After legendary comic artist Jack Kirby left Marvel, for the final time, in the late 1970s, he moved into animation, working first for Hanna-Barbera and then Ruby-Spears Productions, designing characters and backgrounds for series like Thundarr the Barbarian and Turbo Teen and drawing presentation boards for new projects. Even when Kirby didn't have a specific assignment from the studio, the prolific artist continued to sketch ideas, apparently by the box load.

Those boxes, containing an estimated 600 presentation boards for never-produced cartoons and toy lines, remained unseen for more than two decades until last fall, when Joe Ruby and Ken Spears dusted them off and brought the Kirby concepts to producers Sid and Marty Krofft (of H.R. Pufnstuf and Lidsville fame). Their hope is to revive the properties, transforming them into the next big film franchise or toy line.

William Morris Endeavor Entertainment's Ari Emanuel -- brother of White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, and the model for Entourage's Ari Gold -- who's representing Ruby-Spears and the Kroffts in this venture, describes the find as "a treasure."

"It’s like a boat sank at the bottom of the ocean," Emanuel tells The New York Times, "and all of a sudden you’ve uncovered it."

It's difficult to disagree: The concepts undoubtedly represent an important part of Kirby's career, and have significance to the history of comic books and TV animation. But (oh, you knew there would be a "but") I have a hard time envisioning them successfully making the leap into the 21st century. Without Kirby's trademark exuberance -- he passed away in 1994 -- to bring the properties to life, you're left with a bunch of 30-year-old ideas for toys and cartoons that were never produced ... probably with good reason.

There's "Roxie's Raiders," described as "an Indiana Jones-style serial about a female adventurer and her allies," and "Golden Shield," about an ancient Mayan warrior who tries to save the planet from the 2012 apocalypse (Kirby was well ahead of his time, in that regard). There's "The Gargoids," about scientists who gain superpowers after being infected by an alien virus, and something called "Dragonspies."

For fans of Kirby, these may hold a certain charm, despite the tendency of the artist's later works to pale in comparison to 1960s creations like Fantastic Four and Thor or 1970s concepts like Darkseid and Kamandi. Remember Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers or Silver Star? How about the Kirby-less Jack Kirby's Galactic Bounty Hunters, published in 2006-2007 by Marvel with the involvement of daughter Lisa Kirby (in happier times)? No?

I just don't see a big-budget Gargoids movie from DreamWorks, or a Dragonspies toy line from Mattel, even with the combined name recognition of Kirby, Ruby-Spears and the Kroffts.

But what do I know? I'm no Ari Emanuel, who insists those presentation boards are a goldmine: “You can’t go wrong. Just close your eyes and throw a dart. And I only saw 5 percent of it.”