Jack Kirby was an American comic book writer and artist whose vast body of work has served as the foundation for numerous Japanese anime and manga adaptations of Marvel Comics properties. Born Jacob Kurtzberg on August 28, 1917, in New York City, he entered the comics industry in the 1930s and became one of the most influential creators in the medium's history. He died on February 6, 1994.

Kirby is best known for co-creating many of the characters that form the core of the Marvel Universe. Working with writer Stan Lee, he co-created the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Thor, the Avengers, the X-Men, Black Panther, the Silver Surfer, and Ant-Man, among many others. Earlier in his career, he and Joe Simon created Captain America in 1941. He also created the Fourth World saga and the New Gods for DC Comics.

Kirby's artistic identity is marked by a dynamic and energetic style that revolutionized comic book storytelling. He was known for his powerful depictions of action, innovative page layouts, and a distinctive visual effect of black dots representing cosmic energy, which has become known as the Kirby Krackle. His work often explored themes of mythology, technology, and grand-scale science fiction.

While Kirby did not directly write or draw anime and manga, his status as the original creator of the source material means his name appears prominently in the credits of many Japanese adaptations. The Anime News Network encyclopedia lists him as the original creator for several such productions, including the anime film Iron Man: Rise of Technovore (2013), the anime series Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers (2014), Marvel Future Avengers (2017), and Marvel Future Avengers Season 2. He is also credited as the original creator for the manga Avengers: Age of Ultron Episode 0 and the anime series Wolverine (2011) and X-Men (2011). In these instances, his role is not as a direct participant in the Japanese production, but as the original co-creator of the American comic book characters and stories on which the anime are based.

Kirby's significance to the entertainment industry is immense. His creations and co-creations from the 1960s became the bedrock of Marvel Comics and later provided the source material for blockbuster films and television series worldwide, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was posthumously named a Disney Legend in 2017 for his contributions to publishing, which formed the basis for Disney's successful media franchise. His work has been celebrated with exhibitions, such as one at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2015, and he was one of the first inductees into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1987.