Robert McNeesJust remembering how Jack Kirby was inundated by threats and complaints from Nazi sympathizers after the publication in 1941 of his famous cover showing Captain America punching Adolph Hitler.
No reason.
At one point, Kirby received a phone call from Nazi sympathizers who said they were downstairs in the lobby, and ready to show him "what real Nazis would do to his Captain America."
Kirby set down the phone, rolled up his sleeves, and headed downstairs.
By the time he got down there, they had run away.
https://books.google.com/books/about/Kirby.html?id=oxcuDwAAQBAJ
Kirby
Filled with stunning artwork, this biography of comics pioneer Jack Kirby by an artist who worked closely with him is “a treasure” (The Cleveland Plain Dealer).“As a teenager, future television and comics writer [Mark] Evanier became an assistant to Jack Kirby, one of the foremost artists in the history of American comics. Kirby played a major role in shaping the superhero genre, not only through his innovative, dynamic artwork but through collaborating with Stan Lee to create classic Marvel characters like the Fantastic Four, the Hulk and the X-Men. Evanier has now written this magnificently illustrated biography of his mentor. Rather than employing the academic prose that one might expect from an art book, Evanier, a talented raconteur, tells Kirby’s life story in an informal, entertaining manner . . . he brings Kirby’s personality vividly alive: a child of the Great Depression, a creative visionary who struggled most of his life to support his family. The book recounts how Kirby was insufficiently appreciated by clueless corporate executives and close-minded comics professionals. But the stunning artwork in this book, taken from private collections, makes the case for Kirby’s genius. A landmark work, this is essential reading for comics fans and those who want to better understand the history of the comics medium—or those who just want to enjoy Kirby’s incredible artwork.” —Publishers WeeklyIncludes an introduction by Neil Gaiman
It's Just Jenn 🏳️⚧️
Missykender@Tweetfiction @mcnees This is reminding me to re-read the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon.
Fantastic book. Though fiction, the real-life characters they were based upon, including Kirby, Siegel, Shuster, Steranko & Simon, were badasses. Literary titans for the masses!
@missykender @mcnees Jim Steranko is an interesting one. Built This whole mystique around himself. The great and mysterious STERANKO!
Ricardo Harvin@mcnees Those last five words are horrifically and sadly wrong.
Ride Theory@mcnees I remember a scene in The Fantastic Four where Ben Grimm ties a lamp post into a knot and sends it to the Yancy Street Gang after they call him a sissy.
mmby@mcnees extremely educational
oldmanlowgun@mcnees one of my absolute favorite Jack Kirby stories. Not just a god-tier comic book inspiration, but also as a man on this earth trying to do what's right.
@oldmanlowgun Same. A real icon.
🇺🇦 haxadecimal 🚫👑It was appropriate to punch Nazis in 1941, and it's still appropriate in 2022.
Cassandrich
ghost_shit
Vicky Veritas@mcnees I was going to say we need more of that!
that ordinal person@mcnees I seem to recall Kirby being perfectly happy to punch nazis himself.
> Once, while Jack was in the Timely office, a call came from someone in the lobby. When Kirby answered, the caller threatened Jack with bodily harm if he showed his face. Kirby told the caller he would be right down, but by the time Jack reached street level, there was no one to be found.
Steven Molnar@mcnees Also worth remembering that a lot of those Nazi sympathizers were in the FBI, including J Edgar Hoover himself. Nothing changes.
SocialistStan
Buster McNutt@SocialistStan @mcnees aim for the back of the jawbone.
Gracie Gato@mcnees Nazi punks fuck off
Christian Graus@mcnees so much for the tolerant left
Jens Hannemann@ChristianGraus @mcnees I know you jest, but people on the left are more likely to have read and understood #Popper and his #tolerance #paradox.
Atoz 🍁
@JensHannemann @mcnees yeah, I say this often in irony. Imagine thinking I'd be kind to people who want to kill my kids ... Also my favourite meme that says this involves captain America.
Marcus Marcius Marcellus
HTTP 1.1/418 Teapot@mcnees I’ll just leave this here then: https://www.snopes.com/news/2017/01/24/captain-americas-co-creator-punch-nazis/
Sparky Santos@mcnees Jack scared off American Bund fools by getting in their faces.
@mcnees you ever heard the story about how some American nazis went to their office to threaten Jack and he went down to the street to kick their asses?
@Tweetfiction yeah! I just posted something about it (from a little birdsite thread I did this morning).
TengrainAlways Punch The Nazi.
Joyographic@mcnees Where's Cap when you need him to do the same to a certain fellow in Moscow?
Drew Kadel@mcnees This was before the U.S. entered WW2. Nazi sympathizers were in a similar situation to Putin supporters who oppose U.S. aid to Ukraine. A few months later, it was a different matter.
Ariaflame@DrewKadel @mcnees Yes, they were equally morally wrong.
Meredith@mcnees just passing through to say, “Hey FUCK YOU, Hitler!”
✊🏾WiseGuyEddie@mcnees Love this. Thanks for sharing. Learn something new every day.
Claudio Segovia@mcnees
"Solo recordar cómo Jack Kirby se vio inundado por amenazas y quejas de simpatizantes nazis tras la publicación en 1941 de su famosa portada que mostraba al Capitán América golpeando a Adolfo Hitler.
En un momento, Kirby recibió una llamada telefónica de simpatizantes nazis que dijeron que estaban abajo en el vestíbulo y listos para mostrarle "lo que los verdaderos nazis le harían a su Capitán América".
Kirby colgó, se arremangó y bajó las escaleras.
Cuando llegó allí, habían escapado."
"Solo recordar cómo Jack Kirby se vio inundado por amenazas y quejas de simpatizantes nazis tras la publicación en 1941 de su famosa portada que mostraba al Capitán América golpeando a Adolfo Hitler.
En un momento, Kirby recibió una llamada telefónica de simpatizantes nazis que dijeron que estaban abajo en el vestíbulo y listos para mostrarle "lo que los verdaderos nazis le harían a su Capitán América".
Kirby colgó, se arremangó y bajó las escaleras.
Cuando llegó allí, habían escapado."
Claudio Segovia@mcnees
"Solo recordar cómo Jack Kirby se vio inundado por amenazas y quejas de simpatizantes nazis tras la publicación en 1941 de su famosa portada que mostraba al Capitán América golpeando a Adolfo Hitler.
En un momento, Kirby recibió una llamada telefónica de simpatizantes nazis que dijeron que estaban abajo en el vestíbulo y listos para mostrarle "lo que los verdaderos nazis le harían a su Capitán América".
Kirby dejó el teléfono, se arremangó y bajó las escaleras.
Cuando llegó allí, se habían escapado."
"Solo recordar cómo Jack Kirby se vio inundado por amenazas y quejas de simpatizantes nazis tras la publicación en 1941 de su famosa portada que mostraba al Capitán América golpeando a Adolfo Hitler.
En un momento, Kirby recibió una llamada telefónica de simpatizantes nazis que dijeron que estaban abajo en el vestíbulo y listos para mostrarle "lo que los verdaderos nazis le harían a su Capitán América".
Kirby dejó el teléfono, se arremangó y bajó las escaleras.
Cuando llegó allí, se habían escapado."
Maria Popova@mcnees Very interesting. One day, Putin's current fanboys (lots of them over on Twitter, w lots of followers, and some claiming to be journalists) will be judged the same as these bullies.
JBattTX@mcnees This is good information. I was a big Marvel comic fan and Jack Kirby was brilliant.
Who got upset when he punched Red Skull?
Canageek@mcnees is he the one who tried to fist fight a Nazi at one point but the Nazi ran away before he could get downstairs?
SearinglyAaron@mcnees and from what I’ve heard about Mr. Kirby he either told them to go to hell, or meet him outside to “discuss” in person.
Rochelle@mcnees given what was going on in the US during that time, it’s no surprise the US Nazi sympathisers felt empowered to make threats. (If you haven’t already listened to Rachel Maddow’s Ultra, I highly recommend it: https://rachel-maddow-presents-ultra.simplecast.com/).
Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra
Sitting members of Congress aiding and abetting a plot to overthrow the government. Insurrectionists criminally charged with plotting to end American democracy for good. Justice Department prosecutors under crushing political pressure. Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra is the all-but-forgotten true story of good, old-fashioned American extremism getting supercharged by proximity to power. When extremist elected officials get caught plotting against America with the violent ultra right, this is the story of the lengths they will go to… to cover their tracks. Follow now and join Rachel Maddow for the first two episodes on October 10th.
Jacob Andersson@mcnees Interesting and inspiring story. But I'm not sure why the sentence about the plans of the nazis not being widely known is there. Does the author really think the nazis who threatened to murder Kirby would object?
Jason Quinn@mcnees Lol look at little Bucky.
Hazel-rah@mcnees Rachel Maddow’s Ultra podcast really shines a light on this behavior during this time. Sad to see America First 2.0 playing these same old songs.
@mcnees After all, he'd only been bombing the UK and invading lots of Europe, nothing to get worked up about. /s
Richard@mcnees Lost his Twitter too dint he?
revolt3d@mcnees lots of reasons to remember this.
Between Wanderings@mcnees What a perfect moment for this to pop up in my feed.
For a client, I'm #translating a book into English about #Jewish contributions to the modern world, and I'm literally in the middle of translating the paragraph on Jack Kirby. 😀
Dan@mcnees I wish today‘s mainstream comics would be brave enough. A good smack for Putin wouldn’t do any harm.