Jack Kirby Finally Getting Credit in Captain America, X-Men, Other Marvel Comics
By Roger Lee
Jack “King” Kirby was one of the most influential artists in the history of comic books. His work for Marvel from the 1940s through the 1970s gave us such icons as Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Avengers, Thor, and many, many more heroes that we now see in comics and on the movie screen. He also did highly creative and original work for DC Comics in the 1970s, creating the New Gods, including Darkseid, the murder-world of Apokolips, Orian, Miracle Man, and Big Barda, among others. His work at DC also gave a new vitality and a new purpose to the Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olson title.
Now, in the wake of the legal settlement between Kirby’s heirs (Kirby died in 1994), and Marvel, his name is now included as a creator in the latest batch of Marvel titles.
Jack Kirby
Beginning with the Marvel comics released at the end of October, 2014, we see Jack Kirby listed as the creator or co-creator on the title and credits pages of, Death of Wolverine: Deadpool & Captain America #1, Fantastic Four #12, Inhuman #7, Wolverine and the X-Men #11, and All-New X-Men #33
In the image below, from Death of Wolverine: Deadpool & Captain America #1, we see Jack Kirby name mentioned thusly: “Captain America created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.” No mention of the names of the creators of either Wolverine or Deadpool!
Jack Kirby Gets Credit in Captain America Book
The legal issues surrounding the early creators of our favorite heroes has been a bone of contention for a long time. The contracts or employment status of the early artists and writers, such as Bob Kane and Bill Finger (Batman), Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster (Superman), and Joe Simon and Jack Kirby (Captain America and others), has been a matter of contention for decades.
The comic book publishers are finally giving these comic book creators their due. We will see a lot more of Jack Kirby’s name on future comic book titles as well as Marvel movies featuring his creations.