Kidd, Chip

Chip Kidd is a graphic designer, writer, and editor-at-large at Pantheon. His books on comics include Only What’s Necessary: Charles M. Schulz and the Art of Peanuts, Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz, Shazam! The Golden Age of the World’s Mightiest Mortal, Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, and Marvelocity: The Marvel Comics Art of Alex Ross, among others. In Fantastic Four No. 1: Panel by Panel (Abrams ComicArts), Kidd, Marvel editor Tom Brevoort, historian Mark Evanier, photographer Geoff Spear, and Charles Kochman – editorial director of Abrams ComicArts – deconstruct the iconic and influential first issue of the Fantastic Four by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, 60 years after its publication in November 1961. That first issue introduced fans to a now-iconic team of superheroes – Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Human Torch, and the Thing – ushering in the modern Marvel Age of comics. Kirby’s artistic contributions that revolutionized visual storytelling and how comics stories could be told continue to influence comic book art to this day. In reimagining this issue, Kidd used an original copy of the comic book. He presents the classic story in an exciting new way to engage both lifelong fans and the latest generation of Marvel enthusiasts.