My first complete Kirby story, and what a great example of Kirby's work for Harvey. Stan Taylor insists the inking is by Al Williamson, while Greg Theakson and Mike Thibodeaux say it's pure Kirby over Kirby. Scotty Moore thinks it could be a combination. Whatever the case, it sure be purdy. I won it in the Heritage Auction of Feb. 7, 2004, the day after the 10 yr. anniversary of The King's passing, and on my folks' 56th (!) wedding anniversary.

The CCA stamp indicates this was done in 1957--I was all of 2 years old when it came out! Check out the cool clothes the kid's putting on. Like something right outta Forbidden Planet. And the robot standing behind him in the 3rd panel. And ya gotta love that flying platform breaking across panels in the bottom tier of panels.

Spaceships, flying platforms, and a six-legged monster! This story has everything I could ever hope for in a non-super hero Kirby story. Not to mention the incredible amount of detail he put into the backgrounds--check out the little flying creature in the 3rd panel and the two little geeps in the foreground of the 4th. Man, this was Kirby at the top of his game.

From the stunning hero panel in the top tier to the blaster action in the last panel, this page is bristling with stuff I love about Jack Kirby's work. Interesting to note a figure (the father?) was whited out in the 2nd panel, which as you may notice is a paste-over. The image underneath is a typical Kirby closeup of the monster's face. Alas, the paste-over is actual art on thin paper, so prying up the paste-over to reveal what's underneath it isn't something I'm willing to attempt.

Even as the action subsides, Kirby fills each panel with sumptuously cool stuff. I mean, that half-track, the panel with Dad driving, those rocket ships, and the cool ink work on those rock formations, whew. Have I mentioned how much I love this story?

As if the 5-page Forbidden Journey story wasn't enough, this Table of Contents page came as part of the deal. Collector Scotty Moore thinks it could be Kirby layouts with finishes by Bill Draut or Manny Stallman. Anyone else care to posit a guess? I'm clueless.