Artist/writer Jack Kirby’s monumental impact on popular culture and the comics art form is on full display at the Skirball Center's "Jack Kirby: Heroes and Humanity" exhibition through March 1, 2026. During his six decades in comics, Kirby co-created best-selling titles like Captain America (Timely/Marvel) and the Boy Commandos (DC) in the 1940s, invented the romance genre in the 1950s, and was the primary architect of the Marvel Universe in the 1960s.

However, no work exemplified the pure essence of Kirby like his “Fourth World” titles published by DC from 1970-1973. Conceived by by its creator as a long-form graphic novel rather than an endless superhero serial, Kirby’s magnum opus was a revolution in comic format, art, packaging, graphic design, and narrative. Over the past half-century, the concepts and characters of the Fourth World have remained an essential and continuous aspect of the DC/Warner Bros. Universe in comics, animation, television and film. Comics’ most renowned writers and artists have tried to recapture the Fourth World's scope and scale, as did other imagineers like George Lucas with his Star Wars trilogy.

Panel Discussion

The [Fourth] World of Jack Kirby
Thursday, February 5, 2026
7pm
ArtCenter Library, Hillside Campus
☞ Registration encouraged, but not required for entry

ArtCenter's "The [Fourth] World of Jack Kirby" panel and slide presentation will cover Kirby’s initial character and setting designs, his design innovations in cover and splash pages, and the series' impact on both the comics and film industry. We invite all to attend this discussion featuring experienced creators and scholars of comics, moderated by ArtCenter's Michael Dooley: designer, author, and Comics and Animation History professor at ArtCenter.

Our panelists:
Jim Thompson, former Duke University/USC film instructor, co-chair of the Will Eisner Comics Hall of Fame judging committee
Charles Hatfield, comics scholar, Cal State Northridge professor, author of “Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby”
Tony Puryear, screenwriter and graphic novel artist/designer/writer)
Kevin Dooley, former DC Comics editor and writer on a later Mister Miracle comic book series
Alonso Nunez, executive director of Little Fish Comic Book Studio, president of San Diego Comic Fest

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