Posted in: Comics | Tagged: argo, auction, jack kirby, jim lee, lord of light

Jack Kirby Artwork Immortalized In Argo Goes To Auction

Published Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:00:11 -0500

Anyone who saw the movie Argo knows the story of how the CIA put together a fake Sci-Fi movie as a cover for a cover extraction of six Americans hiding in the Canadian embassy during the Iran hostage situation in 1979. Part of the cover story was to have storyboards drawn up for the movie as would be the case in a real production. The artist tasked for this job was comic legend Jack Kirby. In the film Michael Parks played Kirby, but is screen time was brief. The art he created though played a much bigger role in the final escape.

In 1993, Jim Lee was still new to the comic industry but he was a big fan of Kirby's work and purchased two pieces of Kirby art from Sotherby's Auction House. The pieces were described at the time as being from an unproduced Roger Zelany film from 1967 called Lord of Light. Lee collected Kirby art and put the two pieces up on the wall until in 2007 when the DC Comics co-publisher read How The CIA Used A Fake Sci-Fi Flick To Rescue Americans From Tehran published in Wired Magazine. It was then that Lee realized what he really had.

The two pieces are now part of the Heritage Auctions' Aug. 1-3 Vintage Comics and Comic Art Signature® in Dallas. Each piece is expected to realize at least $10,000.

When asked why he was giving up the pieces after two decades, Lee explained that he never intended to be an art collector; he just bought what he loved. He also explained that he has four children going to college.