probably already know that.
What you may not know, is what Kirby added in to the comic epics he illustrated. He was SOOOO much more than a "penciller." His sense of imagination and storytelling completely blurred the definitions of "writer & artist." With that fact in mind, I'll leave it to the readers of Mark Evanier's prose to decide whether or not he was rewarded properly for his co-creations.
Buy the book and don't just look at the pictures. The story behind the art is as fascinating as the art itself.
Critique--
It's too short!!
This book should have been split into three volumes:
1)Golden Age Kirby
2)60s Marvel Kirby
3) 70s DC, Marvel and beyond
The guy did so much excellent work. This book just scratches the surface.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Kirby
Comment: An excellent book on Jack "King' Kirby's life. Despite it's size it was a quick read. Informative, funny, and sad to see the struggles that even a giant in the field had to contend with in order to pursue his dream.
Customer Rating:
Summary: you had me at grey hulk
Comment: fantastic book but more mr. evanier if youre listening: please do more with kirby's dark side. he's a genius, without question, but his genius would benefit with less hagiography and more humanity. otherwise spectacular. damn you evanier! you have foiled us again with your inspiration and attention to detail!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Kirby says, "Don't ask, buy!"
Comment: I enjoyed Mark Evanier's Kirby book. Truth to tell, it is neither an art book nor a biography. But Mark said as much elsewhere. Space restrictions forbade going into a discussion of Kirby's tools, how he composed the page, a comparison with his peers and those who influenced him and those he influenced, etc. Ditto for a thorough going-over of his family dynamics: the frequent financial crises that were alluded, the Kirby Treasury his son Neil published, the point that this son does not appear to be the spokesman or executor of the estate, etc. These family matters may not be significant in the whole, but I thought them to be intriguing points left uncovered.
One reviewer here at Amazon said that if you have been a fan of the King and read what has already been written about him, then this tome does not cover much that is new. That is true, but, nonetheless, it is a great package that brings much of his wonderful art and life story together.
Unfortunately, I do not care for the book's cover. The dustjacket is a pastiche of the worst of the POW and WHAM motifs that the mass media uses to stereotype comics and does not hint at Kirby's artistic mastery. It even fails as an homage to Kirby's collages. Was designer Chip Kidd unavailable?
I am optimistic that Mark's thorough Kirby biography will eventually see realization in some sort of media. ((Would it not be apropos if this in-depth treatment appeared in comic book or graphic novel format?)) However, it has been fourteen years since the King became one with the Source and this passage of time and the publication of a few books, including this one, might prove to be impediments to that happening.
So, remember that old adage: "Kirby says, Don't ask, buy!"
Customer Rating:
Summary: I can't recommend this highly enough.
Comment: I was really moved by this book on a number of different levels. First off, the way Mark Evanier traces Kirby's career is an incredibly insightful look into the history of the medium, as well as a surprisingly in-depth look into the behind-the-scenes world of comics.
Secondly, Evanier obviously feels deeply indebted to Kirby and this book is his way to pay him back, and he does it in the most meaningful way possible -- he tells the unvarnished truth. This gives the reader a sense of the reality of what drove Kirby and made his art so appealing, and it made the story of Kirby's relationship with the people he worked with (including Evanier) all the more touching.
If only we could all be so lucky as to have a writer as gifted as Evanier to tell our story. All I can say is that when I finished reading this, Kirby's was not the only talent I was marveling at.
Glenn Phillips
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