Chadwick Boseman, the most celebrated screen character who is most widely known for his 2018 Marvel movie Black Panther, died on the birthday of the creator of Black Panther Jack Kirby.
The character of Black Panther was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for Marvel comics and first appeared in the Fantastic Four No. 52 in 1966.
Kirby’s birthday was Aug. 28, 1917. Boseman died on Aug. 28, 2020. The actor died at 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer.
On Friday afternoon, before Boseman’s death, Kirby’s grandson Jeremy Kirby shared a drawing of Black Panther to celebrate his grandfather’s special day.
“The grandest of creations start out with a simple spark of creativity,” Jeremy Kirby tweeted. “The original sketch of who would become the Black Panther. In the 1960s, my grandfather felt the world needed a black superhero. Jack Kirby would have been 103 today, August 28th 2020.”
Jack Kirby died in 1994 at age 76. The New York native — born Jacob Kurtzberg — is regarded as one of the most influential and prolific comic book artists.
After Boseman died, Jeremy Kirby saluted the actor.
“Chadwick brought grace and humility to a warrior and helped inspire a generation,” he tweeted. “Rest In Peace.”
Chadwick Boseman’s stunning death on Friday came on an indelible anniversary in the history of his most-celebrated screen character.
Boseman created a series of memorable roles — including star turns as Jackie Robinson and Thurgood Marshall, trailblazers in baseball and the Supreme Court, respectively — but he is most widely known for 2018′s “Black Panther.”
That film shattered box-office records and became the first superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
