The COMPLETE run of Jack Kirby's The Demon!  These sixteen issues were originally published in 1972 and 1973.

Crisply printed in full color on flat white paper.  Nice!

Kirby confidante – and inker! – Greg Theakston, who is well known to readers of these pages as the power behind Pure Imagination publishing, has finally completed the first part in his long awaited recollection, reflection and appreciation of, and on, the life and work of the one and only Jack Kirby, King of Comics.  This book is printed in the typical Pure Imagination format:  160, 8 1/2" x 11", B & W pages; softcover.  It is liberally illustrated with Kirby comics – and cartoon – art that includes some early rarities.  It also includes a selection of photos that featuring Kirby family portraits and snapshots as well as shots of him at the drawing table, hanging with pals and in the army.  There are plenty of Kirby books already out there, and sure to be plenty to come, but only a few of them can be written by someone who has spent as much time with him as Theakston has, so we are hopeful that unique stories and insights will unfold within these pages.

While we are on the subject of the King of Comics (you can't knock Stan [for bestowing this title on Jack] on this one), we would be remiss if we failed to mention this long-in-the-works tome by the widely respected comics scholar, Charles Hatfield, whose previous work of comics scholarship, Alternative Comics: An Emerging Literature, is a widely used academic text in the emerging academic discipline of comics studies, and whose online writings on comics have been widely followed and commented upon.  We have yet to do more than dip into this book, so it looks like it's up to Grant Morrison to let you know what he thought of it:  "I've been waiting a long time for a book like this about Jack Kirby, and Hand of Fire rewards with an engrossing page-turner to be read and re-read.  Kirby fans like me will be delighted by the smart and detailed analyses of everything from his personal influences to his pencil technique.  But anyone with a keen interest in the human creative process, the fruits of the American working class postwar imagination, and the life and times of a genuine pop art visionary will find inspiration here, too.  Mixing his scholarship with a lively and engaging turn of phrase and page after page of fresh insight, Charles Hatfield explores the highs and lows of 'King' Kirby's career, as well as his often turbulent relationships with collaborators like Stan Lee, and his ever-growing legacy.  Hand of Fire is radiant with the 'Kirby Krackle' of energy and enthusiasm, a fitting tribute to a unique creative genius."  'Nuff said?

Dan Nadel strikes again!  What Nerve! is a unique and original amalgamation of -- as the sub-title succinctly states -- alternative figures in American art, 1960 to the present.  Here together under one cover for the first time are a widely diverse, and, at least at first glance, wildly divergent artists.  Only in this colleciton will you find work by The Hairy Who's Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt and Karl Wirsum along side of Destroy All Monster's Mike Kelly, Niagara and Jim Shaw alongside Jack Kirby and H.C. Westermann, Gary Panter and Forcefield's Mat Brinkman, Ara Peterson, Jim Drain and Leif Goldberg... and many more besides!  What Nerve! accompanies an exhibit of the same name running at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum from 19 September 2014 thorugh 4 January 2015 that was put together with Judith Tannenbaum.  The book is dvided into ten sections, each devoted to a particular artist or group of artists, and each accompanied by an essay written by a diverse body of art scholars including Nicole Rudick, Robert Cozzolino, Naomi Fry and, of course, Nadel himself.  Check out publisher D.A.P.'s page on the book where you will be able to take in the rave reviews and links to further info.  Once you spend some time with this collection, the connections amidst the diversity become manifest and a fresh narrative emerges.