The King of Comic Books, Jack Kirby Gets His Own Exhibition

While fans wait for Kirby’s first documentary, Kirbyvision, to be released sometime soon, there was a new announcement from the Skirball Cultural Center has fans excited for the King of Comic Books, Jack Kirby‘s very first Exhibition.

According to the Exhibition’s website, Jack Kirby: Heroes and Humanity delves into the six-decade career of Jack Kirby, original comic illustrations, fine art, and commercial art. Many items that are featured in this exhibition are on display for the very first time to the public. A first-generation Jewish American whose faith remained important throughout his life, Kirby has stayed a relevant figure in American Pop Culture, whose influence in the worlds of comics, film, animation, graphic design, and pop art is evident more than thirty years after his passing.

Exhibition Date and Ticket Prices:

Aside from the artwork that will be featured, it will also feature personal items such as his U.S. Army Uniform, back when he served in the Military during World War II, rare collages, original pieces, Kirby’s Comic Books, and character costumes from the movies. His family was involved in helping put it together. Ben Saunders, Professor of English at the University of Oregon (including introducing the Comic Studies minor), and one of the co-curators for the exhibit, spoke highly of Kirby in an interview with Jewish Journal’s Daniel Lobell: “Jack Kirby emblematizes, almost literally, the power of the imagination. His fingerprints are all over my mind.” From the beginning of his career in 1936, up to his death in 1994, it was reported that he drew 20,000 pages of published art, almost 1,400 covers, which range from concept art, animation, and fine art.

Available now from DC Comics: Jack Kirby 100th Celebration Collection (Paperback)

Skirball vice president and museum director, Sheri Bernstein, spoke to Variety about the upcoming exhibition and how they highlighted the exhibit’s multidimensionality, and how it honors his printed accomplishments through the filter of his Jewish background. Jack Kirby, born Jacob Kurtzberg in 1917, rose from humble beginnings on the Lower East Side to build a remarkable career, but like other Jews in the comic book industry, he did so under an Americanized name and in one of the few creative fields that was open to Jews of his generation. Kirby infused his fanciful stories and imagined worlds with mythical and biblical content and real-world relevance, which is in part why his work is so rich and continues to inspire creatives to this day.”

Jack Kirby was born on August 28, 1917, on 147 Essex Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Born to Rose (Bernstein) and Benjamin Kurtzberg, who were Austrian-Jewish immigrants. His father earned a living as a Garment Factory Worker. Jack liked to draw and sought out places where he could learn more about art, where he would eventually become a self-taught artist. Years later, Kirby worked for places such as the Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate, illustrating single-panel advice cartoons, and Fleischer Studios, where he worked as an in-betweener on Popeye Cartoons. Jack ventured into the comic book industry, working with companies such as Eisner & Iger, East Color Printing, Fox Feature Syndicate, and a collaboration with Fawcett Comics in Captain Marvel Adventures.

At Fox Feature Syndicate, he met the man who would eventually be his partner in creating one of the most iconic and patriotic heroes in Comic Book History over at Timely Comics, Captain America, and that man was Joe Simon. Over the years, Jack would become known for co-creating the most iconic superheroes and characters we have come to know in Marvel (Thor, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four, X-Men, Black Panther, Falcon) and DC (Newsboy Legion, New Gods, Mister Miracle, the Forever People, Etrigan the Demon, and Kamandi). He was also an advocate for Creators’ Rights, right up until his death on February 6, 1994. If you would like to learn more about Jack Kirby, be sure to check out the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center and support the Hero Initiative and Kirby4Heroes, which Kirby4Heroes is run by Jack’s Granddaughter, Jillian Kirby.

The Jack Kirby: Heroes and Humanity Exhibition, and the other educational programs at the Skirball Cultural Center are made possible by presenting donor Brandon Beck with additional support from Stephanie and Harold Bronson, Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary, The Dennis and Brooks Holt Foundation, Marvel Studios, and U.S. Bank. If you’re interested in learning more about the exhibition, click here to head over to its website.

Source: Jewish Journal, Skirball Cultural Center, Variety

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