Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching back to the earliest days of the medium. He was also a comic book writer and editor. His most common nickname is "The King". Historians and most comics creators acknowledge Kirby as one of the medium's greatest and most influential artists. The New York Times, in a Sunday op-ed piece written more than a decade after his death, said Kirby "created a new grammar of storytelling and a cinematic style of motion. Once-wooden characters cascaded from one frame to another — or even from page to page — threatening to fall right out of the book into the reader’s lap. The force of punches thrown was visibly and explosively evident. Even at rest, a Kirby character pulsed with tension and energy in a way that makes movie versions of the same characters seem static by comparison". [1] His output was legendary, with one count estimating[citation needed] that he produced over 25,000 pages, as well as hundreds of comic strips and sketches. He also produced paintings, and worked on concept illustrations for a number of Hollywood films. He was inducted into comic books' Shazam Awards Hall of Fame in 1975. The Jack Kirby Award for achievement in comic books was named in his honor. |
Read more about this Great Man @ ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kirby |