Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg on August 28, 1917, in New York City's Lower East Side to Austrian Jewish immigrants; died February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer, and editor renowned as one of the medium's most influential creators, often called the "King" of comics.[2][3] Self-taught, he began in the 1930s at the Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate, drawing political cartoons, gags, and strips under pseudonyms like Jack Curtiss, before entering comics with features such as Blue Beetle and Solar Legion.[1][2][5] In 1940, Kirby partnered with Joe Simon at Timely Comics (later Marvel) to co-create the iconic superhero **Captain America**, which became a massive hit amid World War II.[2][3] Drafted in 1943, he served in the European Theater, scouting for military intelligence by sketching maps and Axis positions after D-Day, experiences that later informed war comics like Boy Commandos and Sgt. Fury.[4] Postwar, he worked across publishers including DC (then National), Harvey, and Crestwood, pioneering romance comics and launching Mainline Publications with Simon.[2][1] Kirby's 1960s Marvel tenure with Stan Lee revolutionized superheroes, co-creating **Fantastic Four** (1961), **Hulk**, **Thor**, **Iron Man**, **X-Men**, **Avengers**, **Silver Surfer**, **Galactus**, and **Black Panther**, defining the Marvel Universe and saving the company from decline.[3][5] He moved to DC in 1970, revamping Jimmy Olsen with concepts like the Newsboy Legion and Darkseid, and launching **New Gods**, **Kamandi**, **OMAC**, and **The Demon**.[1][2] Later, he freelanced on independents like Captain Victory and Destroyer Duck before retiring from comics in 1987, with animation stints at Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears.[1][5] Kirby's dynamic art style and hundreds of enduring characters remain central to Marvel and DC films, TV, and games, ensuring his legacy as a foundational figure in pop culture.[3][5] (298 words)