Jack "King" Kirby's comics career began in 1937 and continued for nearly six decades. With partner Joe Simon, Kirby first made his mark in comics in the 1940s by drawing and/or creating numerous features for DC Comics including SANDMAN, THE NEWSBOY LEGION and MANHUNTER, and for Marvel including CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE YOUNG ALLIES and the KID COMMANDOS. As the most valued team in comics, Simon and Kirby went on to create titles and concepts including FIGHTING AMERICAN, BOYS' RANCH and the creation of the romance comics genre. In 1961, the first issue of Marvel's FANTASTIC FOUR cemented Kirby's reputation as comics' preeminent creator, and a slew of famous titles followed that elevated him to legendary status, including INCREDIBLE HULK, AVENGERS and X-MEN. Kirby returned to DC in 1971 with his classic FOURTH WORLD TRILOGY, which was followed by THE DEMON and KAMANDI. Kirby continued working and innovating in comics until his death in 1994.
Mike Essl is an award-winning designer and the head of graphic design and former dean at the Cooper Union School of Art. He was a founding partner at The Chopping Block, Inc., where he worked with notable clients including Sony, Nickelodeon, National Geographic, MTV, and Microsoft. His book design clients include Abrams, Chronicle, DC, and Dark Horse. He is also one of the world's foremost collectors of Mr. T memorabilia. His recent work includes the series The Marvel Comics Covers of Jack Kirby, and he is currently developing a book of his long-running project BWHAM: A Tribute to the Lettering of Marvel Comics.
John Lind is a designer, editor, and co-founder of the Dark Horse Comics imprint Kitchen Sink Books (with Denis Kitchen). Specializing in print design with a client list that includes projects for Abrams, Bloomsbury, Chronicle Books, Disney, Hyperion Books, Simon & Schuster, and W.W. Norton in addition to numerous publishers in the comic industry.
