Hogun the Grim

Hogun the Grim

or: Laughter Over Asgard

So, I'm at the board, not botherin' anyone when I get a call from Mark Evanier. He's putting together a book of Kirby characters to benefit Jack's widow, Roz. (Fair warning, so no one goes looking, it never went to print.)

The idea: Draw your favorite Kirby Character. But, there's a bit of a catch. Single samples only, no character gets a second appearance. We don't want a book that's half Captain America and half Doctor Doom. He's apologetic that he's thought of me as late as he has. Pickings are getting slim.

I assume Thor is taken but I have to ask. I tell Mark about seeing copies of Journey into Mystery before I caught the bug. Thor was… meh, but, Tales of Asgard was something special. Looking back I realized the difference; Vinnie (my all time favorite Kirby inker) Colletta  was only inking the back of the book. Once he took over the whole shebang, Thor became my favorite non-Ditko book. If we're talking favorites, it has to be Thor.

Turns out I was right, Thor was taken :(

If Thor's gone, it's back to the beginning. Who's left over from Tales of Asgard? Mark starts to laugh. Not a snicker but an outright belly laugh. Confused, I ask what's funny. Mark says nothing is funny, he's just happy that someone finally "gets it." He'd been talking with newbs and turks who insisted on Cap or Doc or they weren't playing and they'd make sure no one else did either. Here I was, an established pro with a valid claim on top tier Kirby characters and I wanted any leftover C-lister from a back up strip that hadn't seen print in 20 years.

I suppose it was no surprise but, it certainly pleased me that Hogun was unspoken for. It's a shame the book never went through. It would've made a great companion piece to Kirby's Heroes and Villains portfolios where I did manage to snag Thor for the Black Magic edition.

Asgard forever!

Happy Trails,
Smitty