The Greatest Comic Book Artist of All-Time Stars in a Free, Original Story

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Hey everyone! I’m so excited – today marks the 20th anniversary of Fred Van Lente Day! To celebrate, they’re doing an interview with Fred Van Lente and his amazing collaborator, Ryan Dunlavey. They’re talking about their new comic book about Jack Kirby, which they created for the NYC Department of Social Studies and Civics. And the best part? You can actually get the comic for free! It’s awesome to see them honored like this.

I was really interested to hear about how this project got started, and about Fred and Ryan’s other work with Civics for All Comics. It’s amazing to think about how much they publish – they’re seriously one of the biggest comic book publishers in the country every year!

Happy Fred Van Lente Day, guys! The 20th anniversary of Fred Van Lente Day.

Fred Van Lente: Oh my God, I cannot be more than 20 years old. That is insane.

Fred Van Lente Day has been able to vote for a few years now!

I recently checked out the Jack Kirby comic you created for the Civics project. Including the “Action Activists” materials you’ve already made for that program, how many projects have you completed for them in total?

Ryan Dunlavey: This morning, I led a professional development session for DOE teachers with the Civics for All team. We were trying to determine the total number of sessions we’ve completed.

We’re planning four issues of “Action Activists” and two of a version for younger kids. We realized “Junior” doesn’t really appeal to kindergartners, so we’re calling it “How to Be an Action Activist” instead. The seventh issue will feature Kirby, and we have two more in development.

I’m trying to recall when the newest issue of Action Activist, number 4, was released – either this year or late last year. I believe it was published this year.

This year was our most productive yet! We released ‘Into the Action Active Verse,’ the second edition of ‘How to Be an Action Activist,’ and content featuring Kirby. It’s the most we’ve published in a single year.

I recall when you began this, so it seems you’ve been at it for quite some time now.

We’ve held about one Civics Week each year since we began, and I remember the timing clearly. The very first one happened during the first week of the pandemic lockdown, back in March 2020.

This is the second installment of the Hidden Voices series. Paul Levitz and Joe Staton created the first one, which is titled ‘Sketches on the Sidewalk,’ but it’s part of the broader Hidden Voices project, correct?

So, I heard the project actually started with a different title – they were originally going with ‘Hidden Voices’! But then another opportunity came along, and they decided to switch things up. Apparently, there was even a cover designed with the ‘Hidden Voices’ title before they made the change, and it ended up circulating online.

So did they have any specific reason why they wanted Kirby to be the first spotlight?

He’s often called the King of Comics, especially when you consider comic creators from New York City.

RD: He has one of the most interesting stories.

It’s incredible to me that Jack Kirby, considered the King of Comics, isn’t really known by many people today.

FVL: More than they did 10 years ago.

That’s right. Back in the early 1980s, there was a popular trend of 3D comics. The glasses that came with them were branded with the phrase “King of Comics.” Someone actually gave a pair of those glasses to Johnny Carson, and he famously reacted by asking, “Who does this guy think he is, claiming to be the ‘King of Comics?’ I’ve never even heard of him!” And that’s how the story goes.

FVL: Well, Kirby threatened a lawsuit, so it wasn’t like Carson apologized just to be magnanimous.

RD: Amazing. This is all news to me. I had never heard this story.

FVL: Pacific Comics created a new 3D comic book featuring Jack Kirby’s artwork, collaborating with Ray Zone. This was a nod to a similar 3D comic Kirby created in the 1950s.

The popularity of those large 3D comics was a short-lived trend. While many companies jumped on board, producing them was expensive and led to legal issues. When the trend faded, several companies suffered significant financial setbacks, though I’m not sure any completely went out of business.

FVL: When has that ever happened? Oh, right, it’s the entire history of comics.

Ah, the comic industry.

Honestly, comics aren’t even the biggest story – the streaming wars were a disaster for everyone involved, Brian.

What really struck me was how the story was built like a classic childhood tale, which made Kirby feel like a believable kid growing up in New York.

We’d previously covered Kirby’s story in our ‘Comic Book History of Comics’ project. My wife, Crystal Skillman, and I also wrote a play about Jack Kirby, which definitely influenced this comic book.

FVL: This comic focuses on Kirby. We wanted to tell the story from a child’s perspective, which was a unique approach. Typically, fans expect references to more complex characters and storylines, so we saved those for the end. One challenging task was getting Ryan to illustrate a massive two-page spread featuring around 700 different Kirby characters – the list of characters is incredibly extensive!

RD: It was fine. You had a list of about 200, but I was like, I will draw enough.

Ryan, draw a bunch of characters?! Never!

It had been a long time, so it felt good to get back into the swing of things and finish the job.

I really loved how the story kept connecting the characters to Kirby’s past! It makes sense that creativity works that way, but it was still a clever and cool detail that I noticed and appreciated.

Someone suggested that the Thing’s origins were connected to Jewish folklore, pointing to a Hanukkah drawing Jack Kirby did in 1976. The idea was to link Ben Grimm to the Golem myth, but as a comic book fan, I explained that the Thing being descended from a Golem didn’t really fit with the established story.

Kirby created that artwork, but it’s clear he didn’t intentionally depict the character as Jewish when it was first made in the 1960s. Back then, most superheroes were simply designed as generic white men.

So, the idea was to connect the Thing to the Golem – a figure from Jewish folklore, often associated with Prague. The Golem is basically a clay figure brought to life by a rabbi, traditionally to protect the Jewish community from attacks. But, like a lot of early Marvel characters, it wasn’t really clear what the original vision for the Thing was. What is the Thing, really, other than this rocky form? It took time for the iconic, plated look to develop, and even then, it’s a strange concept. I always thought of it as…imagine if Death Valley stood up, walked around, and wore blue shorts – that’s kind of what the Thing is like.

Kirby started experimenting with dinosaur designs very early in his career, but he went through a lot of different inkers who didn’t always share his vision for those designs.

You know, what really gets me thinking is how they’re handling the dinosaurs’ skin. I’ve actually sketched them both with scales and without, and honestly, drawing the scaly hide is way simpler than trying to figure out all those geometric patterns they sometimes use! It’s just easier on the eyes, and easier to draw, to be honest.

You know, when I was working on the Golem story in the comics, it was tricky. The Golem isn’t perfect right away – there’s a point where the rabbi’s creation goes wild! It actually made me think of Frankenstein more than anything else. So, if I had to pick a character in the Kirby universe who’s most like the Golem, it’d be the Hulk, not the Thing. But here’s a fun fact: I found out a relative of Jack Kirby really loved the Golem legend! Even though I wasn’t entirely sure it fit perfectly from a research perspective, I couldn’t resist including a little nod to it in the comic because of that connection.

It’s common for people to connect the Golem legend to superheroes created by Jewish artists, particularly Superman.

FVL: Paul Levitz mentions the Hasidic holy men tales that were very superhero-like.

People often apply new information to existing stories, sometimes incorrectly. For example, the story about Siegel’s father dying in a robbery turned out to be false – he actually died of a heart attack.

I really didn’t understand that story when we covered it in Comic History. I just told Ryan to quickly sketch something on the counter.

RD: I think I drew a puddle of blood. Fair. Or maybe a can of cherry pie filling.

The film was a failure. This likely explains why “Funny Man,” the sequel to Superman attempted by director Richard Seigel, didn’t work out.

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Superboy was basically Funny Man with powers in Siegel’s pitch. Spiegel loved prank characters.

For anyone who loves superheroes, the first ten issues of Action Comics are a must-read – they’re completely wild! The best Superman story ever involves him taking on dangerous drivers. He even goes to a car factory and destroys it until they agree to build safer vehicles. There’s a scene where a car hits him, but he just appears in the backseat, scaring the driver! He also relentlessly confronts police officers who ignore speeding violations, essentially terrorizing them into doing their jobs.

RD: I want 100 issues of this Superman.

FVL: It is bonkers. Why the whole series was not like that, I do not know.

RD: It is more like Andy Rooney as Superman. “You know what I hate?”

This character has a troubling plan to address child crime: demolishing impoverished neighborhoods. His reasoning is that this will force the government to build improved housing. It’s a flawed and illogical approach, revealing a disconnect from reality – it’s as if he doesn’t understand basic human needs.

I recently read an interview discussing the Civics for All project, and it mentioned something called Action Activist 5. Could you tell me more about what that is?

Action Activists #5, from the Federalist Views Letter series, explains the principles of federalism and the separation of powers, emphasizing that the President’s authority is limited by the Constitution – they aren’t all-powerful.

That seems weird. Isn’t he?

We’re not sure why we’re involved in this. It seems like a strange coincidence that this topic is being discussed right now.

What’s really interesting to me is that as I learned more about the project, it struck me as similar to the Martin Luther King Jr. comic book. That comic was incredibly widespread in the 1950s, reaching a huge audience. And I recently saw a statistic that ‘Civics for All’ is now one of the top five comic publishers in terms of distribution – they’re getting their comics out to a lot of people.

FVL: In terms of volume, yeah, top ten.

RD: About 80 to 100 thousand copies circulated.

We hosted a signing at the FVL booth during New York Comic Con, and I was amazed by how many comics they had – around two dozen were on display! They’ve published at least 50 different titles so far, which is incredible.

As a fan, it’s just awesome to see how many people are reading comics now that the obstacles are removed! Making them free is a huge deal. They’re printing as many copies as needed, and they’re available online for free too. What really gets me excited is knowing that every copy is actually being read – not just sitting in a collector’s box or stuck on a wall somewhere. These comics are going directly to students who genuinely want to enjoy them, and that’s fantastic!

That really highlights the lasting impact of this. One of the original Greensboro Four, who I think recently passed away, specifically mentioned that they were inspired to act after seeing the comic book.

During the creation of their comic series, Andrew Ayden shared with Congressman John Lewis that Lewis himself had previously enjoyed reading comics.

It was incredibly popular, reaching millions of readers. Interestingly, Al Capp played a role in its success, which is surprising considering his problematic personal history.

FVL: People are complex. They are vast.

I hear that they contain multitudes.

Okay guys, thanks so much for the time! Happy Fred Van Lente Day!

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2025-12-07 04:52