Expert: Brian G. Philbin - 7/14/2009

Question
Hello

I have for years been trying to find a comic I first read in the 1970s - probably 1971 or 1972 (not 100% sure ) - the comic was out during the summer (e.g., August).

This was an anthology science fiction comic, likely a reprint of something from the 50s or 60s.  I believe that Jack Kirby was the artist, primarily because I remember one panel from the story, in which the narrator describes his futuristic society producing cyborgs (on an assembly line).

I remember the cyborgs being green and looking almost exactly like the Mad Thinker's android from Fantastic Four 70-71, which Mr. Kirby drew.

I'm thinking that Mr. Kirby may have gotten the idea for the android's appearance from the earlier work he did with the cyborgs, hence my belief that the original anthology story was a Kirby production.

Any assistance in helping me track down that comic would be appreciated - even if it is only what anthology Kirby stories were reprinted in the early 1970s or where I can find out more.

I've been searching for years as I've said..thanks.


Answer
Hi, Carl - thanks for your question!

I can help you to narrow this down, but looking for a specific non-superhero Jack Kirby story in a comic is a pretty broad field, considering that he created stories for thousands upon thousands of comic books, particularly for anthologies.  

Plus, he was reprinted heavily in the early 1970s.

During the period which you mention, he wrote and drew almost exclusively for DC (The New Gods, Mister Miracle, Kamandi, OMAC, The Demon, Jimmy Olsen, etc.), with the exception of a couple of Vanity Publishing projects of which he was a part (published by Hampshire Distributors, i.e., "In the Days of Mob").  

It is likely, however, that the anthology in question was actually a Marvel publication, either reprinting an earlier story or publishing File Stories (stories completed and stored for later use to fill a spot in a comic if someone else failed to make a deadline).

He did have some stories published or reprinted in "Where Creatures Roam", "Where Monsters Dwell", "Monsters on the Loose" and "Monsters on the Prowl" (don't ask me where Marvel came up with these original titles - they're the "House of Ideas", after all) during 1970-1972, as well as "Astonishing Tales", "Fear" and "Tower of Shadows".

While few of these may sound like a Sci-Fi title, it was typical for Marvel to use such titles and mix in either Sci-Fi or Horror stories (and, to Marvel, an Android was just as good as a Monster/Creature any day).

These are possible titles in which to find the story you're seeking.

Further, if you're not necessarily familiar with DC, it's possible you're thinking of Super DC Giant S-25, which was a collection of Challengers of the Unknown stories by Kirby, but I'm not familiar enough with the contents to say for sure.

If that's not it, however, I would suggest you use the Grand Comics Database to research the above Marvel Anthology titles at:

www.comics.org

When you get the resulting title, note the year and then click on "Gallery" to the right of the title.  

You'll be able to scroll through years of covers until you get to the period you need and see a cover you recognize.  Then, you'll be able to look at the names of the stories and determine whether any of them fit the bill of what you're seeking.

I hope that's helpful - if you have any other questions, please feel free to write again.

Pax, harmonia,

Brian G. Philbin
www.metropolisplus.com