KIRBY, JACK

KIRBY, JACK (Jacob Kurtzberg; 1917–1994), U.S. comic book creator. Kirby was born in New York City and began work in the comics industry in the 1930s. By 1940 he had teamed with Joe Simon, his partner for the next 15 years. They   created the character Captain America in 1941 and it instantly became an American icon and the country's morale-boosting anti-Nazi hero. The following year they produced the Boy Commandos comics, stories about young soldiers, which sold a million copies an issue. After World War II the team created popular-romance comics. In 1958 Kirby went to work for Marvel Comics, where he collaborated with the dialogue writer and editor stan lee . They created such characters as Mighty Thor and the Incredible Hulk, among many superheroes with human characteristics. In a 50-year career, Kirby produced many of the comics' most successful concepts and was considered responsible for more comic book sales than any other artist, writer, or editor. (Stewart Kampel (2nd ed.)