The late Jack Kirby is an artist and writer who  has been associated with some of the best comics in the superhero genre, primarily with Marvel.

He was a loyal, and more importantly prolific, lieutenant to Marvel’s editor Stan Lee. Sometimes his artistic quality slipped when he was simply drawing too many comics, but he was always a superb draughtsman and had an excellent eye for dramatic action sequences.
 

When Kirby had the time he could come up with some stunning visuals. One of my favourite comic covers is Fantastic Four # 72 which introduces a new character ‘The Silver Surfer’ .

Jack Kirby was the creator who envisaged a silvery skinned alien who flew through the universe on a surfboard! – This was the swinging sixties after all.

When Stan Lee saw how Kirby had portrayed the Silver Surfer he realised that he had captured something truly cosmic, and the Surfer’s portentous language flowed from that. This demonstrates how an artist can interact with the writer to create something that only a partnership could produce. 

The Fantastic Four cover of #72 inspired me to paint the Surfer using traditional oils on canvas. Here is my version, which is a mirror image of the cover.

Hope you like it!

John McNally