Jack Kirby - Comic Artist

Jack Kirby - Comic Artist

Introduction

Born Jacob Kurtzberg on August 28, 1917, Jack “The King” Kirby is considered one of the most influential American comic book artists of all time. Having worked for both Marvel and DC Comics, Kirby is perhaps best known for creating or co-creating now-iconic characters such as the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Thor, the New Gods, Iron Man, and the Hulk. 

History

Jack Kirby’s childhood in America inspired many of his characters. Kirby grew up on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Witnessing fights amongst his peers and friends, and even getting involved in some brawls himself, Kirby’s time on the streets later seeped into many of his comics. He went on to create a variety of “kid gang” characters, both heroes and villains, such as the Boy Commandos, the Newsboy Legion, and the Yancy Street Gang.

Art

The “Kirby Krackle” became one of Jack Kirby’s signature artistic elements. In addition to taking advantage of double-page spreads and eye-popping splash pages, Kirby was known for being an innovator of many illustration techniques, including the use of collages and incredibly complex technical sci-fi drawings. However, one of his most unique artistic flourishes was the “Kirby Krackle” (or “Kirby Dots”), a stylistic convention that he used to depict high-energy phenomena such as explosions or certain cosmic elements in space.

Jack Kirby originally had a different name in mind for the Black Panther. Kirby sketched a new character named Coal Tiger, a Black superhero decked out in a colorful costume. The concept was reworked before it was ever published and eventually became Black Panther, who debuted in 1966's Fantastic Four #52.

Comic books are books with comics, with pictures that make a story. Comics were started in the 1900s. Some famous examples are Spider-Man and Batman. Some comic companies are Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Many comic books are about superheroes, but many others are about other things. Very often, characters in books, video games, movies and television appear in comics, and sometimes comic book characters are used in movies, TV shows or video games.

Source: mentalfloss.com