A birthday message for The King from THE WORLD THAT'S COMING!!!!!

As virtually every comics-related site has rightly pointed out, today is the 95th anniversary of the birth of Jack "The King" Kirby, the man who -- more than anyone else -- shaped the history of super-hero comics and created or co-created a very large chunk of all the comics on the stands today.

I was never fortunate enough to meet the man myself, but I've been reading Kirby comics before I could read. Thing is, it was never his classic runs that really connected with me. Don't get me wrong, I love his work on Fantastic Four and The New Gods, but it was an eight-issue series from his 1970s stint at DC that was -- and remains -- my absolute favorite. I appreciate the epic scope and endless imagination of Kamandi, another book from that period, but for sheer strangeness, balls-out action and bizarre (just dig that first image!) concepts on every page -- or, hell, in every panel -- for my money, there's no topping OMAC.

(Plus, at a mere eight issues, I think this was the first series I ever managed to completely collect.)

Here are some images from those eight issues. I think you'll agree there was energy and vision to spare. If you like what you see, DC has thankfully reprinted the entire series in a single handy volume. It's sitting in a proud spot on my bookshelf -- make sure it finds a spot on yours, too.

Happy birthday, Jack!