Jack Kirby Biography

Fast Facts

• Won a Shazam Award for Special Achievement by an Individual in 1971
• Won an Alley Award for Best Pencil Artist, as well as other awards for individual stories, in 1967
• Created "The Boy Commandos" and "The Newsboy Legion" for DC Comics, then known as National Comics, with Joe Simon before the two parted ways in the 1950s
• Began collaborating with Joe Simon at the age of 22, first inventing characters for Fox Feature Syndicate and later for Timely Comics, where they created "Captain America․"
• Quote: "I think I have a highly unique and unusual style, and that's the reason I never sign my drawings․ Everybody could tell any of my covers a mile away on the newsstand, and that satisfied me․"
• Best known as a comic book artist, writer, and editor who is often regarded as the "King of Comics․"
• Collaborated with Dick and Dave Wood to create "Challengers of the Unknown" in 1957
• Conceived of the "Fantastic Four" with Stan Lee after returning to Timely Comics, now known as Marvel Comics, in 1961 in response to DC Comics' superhero team "Justice League of America․"
• Was the co-creator of several popular titles like "Captain America," "The Avengers," "X-Men," and "Fantastic Four․"
• Worked for Fleischer Studios as an in-betweener for "Popeye" cartoons early in his career and later returned to the animation industry to work on "The Marvel Super Heroes" and "Thundarr the Barbarian․"