Limited Brooklyn Stage Play: Legendary Comics Artist, Character Creator Jack Kirby Comes To Life In King Kirby – Collectors Confessions

And recently, Collectors Confessions had the opportunity to sit down with Fred and Crystal to talk about the play, Jack Kirby, creator rights, their creative partnership, and what it takes to bring the story of one of comics’ greatest creators to the stage.

What makes KING KIRBY so fascinating is that this isn’t simply a biography of a legendary comic book artist.

The play explores the person behind the characters, Jack Kirby’s ambitions, his relationships, his struggles, his experiences during World War II, his partnership with Stan Lee, and perhaps most importantly, his fight to receive recognition and rights for the work he helped create.

Fred Van Lente and Crystal Skillman originally told Kirby’s story through their celebrated graphic novel, and adapting that story for the stage presented an entirely different challenge.

Fred and Crystal talked about what initially inspired them to tell Kirby’s story and how they determined which moments from his extraordinary life needed to make it onto the stage.

They also discussed the challenge of portraying a man whose creative accomplishments are almost impossible to contain within a single medium.

One of the things we particularly loved about KING KIRBY is that the play doesn’t simply celebrate the characters Kirby helped create and there are a lot of them. It celebrates Jack Kirby himself. That’s an important distinction.

It’s easy to look at the history of Marvel and DC and focus entirely on the characters. But KING KIRBY asks audiences to look at the people who created those characters and what happens when the people behind the stories don’t necessarily receive the recognition or control they deserve.

The play also gives significant attention to Roz Kirby, Jack’s wife, and the role she played throughout his life.

During our interview, Fred and Crystal discussed why it was important to show that side of Kirby’s story and remind audiences that this wasn’t simply the story of a comic book artist sitting at a drawing board. It was the story of a husband, father, veteran, businessman, artist, and creator.

For comic book collectors, one of the most fascinating parts of Kirby’s story is his complicated relationship with Stan Lee and the larger question of who receives credit for creating some of the most important characters in popular culture.

KING KIRBY doesn’t shy away from those difficult questions.

And they remain incredibly relevant.

The battle over creator recognition and ownership didn’t end with Kirby. Today’s comic book industry continues to wrestle with questions about intellectual property, creator compensation, ownership, and who ultimately benefits when a character becomes a worldwide phenomenon.

And this is a limited engagement, with performances running through August 30th.

If you’re a comic book fan in the New York area, this is one we highly recommend checking out while you still have the opportunity. We absolutely Loved It.

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As comic book collectors and lifelong fans of the medium, we went into KING KIRBY already knowing how important Jack Kirby was. But seeing his story presented this way gave us a different appreciation for the man behind the mythology. We really loved the play.

It’s entertaining, emotional, informative, and perhaps most importantly it gives audiences a chance to think about the creators behind the characters we have spent decades collecting and loving. For comic fans, that’s a pretty powerful experience.

Jack Kirby’s fingerprints are all over the history of superhero comics. His characters and ideas have become some of the most recognizable creations in the world. But KING KIRBY reminds us that before there was a superhero on the page, there was a creator putting pencil to paper and imagining something that had never existed before. And sometimes, those creators deserve their own story.

If you’re in Brooklyn, don’t wait too long. KING KIRBY is a limited engagement running through August 30th at the BK ONE – The Tom Kane Theater.

And before or after seeing the play, make sure you check out our interview with Fred Van Lente and Crystal Skillman, (https://youtu.be/90Guxg04XGo) where they take us behind the scenes of how this incredible story made its way from the comic page to the stage.

Because Jack Kirby created worlds for us to explore. Now, KING KIRBY gives us the chance to explore the man who created them.