Kirby, Jack, 1917-1994

Jack Kirby (b. August 28, 1917, New York, NY–d. February 6, 1994, Thousand Oaks, CA) was an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. Born in New York City as Jacob Kurtzberg he entered the nascent comics industry in the 1930s. With Joe Simon, Kirby created the highly successful superhero character Captain America for Timely Comics (predecessor of Marvel Comics) in 1940 before being drafted for military service during WWII. During the 1940s, Kirby created many characters for Timely Comics and for National Comics Publications (later DC Comics). In the 1960s, Kirby and writer-editor Stan Lee co-created major characters, including the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Hulk. Kirby married Rosalind Goldstein in 1942 and had four children.