Comicbooks Flashcards
What is the Kirby Krackle?
The Kirby Krackle (also known as Kirby Dots) is a stylistic convention in superhero and science fiction comic books, where fields of black dots represent negative space around undefined energy sources. It is often used to depict explosions, smoke, ray gun blasts, “cosmic” energy, and outer space phenomena.
Named after its creator, comic artist Jack Kirby, the mature form of the Kirby Krackle first appeared in Kirby’s work during 1965–1966 in Fantastic Four and Thor. However, comics historian Harry Mendryk of the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center traced an early version of the style back to Blue Bolt #5 (1940), by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. As Simon inked that issue, he may have contributed to its development. Transitional examples appear in Kirby’s late 1950s stories, such as The Man Who Collected Planets (1957, pencils and inks by Kirby) and The Negative Man (1959, inks attributed to Marvin Stein). The effect was later incorporated into transformation sequences in the Ben 10 franchise and design elements of the Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! attraction at Avengers Campus in Disney California Adventure, as well as in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
Philosophy professor Jeffrey J. Kripal described the Kirby Krackle as emblematic of Kirby’s vision of the human body as a manifestation of mysterious, energetic forces. He wrote:
“For Kirby, the human body is a manifestation or crystallization of finally inexplicable energies—a superbody. […] A unique energy field of black, blobby dots, affectionately known as the ‘Kirby Krackle,’ signals this vision. […] The result was a vision of the human being as a body of frozen energy that, like an atomic bomb, could be released with stunning effects, for good or for evil.”
