1917 to 2017: 100 years of Kirby.

Join us this month to celebrate Jack “King” Kirby’s 100^th birthday by learning about the characters and stories he created that changed comics forever. To commemorate Jack’s centennial, we’ve sat down with the modern-day creators he influenced—and the decades of work he gifted us all.

Over the course of these Kirby 100 posts, we’ve made numerous references to Jack Kirby as co-architect of the Marvel Universe. These days the idea of a shared super hero universe in comics seems about as commonplace as the idea of heroes fighting villains, but that concept didn’t just sprout up out of nowhere. For years, issues would come out month after month with very little continuity between installments or references to other characters from the same publisher.

However, when Stan Lee and Jack started working together on titles like FANTASTIC FOUR, THOR, UNCANNY X-MEN and others, they didn’t just build off and reference previous stories, but also feature other heroes from even more books like Daredevil and Spider-Man. Readers of those early Marvel comics really got the sense that all of these characters lived in the same world, especially since many of them took place in New York City.

Kirby and Lee topped even themselves, though, with the publication of FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #3, which featured the highly anticipated wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. Considering the profile of this couple, it’s easy to understand how it would take on legendary status for FF fans who came along at any time, like SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL writer Robbie Thompson who hopped on a few hundred issues later.

“I started reading FANTASTIC FOUR with issue #243, so I knew the Richards were married, but I was always curious to see the big day, and Kirby and Lee totally delivered on an epic Annual that brought the whole Marvel Universe together,” Thompson relays. “It exceeded my expectations and remains my favorite Marvel wedding.”

Fantastic Four Annual (1963) #3

• Published: October 01, 1965
• Added to Marvel Unlimited: November 13, 2007
• Cover Artist: Jack Kirby

Read Buy Digital Copy

What is Marvel Unlimited?

Everyone showed up from Millie the Model to the X-Men—and those were the actual guests! Doctor Doom fueled by his hated for Richards, decided to send an army of super villains to destroy the festivities, but thanks to the assembled heroes and an appearance by The Watcher, Reed and Sue made it to the alter and exchanged I dos.

“From a practical standpoint, I think it was a great way to show the cohesiveness of the Marvel Universe and illustrate how big and connected [it] was becoming,” Thompson notes. “But from a personal standpoint, it also illuminates the key to why these characters work so well: the ‘event’ is personal. The biggest day of their lives isn’t getting their powers or another invention, or even Doom trying to spoil the whole thing; the ‘event’ is their greatest adventure yet: marriage. Seeing the hope and [positivity] in all the characters coming together to unite for Reed and Sue on a personal level is such a signature part of that book’s success and it’s executed perfectly in this Annual.”

Unfortunately, two well-intentioned attendees got turned away at the door by Nick Fury, Dum Dum Duggan, and Gabe Jones. The pair? None other than Stan and Jack themselves! Of course, that adds to the issue’s charm as the two men head off to work on the next installment! It helps that Kirby got to draw so many amazing characters in one issue while also throwing in some of his classic tech and even a collage!

“I’d rate it pretty high on the Kirby Canon, it really does have it all—and you can see Kirby pushing the form of comic storytelling in each panel, adding to the grammar of sequential storytelling and bringing each character to life in such an elegant way,” Thompson concludes.

Stay tuned to Marvel.com for more throughout Kirby Month and beyond! And join the conversation on all of our social channels with the hashtag #Kirby100.

It’s been a tough couple of years for Carol Danvers. Having plunged the emotional depths of her personal and professional lives with Civil War II, the Commander had no choice but to rocket back into action for Secret Empire. It’s been a restless time for Captain Marvel, so what does she do when she needs to unwind?

On September 27, Carol gets a harsh reminder that that super heroes never sleep—as writer Margaret Stohl and artist Michele Bandini present MIGHTY CAPTAIN MARVEL #9!

We spoke with Margaret to learn more about how the unsettled Captain might—or might not—find some respite.

Marvel.com: With Civil War II followed by Secret Empire, Captain Marvel has had an intense time lately. How does she cope with the stress?

​​Margaret Stohl: Not well! If she hadn’t just gotten Alpha Flight blown up, it might have been time for another few sessions at her holographic shrink.

Seriously, Carol has been through a rough couple of years. Even just in Secret Empire, she’s been marooned in orbit and attacked by the Chitauri; she’s watched a fellow hero betray the cause, lost friends in combat—and yes, even sacrificed her own precious Alpha Flight, all in the name of duty. Now that she’s back on Earth again, she’ll discover just how bad she can be at trying to relax. (Spoiler: very!)

Marvel.com: Will all the strain interfere with her ability to handle her responsibilities?

​Margaret Stohl: Military training helps Carol focus when she’s in the middle of combat. The chaos tends to come creeping in during the downtime, which feels much harder for her to handle.​

Marvel.com: Will she find any time to unwind? What might she come up against next?

​Margaret Stohl: Carol will get to spend some time with Jess Drew and Jessica Jones, processing everything that has happened to her—particularly the fate of Natasha Romanoff​. She’ll also go searching for the Kree “Hala Child” Bean again, which will lead her to tangling with some old enemies and even older allies.

Marvel.com: Who’s the first person Captain Marvel turns to in a time like this?

​Margaret Stohl: Carol loves her crew and her friends—the women of Marvel, but Jess Drew in particular. In the end, Carol’s friends will save her. They always do.

MIGHTY CAPTAIN MARVEL #9, by Margaret Stohl and artist Michele Bandini, launches on September 27!

MIAMI (AP) — When they first boarded the Norwegian Escape a week ago, passengers knew exactly where they were going. Now they have no idea.

New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner (D) faced calls from fellow Democrats this week to step down from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity after Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) wrote an extremely misleading op-ed on Thursday claiming to have evidence of widespread voter fraud in New Hampshire.

The Trump Organisation stood to make $4 million and a cut of the profits under the aborted deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, it has emerged. According to detailed plans, obtained by CNN, the scheme even included proposals to open a spa which would have been named after Mr Trump's daughter Ivanka. Negotiations were still taking place in October 2015, four months after Mr Trump announced he was running for the White House. The plans entailed building a hotel, flats and commercial property in central Moscow in a venture which would have carried the Trump brand under a franchising agreement. Ivanka Trump Credit: Susan Walsh/AP Mr Trump's interest in exploiting commercial opportunities in Moscow have hardly been secret, he first expressed interest in building a tower in the Russian capital in the 1990s. But he repeatedly denied having any business links with Russia while he was campaigning for the White House. The documents include a Letter of Understanding for the venture between Trump Acquisition LLC and the I.C. Expert Investment Company of Moscow. In an accompanying email Felix Sater, a Russian born property developer to Michael Cohen, Trump Organisation's executive vice president attached a  "Letter of Understanding" for Mr Trump to sign. Mr Sater wrote: "Help world peace and make a lot of money. I would say that's a great lifetime goal for us to go after." The deal, Mr Sater added, could "possibly fix relations between the countries by showing everyone that commerce & business are much better and more practical than politics. Donald Trump meets Vladimir Putin Credit: Evan Vucci/AP "That should be Putin's message as well, and we will help him agree on that message." In late 2015 there appeared to be considerable warmth between Mr Trump and Mr Putin. The aspiring Republican candidate voiced a desire that he and the Russian leader would "get along". In turn, Mr Putin described the billionaire as "a bright and talented person without any doubt." Despite the detailed negotiations, the project was scrapped. Nevertheless, details of the proposal will rekindle suggestions that Mr Trump's desire for a rapprochement with Moscow was commercially as well as politically driven. A special counsel and the Senate Intelligence Committee are both probing alleged Russian involvement in the presidential election.

President Nicolas Maduro has invited bondholders to unspecified "negotiations" over Venezuela's foreign debt in coming days in response to recent U.S. financial sanctions.