Photos: The Skirball Center’s Jack Kirby Exhibit is an Incredible Look at the Career of the Marvel Comics Icon

Last month, the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles debuted their new exhibit, Jack Kirby: Heroes and Humanity. Laughing Place recently paid a visit to Skirball to get a firsthand look at this overview of the art and impact of the Marvel Comics legend – and Disney Legend – whose work (and the characters he co-created) would change both the landscape of comic books and pop culture in general forever.

Kirby is best known for his unbelievable run in the 1960s, where he and Stan Lee co-created the likes of the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Hulk, Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Thor - and the book that would team up those solo heroes, the Avengers. His long run on Fantastic Four would also result in iconic characters like Black Panther and Silver Surfer’s debut. But Kirby’s history with comics went back even further, and he already had cemented his place in history when he co-created Captain America in 1940 with Joe Simon.

The exhibit includes information on Kirby’s early days, growing up in New York’s lower east side, and how even after his Captain America success, he would take a break from comics when he was drafted into the Army to serve during World War II. The inclusion of Kirby’s military uniform can’t help but evoke similar tribute displays for Steve Rogers/Captain America himself in the MCU.

There’s also a look at Kirby’s post-World War II work, a time when other genres like crime and westerns were en vogue across media, including in comic books.

But of course it’s Kirby’s collaboration with Stan Lee on Fantastic Four #1 that will prove to be the most monumental moment not just in his career, but among the most important moments in comic book history. The success of Fantastic Four and the quick debut of several other titles from Lee and Kirby would kick off the Marvel Comics era and introduce some of the most beloved characters in pop culture history in rapid succession.

The exhibit intermixes reproductions of Kirby Fantastic Four art with original comic books on display, some of his original art for the comics, and even more personal items, like a Hanukkah card he drew in the 1970s depicting The Thing.

And, of course, the exhibit goes on to include looks at many of the other iconic Marvel characters and titles Kirby co-created during just a few years between 1961-1967.

Also included is examples from the work he did during his time at DC Comics beginning in the late 1960s, which resulted in characters and concepts like the New Gods, Mister Miracle, Darkseid and Etrigan the Demon.

And the exhibit also features in-depth analysis of Kirby’s stylistic evolution through the decades, as he delved further into expressionism and abstract imagery, including some of his later work back at Marvel on titles like Devil Dinosaur.

And then there’s the section on Kirby interpreting characters created and visually defined by others, whether that be Superman or Spider-Man or the world of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which had a Marvel comic book Kirby wrote and drew where he expanded upon the film’s concepts in major ways, leading to the debut of the ongoing Marvel character Machine Man.

There’s also a section for Kirby’s talents as a worldbuilder, which includes his earliest takes on the character that would become Black Panther - first depicted in a much more colorful costume than we’d come to know him in. Plus, they delve into Kirby’s trippy and evocative depictions of other realms, such as Fantastic Four’s Negative Zone, and how he reinterpreted concepts like the Norse gods for Thor and his supporting cast.

And then there are amazing devices Kirby depicted in his art, from Mister Fantastic’s incredible inventions to the fantasy-meets-technology creations he’d give to the New Gods and Darkseid.

All sorts of fun rarities are included as well - man, I’d love one of those early San Diego Comic-Con “Friend of Fandom" certificates Kirby did the art for. There are also works of art he made that were never released commercially at all.

And then you get the delight of seeing everything from a piece of art he did depicting Paul and Linda McCartney taking on Magneto (!) and concept art he did for the animated series Thundarr The Barbarian.

A small display of costumes includes the fascinating inclusion of a reproduction of one of the costumes Kirby designed for a production of Julius Caesar in 1969s, which are unmistakably his designs - and would look at home on Thor’s Lady Sif.

And while there are now dozens of characters Kirby co-created that are a part of the MCU, two examples are included of how his work has been interpreted in those films via the Black Panther movie costume from the 2018 movie and one of the Sakaaran Guards from Thor: Ragnarok, which were given a distinctly Kirby-inspired style that truly felt like his drawings come to life.

Jack Kirby: Heroes and Humanity runs through March 1, 2026 at the Skirball Cultural Center.

This month, Skirball is also doing a couple of outdoor movie screenings tied to the exhibit, with Black Panther showing on Friday, June 13 at 8:30pm and Captain America: The First Avenger on Friday, June 2 at 8:30pm.

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