The seven recipients of the inaugural Jack & Roz Kirby Awards (the Kirbys) have been announced. The award ceremony was held at the Original Art Expo (OAX) in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, February 21. The Kirbys are an annual award recognizing innovation, excellence, and humanity in narrative communication.
The Kirbys were announced on October 8, 2025 under a partnership between CAF, The Estate of Jack Kirby (Kirby Estate) as represented by The Rosalind Kirby Family Trust, and The Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center (Kirby Museum). The award process was conducted by an Oversight Council, Advisory Board, and Voting Committee, who selectively have responsibilities to nominate candidates and vote on the award winners. The Founding Sponsors of the Kirbys were Marvel Comics, GalaxyCon, Cosmic Lion Productions, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.
For its first year, the Kirbys consisted of seven total award categories that celebrate the artist’s journey. The awards categories have no time restrictions, aside from the Newcomer Award; no geographic limits; and are English only (original/translated). Nominees must be alive at the time of nomination and, after winning a Kirby Award, are ineligible to be nominated for another five years.
CORE AWARDS
The five Core Awards reflect attributes of Jack Kirby and of dedicated, lifelong creators. Voting Committee members have the exclusive responsibility to provide up to two nominations per category and are the sole voters for these categories.
NATE POWELL
INDEPENDENCE
“one who remains steadfast and fierce”
The nominee has demonstrated the ability to operate outside the confines of established systems and control structures to freely create works that express deeply personal beliefs, themes, and values without censorship and commercial pressure.
BILL SIENKIEWICZ
INNOVATOR
“one distinguished by new methods, approaches, and ideas”
The nominee has demonstrated clear innovation in methods, techniques, styles, storytelling, solutions, and/or packaging, and in so doing, has challenged the status quo and expanded the possibilities for all.
KEVIN NOWLAN
VISIONARY
“one distinguished by vital originality”
The nominee has demonstrated the ability to display and communicate worlds, characters, ideas, symbols, and realities beyond our current norms and understanding in contributing to our general comprehension and evolution.
ZOE THOROGOOD
NEWCOMER
“one to support in all ways”
The nominee has demonstrated early in their artistic life unique capabilities, viewpoints, perspectives, dedication, and perseverance that invites the possibility of consistently unique and impactful works being created.
JOHN ROMITA, JR.
STORYTELLER
“one adept at shared human connection”
The nominee has demonstrated the ability to synthesize the complex and varied components of storytelling to powerfully connect with, engage, and impact others.
LEGACY AWARDS
The two Legacy Awards are a type of career achievement award, one of which is rooted in a fundamental character trait of a distinguished creator, and the other recognizing the underlying quality, innovation, importance, and distinction of a creator’s body of work. Nominations are electively provided by all Oversight Council, Advisory Board, and Voting Committee members and then voted on by the Oversight Council and Voting Committee.
JOHN BYRNE
CREATOR
“one whose life’s work is exemplar for those to come”
The nominee has demonstrated the desire, ability, and commitment to time and again reenter the creative process and engage the often unpredictable and arduous creative journey towards conveying to us new stories, characters, themes, symbols, and possibilities.
WALTER SIMONSON
TEACHER
“one who suspends self and readily bestows experience and guidance”
The nominee has demonstrated the rare and critical ability to take that which they’ve experienced and learned and in a natural and discerning manner communicate their knowledge to others in a way that’s timely, uplifting, and impactful.
The Kirby Award statue was designed by Kasra Ghanbari and sculpted by Carlos Soca. A representative example of the statue was unveiled at the ceremony. The statue is a stark depiction of what it takes to create: a working space, the basic tools you’ve mastered, and your internal drive to create. The statue combines iconic imagery from Jack Kirby’s work space, along with ideas and symbols from two of Albrecht Dürer’s engravings, Melencolia I and Saint Jerome In His Study, and presents it to the recipient as the ultimate invitation and challenge, with the empty chair having the award winner’s name laser engraved on the seat back. The statue has been designed and constructed as a handmade work of art that we hope will take its place in a creator’s studio space or home.
