Superman is going to live forever. They'll be reading Superman in the next century when you and I are gone. I felt, in that respect, I was doing the same thing. I wanted to be known. I wasn't going to sell a comic that was going to die quickly.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the desire for artistic legacy and immortality through one's work.
Jack Kirby expresses his ambition to create lasting art similar to Superman, emphasizing the aspiration for recognition and the belief that his creations should have enduring significance. He acknowledges that while his work may eventually be forgotten, he strives to create something that will resonate long after he is gone, thus aspiring to leave a lasting impact in the world of comics and storytelling.
In practice
In a speech about creativity, one might reference this quote to inspire artists to think about the lasting impact of their work.
I taught myself how to draw, and I soon found out it was what I really wanted to do. I didn't think I was going to create any great masterpieces like Rembrandt or Gauguin. I thought comics was a common form of art, and strictly American in my estimation, because America was the home of the common man - and show me the common man that can't do a comic. So comics is an American form of art that anyone can do with a pencil and paper.
Kid ... Comics will break your heart.
It's not in the draftsmanship, it's in the man. Like I say, a tool is dead. A brush is a dead object. It's in the man. If you want to do it, you do it.
I've never done anything half-heartedly; it's a disservice to me and the audience if I do it half-heartedly.
If you think a man draws the type of hands that you want to draw, steal ‘em. Take those hands.
The greatest films ever made in our history were cut on film, and I'm tenaciously hanging on to the process. I just love going into an editing room and smelling the photochemistry and seeing my editor wearing mini-strands of film around his neck.
In art, one does not aim for simplicity; one achieves it unintentionally as one gets closer to the real meaning of things.
In the world of reality the more beautiful a work of art, the longer, we may be sure, was the time required to make it, and the greater the number of different minds which assisted in its development.
No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight room of the soul.
I consider music like a mirage in the desert. You're obsessed with the ideal piece of music, and the more you think you're getting closer, it's not there.
Dancing can reveal all the mystery that music conceals.
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