2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Marvel Comics Cover Gallery

I don't know if anyone has ever satisfyingly explained why Marvel Comics chose to license Stanley Kubrick's 1968 science fiction headtrip, 2001: A Space Odyssey, for an ongoing monthly comic book, nor why they waited eight years after the film's release to do so. It is also baffling why (except for the fact that they were contractually obligated to keep the artist busy with work) they chose the awesome Jack Kirby to write and illustrate it.

Kirby was an astounding artist and creative genius, but his explosive, dynamic art - and decidedly thunderous prose - were hardly sympatico with Kubrick's stark visual style and leisurely storytelling. Also, the film really didn't seem to lead naturally into any sort of traditional continuation, so the Marvel Comic had to blaze its own, bizarre path in building on the film's narrative.

In any case, after an oversized "Treasury Edition" adaptation of the film in 1976, the subsequent ongoing 2001 comic ran for ten issues, all produced by the legendary Kirby, who explored the movies themes and concepts in his own unique manner. The stories were wild, colorful and bugnuts crazy, but they did make one lasting contribution to the sprawling Marvel universe in the form of Kirby's robotic creation, Mister Machine/Machine Man, who was introduced and featured in the final issues of the book.

Here are Kirby's covers for the ten-issue run: