Creaters

CREATERS: 1.Stan Lee and 2.Jack Kirby(scroll page down for info.)

1.Stan Lee

Stan Lee
Lee in 2007
Born	Stanley Martin Lieber December 28, 1922 (age 91) New York City, New York, US
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer, editor, publisher, producer,actor, television host, voice actor,author
Notable works	Avengers Daredevil Fantastic Four Hulk Iron Man Spider-Man Thor X-Men
Awards	The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame Jack Kirby Hall of Fame
Spouse(s)	Joan Clayton Boocock Lee (m. 1947–present)
Children	2
Signature

Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber, December 28, 1922) is an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, media producer, television host, actor, voice actor and former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.

In collaboration with several artists, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, X-Men, and many otherfictional characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. In addition, he headed the first major successful challenge to the industry's censorship organization, the Comics Code Authority, and forced it to reform its policies. Lee subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.

He was inducted into the comic book industry's The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995.

Contents

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• 1 Early life
• 2 Career
  • 2.1 Early career
  • 2.2 Marvel revolution
  • 2.3 Later career
• 3 Charity work
• 4 Fictional portrayals
• 5 Film and television appearances
  • 5.1 Marvel television
    • 5.1.1 Animation
    • 5.1.2 Live-action
  • 5.2 Marvel films
  • 5.3 Warner Bros./DC properties
  • 5.4 Other film, TV, and video
  • 5.5 Video games and applications
• 6 Personal life
• 7 Filmography
  • 7.1 Films
  • 7.2 Television
  • 7.3 Video games
• 8 Awards and nominations
• 9 Bibliography
  • 9.1 DC
  • 9.2 Marvel
  • 9.3 Simon & Schuster

Early life

Stanley Martin Lieber was born in New York City on December 28, 1922,^[1] in the apartment of his Romanian-born Jewish immigrant parents, Celia (née Solomon) and Jack Lieber, at the corner of West 98th Street and West End Avenue in Manhattan.^[2][3] His father, trained as a dress cutter, worked only sporadically after the Great Depression,^[2] and the family moved further uptown to Fort Washington Avenue,^[4] in Washington Heights, Manhattan. When Lee was nearly 9, his only sibling, brother Larry Lieber, was born.^[5]He said in 2006 that as a child he was influenced by books and movies, particularly those with Errol Flynn playing heroic roles.^[6] By the time Lee was in his teens, the family was living in a one-bedroom apartment at 1720 University Avenue in The Bronx. Lee described it as "a third-floor apartment facing out back", with him and his brother sharing a bedroom and his parents using a foldout couch.^[5]

Lee attended DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx.^[7] In his youth, Lee enjoyed writing, and entertained dreams of one day writingThe Great American Novel.^[8] He has said that in his youth he worked such part-time jobs as writing obituaries for a news service andpress releases for the National Tuberculosis Center; delivering sandwiches for the Jack May pharmacy to offices in Rockefeller Center; working as an office boy for a trouser manufacturer; ushering at the Rivoli Theater on Broadway;^[9] and selling subscriptions to the New York Herald Tribune newspaper. He graduated high school early, at age 16½ in 1939, and joined the WPA Federal Theatre Project.^[10]

Career

Early career

A text filler in Captain America Comics#3 (May 1941) was Lee's first published comics work. Cover art by Alex Schomburg.

With the help of his uncle Robbie Solomon,^[11] Lee became an assistant in 1939 at the newTimely Comics division of pulp magazine and comic-book publisher Martin Goodman's company. Timely, by the 1960s, would evolve into Marvel Comics. Lee, whose cousin Jean^[12] was Goodman's wife, was formally hired by Timely editor Joe Simon.^{[n 1]}

His duties were prosaic at first. "In those days [the artists] dipped the pen in ink, [so] I had to make sure the inkwells were filled", Lee recalled in 2009. "I went down and got them their lunch, I did proofreading, I erased the pencils from the finished pages for them".^[13]Marshaling his childhood ambition to be a writer, young Stanley Lieber made his comic-book debut with the text filler "Captain America Foils the Traitor's Revenge" in Captain America Comics #3 (May 1941), using the pseudonym "Stan Lee",^[14] which years later he would adopt as his legal name. Lee later explained in his autobiography and numerous other sources that he had intended to save his given name for more literary work. This initial story also introduced Captain America's trademark ricocheting shield-toss, which immediately became one of the character's signatures.^[15]

He graduated from writing filler to actual comics with a backup feature, "'Headline' Hunter, Foreign Correspondent", two issues later. Lee's first superhero co-creation was theDestroyer, in Mystic Comics #6 (Aug 1941). Other characters he created during this period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comics include Jack Frost, debuting in USA Comics #1 (Aug. 1941), and Father Time, debuting in Captain America Comics #6 (Aug. 1941).^[16]

When Simon and his creative partner Jack Kirby left late in 1941, following a dispute with Goodman, the 30-year-old publisher installed Lee, just under 19 years old, as interim editor.^[17][18] The youngster showed a knack for the business that led him to remain as the comic-book division's editor-in-chief, as well as art director for much of that time, until 1972, when he would succeed Goodman as publisher.^[19][20]

Lee entered the United States Army in early 1942 and served stateside in the Signal Corps, repairing telegraph poles and other communications equipment.^[21] He was later transferred to the Training Film Division, where he worked writing manuals, training films, and slogans, and occasionally cartooning. His military classification, he says, was "playwright"; he adds that only nine men in the U.S. Army were given that title.^[22] Vincent Fago, editor of Timely's "animation comics" section, which put out humor and funny animalcomics, filled in until Lee returned from his World War II military service in 1945. Lee then lived in the rented top floor of a brownstone in the East 90s in Manhattan.^[23]

He married Joan Clayton Boocock on December 5, 1947,^[24] and in 1949, the couple bought a two-story, three-bedroom home at 1084 West Broadway in Woodmere, New York, on Long Island, living there through 1952.^[25] By this time, the couple had daughter Joan Celia "J.C." Lee, born in 1950; another child, Jan Lee, died three days after delivery in 1953.^[26] Lee by this time had bought a home at 226 Richards Lane in the Long Island town of Hewlett Harbor, New York, where he and his family lived from 1952 to 1980,^[27] including the 1960s period when Lee and his artist collaborators would revolutionize comic books.

In the mid-1950s, by which time the company was now generally known as Atlas Comics, Lee wrote stories in a variety of genresincluding romance, Westerns, humor, science fiction, medieval adventure, horror and suspense. In the 1950s, Lee teamed up with his comic book colleague Dan DeCarlo to produce the syndicated newspaper strip, My Friend Irma, based on the radio comedy starringMarie Wilson.^[28] By the end of the decade, Lee had become dissatisfied with his career and considered quitting the field.^[29][30]

The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961). Cover art by Jack Kirby (penciller) and an unconfirmed inker.

Marvel revolution

In the late 1950s, DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz revived the superhero archetype and experienced a significant success with its updated version of the Flash, and later with super-team the Justice League of America. In response, publisher Martin Goodman assigned Lee to create a new superhero team. Lee's wife urged him to experiment with stories he preferred, since he was planning on changing careers and had nothing to lose.^[29][30]

Lee acted on that advice, giving his superheroes a flawed humanity, a change from the ideal archetypes that were typically written for preteens. Before this, most superheroes were idealistically perfect people with no serious, lasting problems.^[31] Lee introduced complex,naturalistic characters^[32] who could have bad tempers, fits of melancholy, and vanity; they bickered amongst themselves, worried about paying their bills and impressing girlfriends, got bored or even were sometimes physically ill.

The first superhero group Lee and artist Jack Kirby created was the Fantastic Four. The team's immediate popularity^[33] led Lee and Marvel's illustrators to produce a cavalcade of new titles. With Kirby primarily, Lee created the Hulk,^[34] Thor,^[35] Iron Man,^[36] and the X-Men;^[37] with Bill Everett, Daredevil;^[38] and with Steve Ditko, Doctor Strange^[39] and Marvel's most successful character, Spider-Man,^[40] all of whom lived in a thoroughly shared universe.^[41] Lee and Kirby gathered several of their newly-created characters together into the team title The Avengers^[42] and would revive characters from the 1940s such as the Sub-Mariner^[43] Captain America,^[44] and Ka-Zar.^[45]

Comics historian Peter Sanderson wrote that in the 1960s:

DC was the equivalent of the big Hollywood studios: After the brilliance of DC's reinvention of the superhero ... in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it had run into a creative drought by the decade's end. There was a new audience for comics now, and it wasn't just the little kids that traditionally had read the books. The Marvel of the 1960s was in its own way the counterpart of the French New Wave.... Marvel was pioneering new methods of comics storytelling and characterization, addressing more serious themes, and in the process keeping and attracting readers in their teens and beyond. Moreover, among this new generation of readers were people who wanted to write or draw comics themselves, within the new style that Marvel had pioneered, and push the creative envelope still further.^[46]

Lee's revolution extended beyond the characters and storylines to the way in which comic books engaged the readership and built a sense of community between fans and creators.^[47] He introduced the practice of regularly including a credit panel on the splash page of each story, naming not just the writer and penciller but also the inker and letterer. Regular news about Marvel staff members and upcoming storylines was presented on the Bullpen Bulletins page, which (like the letter columns that appeared in each title) was written in a friendly, chatty style. By 1967, the brand was well-enough ensconced in popular culture that a March 3 WBAI radio program with Lee and Kirby as guests was titled "Will Success Spoil Spiderman" [sic].^[48]

Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962), the first appearance of Spider-Man. Cover art by Jack Kirby (penciller) and Steve Ditko(inker).

Throughout the 1960s, Lee scripted, art-directed and edited most of Marvel's series, moderated the letters pages, wrote a monthly column called "Stan's Soapbox," and wrote endless promotional copy, often signing off with his trademark motto, "Excelsior!" (which is also the New York state motto). To maintain his taxing workload, yet still meet deadlines, he used a system that was used previously by various comic-book studios, but due to Lee's success with it, became known as the "Marvel Method" or "Marvel style" of comic-book creation. Typically, Lee would brainstorm a story with the artist and then prepare a brief synopsis rather than a full script. Based on the synopsis, the artist would fill the allotted number of pages by determining and drawing the panel-to-panel storytelling. After the artist turned in penciled pages, Lee would write the word balloons and captions, and then oversee the lettering and coloring. In effect, the artists were co-plotters, whose collaborative first drafts Lee built upon.

Because of this system, the exact division of creative credits on Lee's comics has been disputed, especially in cases of comics drawn by Kirby and Ditko. Lee shares co-creator credit with Kirby and Ditko on, respectively, the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man feature film series.

Following Ditko's departure from Marvel in 1966, John Romita, Sr. became Lee's collaborator on The Amazing Spider-Man. Within a year, it overtook Fantastic Four to become the company's top seller.^[49] Lee and Romita's stories focused as much on the social and college lives of the characters as they did on Spider-Man's adventures.^[50] The stories became more topical, addressing issues such as the Vietnam War,^[51] political elections,^[52]and student activism.^[53] Robbie Robertson, introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #51 (Aug. 1967) was one of the first African-American characters in comics to play a serious supporting role.^[54] In the Fantastic Four series, the lengthy run by Lee and Kirby produced many acclaimed storylines and characters that have become central to Marvel, including the Inhumans^[55][56] and the Black Panther,^[57] an African king who would be mainstream comics' first black superhero.^[58] The story frequently cited as Lee and Kirby's finest achievement ^[59][60] is the three-part "Galactus Trilogy" that began in Fantastic Four #48 (March 1966), chronicling the arrival of Galactus, a cosmic giant who wanted to devour the planet, and his herald, the Silver Surfer.^[61][62] Fantastic Four #48 was chosen as #24 in the 100 Greatest Marvels of All Time poll of Marvel's readers in 2001. Editor Robert Greenberger wrote in his introduction to the story that "As the fourth year of the Fantastic Fourcame to a close, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby seemed to be only warming up. In retrospect, it was perhaps the most fertile period of any monthly title during the Marvel Age."^[63] Comics historian Les Daniels noted that "[t]he mystical and metaphysical elements that took over the saga were perfectly suited to the tastes of young readers in the 1960s", and Lee soon discovered that the story was a favorite on college campuses.^[64] Lee and artist John Buscema launched The Silver Surfer series in August 1968.^[65][66] Lee and Gene Colancreated the Falcon, Marvel's first African-American superhero in Captain America #117 (Sept. 1969).^[67] In 1971, Lee indirectly helped reform the Comics Code.^[68] The U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare had asked Lee to write a comic-book story about the dangers of drugs and Lee conceived a three-issue subplot in The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98 (cover-dated May–July 1971), in which Peter Parker's best friend becomes addicted to pills. The Comics Code Authority refused to grant its seal because the stories depicted drug use; the anti-drug context was considered irrelevant. With Goodman's cooperation and confident that the original government request would give him credibility, Lee had the story published without the seal. The comics sold well and Marvel won praise for its socially conscious efforts.^[69] The CCA subsequently loosened the Code to permit negative depictions of drugs, among other new freedoms.^[70][71]

Lee also supported using comic books to provide some measure of social commentary about the real world, often dealing with racism and bigotry. "Stan's Soapbox", besides promoting an upcoming comic book project, also addressed issues of discrimination, intolerance, or prejudice.^[72][73]

In 1972, Lee stopped writing monthly comic books to assume the role of publisher. His final issue of The Amazing Spider-Man was #110 (July 1972)^[74] and his last Fantastic Four was #125 (Aug. 1972).^[75]

Later career

Signed photo of Lee at the 1975 San Diego Comic Con.

In later years, Lee became a figurehead and public face for Marvel Comics. He made appearances at comic book conventions around America, lecturing at colleges and participating in panel discussions. He owned a vacation home on Cutler Lane inRemsenburg, New York^[76] and, from 1975 to 1980, a two-bedroom condominium on the 14th floor of 220 East 63rd Street in Manhattan.^[77] Lee and John Romita, Sr. launched the Spider-Man newspaper comic strip on January 3, 1977.^[78] Lee's final collaboration with Jack Kirby, The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience was published in 1978 as part of the Marvel Fireside Books series and is considered to be Marvel's first graphic novel.^[79] Lee and John Buscema produced the first issue of The Savage She-Hulk (Feb. 1980) which introduced the female cousin of the Hulk^[80] and crafted a Silver Surfer story for Epic Illustrated #1 (Spring 1980).^[81] He moved to California in 1981 to develop Marvel's TV and movie properties. He has been an executive producer for, and has made cameo appearancesin, Marvel film adaptations and other movies. He and his wife bought a home in West Hollywood, California previously owned by comedian Jack Benny's radio announcer, Don Wilson.^[82] He occasionally returned to comic book writing with various Silver Surfer projects including a 1982 one-shot drawn by John Byrne,^[83] the Judgment Day graphic novel illustrated by John Buscema,^[84] the Parable limited series drawn by French artistMœbius,^[85] and The Enslavers graphic novel with Keith Pollard.^[86] Lee was briefly president of the entire company, but soon stepped down to become publisher instead, finding that being president was too much about numbers and finance and not enough about the creative process he enjoyed.^[26]

Peter Paul and Lee began to start a new Internet-based superhero creation, production and marketing studio, Stan Lee Media, in 1998. It grew to 165 people and went public through a reverse merger structured by investment banker Stan Medley in 1999, but near the end of 2000, investigators discovered illegal stock manipulation by Paul and corporate officer Stephan Gordon.^[87] Stan Lee Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2001.^[88] Paul was extradited to the U.S. from Brazil, and pleaded guilty to violating SEC Rule 10b-5 in connection with trading of his stock in Stan Lee Media.^[89][90] Lee was never implicated in the scheme.

In the 2000s, Lee did his first work for DC Comics, launching the Just Imagine... series, in which Lee reimagined the DC superheroesSuperman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the Flash.^[91]

In 2001, Lee, Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman formed POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment to develop film, television and video game properties. Lee created the risqué animated superhero series Stripperella for Spike TV. In 2004 POW Entertainment went public via another reverse merger structured again by investment banker Stan Medley. Also in 2004 Lee announced a superhero program that would feature Ringo Starr, the former Beatle, as the lead character.^[92] Additionally, in August of that year, Lee announced the launch of Stan Lee's Sunday Comics,^[93] hosted by Komikwerks.com, where monthly subscribers could read a new, updated comic and "Stan's Soapbox" every Sunday. The column has not been updated since February 15, 2005.

In 2006, Marvel commemorated Lee's 65 years with the company by publishing a series of one-shot comics starring Lee himself meeting and interacting with many of his co-creations, including Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, the Thing, Silver Surfer and Doctor Doom. These comics also featured short pieces by such comics creators as Joss Whedon and Fred Hembeck, as well as reprints of classic Lee-written adventures.^[94]

On March 15, 2007, Stan Lee Media's new president, Jim Nesfield, filed a lawsuit against Marvel Entertainment for $5 billion, claiming that the company is co-owner of the characters that Lee created for Marvel.^[95] On June 9, 2007, Stan Lee Media sued Lee; his newer company, POW! Entertainment; POW! subsidiary QED Entertainment; and other former Stan Lee Media staff at POW!^[96]

At the 2007 Comic-Con International, Marvel Legends introduced a Stan Lee action figure. The body beneath the figure's removable cloth wardrobe is a re-used mold of a previously released Spider-Man action figure, with minor changes.^[97]

In 2008, Lee wrote humorous captions for the political fumetti book Stan Lee Presents Election Daze: What Are They Really Saying?.^[98] In April of that year, Viz Media announced that Lee and Hiroyuki Takei were collaborating on the manga Karakuridôji Ultimo, from parent company Shueisha.^[99] That same month, Brighton Partners and Rainmaker Animation announced a partnership POW! to produce a CGI film series, Legion of 5.^[100] That same month, Virgin Comics announced Lee would create a line of superhero comics for that company.^[101] He is also working on a TV adaptation of the novel Hero.^[102] He wrote the foreword to the 2010 non-fictione-book memoir Skyscraperman by skyscraper fire-safety advocate Dan Goodwin, who had climbed skyscrapers dressed as Spider-Man.^[103]

Lee promoting Stan Lee's Kids Universe at the 2011 New York Comic Con.

In 2009, he and the Japanese company Bones produced its first manga feature, Heroman, serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan; the feature was adapted to anime in April 2010.^[104][105]

In October 2010, Lee's SLG Entertainment partnered with Guardian Media Entertainment onThe Guardian Project to create superhero mascots for the National Hockey League.^[106]

In August 2011, Lee announced his support for the Eagle Initiative, a program to find new talent in the comic book field.^[107]

In 2011, Lee was writing a live-action musical, The Yin and Yang Battle of Tao.^[108] In October, Lee announced he would partner with 1821 Comics on a multimedia imprint for children, Stan Lee’s Kids Universe, a move he said addressed the lack of comic books targeted for that demographic; and that he was collaborating with the company on its futuristic graphic novel Romeo & Juliet: The War, by writer Max Work and artist Skan Srisuwan.^[109][110]

In April 2012, Lee announced his partnership with Regina Carpinelli, the founder and CEO ofComikaze Expo.^[111] Comikaze Expo, Los Angeles' largest comic book convention, was rebranded as Stan Lee's Comikaze Presented by POW! Entertainment.^[112]

At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International, Lee announced his new YouTube channel, Stan Lee's World of Heroes, which airs several programs created by Lee and other creators, including Mark Hamill, Peter David, Adrianne Curry, and Bonnie Burton.^{[113][114][115][116]}

It was announced in February 2013 that one of Lee's recently-created characters, the Annihilator, a Chinese prisoner-turned-superhero named Ming, would be adapted into a film written by Dan Gilroy and produced by Barry Josephson.^{[117][118][119]}

Lee is among the interview subjects in Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle, a three-hour documentary narrated by Liev Schreiber which premiered on PBS in October 2013.^[120]

Disney Publishing announced in November 2013 that Lee would write a book, Zodiac, with Stuart Moore.^[121]

Charity work

The Stan Lee Foundation was founded in 2010 to focus on literacy, education and the arts. Its stated goals include supporting programs and ideas that improve access to literacy resources, as well as promoting diversity, national literacy, culture and the arts.^[122]

Stan Lee has donated portions of his personal effects to the University of Wyoming at various times, between 1981 and 2001.^[123]

Fictional portrayals

Lee and Kirby (lower left) as themselves on the cover of The Fantastic Four #10 (Jan. 1963). Art by Kirby and Dick Ayers.

Stan Lee and his collaborator Jack Kirby appear as themselves in The Fantastic Four#10 (Jan. 1963), the first of several appearances within the fictional Marvel Universe.^[124]The two are depicted as similar to their real-world counterparts, creating comic books based on the "real" adventures of the Fantastic Four.

Lee was parodied by Kirby in comics published by rival DC Comics as Funky Flashman.^[125] Kirby later portrayed himself, Lee, production executive Sol Brodsky, and Lee's secretary Flo Steinberg as superheroes in What If #11 (Oct. 1978), "What If the Marvel Bullpen Had Become the Fantastic Four?", in which Lee played the part of Mister Fantastic. Lee has also made numerous cameo appearances in many Marvel titles, appearing in audiences and crowds at many characters' ceremonies and parties, and hosting an old-soldiers reunion in Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #100 (July 1972). Lee appeared, unnamed, as the priest at Luke Cage and Jessica Jones' wedding in New Avengers Annual #1 (June 2006). He pays his respects to Karen Page at her funeral in Daredevil vol. 2, #8 (June 1998), and appears in The Amazing Spider-Man #169 (June 1977).

In 1994, artist Alex Ross rendered Lee as a bar patron on page 44 of Marvels #3.^[126]

In Marvel's "Flashback" series of titles cover-dated July 1997, a top-hatted caricature of Lee as a ringmaster introduced stories that detailed events in Marvel characters' lives before they became superheroes, in special "-1" editions of many Marvel titles. The "ringmaster" depiction of Lee was originally from Generation X #17 (July 1996), where the character narrated a story set primarily in an abandoned circus. Though the story itself was written by Scott Lobdell, the narration by "Ringmaster Stan" was written by Lee, and the character was drawn in that issue by Chris Bachalo.

Lee and other comics creators are mentioned on page 479 of Michael Chabon's 2000 novel about the comics industry The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Chabon also acknowledges a debt to Lee and other creators on the book's Author's Note page.

On one of the last pages of Truth: Red, White & Black, Lee appears in a real photograph among other celebrities on a wall of the Bradley home.^[127] Under his given name of Stanley Lieber, Stan Lee appears briefly in Paul Malmont's 2006 novel The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril.^[128]

In Stan Lee Meets Superheroes, which Lee wrote, he comes into contact with some of his favorite creations.^[94] Stan Lee and Jack Kirby appear as professors in Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #19.

In Lavie Tidhar's 2013 The Violent Century, Lee appears — under his birth name of "Stanley Martin Lieber" — as a historian of superhumans.^[129]

Film and television appearances

Marvel television

Animation

Lee as Willie Lumpkin in Fantastic Four, 2005.

• One of Lee's earliest contributions to animation based on Marvel properties was narrating the 1980s Incredible Hulk animated series, always beginning his narration with a self-introduction and ending with "This is Stan Lee saying,Excelsior!" Lee had previously narrated the "Seven Little Superheroes" episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, which the Hulk series was paired with for broadcast.
• Lee did the narration for the original 1989 X-Men animated series pilot titled X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men.
• Lee was an executive producer of the 1990s animated TV series Spider-Man. He appeared as himself in animated form in the series finale episode titled "Farewell, Spider-Man". Spider-Man is transported by Madame Web into the "real" world where he is a fictional character. He meets Lee and the two swing around until Spider-Man drops him off on top of a building; Madame Web appears and brings Spider-Man back to his homeworld. Realizing he is stuck on a roof, Lee muses, hoping the Fantastic Four will show up and lend a hand.
• He also voices the character "Frank Elson" in an episode of Spider-Man: The New Animated Series series broadcast by MTV in 2003, titled "Mind Games" (Parts 1 and 2, originally aired on August 15 and 22, 2003).
• He voiced a loading dock worker named Stan on The Spectacular Spider-Man in the episode "Blueprints".
• In several episodes of The Super Hero Squad Show, Lee voices the Mayor of Super Hero City.
• Lee has appeared in episodes of the Disney XD TV series Ultimate Spider-Man as a high school janitor named Stan, in which he makes references to Lee's real-life career. In the pilot "Great Power" and the episode "Why I Hate Gym", he mentions Irving Forbush, a character Lee co-created in 1955 as a literary device.^[130][130] Stan the Janitor also appears in Episode 18, "Out of Damage Control", as a part-time worker for Damage Control.^[131] In the episode "Stan By Me", he, along with Mary Jane Watson,Agent/Principal Coulson, and Harry Osborn, helped Spider-Man fight the Lizard. At the end of the episode it is revealed that Lee's character is secretly a top S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and is aware of Peter Parker's secret identity as Spider-Man.^[132]

Live-action

• In the TV-movie The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989), Lee's first appearance in a Marvel movie or TV project is as a jury foreman in the trial of Dr. David Banner.
• Lee appeared on the February 4, 2014, episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., titled "T.R.A.C.K.S."^[133]

Marvel films

Lee has had cameo appearances in many films based on Marvel characters that he created or co-created:

• In X-Men (2000), Lee appears as a hotdog stand vendor on the beach when Senator Kelly emerges naked onshore after escaping from Magneto.

• In Spider-Man (2002), he appeared during Spider-Man's first battle with the Green Goblin, pulling a little girl away from falling debris. In the DVD's deleted scenes, Lee plays a street vendor who tries to sell Peter Parker a pair of sunglasses "just like the X-Men wear."
• In Daredevil (2003), as a child, Matt Murdock stops Lee from crossing the street and getting hit by a bus.

• In Hulk (2003), he appears walking alongside former TV-series Hulk Lou Ferrigno in an early scene, both as security guards at Bruce Banner's lab. It was his first speaking role in a film based on one of his characters.

• In Spider-Man 2 (2004), Lee pulls an innocent person away from danger during Spider-Man's first battle with Doctor Octopus. In a deleted scene that appears as an extra on the film's DVD release, Lee has another cameo, saying, "Look, Spider-Man stole that child's sneakers."

• In Fantastic Four (2005), Lee appears for the first time as a character that he created for the comics, Willie Lumpkin, the mail carrier who greets the Fantastic Four as they enter the Baxter Building.

• In X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Lee and Chris Claremont appear as two of Jean Grey's neighbors in the opening scenes set 20 years ago. Lee, credited as "Waterhose man," is watering the lawn when Jean telekinetically redirects the water from the hose into the air.

• In Spider-Man 3 (2007), Lee appears in a credited role as "Man in Times Square". He stands next to Peter Parker, both of them reading a news bulletin about Spider-Man, and commenting to Peter that, "You know, I guess one person can make a difference". He then says his catchphrase, "'Nuff said."
• In Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), Lee appears as himself at Reed Richards' and Susan Storm's first wedding, being turned away by a security guard for not being on the guest list. In Fantastic Four Annual #3 (1965), in which the couple married, Lee and Jack Kirby are similarly turned away.

• In Iron Man (2008), Lee (credited as "Himself") appears at a gala cavorting with three blondes, where Tony Stark mistakes him forHugh Hefner.^[134] In the theatrical release of the film, Stark simply greets Lee as "Hef" and moves on; another version of the scene was filmed where Stark realizes his mistake, but Lee graciously responds, "That's okay, I get this all the time."^[135]

• In The Incredible Hulk (2008), Lee appears as a hapless citizen who accidentally ingests a soft drink mixed with Bruce Banner's blood, subsequently dropping it and leading to the discovery of Dr. Banner's location in a bottling plant in Brazil.

• In Iron Man 2 (2010), during the Stark Expo, Lee, wearing suspenders and a red shirt and black and purple tie, is greeted by Tony Stark as "Larry King".

• In Thor (2011), Lee appears among many people at the site where Thor's hammer Mjolnir lands on earth. He tears the bed off hispickup truck in an attempt to pull Mjolnir out of the ground with a chain and causes everyone in the scene to laugh by asking, "Did it work?".

• In Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), this time portraying a general in World War II, who mistakes another man for Captain America/Steve Rogers, commenting, "I thought he'd be taller." This film is an exception considering Lee had nothing to do with the basic creation of the title character. However, Lee began his writing career in the character's original series where he created the idea of Captain America using his shield as a throwing weapon. Furthermore, he was responsible for reviving the character in theSilver Age of Comic Books and co-wrote most of the character's stories in The Avengers and his solo stories in that period.

• In The Avengers (2012), Lee makes a cameo appearance as a random citizen in the park asked about the Avengers saving Manhattan. Lee's character responds, "Superheroes in New York? Give me a break", and then returns to his game of chess.^[136] He also appears in a deleted scene, apparently as the same character: when a waitress flirts with Steve Rogers, he says to him, "Ask for her number, you moron!"^[137]

• In The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Lee makes a cameo as a librarian at Midtown Science High School, comically oblivious to the fight between Spider-Man and the Lizard happening behind him (a table nearly hits him as well) due to the fact that he is listening to classical music. He walks out of the library as the fight continues.^[138]

• In Iron Man 3 (2013), Lee makes a cameo as the beauty pageant judge that appears on a television monitor and happily gives one of the contestants a 10.^[139]

• In Thor: The Dark World (2013), Lee appears as a mental ward patient who loans his shoe to Erik Selvig for a demonstration about "the Convergence" in his delusions. When Selvig finishes and asks if anyone has questions, Lee says, "Uh, yes. Can I have my shoe back"?^[140]

• In Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Lee plays a security guard at the Smithsonian Institution who fears he will be fired after Captain America steals his World War II uniform from an exhibit.

Warner Bros./DC properties

Stan Lee mourning on Dan Turpin's funeral. Above TV capture from original episode and below storyboard art by Bruce Timm and text comments by Paul Dini.

In the original February 7, 1998, broadcast airing of the Superman: The Animated Seriesepisode "Apokolips... Now! Part 2" on the Kids' WB programming block, an animated Stan Lee was visible mourning the death of Daniel "Terrible" Turpin, a character based on his longtime Marvel Comics collaborator Jack Kirby. This shot was later modified to remove the likeness of Lee and other of background Marvel characters when the episode was released on DVD.^[141][142]

Other film, TV, and video

• In the 1990s, Lee hosted the documentary series The Comic Book Greats and interviewed notable comic book creators such as Chris Claremont, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld and Whilce Portacio.
• Lee has an extensive cameo in the 1995 Kevin Smith film Mallrats. He plays himself, this time visiting the mall to sign books at a comic store. Later, he takes on the role of a sage-like character, giving Jason Lee's character, Brodie Bruce (a longtime fan of Stan's), advice on his love life. He also recorded interviews with Smith for the non-fiction videoStan Lee's Mutants, Monsters, and Marvels (2002).
• Lee is the host of the 2010 History Channel documentary series Stan Lee's Superhumans.
• Lee makes a cameo appearance as the "Three Stooges Wedding Guest" in the 2004Disney film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.
• Lee hosted and judged contestants in the SyFy series Who Wants to Be a Superhero?
• Lee appears with director Kevin Smith and 2000s Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada in the DVD program Marvel Then & Now: An Evening with Stan Lee and Joe Quesada, hosted by Kevin Smith.
• Lee was interviewed on the History Channel show Superhuman by Daniel Browning Smith, who held several Guinness Records for extreme flexibility^[143] due to having Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic condition affecting collagen formation. Smith had created his own comic book to display his own struggles as an outcast for his flexibility, and legitimately surprised Lee with a quick demonstration of his talent.
• In the animated series Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, Lee plays himself in a live-action scene of the "Comic Capers" episode.
• Lee appeared as himself in an extended self-parodying sketch on the episode "Tapping a Hero" of Robot Chicken.
• Lee appears as himself in writer-director Larry Cohen's The Ambulance (1990), in which Eric Roberts plays an aspiring comics artist.
• In "I Am Furious Yellow", the April 28, 2002, episode of The Simpsons, Lee voices the animated Stan Lee, who is a prolonged visitor to Comic Book Guy's store. He asks if Comic Book Guy is the stalker of Lynda Carter – the star of the 1970s show Wonder Woman– and shows signs of dementia, such as breaking a customer's toy Batmobile by trying to cram a Thing action figure into it (claiming that he "made it better"), hiding DC comics behind Marvel comics, and believing that he is the Hulk (and fails trying to become the Hulk, while Comic Book Guy comments he couldn't even change into Bill Bixby). Lee also appeared on the commentary track along with other Simpsons writers and directors on the episode for The Simpsons Season 13 box set released in 2010. In a laterSimpsons episode, "Worst Episode Ever", Lee's picture is seen next to several others on the wall behind the register, under the heading "Banned for life". Lee later officiated Comic Book Guy's wedding to a lovely manga artist in "Married to the Blob".
• Lee appears as himself in the Mark Hamill-directed Comic Book: The Movie (2004), a direct-to-video mockumentary primarily filmed at the 2002 San Diego Comic-Con.
• Lee made an appearance on December 21, 2006, on the NBC game show Identity.
• Lee appeared as himself in "The Excelsior Acquisition", a third season episode of The Big Bang Theory, in March 2010.^[144] He appears at the front door of his house wearing Fantastic Four pajamas, ultimately calling back into the house, "Joanie, call the police!" to get rid of Sheldon, who showed up after missing a comic book signing at the local store.
• He plays a bus driver in the 16th episode of the first season of Heroes.^[145]
• Lee makes a guest appearance as himself in "Bottom's Up", a season seven episode of the TV series Entourage. He guest-starred in "Glimpse", a season four episode of Eureka that aired in July 2011.^[146]
• Lee appears in "The Guardian", the October 7, 2010, episode of Nikita, as Hank Excelsior, a witness to a bank robbery who is interviewed by a TV reporter.
• Lee was interviewed in the 2011 documentary Superheroes.
• Lee is scheduled to appear on X Japan's music video "Born to be Free".^[147]
• Lee portrayed himself at a CIA holiday party in the fifth season of Chuck, in which it is revealed in that universe he secretly works for the government and has a romantic interest in General Beckman.
• Stan Lee appeared in the eleventh episode of season five of The Guild, in which he was captured at a convention by the character Zaboo's Master Chief cosplaying henchmen.^[148]
• Stan Lee lent his voice to "The Amazing Man-Spider", a segment of the May 13, 2013 episode of the satirical animated TV seriesMAD. The segment depicts the story of what happened to the radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker.^[149]
• Stan Lee portrayed a future version of Tony Stark in "Episode 205 – The Future!" of the comedy web series Avengers Assemble!. In this episode, he delivered from the future a cryptic message to the rest of his fellow Avengers, but constantly frustrated his companions due to his ineptness with the technology of his future era.^[150]
• He was the subject of an April 2012 Epix cable-network documentary, “With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story.”^[151]
• Lee appeared as a judge in the second season premiere of the web series Video Game High School.^[152]
• In the Phineas and Ferb crossover special, Mission Marvel, Lee cameos as a New York City hot dog vendor.^[153]
• Lee's Chakra the Invincible will premier on Rovio Entertainment's ToonsTV channel sometime in 2014.^[154]

Video games and applications

• Lee narrates the 2000 video game Spider-Man,^[155] the 2001 sequel Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro,^[156] and 2010's Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.^[157]
• Lee made his first-ever onscreen video game appearance as a senator named after himself in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2.^[158]
• Lee narrates The Avengers Origins: Hulk and Avengers Origins: Assemble! apps for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, which were released by Disney Publishing Worldwide in February 2012.^[159]
• Lee is a playable character in Activision's The Amazing Spider-Man video game, which was released in June 2012, as a tie-in to thefilm of the same name. In the game, Lee is depicted as having the same superpowers as Spider-Man, and uses them to retrieve the pages of a new comic book manuscript that he had lost and were subsequently scattered around Manhattan.^[160] He also voices a character with his first name in the main story mode, who calls Peter about the charges to his credit card when Peter's walking to Dr. Connor's sewer lab.
• Lee appears as a playable Lego version of himself in Lego Marvel Super Heroes^[161] released October 2013.^[162]

Personal life

Lee's favorite authors include Stephen King, H. G. Wells, Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, andHarlan Ellison.^[163] He is also a fan of the films of Bruce Lee.^[164]

Lee was raised in a Jewish family. In a 2002 survey of whether he believes in God, he stated, "Well, let me put it this way... [Pauses.] No, I'm not going to try to be clever. I really don't know. I just don't know."^[165]

In late September 2012, Lee underwent a surgical operation to insert a pacemaker into his body, cancelling planned appearances at conventions.^[166][167]

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1990	The Ambulance	Himself	Cameo
1995	Mallrats	Himself	Cameo
2000	X-Men	Hotdog Stand Vendor	Cameo
2002	Spider-Man	Man Saving Girl	Cameo
2003	Daredevil	Man Crossing Street	Cameo
	Hulk	Security Guard	Cameo
2004	Spider-Man 2	Man Saving Innocent Person	Cameo
	Comic Book: The Movie	Himself	Cameo
2005	Fantastic Four	Willie Lumpkin	Cameo
2006	X-Men: The Last Stand	Waterhose Man	Cameo
2007	Spider-Man 3	Man in Times Square	Cameo
	Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer	Himself	Cameo
2008	Iron Man	Himself (Hugh Hefner)	Cameo
	The Incredible Hulk	Hapless Citizen	Cameo
2010	Iron Man 2	Himself (Larry King)	Cameo
2011	Thor	Pickup Truck Driver	Cameo
	Captain America: The First Avenger	General	Cameo
2012	The Avengers	Random Citizen	Cameo
	The Amazing Spider-Man	Librarian	Cameo
2013	Iron Man 3	Beauty Pageant Judge	Cameo
2013	Thor: The Dark World	Mental ward patient (credited as "Himself")	Cameo
2014	Captain America: The Winter Soldier[168]	TBA	Cameo
2014	The Amazing Spider-Man 2[169]	TBA	Cameo

Television

Year	Series	Role	Notes
1981–1983	Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends	Narrator	Seasons 2 and 3 and added to re-reruns of Season 1
1982–1983	The Incredible Hulk	Narrator
1989	X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men	Himself/Narrator	Episode: "Pilot"
	Muppet Babies	Himself	Episode: "Comic Capers"
	The Trial of the Incredible Hulk	Jury Foreman	TV Movie
1991–1992	The Comic Book Greats	Himself	Creator, Executive Producer, Host
1994–1998	Spider-Man	Himself	Executive Producer; Episode: "Farewell, Spider-Man"
2002	The Simpsons	Himself	Episode: "I Am Furious (Yellow)"
2003	Spider-Man: The New Animated Series	Frank Elson	Episode: "Mind Games"
2006	Identity	Himself	Guest
2006–2007	Who Wants to Be a Superhero?	Himself	Creator, Executive Producer, Host
2007	Robot Chicken	Himself	Episode: "Tapping a Hero"
	Heroes	Bus Driver	Episode: "Unexpected"
2009	The Spectacular Spider-Man	Stan	Episode: "Blueprints"
2009–2011	The Super Hero Squad Show	Mayor of Superhero City	Recurring Role
2010	The Big Bang Theory	Himself	Episode: "The Excelsior Acquisition"
	Entourage	Himself	Episode: "Bottoms Up"
	Nikita	Hank Excelsior	Episode: "The Guardian"
2010–present	Stan Lee's Superhumans	Himself	Creator, Executive Producer, Co-host
2011	Eureka	Himself	Episode: "Glimpse"
	Chuck	Himself	Episode: "Chuck Versus the Santa Suit"
	The Guild	Himself	Episode: "Costume Contest"
2012–present	Ultimate Spider-Man	Stan the Janitor	Recurring Role
2013	Mad	Bird Scientist, Papa Smurf, The Amazing Man-Spider Announcer	Episode: "Papa / 1600 Finn"
	Video Game High School	Judge	Episode: "Episode One"
	Phineas and Ferb	New York City Hot Dog Vendor	Episode: "Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel"
2013–present	Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.	Stan the Salesman	Recurring Role
2013	Fangasm	Himself[170]
2014	The Simpsons	Himself	Episode: "Married to the Blob"
	Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.		Episode: "T.R.A.C.K.S."

Video games

Year	Video Game	Role
2000	Spider-Man	Narrator
2001	Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro	Narrator
2009	Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2	Senator Stan Lee
2010	Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions	Narrator
2012	The Amazing Spider-Man	Himself
2013	Lego Marvel Super Heroes	Himself

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Nominated work	Result
1994	The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame[171]		Won
1995	Jack Kirby Hall of Fame[172]		Won
2000	Burbank International Children's Film Festival	Lifetime Achievement Award	Won
2002	Saturn Award	Life Career Award	Won
2003	Hugo Award	Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation- Spider-Man	Nominated
2005	Hugo Award	Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation- Spider-Man 2	Nominated
2008	National Medal of Arts[173]		Won
2009	Hugo Award	Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation- Iron Man	Nominated
2009	USC Scripter Award	Scripter Award- Iron Man	Nominated
2009	Scream Awards[174]	Comic-Con Icon Award	Won
2011	Hollywood Walk of Fame[175]		Won
2012	Savannah Film and Video Festival	Lifetime Achievement Award	Won
2012	Visual Effects Society Awards	Lifetime Achievement Award	Won
2012	Producers Guild of America[176]	Vanguard Award	Won

• The County of Los Angeles declared October 2, 2009 "Stan Lee Day".^[177]
• The City of Long Beach declared October 2, 2009 "Stan Lee Day".^[177]

Bibliography

Lee's comics work includes:^[81]

DC

• DC Comics Presents: Superman #1 (2004)
• Just Imagine Stan Lee creating:
  • Aquaman (with Scott McDaniel) (2002)
  • Batman (with Joe Kubert) (2001)
  • Catwoman (with Chris Bachalo) (2002)
  • Crisis (with John Cassaday) (2002)
  • Flash (with Kevin Maguire) (2002)
  • Green Lantern (with Dave Gibbons) (2001)
  • JLA (with Jerry Ordway) (2002)
  • Robin (with John Byrne) (2001)
  • Sandman (with Walt Simonson) (2002)
  • Secret Files and Origins (2002)
  • Shazam! (with Gary Frank) (2001)
  • Superman (with John Buscema) (2001)
  • Wonder Woman (with Jim Lee) (2001)

Marvel

• The Amazing Spider-Man #1–100, 105–110, 116–118, 200, Annual #1-5, 18 (1962–84); (backup stories): #634–655 (2010–11)^[178]
• The Amazing Spider-Man, strips (1977-95)
• Avengers #1–35 (1963–66)
• Captain America #100–141 (1968–71) (continues from Tales of Suspense #99)
• Daredevil, #1–9, 11–50, 53, Annual #1 (1964–69)
• Daredevil, vol. 2, #20 (backup story) (2001)
• Epic Illustrated #1 (Silver Surfer) (1980)
• Fantastic Four #1–114, 120–125, Annual #1-6 (1961–72); #296 (1986)
• The Incredible Hulk #1–6 (continues to Tales to Astonish #59)
• Journey into Mystery (Thor) plotter #83–96 (1962–63), writer #97–125, Annual #1 (1963–66) (continues to Thor #126)
• Ravage 2099 #1–7 (1992–93)
• Savage She-Hulk #1 (1980)
• Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #1–28, Annual #1 (1963–66)
• Silver Surfer #1–18 (1968–70)
• Silver Surfer vol. 2, #1 (1982)
• Silver Surfer: Judgment Day (1988) ISBN 978-0-87135-427-3
• Silver Surfer: Parable #1–2 (1988-89)
• Silver Surfer: The Enslavers (1990) ISBN 978-0-87135-617-8
• Solarman #1–2 (1989–90)
• The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #10 (1990)
• Strange Tales (diverse stories): #9, 11, 74, 89, 90–100 (1951–62); (Human Torch): #101–109, 112–133, Annual #2; (Doctor Strange): #110–111, 115–142, 151–158 (1962–67); (Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.: #135–147, 150–152 (1965–67)
• Tales to Astonish (diverse stories): #1, 6, 12–13, 15–17, 24–33 (1956–62); Ant-Man/Giant Man: #35–69 (1962–65) (The Hulk: #59–101 (1964–1968); Sub-Mariner: #70–101 (1965–68)
• Tales of Suspense (diverse stories):#7, 9, 16, 22, 27, 29–30 (1959–62); (Iron Man): plotter #39–46 (1963), writer #47–98 (1963–68) (Captain America): #58–86, 88-99 (1964–68)
• Thor #126–192, 200, Annual #2 (1966–72), 385 (1987)
• Web of Spider-Man Annual #6 (1990)
• What If (Fantastic Four) #200 (2011)
• The X-Men #1–19 (1963–66)

Simon & Schuster

• The Silver Surfer: The Ultimate Cosmic Experience, 114 pages, September 1978

2.Jack Kirby

Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby, 1993
Born	Jacob Kurtzberg August 28, 1917 New York City, New York, United States
Died	February 6, 1994 (aged 76) Thousand Oaks, California, United States
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer Penciller Artist Inker Editor
Pseudonym(s)	Jack Curtiss Curt Davis Lance Kirby Ted Grey Charles Nicholas Fred Sande Teddy
Notable works	Captain America Fantastic Four Fourth World Hulk Kamandi Manhunter Newsboy Legion Thor Young Romance X-Men
Awards	Alley Award, Best Pencil Artist (1967), plus many awards for individual stories,Shazam Award, Special Achievement by an Individual (1971)
Spouse(s)	Roz Goldstein

Jack Kirby (August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994),^[1] born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium.

Kirby grew up poor in New York City and learned to draw cartoon figures by tracing characters from comic strips and editorial cartoons. He entered the nascent comics industry in the 1930s and drew various comics features under different pen names, including Jack Curtiss, ultimately settling on Jack Kirby. In 1940, he and writer-editorJoe Simon created the highly successful superhero character Captain America for Timely Comics, predecessor of Marvel Comics. During the 1940s, Kirby, generally teamed with Simon, created numerous characters for that company and for National Comics, the company that later became DC Comics.

After serving in World War II, Kirby returned to comics and worked in a variety of genres. He produced work for a number of publishers, including DC, Harvey Comics, Hillman Periodicals and Crestwood Publications, where he and Simon created the genre of romance comics. He and Simon also launched their own short-lived comic company, Mainline Publications. Kirby ultimately found himself at Timely's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics, soon to become Marvel. There, in the 1960s, he and writer-editor Stan Lee co-created many of Marvel's major characters, including the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Hulk. Despite the high sales and critical acclaim of the Lee-Kirby titles, however, Kirby felt treated unfairly, and left the company in 1970 for rival DC.

There Kirby created his Fourth World saga, which spanned several comics titles. While these series proved commercially unsuccessful and were canceled, the Fourth World's New Gods have continued as a significant part of the DC Universe. Kirby returned to Marvel briefly in the mid-to-late 1970s, then ventured into television animation and independent comics. In his later years, Kirby, who has been called "the William Blake of comics",^[2] began receiving great recognition in the mainstream press for his career accomplishments, and in 1987 he was one of the three inaugural inductees of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.

Kirby was married to Rosalind "Roz" Goldstein in 1942. They had four children, and remained married until his death from heart failure in 1994, at the age of 76. The Jack Kirby Awards and Jack Kirby Hall of Fame were named in his honor.

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1 Life and career
  • 1.1 Early life (1917–1935)
  • 1.2 Entry into comics (1936–1940)
  • 1.3 Partnership with Joe Simon
  • 1.4 Marriage and World War II (1943–1945)
  • 1.5 Postwar career (1946–1955)
  • 1.6 After Simon (1956–1957)
  • 1.7 Marvel Comics in the Silver Age (1958–1970)
  • 1.8 DC Comics and the Fourth World saga (1971–1975)
  • 1.9 Return to Marvel (1976–1978)
  • 1.10 Film and animation (1979–1980)
  • 1.11 Final years and death (1981–1994)
• 2 Personal life
  • 2.1 Kirby's estate
• 3 Legacy
• 4 Awards and honors

Life and career

Early life (1917–1935)

Jack Kirby was born Jacob Kurtzberg on August 28, 1917, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, where he was raised.^[3] His parents, Rose and Benjamin Kurtzberg,^[3] were Austrian Jewish immigrants, and his father earned a living as a garment factory worker.^[4] In his youth, Kirby desired to escape his neighborhood. He liked to draw, and sought out places he could learn more about art.^[5] Essentially self-taught,^[6] Kirby cited among his influences the comic strip artists Milton Caniff, Hal Foster, and Alex Raymond, as well as such editorial cartoonists as C. H. Sykes, "Ding" Darling, and Rollin Kirby.^[6]He was rejected by the Educational Alliance because he drew "too fast with charcoal", according to Kirby. He later found an outlet for his skills by drawing cartoons for the newspaper of the Boys Brotherhood Republic, a "miniature city" on East 3rd Street where street kids ran their own government.^[7]

At age 14, Kirby enrolled at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, leaving after a week. "I wasn't the kind of student that Pratt was looking for. They wanted people who would work on something forever. I didn't want to work on any project forever. I intended to get things done".^[8]

Entry into comics (1936–1940)

Captain America Comics #1 (cover-dated March 1941). Cover art by Kirby & Joe Simon.

Kirby joined the Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate in 1936, working there on newspaper comic strips and on single-panel advice cartoons such as Your Health Comes First!!! (under the pseudonym Jack Curtiss). He remained until late 1939, when he began working for the movie animation company Fleischer Studios as an inbetweener (an artist who fills in the action between major-movement frames) on Popeye cartoons. "I went from Lincoln to Fleischer," he recalled. "From Fleischer I had to get out in a hurry because I couldn't take that kind of thing," describing it as "a factory in a sense, like my father's factory. They were manufacturing pictures."^[9]

Around that time, the American comic book industry was booming. Kirby began writing and drawing for the comic-book packager Eisner & Iger, one of a handful of firms creating comics on demand for publishers. Through that company, Kirby did what he remembers as his first comic book work, for Wild Boy Magazine.^[10] This included such strips as the science fiction adventure "The Diary of Dr. Hayward" (under the pseudonym Curt Davis), theWestern crimefighter feature "Wilton of the West" (as Fred Sande), the swashbuckler adventure "The Count of Monte Cristo" (again as Jack Curtiss), and the humor features "Abdul Jones" (as Ted Grey) and '"Socko the Seadog" (as Teddy), all variously for Jumbo Comics and other Eisner-Iger clients.^[11] He first used the surname Kirby as the pseudonymous Lance Kirby in two "Lone Rider" Western stories in Eastman Color's Famous Funnies #63-64 (Oct.-Nov. 1939).^[11] He ultimately settled on the pen name Jack Kirby because it reminded him of actor James Cagney. However, he took offense to those who suggested he changed his name in order to hide his Jewish heritage.^[12]

In the summer of 1940, Kirby and his family moved to Brooklyn. There, Kirby met Rosalind "Roz" Goldstein, who lived in the same apartment building. The pair began dating soon afterward.^[13] Kirby proposed to Goldstein on her eighteenth birthday, and the two became engaged.^[14]

Partnership with Joe Simon

Kirby moved on to comic-book publisher and newspaper syndicator Fox Feature Syndicate, earning a then-reasonable $15-a-week salary. He began to exploresuperhero narrative with the comic strip The Blue Beetle, published from January to March 1940, starring a character created by the pseudonymous Charles Nicholas, a house name that Kirby retained for the three-month-long strip. During this time, Kirby met and began collaborating with cartoonist and Fox editorJoe Simon, who in addition to his staff work continued to freelance. Simon recalled in 1988, "I loved Jack's work and the first time I saw it I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He asked if we could do some freelance work together. I was delighted and I took him over to my little office. We worked from the second issue of Blue Bolt through... about 25 years."^[15]

After leaving Fox and landing at pulp magazine publisher Martin Goodman's Timely Comics (later to become Marvel Comics), Simon and Kirby created the patriotic superhero Captain America in late 1940. Simon cut a deal with Goodman that gave him and Kirby 25 percent of the profits from the feature, as well as salaried positions as the company's editor and art director, respectively.^[16] The first issue of Captain America Comics, released in early 1941, sold out in days, and the second issue's print run was set at over a million copies. The title's success established the team as a notable creative force in the industry.^[17]After the first issue was published, Simon asked Kirby to join the Timely staff as the company's art director.^[18]

With the success of the Captain America character, Simon felt that Goodman was not paying the pair the promised percentage of profits, and so sought work for the two of them at National Comics (later renamed DC Comics).^[16] Kirby and Simon negotiated a deal that would pay them a combined $500 a week, as opposed to the $75 and $85 they respectively earned at Timely.^[19] Fearing that Goodman would not pay them if he found out they were moving to National, the pair kept the deal a secret with Stan Lee while they continued producing work for the company. Goodman eventually learned of the deal, and Kirby and Simon, convinced that Lee had revealed their plans, left after completing their work on Captain America Comics #10.^[20]

Kirby and Simon spent their first weeks at National trying to devise new characters while the company sought how best to utilize the pair.^[21] After a few failed editor-assigned ghosting assignments, National's Jack Liebowitz told them to "just do what you want". The pair then revamped the Sandman feature inAdventure Comics and created the superhero Manhunter.^[22][23] In July 1942 they began the Boy Commandos feature. The ongoing "kid gang" series of the same name, launched later that same year, was the creative team's first National feature to graduate into its own title.^[24] It sold over a million copies a month, becoming National's third best-selling title.^[25] They also scored a hit with the homefront kid-gang team, the Newsboy Legion, featuring in Star-Spangled Comics.^[26]

Marriage and World War II (1943–1945)

Kirby married Roz Goldstein on May 23, 1942.^[27]

With World War II underway, Liebowitz expected that Simon and Kirby would be drafted, so he asked the artists to create an inventory of material to be published in their absence. The pair hired writers, inkers, letterers, and colorists in order to create a year's worth of material.^[25] Kirby was drafted into the U.S. Army on June 7, 1943.^[28] After basic training at Camp Stewart, near Savannah, Georgia, he was assigned to Company F of the 11th Infantry Regiment.^[29] He landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on August 23, 1944, two-and-a-half months after D-Day,^[29] though Kirby's reminiscences would place his arrival just 10 days after.^[28] Kirby recalled that a lieutenant, learning that comics artist Kirby was in his command, made him a scout who would advance into towns and draw reconnaissance maps and pictures, an extremely dangerous duty.^[30]

Kirby and his wife corresponded regularly by v-mail, with Roz sending "him a letter a day" while she worked in a lingerie shop and lived with her mother^[31] at 2820 Brighton 7th Street in Brooklyn.^[32] During the winter of 1944, Kirby suffered severe frostbite on his lower extremities and was taken to a hospital inLondon, England, for recovery. Doctors considered amputating Kirby's legs, but he eventually recovered from the frostbite.^[33] He returned to the United States in January 1945, assigned to Camp Butner in North Carolina, where he spent the last six months of his service as part of the motor pool. Kirby was honorably discharged as a Private First Class on July 20, 1945, having received a Combat Infantryman Badge and a European/African/Middle Eastern Theater ribbon with a bronze battle star.^[34][35]

Postwar career (1946–1955)

Young Romance #1 (Oct. 1947). Cover art by Kirby & Simon.

Simon arranged for work for Kirby and himself at Harvey Comics,^[36] where, through the early 1950s, the duo created such titles as the kid-gang adventure Boy Explorers Comics, the kid-gang Western Boys' Ranch, the superhero comic Stuntman, and, in vogue with the fad for 3-D movies, Captain 3-D. Simon and Kirby additionally freelanced for Hillman Periodicals (the crime fiction comic Real Clue Crime) and for Crestwood Publications(Justice Traps The Guilty).^[11]

The team found its greatest success in the postwar period by creating romance comics. Simon, inspired byMacfadden Publications' romantic-confession magazine True Story, transplanted the idea to comic books and with Kirby created a first-issue mock-up of Young Romance.^[37] Showing it to Crestwood general manager Maurice Rosenfeld, Simon asked for 50% of the comic's profits. Crestwood publishers Teddy Epstein and Mike Bleier agreed,^[37] stipulating that the creators would take no money up front.^[38] Young Romance #1 (cover-date Oct. 1947) "became Jack and Joe's biggest hit in years".^[39] Indeed, the pioneering title sold a staggering 92% of its print run, inspiring Crestwood to increase the print run by the third issue to triple the initial number of copies.^[40]Initially published bimonthly, Young Romance quickly became a monthly title and produced the spin-off Young Love—together the two titles sold two million copies per month, according to Simon^[41]—later joined by Young Brides and In Love, the latter "featuring full-length romance stories".^[40] Young Romance spawned dozens of imitators from publishers such as Timely, Fawcett, Quality, and Fox Feature Syndicate.^[39] Despite the glut, the Simon & Kirby romance titles continued to sell millions of copies a month, which allowed Kirby to buy a house for his family in Mineola, Long Island, New York^[39] in 1949, which would be the family's home for the next 20 years, working out of a basement studio 10 feet in width, which the family referred to as "The Dungeon".^[42]

Bitter that Timely Comics' 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics, had relaunched Captain America in a new series in 1954, Kirby and Simon created Fighting American. Simon recalled, "We thought we'd show them how to do Captain America".^[43] While the comic book initially portrayed the protagonist as an anti-Communist dramatic hero, Simon and Kirby turned the series into a superhero satire with the second issue, in the aftermath of the Army-McCarthy hearings and the public backlash against the Red-baiting U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy.^[44]

After Simon (1956–1957)

At the urging of a Crestwood salesman, Kirby and Simon launched their own comics company, Mainline Publications,^[44][45] securing a distribution deal with Leader News^[46] in late 1953 or early 1954, subletting space from their friend Al Harvey's Harvey Publications at 1860 Broadway.^[47] Mainline, which existed from 1954 to 1955, published four titles: the Western Bullseye: Western Scout; the war comic Foxhole, since EC Comics and Atlas Comics were having success with war comics, but promoting theirs as being written and drawn by actual veterans; In Love, since their earlier romance comic Young Love was still being widely imitated; and the crime comic Police Trap, which claimed to be based on genuine accounts by law-enforcement officials.^[48] After the duo rearranged and republished artwork from an old Crestwood story in In Love, Crestwood refused to pay the team,^[49] who sought an audit of Crestwood's finances. Upon review, the pair's attorney's stated the company owed them $130,000 for work done over the past seven years. Crestwood paid them $10,000 in addition to their recent delayed payments. However, the partnership between Kirby and Simon had become strained.^[50] Simon left the industry for a career in advertising, while Kirby continued to freelance. "He wanted to do other things and I stuck with comics," Kirby recalled in 1971. "It was fine. There was no reason to continue the partnership and we parted friends."^[51]

At this point in the mid-1950s, Kirby made a temporary return to the former Timely Comics, now known as Atlas Comics, the direct predecessor of Marvel Comics. Inker Frank Giacoia had approached editor-in-chief Stan Lee for work and suggested he could "get Kirby back here to pencil some stuff."^[52] While also freelancing for National Comics, the future DC Comics, Kirby drew 20 stories for Atlas from 1956 to 1957: Beginning with the five-page "Mine Field" inBattleground #14 (Nov.1956), Kirby penciled and in some cases also inked (with his wife, Roz) and wrote stories of the Western hero Black Rider, the Fu Manchu-like Yellow Claw, and more.^[11][53] But in 1957, distribution troubles caused the "Atlas implosion" that resulted in several series being dropped and no new material being assigned for many months. It would be the following year before Kirby returned to the nascent Marvel.

For DC around this time, Kirby co-created with writers Dick and Dave Wood the non-superpowered adventuring quartet the Challengers of the Unknown inShowcase #6 (Feb. 1957), while also contributing to such anthologies as House of Mystery.^[11] During 30 months freelancing for DC, Kirby drew slightly more than 600 pages, which included 11 six-page Green Arrow stories in World's Finest Comics and Adventure Comics that, in a rarity, Kirby inked himself.^[54]Kirby recast the archer as a science-fiction hero, moving him away from his Batman-formula roots, but in the process alienating Green Arrow co-creator Mort Weisinger.^[55]

He also began drawing a newspaper comic strip, Sky Masters of the Space Force, written by the Wood brothers and initially inked by the unrelated Wally Wood.^[56] Kirby left National Comics due largely to a contractual dispute in which editor Jack Schiff, who had been involved in getting Kirby and the Wood brothers the Sky Masters contract, claimed he was due royalties from Kirby's share of the strip's profits. Schiff successfully sued Kirby.^[57] Some DC editors also had criticized him over art details, such as not drawing "the shoelaces on a cavalryman's boots" and showing a Native American "mounting his horse from the wrong side."^[58]

Marvel Comics in the Silver Age (1958–1970)

One of comics' most iconic covers: The Avengers #4 (March 1964). Art by Kirby &George Roussos.

Several months later, after his split with DC, Kirby began freelancing regularly for Atlas in spite of his lingering resentment of Lieber's earlier treatment of him in the 1940s.^[59] Because of the poor page rates, Kirby would spend 12 to 14 hours daily at his drawing table at home, producing eight to ten pages of artwork a day.^[60] His first published work at Atlas was the cover of and the seven-page story "I Discovered the Secret of the Flying Saucers" in Strange Worlds #1 (Dec. 1958). Initially with Christopher Rule as his regular inker, and later Dick Ayers, Kirby drew across all genres, from romance comics to war comics to crime comics to Westerns, but made his mark primarily with a series of supernatural-fantasy and science fiction stories featuring giant, drive-in movie-style monsters with names like Groot, the Thing from Planet X; Grottu, King of the Insects; and Fin Fang Foom for the company's many anthology series, such as Amazing Adventures, Strange Tales, Tales to Astonish, Tales of Suspense, and World of Fantasy.^[11] His bizarre designs of powerful, unearthly creatures proved a hit with readers. Additionally, he also freelanced for Archie Comics' around this time, reuniting briefly with Joe Simon to help develop the series The Fly and The Double Life of Private Strong. Additionally, Kirby drew some issues of Classics Illustrated.^[11]

It was at Marvel, however, with writer and editor-in-chief Lee, that Kirby hit his stride once again in superhero comics, beginning with The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961).^[11] The landmark series became a hit that revolutionized the industry with its comparative naturalism and, eventually, a cosmic purview informed by Kirby's seemingly boundless imagination—one well-matched with the consciousness-expanding youth culture of the 1960s.

For almost a decade, Kirby provided Marvel's house style, co-creating with Stan Lee many of the Marvel characters and designing their visual motifs. At Lee's request, he often provided new-to-Marvel artists "breakdown" layouts, over which they would pencil in order to become acquainted with the Marvel look. As artist Gil Kane described:

Jack was the single most influential figure in the turnaround in Marvel's fortunes from the time he rejoined the company ... It wasn't merely that Jack conceived most of the characters that are being done, but ... Jack's point of view and philosophy of drawing became the governing philosophy of the entire publishing company and, beyond the publishing company, of the entire field ... [Marvel took] Jack and use[d] him as a primer. They would get artists ... and they taught them the ABCs, which amounted to learning Jack Kirby. ... Jack was like the Holy Scripture and they simply had to follow him without deviation. That's what was told to me ... It was how they taught everyone to reconcile all those opposing attitudes to one single master point of view.^[61]

Highlights other than the Fantastic Four include: Thor, the Hulk, Iron Man, the original X-Men, the Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom, Galactus, Uatu the Watcher,Magneto, Ego the Living Planet, the Inhumans and their hidden city of Attilan, and the Black Panther—comics' first known black superhero—and his African nation of Wakanda. Simon and Kirby's Captain America was also incorporated into Marvel's continuity with Kirby approving Lee's idea^{[citation needed]} of partially remaking the character as a man out of his time and regretting the death of his sidekick.

In 1968 and 1969, Joe Simon was involved in litigation with Marvel Comics over the ownership of Captain America, initiated by Marvel after Simon registered the copyright renewal for Captain America in his own name. According to Simon, Kirby agreed to support the company in the litigation and, as part of a deal Kirby made with publisher Martin Goodman, signed over to Marvel any rights he might have had to the character.^[62]

Kirby continued to expand the medium's boundaries, devising photo-collage covers and interiors, developing new drawing techniques such as the method for depicting energy fields now known as "Kirby Dots", and other experiments.^[63] Yet he grew increasingly dissatisfied with working at Marvel. There have been a number of reasons given for this dissatisfaction, including resentment over Stan Lee's increasing media prominence, a lack of full creative control, anger over breaches of perceived promises by publisher Martin Goodman, and frustration over Marvel's failure to credit him specifically for his story plotting and for his character creations and co-creations.^[64] He began to both script and draw some secondary features for Marvel, such as "The Inhumans" in Amazing Adventures, as well as horror stories for the anthology title Chamber of Darkness, and received full credit for doing so; but in 1970, Kirby was presented with a contract that included such unfavorable terms as a prohibition against legal retaliation. When Kirby objected, the management refused to negotiate any contract changes.^[65] Kirby, although he was earning $35,000 a year freelancing for the company,^[66] subsequently left Marvel in 1970 for rival DC Comics, under editorial director Carmine Infantino.^[67]

DC Comics and the Fourth World saga (1971–1975)

The New Gods #1 (March 1971) Cover art by Kirby & Don Heck.

Kirby spent nearly two years negotiating a deal to move to DC Comics,^[68] where in late 1970 he signed a three-year contract with an option for two additional years.^[69] He produced a series of interlinked titles under the blanketsobriquet "The Fourth World", which included a trilogy of new titles — New Gods, Mister Miracle, and The Forever People — as well as the extant Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen.^[11][67][70] Kirby picked the latter book because the series was without a stable creative team and he did not want to cost anyone a job.^[71][72] The central villain of the Fourth World series, Darkseid, and some of the Fourth World concepts, appeared in Jimmy Olsen before the launch of the other Fourth World books, giving the new titles greater exposure to potential buyers. The Superman figures and Jimmy Olsen faces drawn by Kirby were redrawn by Al Plastino, and later by Murphy Anderson.^[73]

An attempt at creating new formats for comics produced the one-shot black-and-white magazines Spirit World andIn the Days of the Mob in 1971.^[74]

Kirby later produced other DC features such as OMAC,^[75] Kamandi,^[76] The Demon,^[77] "The Losers",^[78]"Dingbats of Danger Street", Kobra and, together with former partner Joe Simon for one last time, a new incarnation of the Sandman.^[11][79]

Kirby's production assistant of the time, Mark Evanier, recounted that DC's policies of the era were not in synch with Kirby's creative impulses, and that he was often forced to work on characters and projects that he did not want to work on.^[80] Kirby's renderings of Superman's face (in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen) were redrawn without his knowledge.^[80]

Return to Marvel (1976–1978)

At the comic book convention Marvelcon '75, in spring 1975, Stan Lee used a Fantastic Four panel discussion to announce that Kirby was returning to Marvel after having left in 1970 to work for DC Comics. Lee wrote in his monthly column, "Stan Lee's Soapbox", that, "I mentioned that I had a special announcement to make. As I started telling about Jack's return, to a totally incredulous audience, everyone's head started to snap around as Kirby himself came waltzin' down the aisle to join us on the rostrum! You can imagine how it felt clownin' around with the co-creator of most of Marvel's greatest strips once more."^[81]

Back at Marvel, Kirby both wrote and drew Captain America and created the series The Eternals, which featured a race of inscrutable alien giants, theCelestials, whose behind-the-scenes intervention in primordial humanity would eventually become a core element of Marvel Universe continuity. Kirby's other Marvel creations in this period include Devil Dinosaur, Machine Man, and an adaptation and expansion of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as an abortive attempt to do the same for the classic television series, The Prisoner.^[82] He also wrote and drew Black Panther and drew numerous covers across the line.^[11]

Film and animation (1979–1980)

Still dissatisfied with Marvel's treatment of him,^[83] and with the company's refusal to provide health and other employment benefits,^{[citation needed]} Kirby left Marvel to work in animation. In that field, he did designs for Turbo Teen, Thundarr the Barbarian and other animated television series.^[80] He also worked onThe Fantastic Four cartoon show, reuniting him with scriptwriter Stan Lee.^{[citation needed]} He illustrated an adaptation of the Walt Disney movie The Black Holefor Walt Disney’s Treasury of Classic Tales syndicated comic strip in 1979-80.^{[citation needed]}

In 1979, Kirby drew concept art for film producer Barry Geller's script treatment adapting Roger Zelazny's science fiction novel, Lord of Light, for which Geller had purchased the rights. In collaboration, Geller commissioned Kirby to draw set designs that would also be used as architectural renderings for a Coloradotheme park to be called Science Fiction Land; Geller announced his plans at a November press conference attended by Kirby, former NFL American footballstar Rosey Grier, writer Ray Bradbury, and others. While the film did not come to fruition, Kirby's drawings were used for the CIA's "Canadian caper", in which some members of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran, who had avoided capture in the Iran hostage crisis, were able to escape the country posing as members of a movie location-scouting crew.^[84]

Final years and death (1981–1994)

Topps Comics' Bombast #1 (April 1993). Cover art by Kirby.

In the early 1980s, Pacific Comics, a new, non-newsstand comic book publisher, made a then-groundbreaking deal with Kirby to publish a creator-owned series, Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers,^[85] and the six-issue miniseries Silver Star, which was collected in hardcover format in 2007.^[86][87][88] This, together with similar actions by other independent comics publishers as Eclipse Comics (where Kirby co-created Destroyer Duck in a benefit comic-book series published to help Steve Gerber fight a legal case versus Marvel),^[89] helped establish a precedent to end the monopoly of the work for hire system, wherein comics creators, even freelancers, had owned no rights to characters they created.

Though estranged from Marvel, Kirby continued to do periodic work for DC Comics during the 1980s, including a brief revival of his "Fourth World" saga in the 1984 and 1985 Super Powers miniseries and the 1985 graphic novelThe Hunger Dogs. In 1987, under pressure from comics creators and the fan community, Marvel finally returned approximately 1,900^[90] or 2,100 pages^[91] of the estimated 10,000^[91] to 13,000^[92] Kirby drew for the company.^[91][92]

Kirby also retained ownership of characters used by Topps Comics beginning in 1993, for a set of series in what the company dubbed "The Kirbyverse".^[93] These titles were derived mainly from designs and concepts that Kirby had kept in his files, some intended initially for the by-then-defunct Pacific Comics, and then licensed to Topps for what would become the "Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga" mythos.^[94] Marvel posthumously published a "lost" Kirby/Lee Fantastic Four story, Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure (April 2008), with unused pages Kirby had originally drawn for a story that was partially published in Fantastic Four #108 (March 1971).^[95]

On February 6, 1994, Kirby died at age 76 of heart failure in his Thousand Oaks, California home.^[96] He was buried at the Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park, Westlake Village, California.^[97]

Personal life

Kirby in the 1980s

Kirby and his wife Roz, who married in 1942, had four children. Susan was born December 6, 1945,^{[citation needed]}followed by Neal in May 1948^[39] and their third child, Barbara, in November 1952.^[98] They also had another daughter, Lisa.^[99]

Kirby's estate

Lisa Kirby announced in early 2006 that she and co-writer Steve Robertson, with artist Mike Thibodeaux, planned to publish via the Marvel Comics Icon imprint a six-issue limited series, Jack Kirby’s Galactic Bounty Hunters, featuring characters and concepts created by her father for Captain Victory.^[99] The series, scripted by Lisa Kirby, Robertson, Thibodeaux, and Richard French, with pencil art by Jack Kirby and Thibodeaux, and inking by Scott Hanna and Karl Kesel primarily, ran an initial five issues (Sept. 2006 - Jan. 2007) and then a later final issue (Sept. 2007).^[100] The series was collected in hardcover (ISBN 978-0-7851-2628-7) in 2007, and in trade paperback (ISBN 978-0-7851-2629-4) the following year.

On September 16, 2009,^[101] the Kirby estate also served notices of termination to Walt Disney Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures to attempt to regain control of various Silver Age Marvel characters.^[102][103] Marvel is seeking to invalidate these claims.^[104][105] However, in mid-March 2010 Kirby's estate "sued Marvel to terminate copyrights and gain profits from [Kirby's] comic creations."^[106] In July 2011, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a summary judgment in favor of Marvel,^{[101][107][108]} which was affirmed in August 2013 by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.^[109]

In July 2010, Dynamite Entertainment announced that in 2011, it would publish Kirby: Genesis, an eight-issue miniseries by writer Kurt Busiek and artists Jack Herbert and Alex Ross, featuring Kirby-owned characters previously published by Pacific Comics and Topps Comics.^[110][111]

Legacy

The New York Times, in a Sunday op-ed piece written more than a decade after his death, said of Kirby:

He created a new grammar of storytelling and a cinematic style of motion. Once-wooden characters cascaded from one frame to another—or even from page to page—threatening to fall right out of the book into the reader's lap. The force of punches thrown was visibly and explosively evident. Even at rest, a Kirby character pulsed with tension and energy in a way that makes movie versions of the same characters seem static by comparison.^[112]

Michael Chabon, in his afterword to his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a fictional account of two early comics pioneers, wrote, "I want to acknowledge the deep debt I owe in this and everything else I've ever written to the work of the late Jack Kirby, the King of Comics."^[113] Director James Cameron said Kirby inspired the look of his film Aliens, calling it "not intentional in the sense I sat down and looked at all my favorite comics and studied them for this film, but, yeah, Kirby's work was definitely in my subconscious programming. The guy was a visionary. Absolutely. And he could draw machines like nobody's business. He was sort of like A.E. Van Vogt and some of these other science-fiction writers who are able to create worlds that — even though we live in a science-fictionary world today — are still so far beyond what we're experiencing."^[114]

Jazz percussionist Gregg Bendian's CD, Requiem for Jack Kirby

Several Kirby images are among those on the "Marvel Super Heroes" set of commemorative stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service on July 27, 2007.^[115] Ten of the stamps are portraits of individual Marvel characters and the other 10 stamps depict individual Marvel Comic book covers. According to the credits printed on the back of the pane, Kirby's artwork is featured on: Captain America, The Thing, Silver Surfer, The Amazing Spider-Man #1, The Incredible Hulk #1,Captain America #100, The X-Men #1, and The Fantastic Four #3.^[112][115]

In 2002, jazz percussionist Gregg Bendian released a seven-track CD, Requiem for Jack Kirby, inspired by Kirby's art and storytelling. Titles of the instrumental cuts include "Kirby's Fourth World", "New Gods", "The Mother Box", "Teaneck in the Marvel Age" and "Air Above Zenn-La".^[116]

Various comic-book and cartoon creators have done homages to Kirby. Examples include the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage Comics series ("Kirby and the Warp Crystal" in Donatello #1, and its animated counterpart, "The King", from the 2003 cartoon series). The episode of Superman: The Animated Series entitled "Apokalips...Now! Part 2" was dedicated to his memory.^[117]

As of July 2012, Kirby's drawing table and small taboret table reside in the den of his son, Neal Kirby, who hopes that they will inspire Kirby's great-grandchildren.^[42]

As of September 2012, Hollywood films based on characters Kirby co-created have collectively earned nearly $3.1 billion.^[118] Kirby himself is a character portrayed by Luis Yagüe in the 2009 Spanish short film The King & the Worst, which is inspired by Kirby's service in World War II.^[119] He is portrayed byMichael Parks in a brief appearance in the fact-based drama Argo (2012), about the Canadian Caper.^[120]

Awards and honors

Jack Kirby received a great deal of recognition over the course of his career, including the 1967 Alley Award for Best Pencil Artist.^[121] The following year he was runner-up behind Jim Steranko. His other Alley Awards were:

• 1963: Favorite Short Story - "The Human Torch Meets Captain America", by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, Strange Tales #114^[122]
• 1964:^[123]
  • Best Novel - "Captain America Joins the Avengers", by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, from The Avengers #4
  • Best New Strip or Book - "Captain America", by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, in Tales of Suspense
• 1965: Best Short Story - "The Origin of the Red Skull", by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, Tales of Suspense #66^[124]
• 1966: Best Professional Work, Regular Short Feature - "Tales of Asgard" by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, in The Mighty Thor^[125]
• 1967: Best Professional Work, Regular Short Feature - (tie) "Tales of Asgard" and "Tales of the Inhumans", both by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, in The Mighty Thor^[121]
• 1968:^[126]
  • Best Professional Work, Best Regular Short Feature - "Tales of the Inhumans", by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, in The Mighty Thor
  • Best Professional Work, Hall of Fame - Fantastic Four, by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby; Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., by Jim Steranko^[127]

Kirby won a Shazam Award for Special Achievement by an Individual in 1971 for his "Fourth World" series in Forever People, New Gods, Mister Miracle, andSuperman's Pal Jimmy Olsen.^[128] He was inducted into the Shazam Awards Hall of Fame in 1975.^[129] In 1987 he was an inaugural inductee into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.^[130] He received the 1993 Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award at that year's Eisner Awards.^[131]

His work was honored posthumously in 1998: The collection of his New Gods material, Jack Kirby's New Gods, edited by Bob Kahan, won both the Harvey Award for Best Domestic Reprint Project,^[132] and the Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection/Project.^[133]

The Jack Kirby Awards and Jack Kirby Hall of Fame were named in his honor.

With Will Eisner, Robert Crumb, Harvey Kurtzman, Gary Panter and Chris Ware, Kirby was among the artists honored in the exhibition "Masters of American Comics" at the Jewish Museum in New York City, New York, from September 16, 2006 to January 28, 2007.^[134][135]