It’s been a pleasure to write about Jack Kirby’s 2001: A Space Odyssey here at Sequart, especially as part of its Sci-Fi Week event.
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The 90-page book includes everything that’s been serialized here online, including my introduction, my discussion of Jack Kirby’s adaptation of the movie, my discussion of the first four issues of his comic-book continuation, and my essay on how Kirby’s work differs from 2001 co-creator Arthur C. Clarke’s own continuation. All of this material has been edited for book form.
The book also addresses the final six issues of Kirby’s series, which I haven’t discussed online. In fact, Kirby’s entire continuation changes its formula drastically with issue #5, which I think is the best issue of the entire series. And there’s four more issues after that. In fact, the book’s about twice as long as what’s been published online.
It’s been great to have this opportunity to write about this bizarre but fascinating series. And I think it’s so cool that a book actually exists on this very odd (and ostensibly non-commercial) subject!
The book’s also a lasting legacy for Sequart’s Sci-Fi Week. In order to coordinate such an event, my writing about Kirby’s 2001 had to be done a long time in advance. This lead time allowed us finish what I’d written for book publication. And how cool is it that Sci-Fi Week would end with a book?
That wouldn’t have been possible without some excellent (and rapid!) editorial assistance — kind and talented people who pitched in to get this book out, including (in alphabetical order) Keith Howell, Markisan Naso, Richard Pachter, and Scott Puckett.
If you like what you’ve read online, or you want to support Sequart, Sci-Fi Week, and comics scholarship, please give the book a chance. It’s affordable in both print and Kindle formats.
As always, thank you so much for reading! It’s pointless without you, and it means so much to me personally to know that others care about really analyzing and exploring comics history.
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I really enjoyed the series of articles on Kirby’s 2001. I love the Kubrick film and I love Kirby, but their great strengths as artists, as demonstrated in the series of articles, was in very different areas. I recently acquired the Marvel Treasury Edition of Kirby’s adaptation of the film and all 10 issues of the 2001 series on eBay. It has been interesting comparing the books with your comments.
I enjoyed the articles so much that I went to Amazon and bought the 2001 book as well as the two Daredevil titles that Sequart published recently. Thanks for all the work you put into the interpretation and anlaysis of this great art form. It is greatly appreciated.
My pleasure, Paul! Thank you so much for saying so! Your support means a great deal to us. Thank you so much!
Hi Julian. The books arrived from Amazon on Friday afternoon. I look forward to reading the additional material in the Jack Kirby 2001 book.
Awesome! Thank you so much! Let me know what you think!
From the comments in your introduction, you seem to be unaware that MGM re-released the film 2001: A Space Odyssey to theaters across the U.S.A. in 1976 (I saw it that Fall in a theater in a small town in Florida). The timing of the Marvel comic adaptation makes perfect sense as a tie-in with that re-release.