Here’s to the guy who is responsible for numerous characters in the big two which changed the industry.
For many, Jack was the art side (and to some extent writing) for Marvel’s breakout success with their early titles: The Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Hulk and reviving Captain America. He also worked at DC at least twice but when he left Marvel (over money, credit and other matters he deserved) to write/draw for DC in the late Sixties, he gave the Superman company great creations: The New Gods, The Forever People, Kamandi and OMAC. Contrary to how much gush on about those books, they didn’t sell as well as expected yet DC did integrate The New Gods‘ main villain into their universe, Darkseid. Darkseid has gone on to be a nemesis for the Justice League and The Legion of Superheroes. Kirby did a fantastic job on this character, Darkseid is based upon Richard “Tricky Dick” Nixon.
Outside of comics, Jack provided model sheets and designs for Saturday morning cartoons like Thundar the Barbarian.
Spoiler Alert: Darkseid will be the enemy behind the scenes in the upcoming train wreck Justice League movie.
Not only did Jack Kirby create myriad characters that will be mined as intellectual property for movies and television for decades to come, he’s largely responsible for creating the visual language of western action comics (particularly superhero books, but his influence transcends the genre, as well). In the early days of Marvel Comics, Jack would do loose breakdowns for other artists to follow, highlighting his approach to pacing and dynamics. Artists who greatly benefited from this approach (but went on to fully integrate it into their own voice) include John Buscema and John Romita.
From a personal perspective, Kamandi is my favorite Kirby title.