It's funny. No matter how much I write about Jack Kirby — and I've written an awful lot, including a monster of a biography that's nearing completion — it's never enough. Maybe that's why the book has taken so long. Jack was such an awesome presence that even today, more than a decade after his death, he resists summary. He was a kind man, a good man, a talented man, a brilliant man. He glowed with the sheer power of new ideas and creative enthusiasm…and when you were around him, you felt it. He talked to the greenest fan as an equal and sent the kid home charged with confidence and vigor. If you weren't fortunate enough to meet Jack in person, you could still get a lot of that out of his work. People still do, which is why it remains in print and why interest in him has never diminished.
It is not enough to list the comic books he created or co-created. That's a pretty long list but Jack was more than the sum of a checklist. He was a man who had lasting impact, almost all of it positive, on the industry in which he worked and on the people he touched. Along with itemizing the Hulks and Captain Americas he helped give us, you have to remember the people he impacted, not only in comics but in many walks of life, and all that they invented. Shortly after Jack's passing, I received a letter from a spot welder (I'm not making this up) who told me with absolute sincerity that the work of Jack Kirby had inspired him to be the best possible spot welder. People credit Jack as an influence on many of today's top authors and filmmakers, and that's true. But I've always thought he would have been just as proud of that spot welder.
Had Jack not died when he did, he would have been 88 years old today. With his influence and work so visible, it ought to be hard to miss the guy. But some of us sure do.