Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Jack Kirby and the Flying Chair: Seldom Seen 1950's Comics from Alarming Tales #1

Here is another great Jack Kirby story from that amazing comic from 1957: Alarming Tales #1 from Harvey Features Syndicate. Please say "hello" to hapless Timothy Donnegan and Donnegan's Daffy Chair.

Splash panel from Alarming Tales #1 by Jack Kirby Man in flying chair zooms past air force jets to soar through the upper atmosphere This is one of four Kirby tales in this classic science-fiction comic, and it's the one that made the cover (shown below)

Click on the cover thumbnail below to see it nice and big.

Alarming Tales #1 by Jack Kirby cover shows terrified man zooming across Manhattan in a rocket powered chair
So it seems that sad-sack janitor Timothy Donnegan is cleaning up the patent attorney's office when an impatient inventor leaves his invention behind. It's one crazy-lookin' chair. Naturally our hero has to set down for a spell...
1957 Alarming Tales comic scans Janitor promises to look after funny looking chair in a comic book story by Jack Kirby
Janitor sits down in flying chair in a comic book story by Jack Kirby 1957 scans
"No harm in that."
Famous last words. Donnegan pushed a button, and BEGORRA---
Famous last words. DonneganDonnegan pushed a button, and BEGORRA--- he was OFF! Jack Kirby
kirby-chair-3-2
janitor gets a joyride in a runaway rocket chair drawn in a 1957 comic book story by Jack Kirby
Flying chair rockets past air force jet drawn by Jack Kirby for Alarming Tales #1
Talk about Unidentifiable Flying Objects--!
Jack Kirby Donnegan rockets out of the solar system in Donnegan's Daffy Chair comic book scans Jack Kirby drawings
Busting out of Earth's atmosphere, he breaks the sound barrier, The heat barrier, and the speed of light!
Jack Kirby Donnegan rockets out of the solar system in Donnegan's Daffy Chair comic book scans Donnegan returns from outer space five years later.
...and five years later...
Jack Kirby Cop and crowd
Looks like Donnegan spent some time hanging out with Moebius's Arzach!
Donnegan back from beyond the stars in Kirby's Alarming Tales #1
Check out the crazy headgear, man!
Arzach Moebius conehead hat
Look familiar?

Anyway, here's the entire four-page story below. Just click on any of the thumbnail pages below to open up a new window with nice BIG high-resolution comic book scans!
kirby-chair-001 kirby-chair-002
kirby-chair-003 kirby-chair-004
...and if you missed the other stories from this issue, you'll find them here >>>>
The Fourth Dimension is a Many-Splattered Thing by Jack Kirby
The Fourth Dimension is a Many-Splattered Thing
(Jack Kirby's Ditko-esque take on Matheson's Little Girl Lost)
Click on the splash page above for the whole story.

and HERE >>>>
Jack Kirby's  proto-Kamandi post apocalyptic story The Last Enemy
The Last Enemy --Jack Kirby's proto-Kamandi post apocalyptic story. Click on the splash page above for the whole story.
---and there's still one story left to come from this alarming comic book! Stay tuned!