| Jacob Kurtzberg's Belt | |
|---|---|
|
Origin |
Jack Kirby |
|
Type |
Belt |
|
Effects |
Super strength |
|
Downsides |
Body growth and distortion |
|
Activation |
Wearing |
|
Collected by |
Warehouse 13 |
|
Section |
|
|
Aisle |
908992-4096 |
|
Shelf |
318064-9048-219 |
|
Date of Collection |
November 28, 2004 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators. He grew up in New York City and learned to draw cartoon figures by tracing characters from comic strips and editorial cartoons. He entered the nascent comics industry in the 1930s, drawing various comics features under different pen names before settling on Jack Kirby. In 1940, he and writer-editor Joe Simon created the superhero character Captain America for Timely Comics, predecessor of Marvel Comics. During the 1940s, Kirby regularly teamed with Simon, creating numerous characters for that company and for National Comics Publications, later to become DC Comics.
After serving in the European Theater in World War II, Kirby produced work for DC Comics, Harvey Comics, Hillman Periodicals and other publishers. At Crestwood Publications, he and Simon created the genre of romance comics and later founded their own short-lived comic company, Mainline Publications. Kirby was involved in Timely's 1950s iteration, Atlas Comics, which in the next decade became Marvel. There, in the 1960s, Kirby co-created many of the company's major characters, including the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Ant-Man, Thor, Iron Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Silver Surfer, and the Black Panther, among numerous others. Kirby's titles garnered high sales and critical acclaim, but in 1970, feeling he had been treated unfairly, largely in the realm of authorship credit and creators' rights, Kirby left the company for rival DC.
At DC, Kirby created his Fourth World saga which spanned several comics titles. While these series proved commercially unsuccessful and were canceled, the Fourth World's New Gods have continued as a significant part of the DC Universe. Kirby returned to Marvel briefly in the mid-to-late 1970s, then ventured into television animation and independent comics. In 1987 he was one of the three inaugural inductees of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame. In 2017, Kirby was posthumously named a Disney Legend for his creations in publishing, but also because they formed the basis for the critically successful media franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Jack Kirby Awards and Jack Kirby Hall of Fame were named in his honor, and he is known as "The King" among comics fans for his many influential contributions to the medium.
Effects[]
Provides super strength by increasing durability and lifting capacity but reducing their own weight, making themselves feel invincible and everything else lightweight. Feats of superhuman exertion are limited to short bursts, after which it takes hours or longer to recover to full power. Lasts until they remove the belt or consciously decide to return to normal strength.
As Kirby would often bounce back and forth between publishers when fed up with their licensing or payment issues, the belt tries to recapture him spreading his influence across the comics industry. To match the greater strength, the user grows in size. Focuses on only a small section of the body at a time, causing them to have a disproportionately large appendage. Or expands a wider section like a swollen balloon.
Appearances[]
Mentioned as a possible artifact affecting density in Mild Mannered.