Who is Jack Kirby from Understanding Comics and what is their importance?

McCloud often refers to Jack Kirby as a modern comics master. In the mid-sixties, Kirby, along with Stan Lee, "staked out a middle ground of iconic forms with a sense of the real about them, bolstered by a powerful design sense," according to McCloud. Examples of his work are shown in relation to his position as an artist on the Picture Plane. His coloring style is also referred to as a positive influence.