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Alright! Now we're cooking!
All three of the gentlemen you mention have produced enormous amounts of work, so I can understand your trepedition. Assuming that you're refering to their 60's work, the titles most recommended for both Lee/Ditko and Lee/Kirby would be Spider-Man and Fantastic Four, respectively. Many people swear by Ditko's Dr. Strange, though. Secondary Kirby work of the 60's is a little tough to hammer down because he drew so damn much. Everyone will probably have a different answer. For me, I love his Thor.
Before you consider any other titles, Spidey and the FF are the ones to go for. They're both completely different from one another, and both represent the best the 60's Marvel resurgence had to offer. Oh, and they're probably the best superhero comics ever created. Ever. For real.
You can purchase most all of the early issues dirt cheap in the Essential series Marvel has cooked up, which is printed in black and white. My former roommate swears by them, and they're good if you're colour blind, but since I own a few issues of either title in their original colour, there's no going back for me. The Essentials give me a headache, and will lessen your enjoyment of these classics.
The next step up is the ever pricey Masterworks editions, which are printed on the highest quality paper and cost a small fortune.
I don't own either of these versions. Back in the day, Marvel reprinted most of both runs in Marvel Tales (starring Spider-Man) and Marvel's Greatest Comics (starring the Fantastic Four). Marvel Tales was fairly popular, and had such a long run that they actually ran through the early issues of Spidey twice. They're not at all hard to find. Marvel's Greatest Comics is a bit rarer, but I've managed to scrounge a fair number of issues at conventions, and never paid more than $1 for any of them. You might also be able to pick up damaged copies of the original runs for cheap. I've bought Kirby Fantastic Fours for around $2, just because they have a small rip or because some kid wrote his name in the inside front cover.
So check your local back issue bin. And make sure you ask the store owner if you can check the interior of the comic. I know some of the FF reprints had Kirby covers, and interiors by different artists altogether.
After you've tasted the best you might consider looking further into their earlier and later work. I'm not as familiar with Ditko as I'd like to be, but I have enough Kirby material to fill a box (the Mother Box, I'm ashamed to admit).
Kirby's DC work in the 70s, particularly the Fourth World series, is considered by many to be even better than the FF. In a way, it's Kirby Unleashed. He wrote, drew and edited New Gods, Mister Miracle, The Forever People, and ...um... Jimmy Olsen. They all tied into a plot concerning a war between the Gods of New Genesis and the Gods of Apokolips, and was a kind of cosmic powered madness that broke an awful lot of your typical spandex cliches. New Gods is probably the best title, but Jimmy Olsen holds a special place in my heart, even if they did get Curt Swan to redraw Superman's face. These are available in a format the resembles the Marvel Essentials, or, I'd recommend hunting down the originals.
His other 70s stuff isn't as groundbreaking, but is still alot of fun. I really like Kamandi, for some reason. I remember someone mentioning that Kamandi was like seeing every cultural aspect of the 70s through the eyes of Kirby. It had everything. Then there's Devil Dinosaur, 2001, OMAC, the Demon, etc. Many of these can be found in in back issue bins at reduced rates, but I would start with his Fantastic Four first, if you can.
In almost no way related, you might want to check out the Jack Kirby Collector. I only have the Thor issue, but I'm considering getting more. This particular issue has the complete, rejected pencils for a Thor/Galactus conflict that Stan Lee deep-sixed, and they're beautiful, particularly since Vince Colletta, inker on Thor, hadn't gotten his paws on them yet. Kirby was quite a pioneer, and this magazine really digs deep into some of his lesser known achievements.
Also, I really enjoyed the Untold Tales of Spider-Man. It was a series that came out a few years ago, and told stories between issues of the Lee/Ditko run. It's not nearly as good, but I was just rereading a few the other night and I got a good laugh out of them. Of particular interest to a few people here, the Untold Tales of Spider-man annual was drawn by Mike Allred, and it was great.
Essential Spider-Man vol. 1
Marvel Masterworks Spider-man vol. 1
Essential Fantastic Four vol. 1
Marvel Masterworks Fantastic Four vol. 1
If you are considering buying any of the Fantastic Four collections, keep in mind that Kirby's work grows in leaps and bounds, and that he's at his best from around issue #40 and up. |
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