Happy Birthday, Jack Kirby!

Today Jack Kirby would have been 91 years old.

It's a poorly-kept secret that his work is a huge influence on El Gorgo, and pretty much any comic book from the last 40+ years.

I first recognized Jack Kirby's work at around age 8 or 9, having been exposed to it as early as 5 or 6, but not really being aware of him as being a different artist from everybody else. I remember having a few paperback-sized color reprints of the early Silver-Age Marvel comics (The Hulk, Fantastic Four and Captain America), and basically reading them repeatedly until they fell apart. I would wonder why these books seemed so much cooler than the contemporary comics of the time, not fully realizing it was because I was reading work by the original creators, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.

I went through a period later on where I thought Kirby's work was awkward and juvenile, as I sought out more "mature" comics. Thankfully, I came to my senses as I grew older, and have since developed a finer appreciation for Jack Kirby and many of his peers. And besides, nobody does dynamic storytelling like Jack Kirby. Nobody. And he never stopped creating, never stood still. Some of his best work came when he was already in his fifties, when many of his peers were slowing down.

Kirby is The King. End of story. Thanks for everything, Jack!

Jack, by Jack:

Kamandi, possibly my favorite series by Kirby: