100 Days Of The King - Day 72

The Fighting American and his buddy Speed Boy was inspired some of Jack Kirby's best artwork. Along with Joe Simon he drew the character in the 50's and off and on all through the years.

Here is on ef his most dynamic presentaitons of this other patriotic superhero in Kirby's later more high-tech style.

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100 Days Of The King - Day 65

This utterly wonderful image by Jack "King" Kirby captures the energy and sheer blithe fun of Fighting American, a comic book which was superheroes with a satiric twist. Here we see Fighting American and his sidekick Speedboy rendered in Kirby's later mature style and to my eye inked by Joe Sinnott (or someone evoking same). Makes you wish he'd done more with the character later in his career.

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100 Days Of The King - Day 53

When Marvel revived Captain America in the 1950's, it sparked a bit of creativity by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby too. They thought they could do it better and they did when the concocted a Cold War warrior named Fighting America. With an origin which felt somewhat like a cross between Captain Marvel and Frankenstein, they have a physically superior hero with the mind of his brother fighting against the Commie threat. Whereas the original Captain America stories were perhaps horror, these are spectacles of satire.

Here's a recreation of the original Kirby-Simon page from the origin story in which the two brothers are bonded by science.

And here's the artwork put to service by Simon for his humor magazine Sick. Love it!

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100 Days Of The King - Day 46

Here is one of Jack "King" Kirby's legendary action pages showcasing a rockem' sockem' battle between Cap and the charming but deadly Batroc the Leaper.

This grid-approach to showing action was one Kirby used many times as shown by this page from the western Two-Gun Kid.

And this page from the 1950's superhero comic Fighting American, the title Joe Simon and Jack Kirby put together for Prize Comics.  Action was what Kirby specialized in and it's what he delivered time and again.

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