Say the name “The King” to a comic book fan and they will immediately know of whom you speak. Jack Kirby is a titan in the world of comics. Creator or co-creator of a great many characters known throughout the world today, it’s hard to imagine what a comic book would look like without his influence. It was probably around the 1980s when the kids who grew up reading his work themselves broke into comics when his legacy and influence really started to shine. Two of his biggest fans also happened to be the co-creators of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Such big fans of Kirby were they that they essentially wrote him into an issue of one of their comics. The Donatello one-shot, “Kirby and the Warp Crystal,” sees the brainy turtle pulled into an another dimension where he has to work with a comic book artist by the name of Kirby to save the native inhabitants of this world and make it home. Kirby, with his pencil that has a magic stone affixed to it, is able to bring to life whatever he draws on his pad of paper. The issue has been re-released multiple times and included in trade paperbacks and was even adapted into an episode of the 2003 cartoon series where it was simply titled “The King.”
Through NECA’s line of action figures based on the Mirage Studios version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles we now have Jack Kirby – the action figure. Technically, it’s just Kirby and he is based on Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s caricature of Jack Kirby himself. It’s a release done with the blessing of Kirby’s estate and the credits on the bottom of the box reference the Kirby for Hero’s program and The Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center. Jack Kirby is mostly known for being an incredible artist, but he’s also known as a strong advocate for creator’s rights. Kirby, like a great many comic book artists, created their work under work-for-hire contracts that gave the publisher sole, creative, control over anything the artist came up with. It’s an unjust and unfair practice that has at least improved since the 1960s, but is hardly perfect.
The Kirby action figure isn’t one that is necessarily meant to “wow” those who buy it. It is, after all, an action figure of a middle-aged man with a pencil and paper, but it’s Jack Kirby! It comes in the standard trapezoidal box with brand new artwork on the front and sides by Kevin Eastman with product shots featured on the back. There is a cross-sell that would seem to indicate a new Triceraton infantryman character is on the way which makes sense since it would allow NECA to get more use out of the tools created for Zog. The other characters on the cross-sell are the Mirage-colors Foot Enforcer (coming soon) and the much awaited Rat King, a figure that was shown off last year at San Diego Comic Con.
Out of the box, Kirby stands just a tick over the 6″ mark. He’s featured in a green sweater over a pale yellow, collared, shirt with blue slacks and brown loafers. It’s a simple figure, but it’s brightly painted with liberal use of black linework to give it that comic “pop” the line is known for. Kirby’s face is a mixture of excitement and concentration like his mind is working in overdrive to come up with something imaginative to capture on his pad of paper. The likeness to the artwork is very well done and, in turn, the likeness to the actual Jack Kirby is pretty solid as well. It’s a comic book version of Kirby and I think it works pretty well to capture how he probably looked in the 60s and 70s. There aren’t any obvious paint blemishes on my figure and everything appears to be in order.
What do you give an action figure of a comic book artist for accessories? Why, a pencil and paper, of course! Kirby has his pencil affixed with the magic stone. It’s this teeny, tiny, little item that is exceptionally painted for something so small. I’m not seeing any slop on the black thread holding the purple stone in place which is really impressive. Kirby has a set of fists, but he also has a right hand that is fixed into a pencil holding position to accept the accessory. I do question the wisdom of doing it this way. While it’s impressive how well the little pencil turned out, making it part of the hand mold might have made more sense as I fear this item getting lost. Kirby also has a wide gripping, left, hand and he’ll need it to hold his pad of paper. It’s a spiral-bound notebook and on one side is a sketch of Donatello from that issue with the special arm canon Kirby conjures up for him and on the rear is a demonic-looking character. Kirby also has a set of more standard gripping hands should you wish to give him some weapons or something, but I don’t know why you would.
Also included in the box is a familiar accessory. It’s the blue arm canon (dubbed the Gravitic Equalizer by Kirby) from the Donatello one-shot which was previously released with Fugitoid. This time it has considerably less paint as it’s just all blue with black linework. The back of the box shows Kirby paired with the more recent, Jim Lawson, Donatello, but this accessory is meant for the original Eastman/Laird turtles that NECA did way back in 2008. I had no success getting this thing onto the newer turtles as they have bigger arms. Maybe some heat and persistence could cure that? The biggest accessory though is this little, red and gray demon from that very same issue. This little guy was created by Eastman and Laird, but very much looks like something Jack Kirby would have dreamt up. He’s about 3.125″ tall and features basic articulation at the head, shoulders, and hips. There’s more paint on this guy than a whole wave of Marvel Legends and he has this little hammer accessory. It’s gray with black shading and looks pretty neat. His hands aren’t the most pliable so you may want to heat them up if you want him to get a real good grip on it.
Articulation for Kirby is pretty solid and typical of the more human characters we see in NECA’s cartoon TMNT line. He’s got a ball-jointed head, hinged pegs at the shoulders, double-elbows that feature a hinged ball peg at the top and bottom, forearm swivel, wrists that swivel and hinge horizontally, ball-jointed waist, ball-socket hips, thigh swivel, double-jointed knees, ankle swivel, ball-hinged feet, and an ankle rocker. The shirt overlay will limit his movement in the torso, but his arm range is a plus and he won’t have any issue sketching on that notepad. The NECA double elbows are in effect and I know some people hate how these look. I’ve always maintained I think they look okay on sleeved arms like this so I’m fine with their use here. I like the extra forearm swivel they provide and I like that the hinged ball at the ankle pegs into the shin so we get a little extra swivel there. The only thing I don’t love is the “diaper” at the crotch which restricts leg movement. I can see a lot of collectors wanting to pair this figure with a 1:12 scale chair and desk and getting him to sit might be a problem.
A figure of a comic book artist isn’t as exciting as that of a ninja or a cyborg, but the fact that it’s Jack Kirby certainly adds a tantalizing layer to it. I can’t tell if this is a figure NECA will have a hard time moving a lot of units for or if it’s the type of figure that’s going to do very well as non-TMNT collectors may jump at the chance of owning a small version of The King. It’s a tremendously fun homage and I think my only true critique is I do wish it could have come with a chair and drafting table. Even if it upped the cost or we had to drop the little demon guy, I would have done it. I can see people creating displays of Kirby at a desk drawing away with a shelf over his head of his many creations in dramatic action poses. This is a fun one and I’m sure it was a dream come true for Kevin Eastman to make this figure a reality.
Kirby is currently hitting Target stores as part of the NECA Haulathon event, but expect him to be made available at other retailers in the not too distant future. At Target, he’ll set you back $35 which I think is a pretty good price for this one.
Check out more from NECA’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pulled from the pages of Mirage Studios:
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I’m having a hard time coming up with an action figure line that has had retail releases separated by more than a decade. I don’t mean long-running lines of figures like G.I. Joe or Marvel Legends which have been around for decades, I mean a line that was started, ended, then re-started like NECA’s line…
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When it comes to the popularity of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a lot of the credit goes to Playmates Toys. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created the characters born out of a joke. Credit them for having the vision to think this joke had appeal beyond their small circle as they self-published Teenage Mutant Ninja…
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