In the above photo, the gentleman at right is Shel Dorf, the comic buff who launched what we now know as the Comic-Con International in San Diego. Shel, sad to say, is in failing health…hospitalized for whatever remains of his life. I visited his room the day after this year's convention and he couldn't recognize me, even though I've known him since 1970. I still get depressed thinking about it.
The gentleman at left is, of course, Jack Kirby. Jack passed away in 1994 but if he'd lived, he'd be 92 years old today and still thinking "younger" than anyone around him. Darn near everyone familiar with his work says he was a brilliant artist. I think he was a brilliant person, period…and the more I think about him, the more I think that. Things Jack said or did that didn't make sense at the time make sense to me now, more than ever.
I've written so much about Jack over the years that I don't feel I have to write a lot today, just because it's today. So I'll just state that my admiration for the man continues to grow, as does my affection. Something has definitely been missing from the comic book industry — and some of our lives — since we lost him.