The Zen of Inking Jack Kirby

I found that it is surprisingly satisfying to ink someone else's work. Especially the masters of comics.

I don’t know where or when the idea came to me, but I thought it might be fun to find a page of pencils from a comics master and see how well I could ink it. At the very least I was looking for something mildly challenging yet relaxing, like working on a puzzle. Or perhaps something soothing like an adult coloring book. Or perhaps I might learn some tricks of composition or hierarchy.

Since I found myself in between projects, I thought I’d give it a try. And where better to start that with Jack Kirby?

I have to confess, though, that I am not a huge fan of Kirby’s work, mainly because I’m not a big fan of Marvel comics. I find the wisecracking that happens in most early titles to be excruciating. I’m also not a fan of how Kirby draws faces. So I’m not choosing Kirby because I’m a huge fan, but just because his drawings are so dynamic and wacky, and I was certain I could find a full page spread.

Here’s the penciled page I chose:

I’m not sure what this is from, but it had a lot of exaggerated perspective and poses plus the fun background machinery that Kirby does better than anyone.

So I opened Procreate and tackled it. I used the digital brush that I would normally use to ink my own work, and also took advantage of some of the tools that digital inking affords, like the paint bucket and the “line straightener”. But most of the time I tried to follow what a traditional inker would have done and used the equivalent of pen and ink.

And you know what? I had a delightful time doing this. It was definitely satisfying to see it emerge as a Kirby page. It confirmed that I’m not bad at inking someone else’s work. And it was a peaceful, restful way to spend a couple of hours. Here’s the finished art:

Not too shabby, I don’t think! I’m not completely happy with parts of it—Dr. Doom could use some work—but it wasn’t about getting it right as much as just doing it. And I’m amazed at how readable it is without the color, which is another testament to how great Kirby was.

I’m sure I could do better. If anyone has some comments on what isn’t working, feel free to comment. (And you can say that I’m even worse than Vince Colletta. I can take it).

So I recommend this to all creators who are looking for a fun way to spend a leisurely afternoon. There are plenty of pencilled pages floating around out there. All you need to do is google for them.

I think I’d like to do a Mike Mignola Hellboy page after this. I have an unpopular opinion that Mignola’s work looks better inked by someone else other than him, and I’d like to take a crack at it.

In case you are into process videos, here’s me inking the Kirby page.