“Jack Kirby: 100 Years” Celebrates the Life of a Comic Great

Jack Kirby, the genre-changing artist who helped create the vast majority of classic Marvel characters, would have turned 100 years old this August. To celebrate, the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center is hosting a four-day event in his New York City hometown.

Kirby, whose birth name was Jacob Kurtzberg, was incredibly prolific. Name your favorite Marvel character. If they’re one of the classic lines, chances are good Jack Kirby was their first artist. Captain America, Thor, Black Panther, Peggy Carter, Iron Man, Groot, Bucky Barnes, Professor X, Magneto… this entire article could be full of his ink and paper children, even if we don’t count his DC work like Boy Commandos. He’s a star of Marvel’s Silver Age, a huge part of the reason comics hold such a special place in our hearts. It’s not exaggerating to say that Jack Kirby’s art is woven into this country’s storytelling heritage (and it’s pretty popular internationally, too).

“Jack Kirby: 100 years” aims to celebrate his life and work with an exclusive series of events held around his August 28th birthday. The event will be held at One Art Space in New York City. The Jack Kirby Museum is throwing an opening reception/birthday party before moving on to the main events, which include talks on the artist’s life and work, an exhibit of the museum’s digital archive, oversized displays of Kirby’s most famous artwork, a gift shop full of limited edition Kirby merch, and more.

The celebration runs 27-30 August. The exhibition is open from 12-7pm all four days, but there are a few other events to watch out for:

Sunday, August 27th

3pm – “Explore Kirby Original Art” with Kirby Museum President Tom Kraft

5-7 pm – Silent Auction

6pm – “What is the Jack Kirby Museum?” talk by Tom Kraft and Founding Trustee Rand Hoppe

Monday, August 28th

50% of all profits from this day will go to Kirby4Heroes campaign for The Hero Initiative

6pm – “Jack Kirby – 100 Years” talk by Rand Hoppe

Wednesday, August 30th

7pm – “The Science Fiction Work of Jack Kirby” talk by writer Adam McGovern with Rand Hoppe

If you’re going to be near New York City that week, stop by “Jack Kirby: 100 Years” and take a look around. It’s the least depressing historical event you’re going to find that weekend.

Author: Khai

Khai is a writer, anthropologist, and games enthusiast. She is co-editor (alongside Alex DeCampi) of and contributor to “True War Stories”, a comic anthology published by Z2 Comics. When she’s not writing or creating games, Khai likes to run more tabletop RPGs than one person should reasonably juggle.

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