Kirby Goes To DC

Above is Jack Kirby's depiction of Ragnarok from Thor #128 (1966) and the first page of New Gods #1 (1970). Kirby had a vague plan to end Thor and introduce the New Gods at Marvel, but due to continuing disagreements with Stan Lee, he kept the New Gods to himself until he could leave.

There was just one problem; the only other game in town was DC Comics, and Jack believed he had been blacklisted there. In 1958, when Kirby was first working for DC Comics, he'd drawn a syndicated newspaper strip called Sky Masters of the Space Force, which had been brought to him by Jack Schiff, an editor at DC. Kirby agreed to pay Schiff a percentage of his earnings from the strip, as a kind of finder's fee.

However, Kirby quickly realised he wasn't making any money from the strip because he had to pay the inkers out of his own pocket - initially that was Wally Wood, and later, Dick Ayers. Kirby refused to continue paying Schiff a cut of his earnings, offering him instead, a one-off "gratuity" of $500.

Schiff refused, and took Kirby to court. Schiff won the case, and Kirby, left with legal fees and a bad taste in his mouth, returned to work for Stan Lee instead. Kirby later claimed that he was forced to leave DC because Schiff stopped giving him work, but the court records show his earnings from DC remained consistent throughout this period.

Nonetheless, Kirby convinced himself that Schiff had blacklisted him for years afterwards. Finally, in 1967, Carmine Infantino became Editorial Director at DC, and Schiff retired.

In Not Brand Echh #11, (1968) John Verpoorten inserted a joke into a strip showing a note pinned to Kirby's wall which reads, "All is forgiven! Carmine." That same year, Martin Goodman sold Marvel Comics to Perfect Film Company, and Kirby tried to negotiate a new contract. He was unsuccessful, so instead, he met with Carmine Infantino and signed with DC Comics, where he finally got a chance to create his New Gods.