Jack Kirby: Military Veteran

Tomorrow - as most of you know - is Veteran's Day. The least we can do for veterans both past and present is reserve a special day in their honor. Let us not forget that Jack Kirby was also a veteran, having served in WWII. There are some great resources, the Jack Kirby Collector and also The Comics Journal Library Volume I (available on Amazon.com and elsewhere) give a little background in Kirby's military serve and the time he spent serving overseas. But I wonder if Jack knew what he was getting into.

Just Sign on the Dotted Line

Several of Jack's contemporaries were able to fulfill their military obligations stateside working for the Army or Navy's marketing and audio-visual branches (Joe Simon and Stan Lee to mention just two). How was that possible? Did these guys know someone Jack didn't? Did Jack get the short end of the stick? Did some recruiter tell Kirby, "Just sign on the dotted line and we'll take care of you!" I'm not saying Jack was famous but he was well-known enough in some circles that you'd think maybe he could have parlayed that fame and fortune into something a bit less risky. Or maybe Jack didn't care.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that Jack felt serving one's country was the right thing to do. What is odd is that Jack and Joe Simon produced a pretty healthy backlog of Boy Commando's stories prior to enlisting. It's not too much of a stretch to think that someone might have connected the dots and put Jack's talents to use doing something more suitable and productive than stringing barbed wire and dodging bullets. Or consider this, why didn't Joe Simon put the word out (OK, for one thing Joe was in the Navy) but he was Jack's partner for cryin' out loud. Or how about someone at DC? You're telling me they didn't have connections?

A Log Way From Home

The bottom line is that whatever happened and for whatever reason, Jack Kirby enlisted and served in the Army and apparently didn't question the cards he was dealt. He sure didn't have time to illustrate much more than the letters he wrote his wife Roz. If any positive came out of Jack's military service it was real-life experience that provided the inspiration and backdrop for any number of stories ranging from Sgt Fury to the New Gods to Captain Victory.

The Losers

And let us not forget the 12 issues of The Losers that Jack wrote, drew and edited during his last year at DC. Often singled out as his most personal war stories, The Losers were probably the last thing Jack would have ever imagined illustrating, but he managed to inject enough of himself into the series to make the title as interesting as anything else DC was publishing at the time. Personally, at that point in Jack's career, DC could have just given him free reign on an original war series of his own design and it would sold just as well if not better.

Veteran's Day for Jack

I personally think Jack's military service had a deeper impact on his well-being than he ever let on. But like a lot of veterans at the time, the majority of men coming out of WWII wanted to get back in the rhythm of daily living and raising a family. It didn't take long for Jack and Joe to reconnect and get back into their winning ways of producing awe-inspiring comics.

Did Jack Kirby celebrate Veteran's Day? I don't think he had the time to dwell on it. But serve he did and he is to be commended for wearing the uniform and defending his country's freedom. A common theme for his comics-producing career!