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Magazines go books news subscribe Edited by John Morrow Jack Kirby Collector celebrates the life and career of the "King" of comics through interviews with Kirby and his contemporaries, feature articles, and rare & unseen Kirby artwork. Now in tabloid format, the magazine showcases Kirby's art at even larger size. The KirbyFiles An Overview of Jack's Occult and Supernatural Themes by and © Chris Knowles From Jack Kirby Collector #13 With the millennium fast approaching, there has been a mass revival of interest in all things occult or paranormal. The astounding success of the TV program The XFiles (strangely foreshadowed by Kirby as SHIELD's "File 116" in Captain America) has spawned multiple imitators. UFOs, ghosts, ESP and other arcane topics have become mainstream media fodder. There is a growing interest in all the various fields of metaphysics, from shopping mall neoPaganism to conspiracy theory newsgroups focused on occult secret societies like the Illuminati. Social scientists have many hypotheses for this phenomenon. Some posit that the dehumanizing effect of the technological revolution has inspired an irrational backlash. Others state the hysteria is caused by the uncertainty of the new millennium and its attendant apocalyptic jitters, even though the year 2000 has no Biblical significance. Followers of the Swiss psychological pioneer Carl Jung theorize that human interest in the paranormal is an expression of subconscious symbols and yearnings. Still others simply see it as a recurring fad. A casual review of Jack Kirby's enormous output will quickly show that occult, mythological and paranormal themes were featured in his work too. Perhaps someday Jungian scholars will analyze his work and present theories on the deep psychological motivations and repressed subconscious symbols of Jack's space age mythography. I have no such expertise. If pressed, I would simply guess that Jack recognized that mysticism and the occult have always been the basis for entertaining stories since the time of Gilgamesh, and he saw himself in that hoary tradition. However, glimmers of a deeper interest sometimes peek through. In Ray Wyman's biography of Jack Kirby, there is a revealing episode that in many ways foreshadowed Jack's life and career. Wyman recounts how young Jacob Kurtzberg lay dying of pneumonia, a very serious disease in a time where antibiotics were not readily available, and quality health care was not available to poor immigrant families like his own. A group of rabbis were called in to perform an exorcism, in a last ditch effort to save Jacob's life. They chanted in Hebrew, demanding that the demons leave Jack's body. In the type of ritual that is recounted in the Gospels, the rabbis demanded the names of the demons, which in classical Jewish exorcisms allowed the rabbis to gain control over the demons. This ritual is the kind of religious custom that modern man scoffs at, of course. The only problem is, it worked. Wyman states quite clearly in The Art of Jack Kirby that "Kirby's life was filled with the mysticism of faith and superstition." Although that assertion may seem obvious to serious Kirby fans, it would seem that a further investigation of Kirby's work could reveal just how serious Jack's mystic interests were, and how in some cases his mysticism was deeper than what he may have realized himself. (Note: In today's idiomatic English, certain terms have taken on meanings that vary greatly from their original definition. Apocalypse, for example, does not mean End of the World or Doomsday, it simply means "to be revealed." Mysticism has become virtually synonymous with magic or divination but it means "the doctrine of an immediate spiritual

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  • 7/15/2015 TwoMorrowsPublishingTheKirbyFilesKirbyCollectorThirteenthIssue

    http://www.twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/13kirbyfiles.html 1/5

    Magazines go books news subscribe

    EditedbyJohnMorrowJackKirbyCollectorcelebratesthelifeandcareerofthe"King"ofcomicsthroughinterviewswithKirbyandhiscontemporaries,featurearticles,andrare&unseenKirbyartwork.Nowintabloidformat,themagazineshowcasesKirby'sartatevenlargersize.

    TheKirbyFiles

    AnOverviewofJack'sOccultandSupernaturalThemes

    byandChrisKnowles

    FromJackKirbyCollector#13

    Withthemillenniumfastapproaching,therehasbeenamassrevivalofinterestinallthingsoccultorparanormal.TheastoundingsuccessoftheTVprogramTheXFiles(strangelyforeshadowedbyKirbyasSHIELD's"File116"inCaptainAmerica)hasspawnedmultipleimitators.UFOs,ghosts,ESPandotherarcanetopicshavebecomemainstreammediafodder.Thereisagrowinginterestinallthevariousfieldsofmetaphysics,fromshoppingmallneoPaganismtoconspiracytheorynewsgroupsfocusedonoccultsecretsocietiesliketheIlluminati.Socialscientistshavemanyhypothesesforthisphenomenon.Somepositthatthedehumanizingeffectofthetechnologicalrevolutionhasinspiredanirrationalbacklash.Othersstatethehysteriaiscausedbytheuncertaintyofthenewmillenniumanditsattendantapocalypticjitters,eventhoughtheyear2000hasnoBiblicalsignificance.FollowersoftheSwisspsychologicalpioneerCarlJungtheorizethathumaninterestintheparanormalisanexpressionofsubconscioussymbolsandyearnings.Stillotherssimplyseeitasarecurringfad.

    AcasualreviewofJackKirby'senormousoutputwillquicklyshowthatoccult,mythologicalandparanormalthemeswerefeaturedinhisworktoo.PerhapssomedayJungianscholarswillanalyzehisworkandpresenttheoriesonthedeeppsychologicalmotivationsandrepressedsubconscioussymbolsofJack'sspaceagemythography.Ihavenosuchexpertise.Ifpressed,IwouldsimplyguessthatJackrecognizedthatmysticismandtheocculthavealwaysbeenthebasisforentertainingstoriessincethetimeofGilgamesh,andhesawhimselfinthathoarytradition.However,glimmersofadeeperinterestsometimespeekthrough.

    InRayWyman'sbiographyofJackKirby,thereisarevealingepisodethatinmanywaysforeshadowedJack'slifeandcareer.WymanrecountshowyoungJacobKurtzberglaydyingofpneumonia,averyseriousdiseaseinatimewhereantibioticswerenotreadilyavailable,andqualityhealthcarewasnotavailabletopoorimmigrantfamilieslikehisown.Agroupofrabbiswerecalledintoperformanexorcism,inalastditchefforttosaveJacob'slife.TheychantedinHebrew,demandingthatthedemonsleaveJack'sbody.InthetypeofritualthatisrecountedintheGospels,therabbisdemandedthenamesofthedemons,whichinclassicalJewishexorcismsallowedtherabbistogaincontroloverthedemons.Thisritualisthekindofreligiouscustomthatmodernmanscoffsat,ofcourse.Theonlyproblemis,itworked.

    WymanstatesquiteclearlyinTheArtofJackKirbythat"Kirby'slifewasfilledwiththemysticismoffaithandsuperstition."AlthoughthatassertionmayseemobvioustoseriousKirbyfans,itwouldseemthatafurtherinvestigationofKirby'sworkcouldrevealjusthowseriousJack'smysticinterestswere,andhowinsomecaseshismysticismwasdeeperthanwhathemayhaverealizedhimself.

    (Note:Intoday'sidiomaticEnglish,certaintermshavetakenonmeaningsthatvarygreatlyfromtheiroriginaldefinition.Apocalypse,forexample,doesnotmeanEndoftheWorldorDoomsday,itsimplymeans"toberevealed."Mysticismhasbecomevirtuallysynonymouswithmagicordivinationbutitmeans"thedoctrineofanimmediatespiritual

    http://www.twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=287http://www.twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=57http://www.twomorrows.com/index.php

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    intuitionoftruthssaidtotranscendordinaryunderstanding."Occultisanotherwordwhosemeaninghasbeendistorted.Manypeopletoday,particularlytheuneducated,think"occult"meansdevilworshiporsorcery.ButifonetakesthetimetolookupOccult,thetermactuallymeans"beyondtherangeofordinaryknowledge.")

    Jackwasauniversebuilder.Hewasclearlyobsessedwiththepantheonofancientmythologies,inparticulartheGreekandtheNorse.Infact,ThorfirstappearedinaGoldenAgeepisodeoftheSandman.Jackisalsowellknownfordesigningpantheonsofhisown,drawingheavilyonthoseclassicfables.HisFourthWorldtitlestellusmuch:NewGods,ForeverPeople,MisterMiracle.Thesestoriesdealtwithadualisticpantheonofgods,goodandevillockedineternalcombat.JackseemstohavebeendeeplyinfluencedherebyManichaeism,anancientNearEasternreligionthathadapowerfulinfluenceonreligiousthoughtintheWest.ThePersianfaithofZoroastrianismalsoprofessedadualisticbattlebetweenGoodandEvil.Inthisfaith,thegoodorlightisrepresentedbyAhuraMazdaandSpentaMainyuandaspiritofevil,AngraMainyu.However,Kirbyexpandeduponthesetheories,andaddedanallencompassing"Source"thatwasinvisibleandunapproachable,muchliketheGnosticvisionofGod,whoisultimatelyincomprehensible,andlordsoverthelowerArchons,thepowersofthecreationthatHumankindismorefamiliarwith.GeorgeLucaslaterhijackedthesethemeswholesaleinStarWars,convenientlyrenaming"theSource,""theForce."

    The1970swasthefloweringofJack'sinterestintheparanormal.Freedfromtherestraintsofmoreconservativecollaborators,Jackdelvedintothesethemeswithgusto.AlthoughbookslikeBlackMagicandStrangeWorldOfYourDreamsdealtwithstrangephenomena,andbookslikeChallengersofTheUnknownweresprinkledwithsecretsocietiesandsorcery,hisblack&whitemagazineSpiritWorldsetthestageforhisworkinthecomingdecade.InSpiritWorld,Jackdelvedintounexplainedphenomenalikeastrology,spontaneouscombustionandESP.WithresearchforSpiritWorldapparentlystillfreshinhismind,Jackincorporatedacultstory("TheSect")andaseanceintohisDeadmancrossoverinForeverPeople,andawitchcraftcovenstoryintoMisterMiracle.SoonafterthecancellationoftheFourthWorld,JackdoveheadfirstintothesupernaturalwithTheDemonbutasidefromasmatteringofstoriesdealingwithwitchcraft,JackusedTheDemontoretellclassichorrorstoriesfromhisyouth,includingFrankenstein,TheWolfmanandThePhantomoftheOpera.InspiredbyTheExorcist,JackincorporateddemonicpossessionwithascifitwistintheKamandistory"TheExorcism."JackwouldrevisitthisthemeacoupleofyearslaterwiththeArgonstorylineinCaptainAmerica.JackalsodevelopedSatan'sSixaroundthistime,althoughitdidn'tseethelightofdayuntiltheToppsKirbyversecampaigninthe1990s.

    AnothercommonthemeinthenetherworldofOccultstudiesisthe"secretsociety."Jackhadutilizedthesecretsocietybefore,mostnotablyA.I.M.andHydraintheCaptainAmerica/SHIELDstorylinesinthe'60s,butheexploredtheideamoreexuberantlyinthe'70s.ModerntheoriesaboutnefarioussecretsocietiesspringfromthemuchembroideredlegendoftheBavarianIlluminati,agroupofscholarsandaristocratsfoundedinthe18thcenturybyAdamWeishaupt.TheIlluminatisoughttooverthrowthemonarchiesofEuropeandreplacethemwithagovernmentof"enlightenedones,"mainlyscholarsandphilosophers,hencethenameIlluminati.Althoughthisgroupwasforciblydissolvedtwohundredyearsago,folklegendhasinflatedtheirstatusimmeasurably.

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    Jackalsousedthe"eye"symbolinconjunctionwiththeReincarnators,

    asshownherefromTheDemon#3.

    Tocontemporaryfringeparanoidsnow,theIlluminatiaretheunseenarchitectsofthecoming"OneWorldGovernment,"andtheyusethemythicalallseeing"EyeofOsiris"astheiremblem.JackapparentlyencounteredthesetheoriesandincorporatedthemintoOMAC,withthe"GlobalPeaceAgency"andtheallseeing"BrotherEye."AnotherpopulistconspiracytheoryconcernsthethreatofarevanchistBritishmonarchywhoareusingthemediaasamindcontroltooltoreclaimAmerica.JackappropriatedthesethemesandblendedthemwithGeorgeOrwell's1984forhisbrilliant"Madbomb"storyinCaptainAmerica.ThethemeofacorruptandconspiratorialaristocracywasalsoexploredinBlackPantherwiththeCollectors.JackalsoexploredamorebenignversionoftheSecretSocietywithhisabortedManhunterrevivalandtheSecretCitySaga.Thethemeofaselectgroupofindividualsworkinginsecrettochangetheworld,whetherforgoodorill,wasobviouslyaKirbyobsession.

    OccultistandConspiracytheoristsclaimthepursuitofholyormagicaltalismansisofsupremeimportancetothesecultishsecretsocieties.Hitler'sobsessionwithfindingtheSpearofDestiny,theHolyGrailandtheArkoftheCovenantwasexploitedtogreateffectbyGeorgeLucasinthebrilliantIndianaJonesfilms.PerhapsLucaswasagaininspiredbyhisstudyofJungianscholarJosephCampbellwhenhemadethesefilms,butbasedonhissuccessfulappropriationofKirby'sthemesfortheStarWarsmovies,perhapshereturnedtothewellforinspirationandtookcuesfromKirby'sBlackPantherseries,sincethatbookdealtalmostexclusivelywiththeadventuroussearchformagicaltalismans.

    Accordingtomodernfolklore,whenthesesecretcultsaren'tpursuingtheseelusive

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    artifacts,theyengageinscientificblackmagic.KirbydepictedthismodernalchemyinFantasticFourwiththe"Him"storylineandinThorwiththe"HighEvolutionary."Asmentionedbefore,thenefariousRoyalistsocietydevelopedtheMadbombtoadvancetheirambitions,andtheunrepentantNaziArnimZolaappearedinallhisghastlysplendorinCaptainAmerica.ThesecretsocietyknownasNewGenesisalsoseemedtobemorescientificthanmagicalwiththeirBoomTubesandMotherBoxes.AndifArthurC.Clarkeistobecreditedwithinventingacommunicationssatellitesimplyforwritingaboutone,KirbyshouldbecreditedwithinventingVirtualReality,sincehefirstdepictedaformofV.R.inJimmyOlsen,whichhenamedthe"SolarPhone."

    TheEternalswasthebookwhereKirbysaidhewastryingtoget"mystical."Ina1984interviewinComicsFeature,Kirbyrecountedthathewastryingtoexplore"wherewecamefrom."TheEternalswasasynthesisofpastthemes,mostnotablytheThor/NewGodspantheontheme,butitalsoincorporatedthencurrentpseudoscience,andparapsychology.TheBermudaTrianglethemewasvisited,aswellasapocalypticandgeneticengineeringthemes,butKirby'smainfocuswastoexplorethethemesofancientalienvisitationlaidoutinErickVonDaniken'sChariotoftheGods.Inthisbook,VonDanikenproposedthattheancientgodsmentionedinpreColumbianSouthAmericanmythologywereactuallyextraterrestrialvisitors.KirbywenttotownwiththisideaonthefirstthreeissuesofTheEternals,depictingvastandcomplexanaloguesofMayanandAztecartandpresentingtheoriesofaliengeneticengineering.Forreasonsunknown,thesethemesweredroppedandTheEternalsquicklybecamestandardboilerplate,withaJudgmentDaybackdropthatwasneverfullydeveloped.

    ThefactthattheJudgementDayanglewasneverdevelopedwastelling.KirbyusuallyshiedawayfromJudeoChristianthemesinhiswork.HisBibleillustrationswereseeminglydoneforJack'sownamusementandwereonlyreleasedposthumously.AndthoseimagestendedtobeEternalstypedepictionsofBiblicalstories.OneofJack'smostfamousdepictionsofGodshowedhimturninghisbackonapleadingyetdefianthumanity,almostlikeascenefromtheBookofJob.TheSilverSurferwasclearlydevelopedbyStanLeetobeamessiahfigure,butJack'sownviewofthecharacterwasfarmoreambiguous.Jackseemedtotakeadimviewofreligiousextremism,correctlyseeingitasanotherformoffascismpersonifiedbyGloriousGodfreyandDariusDrumm.TheformerwasaservantofDarkseid(Jack'sSatanfigure)andthelatterbecametheliteralAngelofDeath.

    Jackwasunderstandablyhesitanttodiscusshisownbeliefs.Hewasinterestedinsharingideas,butneverproselytized.Whereasallthevariousphantasmagoriaoftheoccultandsupernaturalmadeforexcitingcomics,Jack'sspiritualinclinationwasprobablyveryintimateandpersonal.HemayhavecomeacrosshispersonaldemarcationwithTheEternals,andbackedoffabit.Jack'smaingoalwastoentertainandtosellcomics,whichisprobablywhytheBibleimagerywasnotreleasedduringhislifetime,butaspopularculturecontinuestoexplore"extremepossibilities,"wecancelebratetheworkofamanwhowasoutontheedgefirst.

    http://www.twomorrows.com/media/2News%20Fall%202004.pdfhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/twomorrows/joinhttp://www.twomorrows.com/media/2News%20Fall%202004.pdf

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    Allcharactersaretrademarksoftheirrespectivecompanies.AllartworkJackKirbyunlessotherwisenoted.Alleditorialmatteristherespectiveauthors.

    JackKirbyCollector19942003TwoMorrows.Website19952003TwoMorrowsPublishing.


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