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Magneto and Titanium Man

Paul McCartney & Jack Kirby

Mark Evanier's Kirby: King of Comics holds a slew of cool anecdotes between its covers. One of the coolest tells of a day in 1975 when Paul McCartney met Jack Kirby. At the time, Paul was touring with his band, Wings, promoting the release of their new album that included "Magneto and Titanium Man," a song boasting the influence of three Marvel super-villains. During a concert at Southern California's Forum Theater, Kirby, who had been invited by Paul's record company, presented the ex-Beatle with a pencil illustration that showed Paul and his wife, Linda, under the control of Magneto. During the concert, Paul would later introduce and dedicate his song to Kirby–all to the thunderous applause of the audience.

Wings - Magneto and Titanium Man (1975)

[Book Report™] Kirby: King of Comics

The bad thing about big coffee table books is that they don't always get read. Oh, sure, you'll read a few pages. Maybe even a few chapters. But what you'll often wind up doing is reading the captions placed beside and below the book's abundant illustrations. And why? Because the writing isn't all that engaging. So that impressively-sized publication quickly becomes this massive thing with a lot of unread words in it. And how does that make you feel? Yeah, just like you're in pre-school again, because you have another book that's as tall as your torso, and all you've managed to do is to study the pictures.

Well, true believers, Mark Evanier's Kirby: King of Comics is another coffee table tome that you will also not read. No, this is one that you're actually gonna devour, hungrily, like a densely populated planet on the soup spoon of Galactus. Well, that is after you've removed the dust jacket to keep it in minty fresh condition. And in your cover-to-cover consumption of this fitting tribute to Evanier's friend and mentor, you will learn far more about the history of comic books in general, and Kirby's king-sized place in the art form, than you could ever have imagined. Kirby: King of Comics is a pulse-pounding portrait of one of the most important figures to ever apply pencil lead to a multi-paneled page. A man whose space-spanning imagination may not have been fully comprehended or appreciated until now. Long live the "king."

P.S. The bad thing about this book, is that is is so profusely illustrated with stunning full-page illustrations (8.75" x 12") that you will constantly wanna tear 'em out and to tape 'em to the wall. If you're thinking that you won't be able to fight the urge, Barnes & Noble currently has Kirby: King of Comics on the clearance table for $12.98 (SRP $40). You can pick up two copies for less than the price of one! 'Nuff said.

Click to enlarge