We’re coming to the end of August and I wish I had posted about this sooner. August is American Artists Appreciation Month. In simple terms, appreciate artists from the United States. This recognition is more for traditional artists with their work in galleries, I imagine. However, I want to recognize two artists who’s creations have shaped pop culture for over 75 years. The first is Bob Kane, co-creator of The Batman with the writer Bill Finger. They also created a number of Batman’s early villains. After retiring from DC Comics in the 1960’s Kane focused on fine art and had many works featured in galleries though many of them were completed by ghost painters.
The second artist I wish to recognize is Jack Kirby. He co-created Captain America with Joe Simon as writer-editor. In the 1960’s, he teamed up with Stan Lee and co-created the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Thor, the Hulk, and Iron Man. In the early 70’s, he left Marvel to work at DC where he created the Fourth World saga, to include characters such as Darkseid, Granny Goodness, Mister Miracle, and hundreds of others. Many of these characters are my favorites in all of comics and they don’t get much recognition in the mainstream. That is why I wanted to share my appreciation for Jack Kirby. Dear DC, I want to see more from the Fourth World saga.
James Pack 