comicbooks.com Join Free
Home › Jack Kirby
Creator

Jack Kirby

cover pencilsartistwritercover inksinkercolorist
Jack Kirby
Known forYoung Romance
Issues credited4,524
Active1938–1958
Primary rolecover pencils
Captain America Comics #1
Captain America Comics #1 (1941)

Born Jacob Kurtzberg on August 28, 1917, in New York City, Jack Kirby taught himself to draw by tracing newspaper comic strips and editorial cartoons before breaking into the nascent comics industry during the 1930s, working under several pen names before settling on the one that would become synonymous with American superhero comics. He died on February 6, 1994.

Amazing Fantasy #15
Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962)

His early partnership with writer-editor Joe Simon proved enormously generative. The two created Captain America for Timely Comics in 1940, pioneered the romance comics genre at Crestwood Publications, and even launched their own short-lived imprint, Mainline Publications. After Kirby's service in the European Theater during World War II, he worked across multiple publishers before landing at what would become Marvel Comics, where his output in the 1960s was staggering — co-creating the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, Black Panther, Ant-Man, and the Silver Surfer, among others.

Tales of Suspense #39
Tales of Suspense #39 (1963)

Frustrated by disputes over authorship credit and creators' rights, Kirby moved to DC Comics in 1970, where he developed his ambitious Fourth World saga and its enduring New Gods mythology. Though those titles were canceled prematurely, the characters have remained fixtures of the DC Universe.

Fantastic Four #1
Fantastic Four #1 (1961)

Kirby earned widespread recognition late in life, becoming one of the three inaugural inductees into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1987, and was posthumously named a Disney Legend in 2017.

Known for

Captain America Comics #1
Captain America Comics #1
Amazing Fantasy #15
Amazing Fantasy #15
Tales of Suspense #39
Tales of Suspense #39
Fantastic Four #1
Fantastic Four #1
The Incredible Hulk #1
The Incredible Hulk #1
Journey into Mystery #83
Journey into Mystery #83

Full bibliography (first 500) · 95 series

Young Romance (1947) · 65
#1 [1]#2 [2]#3 [3]#4 [4]#4#5 (5)#6 (6)#1 (7)#7#2 (8)#3 (9)#4 (10)#10#5 (11)#11#6 (12)#12#1 (13)#2 (14)#3 (15)#6 (18)#7 (19)#8 (20)#9 (21)#11 (23)#12 (24)#2 (26)#3 (27)#4 (28)#5 (29)#6 (30)#7 (31)#8 (32)#9 (33)#10 (34)#11 (35)#1 (37)#2 (38)#3 (39)#4 (40)#5 (41)#6 (42)#8 (44)#9 (45)#10 (46)#5 (53)#8 (56)#9 (57)#10 (58)#1 (61)#2 (62)#3 (63)#4 (64)#8 (68)#12 (72)#1 (73)#2 (80)#3 (81)#4 (82)#5 (83)#6 (84)#1 (85)#3 (87)#6 (90)#1 (91)
Star Spangled Comics (1941) · 43
#7#8#9#10#11#12#13#14#15#16#17#18#19#20#21#22#23#24#25#26#27#28#29#30#31#33#34#35#36#37#39#40#42#43#48#51#52#53#54#56#57#58#59
Black Magic (1950) · 34
#1 [1]#1#2 [2]#3 [3]#4 [4]#5 [5]#6 [6]#1 [7]#2 [8]#3 [9]#4 [10]#5 [11]#6 [12]#7 (13)#8 (14)#9 (15)#10 (16)#11 (17)#12 (18)#1 (19)#2 (20)#3 (21)#4 (22)#5 (23)#6 (24)#1 (25)#2 (26)#3 (27)#4 (28)#5 (29)#6 (30)#1 (31)#2 (32)#3 (33)
Young Love (1949) · 33
#1 [1]#2 [2]#4 [4]#6 [12]#7 [13]#8 [14]#9 (15)#10 (16)#11 (17)#12 [18]#1 (19)#2 (20)#3 (21)#4 (22)#7 (25)#10 (28)#1 (31)#9 (39)#10 (40)#1 (43)#2 (44)#4 (46)#5 (47)#7 (49)#8 (50)#9 (51)#7 (61)#8 (62)#3 (69)#4 (70)#5 (71)#6 (72)#1 (73)
Adventure Comics (1938) · 28
#73#74#75#76#77#78#79#80#81#82#83#84#85#86#87#88#89#90#91#92#93#94#95#96#97#100#101#102
Boy Commandos (1942) · 23
#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#11#12#13#14#15#17#19#21#23#24#29#30#31#32
Justice Traps the Guilty (1947) · 23
#1 [1]#2 (2)#3 (3)#3#4 (4)#4#5 (5)#5#6 (6)#6#1 (7)#2 (8)#3 (9)#4 (10)#5 (11)#6 (12)#9#6 (18)#1 (19)#3 (21)#4 (22)#5 (23)#19
Headline Comics (1943) · 19
#11 (23)#12 (24)#1 (25)#2 (26)#3 (27)#4 (28)#5 (29)#6 (30)#1 (31)#2 (32)#31#4 (34)#34#5 (35)#6 (36)#3 (33)#1 (43)#2 (44)#3 (45)
Young Brides (1952) · 13
#6 [6]#1 [7]#2 [8]#3 [9]#4 [10]#6 [12]#12 (18)#7 (25)#2 (26)#3 (27)#4 (28)#5 (29)#6 (30)
Captain America Comics (1941) · 10
#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10
Boys' Ranch (1950) · 10
#1#2#2#[nn]#3#4#5#6#2#3
Blue Bolt (1940) · 9
#2 [2]#3 [3]#4 [4]#6 [6]#7 [7]#8 [8]#9 [9]#106#3
Black Magic Comics (1952) · 9
#1#2#7#8#9#10#4#5#6
Fighting American (1954) · 8
#1 [1]#2 [2]#3 [3]#4 [4]#5 (5)#6 (6)#1 (7)#3
Charlie Chan (1948) · 7
#1#2#3#4#5#1#6
Police Trap (1954) · 6
#1#2#3#4#5#6
Western Tales (1955) · 6
#1#2#3#31#32#33
Bulls Eye (1954) · 5
#1#2#3#4#5
Hi-School Romance (1949) · 5
#54#55#56#57#58
Real Clue Crime Stories (1947) · 4
#4 [16]#5 [17]#6 [18]#7 [19]
My Date Comics (1947) · 4
#1#2#3#4
The Strange World of Your Dreams (1952) · 4
#1#2#3#4
Foxhole (1954) · 4
#1#2#3#4
Black Cat Comics (1946) · 4
#57#58#59#60
True Bride-to-Be Romances (1956) · 4
#17#19#20#21
First Love Illustrated (1949) · 4
#67#68#69#70
Champ Comics (1940) · 3
#18#20#21
Detective Comics (1937) · 3
#65#69#76
Stuntman (1946) · 3
#1#2#3
Prize Comics Western (1948) · 3
#2 (75)#4 (83)#1
Western Love (1949) · 3
#3 [3]#3#5 (5)
In Love (1954) · 3
#1#3#5
Bulls Eye Western Scout (1955) · 3
#1#4#6
Warfront (1951) · 3
#28#29#30
True Love Problems and Advice Illustrated (1949) · 3
#38#41#42
First Romance Magazine (1949) · 3
#41#42#43
Yellow Claw (1956) · 3
#2#3#4
Showcase (1956) · 3
#6#7#11
Tales of the Unexpected (1956) · 3
#13#15#18
My Greatest Adventure (1955) · 3
#16#17#18
Alarming Tales (1957) · 3
#1#2#3
Champion Comics (1939) · 2
#9#10
Daring Mystery Comics (1940) · 2
#6#8
Marvel Mystery Comics (1939) · 2
#12#13
Prize Comics (1940) · 2
#7 (7)#3 (63)
Green Hornet Comics (1942) · 2
#7 (7)#9
Speed Comics (1941) · 2
#20#23
World's Finest Comics (1941) · 2
#6#10
Boy Commandos Comics [ashcan] (1942) · 2
#1#[nn]
Real Fact Comics (1946) · 2
#1#9
Real West Romances (1949) · 2
#4#5
Thrills of Tomorrow (1954) · 2
#19#20
Win a Prize Comics (1955) · 2
#1#2
Witches Western Tales (1955) · 2
#29#30
Bullseye (1955) · 2
#6#7
Fox Hole (1955) · 2
#5#6
Blackhawk (1956) · 2
#18#19
House of Mystery (1951) · 2
#65#69
Wags [UK] (1937) · 1
#72
Jumbo Comics (1938) · 1
#1
Hurrah ! (1935) · 1
#254
Red Raven Comics (1940) · 1
#1
Famous Funnies (1934) · 1
#76
Wow Comics (1940) · 1
#1
64 Pages of New Captain Marvel Adventures (1941) · 1
#[1]
Young Allies (1941) · 1
#1
U. S. A. Comics [USA Comics; U.S.A. Comics] (1941) · 1
#1
Mystic Comics (1940) · 1
#7
Shield-Wizard Comics (1940) · 1
#7
Commandos [ashcan] (1942) · 1
#1
Captain Stone Comics (1944) · 1
#10
Supergirl [ashcan] (1944) · 1
#[nn]
Movie Cartoons [ashcan] (1944) · 1
#[nn]
K-O Komics (1945) · 1
#1
Boy Explorers Comics (1946) · 1
#1
All-New Comics (1943) · 1
#13
Treasure Comics (1945) · 1
#10
Airboy Comics (1945) · 1
#4 [39]
Clue Comics (1943) · 1
#3 [15]
48 Famous Americans (1947) · 1
#[nn]
Western Fighters (1948) · 1
#1
Manhunt (1951) · 1
#2
True Amazing Accounts of Black Magic (1952) · 1
#1
The Masked G-Man (1952) · 1
#2
Captain 3-D (1953) · 1
#1
Black Magic Album (1954) · 1
#1
Captain 3D (1954) · 1
#1
From Here to Insanity (1955) · 1
#11
I Love You (1955) · 1
#7
Showdown at Snake River (1957) · 1
#1
House of Secrets (1956) · 1
#3
All for Love (1957) · 1
#1 [1]
Love Romances (1949) · 1
#66
Romance Stories of True Love (1957) · 1
#46
Black Rider (1957) · 1
#1

Original biography and editorial content © comicbooks.com™. Information drawn in part from Wikipedia and the Grand Comics Database. Portrait by Susan Skaar / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0). Cover thumbnails shown under fair use, each linking to its issue.