Monday, October 19, 2026

Jack Kirby Space Ghost Sketches

Alex Toth wasn't the only comic book legend to work on Space Ghost. Believe it or not, but Jack Kirby, the king behind characters like Captain America, Hulk, and the Fantastic Four, also lent his artistic prowess to the show.

During the 1980s, Kirby worked as a character designer on several Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and one of those were the Space Ghost segments found in 1981's Space Stars. While these installments aren't exactly as fondly remembered as the originals, Kirby's designs were easily among the highlights. In celebration of his amazing work, here's a collection of art he produced during his time on the series. 

Below is a model sheet of a character Jack designed for the show, Eclipse Woman. She appeared in the ninth Space Ghost segment of the show, and was one of the series' new villains. While she may not be as beloved as some of Space Ghost's other adversaries, her design is unmistakably Jack Kirby.


Here's another villain he helped design, the Toymaker. The model sheet here actually calls him "Toyman," but his name was changed in the final series, I imagine to avoid confusion with the DC Comics supervillain. Speaking of DC, Toymaker as presented in the model sheet wouldn't look at all out of place in New Gods. Fitting, as that comic was created by Jack himself. A very cool design that, unfortunately, doesn't look nearly as interesting in the finished product.


Last but most definitely not least, we have Kirby's concept art of Krugar the space pirate. The character was very much in the vein of Brak from the original series, but Jack Kirby was able to make this guy feel totally distinct. He's far more cat-like than Brak ever was, and the pirate motif is on full display through his wardrobe.



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