NORTHRIDGE, CA.- Famed comics artist Jack Kirby, whose work launched The Avengers, X-Men, Captain America, and the Marvel Universe, is the focus of an exhibition at the California State University, Northridge Art Galleries.

While focusing on Kirby’s later work, from about 1965 on, the exhibition documents his entire career, which lasted more than half a century and involved almost every major publisher in comic books. The show is among the largest Kirby exhibitions ever held, and the first at a university.

Jack Kirby (1917-1994), called the “King” of comic books, is the best-known artist in superhero comics. His characters, concepts, and plots became the springboard of the Marvel Universe in comics, in film, and across media. Kirby designed and launched such iconic properties as The Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Thor, The Hulk, and Nick Fury; he co-created Captain America and The Black Panther, and helped launch other Marvel properties such as Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Daredevil.

Comic Book Apocalypse is curated by Professor Charles Hatfield, founder of CSUN’s popular “Comics and Graphic Novels” course and the author Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby, which won a 2012 Will Eisner Comics Industry Award for Best Educational/Academic Work. Kirby, says Hatfield, is “the quintessential comic book artist” and “a neglected giant of American comics and popular culture, and just a great, great artist.”

A full color exhibition catalog accompanies the exhibition. The exhibition is supported by the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication and the College of Humanities and Instructionally Related Activities.