This ad appeared in some of this week's Marvel books:

Hey, I'm all about using covers from Kirby's mid-70s Marvel work as the basis for T-shirts.

But Black Panther #2? Not one I would have chosen.

How about...

If that were on a T-Shirt, I would wear it every day for the rest of my life. I'm not kidding.

Other, better choices than Black Panther #2 (your mileage may vary):












OK, I know 2001 is unlikely, for licencing reasons, but I still have to throw these out there for consideration.



So, there's a lot of good candidates for T-shirts based on Kirby's mid-70s Marvel work, is all I'm saying.

As we celebrate Kirby Week--really? We need a special week? Shouldn't we celebrate him, and whatever we love, every single day, special occasions be damned?--let's not forget what I feel is one of the less-celebrated periods in his career--the "second Marvel stint."

I'm not sure why, but people seem to over-praise Jack Kirby's DC Fourth World era, and be, at the very least, politely dismissive of that 1976-1978 era of work. In my opinion, for what that's worth.

It also seems to be the point of view of the comics company themselves. While DC cannot go 30 seconds without trying, for the umpteenth time, to revive one of Kirby's concepts (only to see it fail once again), Marvel kind of pretends it didn't happen and does astonishingly little with the wealth of concepts that Kirby created during his 70s work for them.

We all know the Captain America story. I mean, come on--MADBOMB!!

But Arnim Zola aside, not much from this period ever is even referred to, let alone used. Almost everything else from Cap's 70s is lionized, but Kirby's run gets a collective "Meh." And this was a period that had Captain America riding a motorized skateboard in a sport called Kill-Derby!!

Meanwhile, I've made no secret of my belief that...


the Eternals are superior to the New Gods.

Yes, I'm alone in that belief, apparently. Even Marvel seems to think less of them, as the Eternals have had many fewer attempts at a revival (often half-hearted attempts) than the New Gods, the Deviants have been completely forgotten, and aside from a wonderful Ikaris appearance in the wonderful All-New Invaders series, I'm pretty sure that no Eternal has shown their face in the Marvel Universe in about 8 years or so. The Celestials themselves are fairly firm in the Marvel Canon, but they rarely show up as more than background for other Cosmic doings.

And then there's this guy:

Granted, Devil Dinosaur's time period and persona made anything other than an occasional one-off guest appearance difficult...

...but the current (fabulous) Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur series shows that it wasn't too tough a nut to crack, and to make Devil more than something that fans joked about rather than took seriously.


And then there's this (please click to embiggen to full gloriousity):

Every likes to forget Kirby's 70s Black Panther series.

Yeah, it's become trendy to snobbishly dismiss it for not being as "relevant" as Don McGregor's Jungle Action run, as if the character's co-creator wasn't entitled to explore his own inclinations.

It will probably never be reprinted thank to licencing issues--c'mon, MGM and whoever has the rights right now, do you seriously expect someone to come knocking on your door with a better offer in 2016? But Kirby did a Treasury-Sized special adapting the movie...

...and then followed it up with an original series, following the "adventures" of the Monolith and Star Seeds in past, present and future!

And the last few issues introduced...

Machine Man!! (Kirby called him Mister Machine initially, but what the hell, right?) Everyone forgets Jack invented the guy! He even got his own spin-off series!!


He's had a few revivals, sort of, but he never caught on with the fans until Warren Ellis turned into an asshole in Nextwave, and for some reason that's the characterization that has connected with the fans. Go figure.

Anyway, I'm certain that it's just my inner Marvel Zombie speaking here, but pound for pound, I prefer Kirby's 70s Marvel work to his 70s DC work. Yes, I am a lonely man on this point.

So, in this week's Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur #7, a young Kree named Mel-Varr comes to Earth to capture an Inhuman, to prove to his jerk father and jerk fellow Kree that he's not a loser.

His target? The least powerful Inhuman his computer could find: Lunella Lafayette--Moon Girl!!

So he disguises himself as a human--from where, now?

OK, just wait one darned minute now...

Inside of Lunella's Yancy Street classroom, well, there's considerable resistance...to the concept that Kalamazoo exists!

STOP RIGHT THERE!!!!

Yes, we exist, urban lad who believes in aliens and big red dinosaurs and super-heroes, but not in my hometown!

We're right here on the map:

A true New Yorker should already know that, as Yankee superstar Derek Jeter was raised here!!

I won't turn this into a local tourism commercial here (Gibson guitars!! Upjohn!! Checker Motors! Bells Brewery!). But yes, unnamed lad (and writers Brandon Montclare & Amy Reeder), we are indeed real.

Oh, yes, and there's that song:


Check out that dance number at the end!

So, Kalamazoo--real place, not the home of invading evil aliens.

Although if you want to pronounce it Kal-elmazoo and pretend Superman came from here, be my guest...

Also, you should be reading Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur, because it's a really excellent book!

Many people have asked us here at Slay Monstrobot, "Why can't we see the Hulk fight Devil Dinosaur?"

Well, you've come to the right place, as time and space are no problem when it comes to Friday Night Fights!!

A young Celestial has grown frustrated by the way Devil Dinosaur helps the Small Folk fight off the Killer Folk--it's anti-evolutionary, he thinks.

So, some time travel hijinks, and:









BADOOMM!! 

Spacebooger is fond of the theory that Moon Boy grew up to become Moon Knight...

Green beats red in Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur #1 (2005), written by Tom Sniegoski with Eric Powell, illustrated by Eric Powell, colored by J.D. Mettler

No is the time for you to go and vote for my fight. Why? Dude, Hulk vs the raddest dinosaur ever! What more do you want? So go vote!!

Well, lookie what the Quarter Bin bringeth forth:

Well, that's definitely worth four bits!!

But what does that cover blurb say?

"The first appearance of the Hulk"?!?! Sure, we've all read it a million times, but the heck, right? Lay it on us, comic book!!

Slow clap.

Well played, Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur #1. Well played.

Grumble grumble Xemnu the Living Titan grumble grumble demand a refund grumble grumble...

Oh, the 1990s at Marvel under Bob Harras. Will you never stop hating us?

Apparently, the Marvel brain trust decided that their desperate Image aping hadn't gone quite far enough.

And Ghost Rider's boring black leathers? Too tame, not extreeeeeeme enough.

And so, in Ghost Rider #79 (1996):


Maybe, just maybe, Jim Lee gets too much blame for the nu52 costume redesigns, given Harras' presence...

By the way, this was just a couple of issues before Ghost Rider teamed up with Howard The Duck to fight Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy.

No, I'm not making that up.

See?

Oh, 90s, is there no limit to your crimes?