Oops!

Yesterday I overlooked the centenary of the birth of Jacob Kurtzberg, better known as comic book artist Jack Kirby.

The relentless self-promotion machine that is Stan Lee has never been really clear about Kirby's role in the creation of some of Marvel Comics' iconics characters. They collaborated, but the degree of the load sharing shifts depending on which interview of either man you read.

But even if fully sussing all of this out isn't possible, Kirby's contribution to comic books and comic book storytelling can't be overlooked. There are people who draw comic books and there are artists that create at a more highbrow level. But if an artist is someone who creates a story or a connection with viewers through his or her own distinctive style, then Kirby is indeed a comic book artist.

His characters weren't particularly realistic but clearly carried a message of power and might. Kirby's eye dreamed up fantastic visual worlds, such as Thor's Asgard or the star-spanning sprawl of the New Gods worlds. Kirby's drawings make clear that a hero who doesn't show forth in some way as larger than life isn't much of a hero at all.