History Main / KirbyDots

Kirby Dots are a method of showing a crackle of energy such as a lightning bolt or a BattleAura. They've been widely used in US superhero comics ever since they were first developed, by influential artist Creator/JackKirby in the 1960s. Sometimes referred to as 'Kirby Crackle'.

* Marvel Comics' Sunspot becomes solid black and is surrounded by Kirby Crackle when he powers up. (Originally. Lately, it's dark blue and mostly dotless.) ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', despite not being a particularly slavish adaptation, ''especially'' visually, rendered the dot effect perfectly, much better than you'd think it'd work onscreen. According to the Official Handbook, the dots are his powers affecting the dust around him and turning them black. But yeah, the dots are basically there to offset his otherwise monochromatic and boring design.

* ''ComicBook/ThePain'' has used this [[http://www.thepaincomics.com/weekly070214a.htm to represent evil radiation]].
* Galacta ([[DistaffCounterpart daughter]] of Galactus) [[http://twitter.com/#!/Gali_girl/status/1873418623 reveals offhandedly]] on her [[CharacterBlog Twitter account]] that mere humans cannot perceive the Power Cosmic where it affects reality, and blanks it out in our minds. She further lampshades that some people call the visual result "Kirby Dots".
* The ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''-''[[ComicBook/FantasticFour Human Torch]]'' miniseries hung a lampshade on it. In the second issue, Spider-Man and the Torch trade "beats" to see who has it toughest, and Spidey accompanies the rest of the F4 on a trip to another dimension.

* [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]]'s trademark attack involves charging up his fist with red or golden energy. It just looks ''wrong'' whenever it is shown without the Kirby krackle.
* In DC's ComicBook/{{New 52}}, this style of energy seems to be visual shorthand for things that tie into Fourth World stuff especially with OMAC and Earth 2's Al Pratt, characters whose powers are hinted at being consequences of New Gods tech. Perhaps only fitting, as it was Jack Kirby himself who originally created Fourth World and the New Gods.

* In Franchise/{{Superman}} story ''Comicbook/WarWorld'', masses of black dots are frequently used to represent nebulas and the space void.

* In [[http://evil-inc.com/comic/when-worlds-collide-part-one-8/ this strip]] of ''Webcomic/EvilInc'', Kirby Crackle are not only displayed, they're used as a measure of a monster's super-powers! Gadzooks!

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', being heavily inspired by UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}}, features Kirby Crackle in several background instances, including ComicBook/BlueBeetle's power-up sequence. It's also very noticeable in the highly Kirby-inspired episode "The Last Bat On Earth!", as well as in Omac's transformation sequence. (Omac, of course, is another Kirby creation.)

* The Power Flight travel power in ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline'' surrounds the character with black Kirby Crackle. There's also the Krackle Aura, whose description explicitly mentions Jack Kirby.

* Special mention goes to Kirby's renditions of {{God}}. [[http://nerdcityonline.com/2010/01/22/jack-kirbys-visual-interpretations-of-god/ See here.]] Also, Jack Kirby himself in the cover of ''Comic Book Comics'' #4 is holding drawing tools glowing with his signature crackle.

* One issue of Creator/GrantMorrison's ''[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]'' shows a container marked ''Kirby Crackle'' in the League's trophy room.
* The [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Marvel Apes]] version of the Watcher gets loaded off a beverage that includes Kirby Crackle as an ingredient.

* ''Webcomic/JL8'', being an homage to old Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}} comics, uses them where appropriate. [[http://limbero.org/jl8/171 For example]].

** In ''Comicbook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'' Superman and Darkseid are surrounded by masses of orange and black dots when they fight in the Sun.

* The Emotions in ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' all have Kirby Crackle on their skin, which gives them a distinctive grainy texture.[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wizards}}'' has these from time to time, most visible when [[WizardClassic Avatar]] shorts-out [[KillerRobot Necron 99]] after the latter [[spoiler: kills Elinore's father.]] It's very much in keeping with the movie's general worship of countercultural '60s Comics.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' has a bunch of Kirby Crackle against a green background during most of Ben's transformations. Also, the 0 in ''Ben 10'' has a bunch of dots in the middle. This makes sense, as the series was influenced by comics. The main character's EmbarrassingMiddleName? Benjamin ''Kirby'' Tennyson.

* [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis Alexander]] [[ComicBook/LexLuthor Luthor]] Jr.'s powers tend to rely heavily on this. What they actually are is not elaborated on further than "dimensional abilities."

* ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'': Kirby Crackle were often used in the ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' storyline, when [[http://infinitecomix.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SprGrl-28-2.jpg Supergirl's eyes poured sheer red energy]] or her BattleAura [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d7rt4OOOMBE/U0pMV4L3ugI/AAAAAAAACUk/zLSydgkM9Rc/s1600/Red+Lantern+%252329+%25284%2529.jpg flared up]].

The Kirby Crackle are a method of showing a crackle of energy such as a lightning bolt or a BattleAura. They've been widely used in US superhero comics ever since they were first developed, by influential artist Creator/JackKirby in the 1960s. Sometimes referred to as 'Kirby Dots'.

Not related to [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} a dot named Kirby]]. Name is used as a ShoutOut by the Nerdrock Band Music/{{Kirby Krackle|Music}}.

Kirby dots are a method of showing a crackle of energy such as a lightning bolt or a BattleAura. They've been widely used in US superhero comics ever since they were first developed, by influential artist Creator/JackKirby in the 1960s. Sometimes referred to as 'Kirby Krackle'.

* Special mention goes to Kirby's renditions of {{God}}. [[http://nerdcityonline.com/2010/01/22/jack-kirbys-visual-interpretations-of-god/ See here.]] Also, Jack Kirby himself in the cover of ''Comic Book Comics'' #4 is holding drawing tools glowing with his signature dots.
* Marvel Comics' Sunspot becomes solid black and is surrounded by Kirby Dots when he powers up. (Originally. Lately, it's dark blue and mostly dotless.) ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', despite not being a particularly slavish adaptation, ''especially'' visually, rendered the dot effect perfectly, much better than you'd think it'd work onscreen. According to the Official Handbook, the dots are his powers affecting the dust around him and turning them black. But yeah, the dots are basically there to offset his otherwise monochromatic and boring design.

* One issue of Creator/GrantMorrison's ''[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]'' shows a container marked ''Kirby Dots'' in the League's trophy room.
* The [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Marvel Apes]] version of the Watcher gets loaded off a beverage that includes Kirby Dots as an ingredient.
* Galacta ([[DistaffCounterpart daughter]] of Galactus) [[http://twitter.com/#!/Gali_girl/status/1873418623 reveals offhandedly]] on her [[CharacterBlog Twitter account]] that mere humans cannot perceive the Power Cosmic where it affects reality, and blanks it out in our minds. She further lampshades that some people call the visual result "Kirby Crackles".

* ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'': Kirby Dots were often used in the ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' storyline, when [[http://infinitecomix.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SprGrl-28-2.jpg Supergirl's eyes poured sheer red energy]] or her BattleAura [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d7rt4OOOMBE/U0pMV4L3ugI/AAAAAAAACUk/zLSydgkM9Rc/s1600/Red+Lantern+%252329+%25284%2529.jpg flared up]].

* The Emotions in ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' all have Kirby dots on their skin, which gives them a distinctive grainy texture.[[/folder]]

* A rare live-action version of the KirbyDots appears in the film ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' whenever the Infinity Gem is used.

* In ''Pinball/{{Genie}},'' the ''jinn's'' manifestation is accompanied by a swarm of Kirby dots.
* The cryogenic machine of ''Pinball/{{Centigrade 37}}'' is adorned with lots of dots and {{Power Glow}}s.

* The Power Flight travel power in ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline'' surrounds the character with black Kirby dots. There's also the Krackle Aura, whose description explicitly mentions Jack Kirby.
* Various powers and weapons in ''VideoGame/DCUniverseOnline'', such as Hand Blasters, use Kirby dots.
* Shortly before it shut down, ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' added an aura that greatly resembled Kirby dots, called "Dark Matter".

* In [[http://evil-inc.com/comic/when-worlds-collide-part-one-8/ this strip]] of ''Webcomic/EvilInc'', Kirby Dots are not only displayed, they're used as a measure of a monster's super-powers! Gadzooks!

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' has a bunch of KirbyDots against a green background during most of Ben's transformations. Also, the 0 in ''Ben 10'' has a bunch of dots in the middle. This makes sense, as the series was influenced by comics. The main character's EmbarrassingMiddleName? Benjamin ''Kirby'' Tennyson.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' had Franchise/{{Superman}} attacked by an Apokolips war machine with animated Kirby dots on its front panel.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', being heavily inspired by UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}}, features KirbyDots in several background instances, including ComicBook/BlueBeetle's power-up sequence. It's also very noticeable in the highly Kirby-inspired episode "The Last Bat On Earth!", as well as in Omac's transformation sequence. (Omac, of course, is another Kirby creation.)

* In the 2003 ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 TMNT]]'' series, they did a tribute episode to Jack Kirby, Kirby Dots and all.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' had Supes attacked by an Apokolips war machine with animated Kirby dots on its front panel.

There now exists a [[http://www.theycamefromhollywood.com/octopusmotor/kirbydots/ CGI tool]] for automatically creating Kirby Dots, and even animating them. Interestingly, an analogous technique called 'particle emission' is used in VideoGame graphics for rendering fire, smoke, clouds and, not surprisingly, energy fields. This is, however, mostly because of technical limitations -- it's just really hard and computation intensive to create a polygonal object that changes shape the way fire does. Particle emissions are merely the next best thing.

!Examples:

[[AC: ComicBooks]]
* Marvel Comics' Sunspot becomes solid black and is surrounded by Kirby Dots when he powers up (originally. Lately, it's dark blue and mostly dotless.) ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', despite not being a particularly slavish adaptation, ''especially'' visually, rendered the dot effect perfectly, much better than you'd think it'd work onscreen. According to the Official Handbook, the dots are his powers affecting the dust around him and turning them black. But yeah, the dots are basically there to offset his otherwise monochromatic and boring design.
* [[Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis Alexander]] [[ComicBook/LexLuthor Luthor]] Jr.'s powers tend to rely heavily on this. What they actually are is not elaborated on further than "dimensional abilities."
* ''ThePain'' has used this [[http://www.thepaincomics.com/weekly070214a.htm to represent evil radiation]].

* The ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''-''[[ComicBook/FantasticFour Human Torch]]'' miniseries hung a lampshade on it. In the second issue, Spider-Man and the Torch trade 'beats' to see who has it toughest, and Spidey accompanies the rest of the F4 on a trip to another dimension.

[[AC: Film]]

* A rare live-action version of the KirbyDots appears in the film Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy whenever the Infinity Gem is used.
* The Emotions in ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' all have Kirby dots on their skin, which gives them a distinctive grainy texture.
[[AC: {{Pinball}}]]

[[AC: VideoGames]]

[[AC: {{Webcomics}}]]

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wizards}}'' has these from time to time, most visible when [[WizardClassic Avatar]] shorts-out [[KillerRobot Necron 99]] after the latter [[spoiler: kills Elinore's father.]] It's very much in keeping with the movie's general worship of countercultural 60's Comics.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' has a bunch of KirbyDots against a green background during most of Ben's transformations. Also, the 0 in ''Ben 10'' has a bunch of dots in the middle. This makes sense, as the series was influenced by comics.
** The main character's EmbarrassingMiddleName? Benjamin ''Kirby'' Tennyson.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold Batman: The Brave and the Bold]]'', being heavily inspired by UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}}, features KirbyDots in several background instances, including ComicBook/BlueBeetle's power-up sequence. It's also very noticeable in the highly Kirby-inspired episode "The Last Bat On Earth!", as well as in Omac's transformation sequence. (Omac, of course, is another Kirby creation.)

* The short lived ''WesternAnimation/SilverSurfer'' animated series combined this with ConspicuousCGI with inconsistent effectiveness.

[[AC: Other]]
* Special mention goes to Kirby's renditions of {{God}}. [[http://nerdcityonline.com/2010/01/22/jack-kirbys-visual-interpretations-of-god/ See here.]]
** Also, Jack Kirby himself in the cover of ''Comic Book Comics'' #4 is holding drawing tools glowing with his signature dots.
* [[http://cyber-kun.deviantart.com/art/Silver-Age-Mega-Man-X-219202589?q=favby%3Aamayirot-akago%2F1081209&qo=10 This]] Silver Age style fanart of VideoGame/MegaManX contains it as a deliberate homage.

Not related to [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} a dot named Kirby]] or a district of [[UsefulNotes/FootballPopMusicAndFlatCaps Liverpool]]. Name is used as a ShoutOut by the Nerdrock Band Music/{{Kirby Krackle|Music}}.

Not related to [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} a dot named Kirby]]. Name is used as a ShoutOut by the Nerdrock Band Music/{{Kirby Krackle|Music}}.

* [[Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis Alexander]] [[SelfDemonstrating/LexLuthor Luthor]] Jr.'s powers tend to rely heavily on this. What they actually are is not elaborated on further than "dimensional abilities."

* ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold Batman: The Brave and the Bold]]'', being heavily inspired by {{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}}, features KirbyDots in several background instances, including ComicBook/BlueBeetle's power-up sequence. It's also very noticeable in the highly Kirby-inspired episode "The Last Bat On Earth!", as well as in Omac's transformation sequence. (Omac, of course, is another Kirby creation.)

* ''{{Wizards}}'' has these from time to time, most visible when [[WizardClassic Avatar]] shorts-out [[KillerRobot Necron 99]] after the latter [[spoiler: kills Elinore's father.]] It's very much in keeping with the movie's general worship of countercultural 60's Comics.

* All over the place in ''[[WesternAnimation/AvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]''.
** The Hulk once saw a commercial for Kirby Kibble dog food, containing "Kirby Dots of real beef".

* In DC's {{New 52}}, this style of energy seems to be visual shorthand for things that tie into Fourth World stuff especially with OMAC and Earth 2's Al Pratt, characters whose powers are hinted at being consequences of New Gods tech. Perhaps only fitting, as it was Jack Kirby himself who originally created Fourth World and the New Gods.