Kirby/Wood - Challengers of the Unknown 7 - Pg. 5 (1959)

Kirby/Wood - Challengers of the Unknown 7 - Pg. 5 - story 2 (1959)

This one is really special for me, as Kirby's Challengers have always been a favorite. I've been wanting to add a nice Jack Kirby silver age example to my collection for a while now. As my collecting focus is primarily on "adventure strips", a Challengers page would be an obvious choice.  However, original art from Kirby's late 50s run rarely surfaces.
Of the approximate 320 pages of original art that Jack Kirby drew of the original Challengers of the Unknown run, less than a dozen have appeared on the open market, since a splash page was sold on Heritage back in 2005. And all from issue number seven. Could it be that the other pages were destroyed or fell victim to being used as "cutting boards", as Neal Adams described the horrifying practices of the DC studios of the 60s.
Wally Wood was the inker on the last five issues and his wonderful embellishments are on full display. Sadly, a legal battle over royalty distribution of the Sky Masters syndicated strip would bring and abrupt ending to this incredible collaboration between two of the industries biggest legends. That ill-fated legal battle is an event that would forever alter the futures of Marvel and DC.
Jack must have liked the story "The Isle of No Return ", with its shrinking gadget, as he redrew panel four as the cover, which was used again on the reprint of the story. That cover always brings to mind the TV show Land of the Giants. This page is the only of the surviving few, signed by Kirby.