Editing Jack Kirby (section)

===Final years (1981–1994)===
[[File:Bombast1.jpg|thumb|right|Topps Comics' ''Bombast'' #1 (April 1993). Cover art by Kirby.<!--pencils & inks, per GCD-->]]

In the early 1980s, Kirby and [[Pacific Comics]], a new, non-newsstand comic-book publisher, made one of the industry's earliest deals for [[creator-owned]] series, resulting in ''[[Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers]]'',<ref>{{cite journal|last= Catron|first= Michael|author-link= Michael Catron|title= Kirby's Newest: ''Captain Victory''|journal= [[Amazing Heroes]]|issue= 2|page= 14|publisher= Fantagraphics Books|date= July 1981}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last = Morrow|first = John|chapter = The Captain Victory Connection|title = The Collected Jack Kirby Collector ''Volume 1''|publisher = TwoMorrows Publishing|year = 2004|location = Raleigh, North Carolina|page = 105|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KI-et-e206EC&pg=PA105|isbn = 978-1893905009|access-date = July 19, 2016|archive-date = February 7, 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170207094146/https://books.google.com/books?id=KI-et-e206EC&pg=PA105|url-status = live}}</ref> and the six-issue miniseries ''[[Silver Star (comics)|Silver Star]]'' (later collected in hardcover format in 2007).<ref>{{cite web|author-link=Erik Larsen|last=Larsen|first=Erik|url= https://www.cbr.com/issue-73/|title=One Fan's Opinion: Issue #73|website=Comic Book Resources|date=February 18, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113110640/http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=15495|archive-date=January 13, 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Kean|first= Benjamin Ong Pang|url=http://classic.newsarama.com/Comic-Con_07/Image/KIrbyverse.html |title=SDCC '07: Erik Larsen, Eric Stephenson on Image's Kirby Plans|work=[[Newsarama]]|date= July 29, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329225033/http://classic.newsarama.com/Comic-Con_07/Image/KIrbyverse.html |archive-date=March 29, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Kean|first= Benjamin Ong Pang|url=http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=111059|title=The Current Image: Erik Larsen on Jack Kirby's Silver Star|work=Newsarama|date= May 2, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090329012943/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=111059 |archive-date=March 29, 2009}}</ref> This, together with similar actions by other [[independent comics]] publishers as [[Eclipse Comics]] (where Kirby co-created the character [[Destroyer Duck]] in a benefit comic-book series published to help [[Steve Gerber]] fight a legal case against Marvel),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/destroyd.htm |title=Destroyer Duck |first=Don |last=Markstein |year=2006 |publisher=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913135335/http://www.toonopedia.com/destroyd.htm |archive-date=September 13, 2012 |url-status=live |quote=[T]he centerpiece of the issue was Gerber's own Destroyer Duck ... himself. The artist who worked with Gerber was the legendary Jack Kirby, who, as co-creator of The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, X-Men and many other cornerstones of Marvel's success, had issues of his own with the company. }}</ref> helped establish a precedent to end the monopoly of the work-for-hire system, wherein comics creators, even freelancers, had owned no rights to characters they created.<ref>George 2002, p. 73</ref>

In 1983 Richard Kyle commissioned Kirby to create a 10-page autobiographical strip, "[[Street Code]]", which became one of the last works published in Kirby's lifetime. It was published in 1990, in the second issue of Kyle's revival of ''[[Argosy (magazine)|Argosy]]''.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Morrow |editor1-first=John |title=Collected Jack Kirby Collector |date=February 19, 2004 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=1893905004 |page=129}}</ref> Kirby continued to do periodic work for DC Comics during the 1980s, including a brief revival of his "Fourth World" saga in the 1984 and 1985 ''[[Super Powers Collection|Super Powers]]'' miniseries<ref>Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 208: "In association with the toy company Kenner, DC released a line of toys called Super Powers ... DC soon debuted a five-issue ''Super Powers'' miniseries plotted by comic book legend Jack 'King' Kirby, scripted by Joey Cavalieri, and with pencils by Adrian Gonzales."</ref> and the 1985 graphic novel ''The Hunger Dogs''. DC executives [[Jenette Kahn]] and [[Paul Levitz]] had Kirby re-design the Fourth World characters for the ''Super Powers'' toyline as a way of entitling him to royalties for several of his DC creations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/comic-book-legends-revealed-454/|title=Comic Book Legends Revealed #454|last=Cronin|first=Brian|date=January 17, 2014|website=Comic Book Resources|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409104134/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2014/01/17/comic-book-legends-revealed-454/2/|archive-date=April 9, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1985, Kirby and [[Gil Kane]] helped to create the concept and designs for the [[Ruby-Spears]] animated television series ''[[The Centurions (TV series)|The Centurions]]''. A comic-book series based on the show was published by DC and a toy line produced by [[Kenner Products|Kenner]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/power-xtreme-everything-you-didnt-know-about-centurions |title=Power Xtreme! Everything you didn't know about Centurions |date=December 4, 2019 |website=[[Syfy Wire]] |access-date=December 4, 2019}}</ref>

In the twilight of his life, Kirby spent a great deal of time sparring with Marvel executives over the ownership rights of his original page boards. At Marvel, many of these pages owned by the company (due to outdated and legally dubious copyright claims) were given away as promotional gifts to Marvel clients or simply stolen from company warehouses.{{sfn|Van Lente|Dunlavey|2012|page=157}} After the passage of the [[Copyright Act of 1976]], which greatly expanded artist copyright capabilities, comics publishers began to return original art to creators, but in Marvel's case only if they signed a release reaffirming Marvel's ownership of the copyright. In 1985, Marvel issued a release that demanded Kirby affirm that his art was created for hire, allowing Marvel to retain copyright in perpetuity, in addition to demanding that Kirby forego all future royalties. Marvel offered him 88 pages of his art (less than 1% of his total output) if he signed the agreement, but reserved the right to reclaim the art if Kirby violated the deal.{{sfn|Van Lente|Dunlavey|2012|pages=157–160}} After Kirby publicly slammed Marvel, calling the company thugs and claiming they were arbitrarily holding his creations, Marvel finally returned (after two years of deliberations) approximately 1,900<ref name=tcjkirbygoliath>{{cite journal | title = Kirby and Goliath: The Fight for Jack Kirby's Marvel Artwork | first=Michael | last= Dean |url=http://www.tcj.com/kirby-and-goliath-the-fight-for-jack-kirbys-marvel-artwork/ | journal = The Comics Journal| date= December 29, 2002 | access-date = October 31, 2013 | archive-date= July 31, 2013 | url-status=live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130731000800/http://www.tcj.com/kirby-and-goliath-the-fight-for-jack-kirbys-marvel-artwork/}}</ref> or 2,100 pages of the estimated 10,000 to 13,000 Kirby drew for the company.<ref name=glengold>{{Cite journal|url=http://twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/19stolen.html|first=Glen|last= Gold|title=The Stolen Art|journal= The Jack Kirby Collector|issue =19|date=April 1998|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101223233337/http://twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/19stolen.html| archive-date= December 23, 2010|access-date=January 12, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=tcj116p15>{{cite journal|title= Marvel Returns Art to Kirby, Adams|journal= The Comics Journal|issue= 116|page= 15|publisher= Fantagraphics Books|date= July 1987|location= Seattle, Washington}}</ref>

For the producer [[Charles Band]], Jack Kirby made concept art for the films ''Doctor Mortalis'' and ''Mindmaster'', which were later released as ''[[Doctor Mordrid]]'' (1992) and [[Mandroid (film)|''Mandroid'']] (1993), respectively.<ref>{{Google books|f3Vig8A-GJsC|Collected Jack Kirby Collector|page=113|keywords=Mordrid+Mortalis+Jack+Kirby|text=|plainurl=}}</ref> ''Doctor Mordrid'' began as a planned adaptation of the Marvel Comics character [[Doctor Strange|Dr. Strange]], but Band's option expired.<ref name="Living Myth">{{cite web|last=Pauls|first=J. B.|title=The Rewind: ''Doctor Mordrid''|url=http://livingmythmagazine.com/blog/2014/04/21/rewind-doctor-mordrid/|work=Living Myth Magazine |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140717061204/http://livingmythmagazine.com/blog/2014/04/21/rewind-doctor-mordrid/|archive-date= July 17, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=May 9, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Fischer|first=Dennis|title=Science Fiction Film Directors, 1895–1998|date=2011|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|isbn=978-0-78648-505-5|page=88|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7msrAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Doctor+Mordrid%22|access-date=November 12, 2020|archive-date=February 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204001334/https://books.google.com/books?id=7msrAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Doctor+Mordrid%22|url-status=live}}</ref>

For [[Topps Comics]], founded in 1993, Kirby retained ownership of characters used in multiple series of what the company dubbed "[[Kirbyverse|The Kirbyverse]]".{{sfn|Evanier|2008|page=207}} These titles were derived mainly from designs and concepts Kirby had kept in his files, some intended initially for the by-then-defunct Pacific Comics, and then licensed to Topps for what became the "[[Secret City Saga|Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga]]" mythos.<ref>{{cite book|last = Jon B.|first = Cooke|chapter= Twilight at Topps|title = The Collected Jack Kirby Collector ''Volume 5''|publisher = TwoMorrows Publishing|year = 2006|location= Raleigh, North Carolina|pages = 149–153|isbn = 978-1-893905-57-3}}</ref> ''Phantom Force'' was the last comic book Kirby worked on before his death. The story was co-written by Kirby with Michael Thibodeaux and Richard French, based on an eight-page pitch for an unused [[Bruce Lee]] comic in 1978.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=eHM3vW6ogDsC&q=Jack+Kirby+Phantom+Force+Bruce+Lee&pg=PA171|title= The Collected Jack Kirby Collector, Volume 3|publisher= TwoMorrows Publishing|location= Raleigh, North Carolina|first= John|last= Morrow|isbn= 978-1-89390-502-3|year= 2004|access-date= November 12, 2020|archive-date= February 6, 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210206112025/https://books.google.com/books?id=eHM3vW6ogDsC&q=Jack+Kirby+Phantom+Force+Bruce+Lee&pg=PA171|url-status= live}}</ref> Issues #1 and 2 were published by [[Image Comics]] with various Image artists inking over Kirby's pencils. Issue #0 and issues #3–8 were published by Genesis West, with Kirby providing pencils for issues #0 and 4. Thibodeaux provided the art for the remaining issues of the series after Kirby died.<ref>{{cite book |title=Jack Kirby checklist. |date=2008 |publisher=TwoMorrows Pub. |location=Raleigh, N.C. |isbn=978-1605490052 |pages=57–8 |edition= Gold}}</ref>