Writer-editor Stan Lee (1922– 2018) and artist Jack Kirby made comic book history in 1961 with The Fantastic Four #1. The suc cess of its new style inspired Lee and his many collaborators to de velop a number of Super Heroes, including, with Jack Kirby, the Incredible Hulk and the X‑ Men; with Steve Ditko, the Amazing Spider-Man and Doctor Strange; and with Bill Everett, Daredevil. Lee oversaw the adventures of these creations for more than a decade before handing over the editorial reins at Marvel to others and focusing on developing Marvel’ s properties in other media. For the remainder of his long life, he continued to serve as a creative figure head at Marvel and as an ambassador for the comics medium as a whole. In his final years, Lee’ s signature cameo appearances in Marvel’ s films established him as one of the world’ s most famous faces.
Born Jacob Kurtzberg in 1917 to Jewish-Austrian parents on New York’ s Lower East Side, Jack Kirby came of age at the birth of the American comic book industry. Horrified by the rise of Nazism, Kirby co‑ created the patriotic hero Captain America with Joe Simon in 1940. Cap’ s exploits on the comic book page entertained millions of American readers at home and inspired US troops fight ing the enemy abroad. Kirby’ s partnership with Simon continued throughout the 1940s and early ’ 50s; together, they produced com ics in every popular genre, from Western to romance. In 1958, Kirby began his equally fruitful collaboration with writer- editor Stan Lee, and in 1961 the two men co‑ created the foundational text of the modern Marvel Universe: The Fantastic Four. Over the next de cade, Kirby and Lee would introduce a mind- boggling array of new characters— including the Avengers, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the Silver Surfer, and the X‑ Men. Kirby’ s groundbreaking work with Lee formed the foundation of the Marvel Universe. In the early 1970s, Kirby moved to DC Comics, where he created his intercon nected Fourth World series, as well as freestanding titles such as The Demon. He returned to Marvel in 1975, writing and illustrat ing The Black Panther and Captain America, and introducing series such as Devil Dinosaur, and The Eternals. Kirby died in 1994. Today, he is generally regarded as one of the most important and influential creators in the history of American comics. His work has inspired multiple generations of writers, artists, designers, and film makers, who continue to explore his vast universe of concepts and characters. He was an inaugural inductee into the Eisner Hall of Fame in 1987.
Ben Saunders is a professor of English at the University of Oregon. He is the author of Desiring Donne: Poetry, Sexuality, Interpreta tion and Do the Gods Wear Capes? : Spirituality, Fantasy, and Su perheroes, as well as numerous critical essays on subjects ranging from the writings of Shakespeare to the recordings of Little Richard. He has also curated several museum exhibitions of comics art, in cluding the record- breaking, multimedia touring show Marvel: Uni verse of Super Heroes— a retrospective exploring the artistic and cultural impact of Marvel Comics from 1939 to the present.
Jerry Craft is the New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the graphic novels New Kid and Class Act. New Kid is the winner of the 2020 John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’ s literature. In addition, New Kid was awarded the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature. He is also the recipient of the Coretta Scott King Author Award for the most outstanding work by an African American writer.
