Other Worlds: 'Kirby: King of Comics'

JACK KIRBY PASSED AWAY a little over 14 years ago, but the king of comics' work is thriving more than ever.

His works — both popular and obscure — are getting collected into fancy hardcover editions, his creations have been essential in some of the biggest comics stories of the year and characters he created are getting immortalized in plastic.

But perhaps the finest tribute to Kirby comes from one of his longtime friend, assistant and peers, Mark Evanier.

Evanier is in the midst of a comprehensive Kirby biography, but he's sated anxious fans in the meantime with an oversized art book, "Kirby: King of Comics."

When you crack the pages, the first things you'll notice are the colorful, imaginative Kirby creations, designed with thick black lines and wide sturdy faces. It is pretty easy to distinguish his artwork from any other cartoonist: Kirby's figures were bigger and bolder, with gallant poses that leapt off the pages.

"King of Comics" provides faithful fanatics and novice readers alike with a good overview of his career, dating back to the early days of comics. Kirby had a hand in the creation of timeless characters like Captain American, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, Thor, Galactus, Darkseid and Silver Surfer, and the book does a masterful job of capturing the scope of Kirby's catalogue. From the early superheroes, to the genre books — crime, romance and monsters — to the '60s hero explosion and finally to his later days where he created The Fourth World and the New Gods, which was some of his most inventive work.

While "Kirby: King of Comics" gives you a great overview of his work, with covers, sketches, pages and design layouts, if you want to get your hands on the actual comics, it's never been easier.

Kirby's more famous works — "Avengers," "Fantastic Four" and "The X-Men," for example — have all been readily available for years. But now you can get high-end collections of his more obscure books. DC Comics has released four volumes of the "Fourth World Omnibus," which collects the entirety of the "Fourth World" — "New Gods," "Mister Miracle" and "The Forever People." You can also flesh out your collection with books like his post-apocalyptic title "Kamandi," as well as "Devil Dinosaur," which is just as trippy as it sounds, and the soon-to-be-released collection of "OMAC: One-Man Army Corps," due out in June.

If the comics are not enough, DC Comics' DC Direct division has a new series of "New Gods" action figures due out toward the end of April, with Darkseid, Mister Miracle, Lightray and Orion making up the first assortment.

Jack Kirby might have died more than a decade ago, but when you head over to your favorite comic book store or bookstore, his work is more available than ever before.

» Mister Miracle: Jack Kirby's Fourth World [Express]