iFanboy Mini - Episode #118 - Jack Kirby: Tales to Astonish
If you've ever wanted to know about Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, and the early days of comics, Tales to Astonish is the book for you.
Live from his vacation in Maine, Josh still finds time to bring you an update on a great prose book. Don't worry, it's about comics. Tales to Astonish, by Ronin Ro, tells the story of the early days of comics, and more specifically, the life of Jack Kirby, and it's every bit as compelling as any story Jack ever came up with. This book tells us what it was really like in the days of the fabled Marvel Bullpen, and who was really behind the creation of some of the most famous characters in comic book history.
Also, Josh sucks at boats.
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Comments
Hopefully Josh can swim:)
Posted by s1lentslayer on 08/27/08 at 09:08 AM
Great mini I think im going to give that book a try. Josh, you are awesome.
Posted by bakerskater on 08/27/08 at 09:18 AM
Thats sad...
Posted by mitchster on 08/27/08 at 09:42 AM
Great Mini. Love the end. So did you ever get any of the boats started?
Posted by CharlieBlix on 08/27/08 at 10:27 AM
Did you choke the motor before starting it? Love George Clooney as a special guest star at the end.
Posted by ScottB on 08/27/08 at 11:05 AM
Book sounds very interesting maybe one day when im done with school i can check it out. Also you have to enjoy seeing George Clooney (the dog) show up.
Posted by English on 08/27/08 at 11:25 AM
The fact that the boat is floating rather than sinking means Josh is better with boats than I am. Mr. Clooney was very impressed with his tenacity. (This is the kind of outtake stuff I was talking about in the weekly talkback. This stuff is gold.)
That looks like an Astonishingly comfortable vacation spot.
@josh - How does this book stack up to "Comic Wars". I found that one fascinating, but that may be because I'm an economist.
Posted by stuclach on 08/27/08 at 11:54 AM
Great mini, nice to see that George got some more face time. The boat stuff was really funny and luckily I was in my office so no one heard me laughing.
Posted by SmokMnky on 08/27/08 at 01:30 PM
Has anyone read 'Kirby!: King of Comics'? I thought that was the definitive bio of Kirby since it was done by his biographer. Still this sounds just as interesting.
What made the boat stuff more funny was that your wife (I assume) is laughing when you cant get it to work. Funny stuff man, and yay for the dog! ^_^
Posted by TheNextChampion on 08/27/08 at 02:08 PM
Thanks all. Glad you dug it.
Let's see...no, I didn't get either started that day. I did on other days, and I did after, but I flooded the first, which apparently is a problem with that one, and I didn't have the throttle set correctly on the second. Both were in choke. The plan was to have a funny shot where I drove the boat in and out of the frame, but I got this instead. Funnier I believe. Also, I hurt my knee and shoulder, I found out later. The price of comedy!
I bought King of Comics as soon as I got back, and it's different than this book, but also excellent. It's got art in it, but is a bit lighter on text.
I never read Comic Wars, but I've got it, and might soon, so I can't compare. But based on my impressions, I'm sure this one is more my speed.
Posted by josh on 08/27/08 at 02:26 PM
I must be an easy mark, because I went to amazon and ordered it before the video was even over. Maybe I can find a book on controlling impulse buys while I'm out buying a french bulldog and a canoe this afternnon. d'oh.
Posted by OccultPanda on 08/27/08 at 02:39 PM
Gotta prime it first.
Posted by JumpingJupiter on 08/28/08 at 01:40 AM
Just catching up on the video shows -- comedy gold, plus the bonus surprise cameo by George (who seems very unconcerned by Josh's boating woes).
Good book review, too! I've read this and really liked it. Gerard Jones' "Men of Tomorrow" is another in the same vein; a bit more scholarly and with a broader focus, but covers some of the same era.
Posted by ohcaroline on 08/30/08 at 10:31 PM
holy frijoles -- i just watched this (I know I'm late) -- and that stuff at the end with the boats was sooo hilarious. Ouch, my sides. They're hurting from laughter... Another great mini.
Posted by darkalley on 09/16/08 at 02:36 PM
I suppose Josh is still there in the boat right now. Good thing he has that book to read.
Posted by g0ofgnewt on 08/27/08 at 08:40 AM