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It’s The King’s 97th birthday today, but who needs an excuse to celebrate the mans vision, talent and tenacity? Kirby’s granddaughter Jillian is spearheading the Kirby4Heroes project which is raising money for The Heroes Initiative, which raises many for creators in need. There are events today and ongoing projects listed in the link. She also posted some vintage family photos including the one above.

Marvel historian Sean Howe has some context for the photos, including what Kirby was working on at the time. In the above one it was “2) May 1961: Fantastic Four #1 was in development. It would hit newsstands on August 8. Bar Mitzvah for Neal Kirby.” 

The Comics Reporter has its usual extensive image gallery, but can you ever really get enough Jack Kirby?

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