Born on August 28, 1917, Jack Kirby taught himself to draw when he was a young boy in New York, taking the “Flash Gordon” newspaper comic strip and other sources as his inspirations. He enrolled in the prestigious Pratt Institute but dropped out on his first day, largely due to the financial strain of tuition on his family.

Kirby’s first job as a professional illustrator was as an in-betweener at the Max Fleisher studios, where he helped with “Popeye” cartoons. After working for Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate as a cartoonist and then for Victor Fox as a comic book illustrator, Kirby began drawing for Joe Simon at Timely Comics Company in 1941.

Timely had only two stars—the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner. Simon and Kirby created a number of new characters, the most notable of which was Captain America. From there, Simo...

In the late 1950s, Kirby was doing much of his work for Marvel Comics. In 1961, with Marvel’s head writer and editor, Stan Lee, Kirby helped create the “Fantastic Four,” which inaugurated a new era of Marvel superheroes. In the years to come, Kirby helped illustrate and generate stories for “The Incredible Hulk,” “The Mighty Thor,” “The Avengers,” X-Men,” and more. Often Kirby’s role was to draw the first issue to get it off to a good start, and then let other artists at Marvel take over from there.

In 1970, Kirby resigned from Marvel and began working for National-DC comics as an artist, writer, and editor. At DC, Kirby helped generate the “Fourth World” series, spawning a whole new universe of modern mythology. Kirby returned to Marvel in 1975 but left for the last time in 1978. He passed away in 1994.

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Recent News: Jack Kirby

Source: Google News

Geoff Johns says goodbye to Green Lantern in This Week's Comics - io9
io9, May 21st

Yes, after being in charge of Green Lantern for nearly a decade, revitalizing the title, and adding more to the DC universe mythos than anybody besides Jack Kirby, Geoff Johns has penned his final issue. Plus Godzilla, sex, a sword-wielding Little Red...Read more

Savage Dragon to Die in October?
Comicbook.com (blog), May 21st

“There's something someone somewhat magical to me about the number 193 – it was the issue where Jack Kirby returned to Captain America, which was the first time I was able to buy new Jack Kirby Captain America comics off the stand. Issue #193 was...Read more

Marvel Comics news: Maximoffs in "Avengers 2" and "Iron Man 3" breaks a billion
Examiner.com, May 21st

Created in "Uncanny X-Men #4" in 1964 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, both were attached to the Avengers comics for most of their published existence. Mutants who were founding members of Magneto's "Brotherhood of Evil Mutants", their relation to Magneto...Read more

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Begins Filming in Downtown ...
Nuke The Fridge, May 20th

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely wrote the screenplay from the concept and story by Ed Brubaker. Captain America was created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon. Anthony Russo and Joe Russo direct. Source: The Plain Dealer. Click on the great stories...Read more

Geek Deals: BATMAN: RETURNS, Jack Kirby Omnibus, TMNT And More
Comic Book Movie (blog), May 19th

Want the complete fifth and final season of Fringe on blu-ray? It's 30% off. The four-disc combo pack for The Amazing Spider-Man (that includes blu-ray, 3D blu-ray, DVD and ultra-violet) is only $19.99. The second volume of the Jack Kirby Omnibus has...Read more

Giving Jack Kirby his due in 'Comic Book Creator'
Providence.thephoenix, May 1st

"No," the owner of the Time Capsule — Cranston's beehive for comic-book lovers — calls from behind the counter. Cooke is unconvinced. We're in a store that sells vintage copies of X-Men, Bionic Woman lunchboxes, and Star Trek action figures and he's...Read more

Savage Dragon and Son By Jack Kirby…Wait, What?!
Comicbook.com (blog), May 1st

Savage Dragon by Jack Kirby A color print that was offered at the recent Calgary Fan Expo showed comics legend Jack Kirby pencilling Erik Larsen's creator-owned character Savage Dragon and his son Malcolm. Inked by Larsen, the image (seen at right)...Read more

Volunteering for the King
Sequential Tart News, April 22nd

Steve Coates is the fan behind the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center table at the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo on April 26 to 28, 2013. This year, he will be joined by two special guests: Kirby museum trustee Rand Hoppe and Image Comics...Read more