Kirby is King

When Jack Kirby, co-creator of Fantastic Four, X-Men, Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man and others moved to DC comics they proudly displayed "Kirby's Here!" on the covers. A bold proclamation, and one of historical interest at least. However, sometimes things that are historically important aren't all that thrilling to experience. D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation was a ground breaking work of editing and story telling, but is also enormously racist and not exactly something a person watches with a bowl of popcorn on a cold winter night.

That's not what Kirby's work is like. Reading it today still lights the imagination afire, even though the material is over 30 years old. Having read the Fourth World Omnibuses vols 1-4, OMAC omnibus, and 2001: A Space Odyssey 1-10, I can say Kirby really was a king.

He presents a world view of optimism, where idealistic young people are fighting the struggle for freedom against ossified power centers: crooked billionaires, war-mongers and politicians struggling to wipe out free will. His heroes are super-powered hippies (the Forever People) or corporate drones snatched from obscurity to fight against tyranny (OMAC).

The list properties created by Kirby, either as sole creator or co-creator is absolutely enormous. I would have to put him down as my favorite Silver Age creator.