Uh-Oh …

If this is true, the Internet is going to break in half….

Again!

Gigantic Spider-spoiler ahead …

The King Of Comics

Today is the anniversary of Jack Kirby’s birth.

Your humble host could go on and on about the King’s achievements, but his pivotal role in the industry (alone and with such collaborators as Joe Simon and Stan Lee) is not disputed.

Co-creating Captain America alone would be enough for many (see Todd McFarlane re. Spawn, or better yet don’t), but the King produced a staggering amount of work in nearly every genre of comics.

Even subtracting his most famous work with Marvel and DC, the man left a huge mark.

With Joe Simon, he launched the first romance comic.  He wrote and/or drew scores of memorable crime, horror, western and science-fiction stories - each of which contained the drama, action and power that influences creators to this very day.

The most amazing aspect of Kirby’s career - to this reader, at least  - is the sheer amount of ideas the man expressed on the printed page. These days (*bitter old fart alert! *), comic-book publishers pat themselves on the back for shooting a longtime hero in the head or throwing spandex wonders into a playground dispute and calling it relevant.

Kirby, though, would toss a guy with a flying surfboard into a story without a thought. Nearly 40 years later, the Silver Surfer is the feature attraction in the next Fantastic Four movie.

Kirby didn’t tear characters or concepts down to enhance his own star power. He built universes from the ground up, providing fertile breeding grounds for subsequent generations of creators. 

Whoops. Looks like we did go on and on about his achievements!

For the best summation of Kirby’s career - he did work in a visual medium, after all - here’s a random assortment of classic covers that hopefully illustrate the unlimited imagination that permeated all his work.

For good measure, here’s a page of Cap doing what he does best - kicking neo-fascist butt!

All hail the King!