Comic Book Legend Jack Kirby's Story Comes Alive In Acclaimed King Kirby Audio Drama

From a media release:

Co-Creator of Captain America, The Avengers, X-Men, Iron Man, Thor & more
Comic Book Legend Jack Kirby's Story Comes Alive
In Acclaimed King Kirby Audio Drama Starring Steven Rattazzi

• Find it starting February 10, 2021 at BPN.FM/KingKirby 

NEW YORK, NY; February 10, 2021: Six time Best Selling New York Times author Fred Van Lente and four-time New York Times Critics’ Pick playwright Crystal Skillman, in association with the Broadway Podcast Network, are pleased to announce the premiere of their four-episode mini-series audio drama King Kirby, based on their hit Off-Broadway show by the same name. 

Photo of Jack Kirby taken by Susan Skaar during a session in the studio at Jack's home in Thousand Oaks, CA. The photos were later published in The Art of Jack Kirby (Blue Rose Press, 1993). (CC BY-SA 3.0)

A true-life story about Jack Kirby, the man who co-created the Marvel universe, King Kirby is an epic comic book story of the most famous cartoonist you never heard of. This audio drama features original music composed by award-winning Bobby Cronin (whose other works with Skillman include Mary and Max, Rain and Zoe Save the World, and Concrete Jungle.). The podcast premieres on Wednesday, February 10th exclusively from the Broadway Podcast Network and wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Find it at bpn.fm/KingKirby.

Heroes aren’t born, they’re made. Born in the Lower East Side slums, a veteran of the battlefields of France, Jack Kirby co-created CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE AVENGERS, THE X-MEN, IRON MAN, THOR, and many other legendary characters. But Kirby had his biggest fight after his comic books became an international sensation: He had to fight for his name, and the recognition he was denied.

 

From the Jewish ghetto of New York's Lower East Side to the battlefields of France to the Senate hearings of the 1950s, King Kirby is the heartbreaking yet inspirational story about a man who pours his quintessentially Twentieth Century life into his comics, only to make the fateful mistake that sends him into obscurity while his creations become known to every person on Earth.

The audio drama stars Steven Rattazzi (the voice of Dr. Orpheus from Cartoon Network’s The Venture Bros and Broadway’s  Indecent, Marie Antoinette at Soho Rep, Galileo at CSC, and Stunning at Lincoln Center) as Jack Kirby, Amy Lee Pearsall as his wife Roz, Joseph Mathers as his business partner Joe Simon, Timothy McCown Reynolds as Martin Goodman, and Nat Cassidy as Stan Lee.

Steve Rattazzi as Jack Kirby

Written by the award-winning husband-and-wife team of Skillman and Fed Van Lente (whose previous teams-ups include Webtoon’s Eat Fighter), this is a story for comics fans of the man they never knew behind their favorite superheroes, and for those who have been waiting for Jack Kirby’s story to get its due. A modern-day American Amadeus, King Kirby asks what happens when an artist doesn't own his own legacy? Can he ever get it back? 

Mr Miracle #09 by Jack Kirby (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The series allows King Kirby to be heard by new listeners all over the world since after its wildly successful New York run in 2016, the play has gone on to win worldwide acclaim:

“Entertaining as it is enlightening.” — Calgary Herald

"...An engrossing bio-play." -- Seattle Times, Critics Pick

"A pop-culture Death of a Salesman."  -- Smash Pages

“One of the best plays I’ve seen all year.” — MD Theatre Guide

“Who could guess that a play about the life of the renowned comic book artist, Jack Kirby would be filled with so much humor, pathos, and fact-dropping narrative?” -  DC Metro Arts 

"Not only was Crystal Skillman and Fred Van Lente’s “King Kirby” a supple, knowing account of the life of the influential comic artist Jack Kirby, but it was also a fine showcase for Steven Rattazzi, poignant in the leading role.” - The New York Times, Best of Year Review

Instagram: @kingkirbyplay

The Podcast is Available on Apple/iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart, TuneIn, Deezer, Player.FM, Pocket Cast, Podcast Addict and everywhere else you listen to podcasts.