Sketch studies, of the master. No one is more important than Jack Kirby to the history of the comic book and it's current styles, both visually and literary. Jacob Kurtzburg was born in New York city on August 28, 1917 in one of the toughest neighborhoods of the city. Dubbed "Hell's Kitchen" it was home to many of the roughest hoodlums on the east coast. His artistic career began in 1935 when he secured a job with the Max Fleisher Studios doing "in-betweens" for the Popeye cartoon series. In 1936 he joined the Lincoln Newspaper Syndicate where he simultaneously drew several different comic strips under different pseudonyms. Drawing "Socko the Sea Dog", "Abdul Jones" and "Black Buccaneer" among others, he remained there until 1938 when the syndicate folded. He free-lanced doing pulp illustrations for a short while before temporarily landing at the Eisner-Iger studio late in 1938. Some of his work in this period can be found in Jungle & Jumbo Comics, and he also began to work for numerous other companies as well, illustrating such characters as Blue Beetle, Blue Bolt, Red Raven, and even the big red cheese - Captain Marvel (he drew the entire first issue). It was at this time he began to cement his relationship with the publishers, his peers and comics fandom. Among the characters that Jack either created or co-created were Captain America, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Boy Commandos, Challengers of the Unknown, The New Gods, Kamandi, Darkseid, Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, Captain Victory, The Silver Surfer, The Mighty Thor and at least a hundred others. Over the length of a career that has spanned seven decades Jack Kirby has been credited with illustrating over 24,000 pages of comic book art, making him the most prolific comic artist to ever walk the Earth. He also drew hundreds of comic strips throughout his career and numerous Hollywood film conceptualizations. He is credited with being one of the most influential creators of the field and his influence can be seen in nearly every comic artists visual concept and design. He is an American icon. Jack passed away February 6 1994.