Stan Lee has written a brief tribute to the late Jack Kirby to commemorate the 101st birthday of the influential artist.
Lee, who collaborated with Kirby on such creations as the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the Incredible Hulk, Thor and the X-Men, retweeted comments by the artist’s grandson Jeremy Kirby, and added an appreciation of his own.
He was a legend, he truly was. Nobody could draw like Jack. – Stan https://t.co/eF2NjMUCGx
— stan lee (@TheRealStanLee) August 29, 2018
“He was a legend, he truly was,” Lee wrote. “Nobody could draw like Jack.” The tweet was signed “Stan,” which signifies that it comes directly from the 95-year-old writer and editor, and not from someone managing his social media accounts.
RELATED: Jack Kirby’s Grandson Celebrates The King’s 101st Birthday
To call Lee’s relationship with Kirby complicated would be an understatement. The two created many of Marvel’s best known, and most lucrative, characters, but a falling out led Kirby to leave the publisher for competitor DC Comics, where he caricatured Lee as the entrepreneur Funky Flashman. A debate has ranged for decades about who was the true creative genius behind their collaborations, and Lee has long been criticized for what Kirby’s fans view as downplaying the artist’s contributions.
Kirby passed away on Feb. 6, 1994, at the age of 76.