I've recently picked up and enjoyed a few issues of Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham's FANTASTIC FOUR comic. It's the first time I feel the creative team has captured the spirit of Stan Lee & Jack Kirby's classic run on Fantastic Four. I love how the group's dynamic as a family and their spirit for exploration are more important than any aspects of conventional Superhero comics. My only problem is that I wish Eaglesham could do ALL the issues of Jonathan Hickman's run on Fantastic Four.

It's really interesting to see what Eaglesham and colorist Mount's are doing with the visuals on the book. Eaglesham's building upon his take on the hyper-realism he's previously established as artist of JSA by giving his characters and structures a Kirby feel. His faces and proportions feel very close to Kirby's work, but he's giving details a more realistic form and texture to them. Paul Mounts is amping up his color palette with some vivid primary colors that still embrace the highlighted coloring approach that is the current norm for Superhero comics. Overall, it's a successful hybrid of the 'pop' abstraction of Kirby comics and the 'hyper-real' take on superheroes of the 21st century.

Seeing Eaglesham's work makes me think about the many artists that have tried to build upon the dynamic art style of Jack Kirby. As much as I love Kirby's art, it doesn't hold up to today's sensibilities. There's a brilliance and power that exists beneath Kirby's line work that takes a bit too much commitment from the typical comic book reader to appreciate. Superhero 'Geeks' these days want something that looks polished and cool. Eaglesham mixes those two sensibilities and is creating something very interesting in the process. With the awesome story Hickman's building, I look forward to see where it goes.

Below are two other modern artists taking drastically different elements from Kirby's work into present day comics. The first image is Ladronn's recreation of a classic Jack Kirby Fantastic Four cover (see the last image for Kirby's original cover). The fourth image is ,G0dland artist, Tom Scioli's rendition of Fantastic Four supporting character and Inhuman Black Bolt. The 2nd and 3rd images are excellent examples of what Eaglesham is currently doing in the current Fantastic Four book.