Common questions about Jack Kirby

Short answers, pulled from the story.

When was Jack Kirby born and where did he grow up?

Jacob Kurtzberg was born on the 28th of August 1917 at 147 Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He grew up in a garment district where his parents, Rose and Benjamin Kurtzberg, were Austrian-Jewish immigrants struggling to make a living.

What military service did Jack Kirby perform during World War II?

Jacob Kurtzberg was drafted into the United States Army on the 7th of June 1943 and landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on the 23rd of August 1944. He served as a scout tasked with drawing reconnaissance maps and pictures, suffered severe frostbite in London during the winter of 1944, and was honorably discharged as a private first class on the 20th of July 1945.

Which comic book series did Jack Kirby co-create with Joe Simon in 1947?

Jack Kirby and Joe Simon launched Young Romance in 1947, a title that sold 92 percent of its print run and spawned spin-offs like Young Love and Young Brides. Their partnership created a first-issue mock-up for Crestwood Publications and negotiated a deal where they took 50 percent of the profits.

What major characters did Jack Kirby co-create at Marvel Comics in the 1960s?

Jack Kirby co-created the Hulk, Thor, the X-Men, and the Black Panther, the first black superhero in comics, along with his Afrofuturist nation of Wakanda. He also created the Silver Surfer and the Galactus Trilogy in Fantastic Four #48 through #50, which became a favorite on college campuses.

What series did Jack Kirby create at DC Comics in 1971?

Jack Kirby moved to DC Comics on the 1st of November 1971 to create The Fourth World, a series of interlinked titles that included New Gods, Mister Miracle, and The Forever People. The central villain of the Fourth World series, Darkseid, appeared in Jimmy Olsen before the launch of the other Fourth World books.

When and where did Jack Kirby die and what recognition did he receive posthumously?

Jack Kirby died of heart failure on the 6th of February 1994 in his Thousand Oaks, California home and was buried at Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California. In 2017, he was posthumously named a Disney Legend for his creations that formed the basis for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.