Kirby Marvel or Kirby DC? Which is the better Kirby?

[MayorMitch100]

So which is it?

[McGill]

Barely a comparison. Marvel.

[Kevin T Brown]

Based on the sheer amount of work and creativity he put forth, it's Marvel by a LANDSLIDE.

[RickLM]

It's such an apples and oranges question.

On one hand, DC allowed Kirby to write his own work, so it should have been so much better than it turned out. But DC also had no use for him in their main universe, most likely because his blocky style didn't fit the sleek Adams/Aparo/Grell look that DC wanted for super-heroes in the 70s. And he was there for only about six years.

His FF run with Stan Lee is one of the finest achievements in comics, and is probably the second pillar of the entire Marvel Universe (the other one being the first 100 issues of Amazing Spider-Man).

At DC, Kamandi was a terrific comic, and is probably his greatest work after 1970. His "Losers" war comic at DC was also great.

This past semester I did a grad school paper on Kamandi.

[Kefky]

Kirby's DC output certainly should not be ignored. He was able to work with a greater measure of creative freedom, and there were a lot of fun, wildly imaginative ideas in there. Also, you could make a pretty strong argument that he was always a better fit at DC then at marvel.

But it's an undeniable fact that he reached the peak of his creativity during the 1960's, while he worked at marvel. He was just on a roll, and never would've been able to top it. The same goes for Lee, Romita, Buscema and all the other "old fogeys" who worked for marvel during that period.

[(akaRyanHoffman)]

His go-for-broke approach is straight-up admirable and the spirit and enthusiam is apparant on the page, but I find so much of his work a chore to read. I find so many artists who were influenced by Kirby to make better comics than he did.

I do have a soft spot for The New Gods, though...

[Superior Kiai]

Well, DC. Obviously.

Kamandi, New Gods, Forever People, OMAC, Mr Miracle, The Demon, Sandman.

[DaveCummings]

I think his Marvel stuff is better. That said, I love his New Gods stuff. I just think his Marvel stuff is better because there's something there when he's working with Stan Lee that's missing when they're not working together.

[BGPu]

Marvel, based on volume and significance. All the Fourth World stuff for DC never really held my interest.

[BriRedfern]

Dog Kirby is the best Kirby:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_x63dHDkkseM/TZnAEqz1EhI/AAAAAAAAAHI/AkkJpjRE6Nw/s400/IMG_20110403_114718.jpg?source=androidclient

[chazbot]

Both are Fantastic but which company published Devil Dinosaur? Marvel. So we've got to go with Marvel. :)

[RebootedCorpse]

DC never understood Kirby. I believe Kirby could have negotiated a deal with Marvel in 1971 that would have allowed him the creative freedom he sought.

[jason hissong]

Why not just enjoy both?

[JKCarrier]

It's hard to say, because so much of the DC work was cut short. I think OMAC is 8 issues of pure, undiluted awesomeness...but how do you weigh that against 100+ issues of Fantastic Four, even though the quality of FF varies a lot (for every "This Man, This Monster" there's more than a few "Tomazooma the Living Totem"s)?

[MayorMitch100]

Why not just enjoy both?

We definitely can I was just wondering if he had a bigger following from one company or not.



personally I like his Marvel stuff more, but I haven't read all that much of his DC.

[Superior Kiai]

I do.

Greatly.

But I've always felt a bigger connection to his Fourth World work.

[totalsellout]

hit dc when i meant to hit marvel. he really needed to have a writer to work with him.

[Spidey616]

Went with Marvel because as great as his work for DC was, can't imagine Marvel without Kirby

[Jason California]

Well, DC. Obviously.

Kamandi, New Gods, Forever People, OMAC, Mr Miracle, The Demon, Sandman.


Funny. I know people who would have made the exact opposite statement using the same evidence.

[GelfXIII]

Make Mine Marvel! FOOM!

[Caley Tibbittz]

New Gods and Mister Miracle are brilliantly drawn with interesting characters, but his plotting and dialogue is painfully obtuse and even a little amateurish. Stan Lee really knew how to keep Kirby accessible and human. So, Marvel.