You probably already know about this but just in case you don't…
Jack Kirby, when he was around twelve years of age, sold newspapers and, at times, fruit in his neighborhood known as "The Lower East Side of New York." Often, he plied these trades at the intersection of Essex Street and Delancey. On Monday morning, a permanent sign will be unveiled nicknaming this intersection "Jack Kirby Way." We who knew and loved Jack — and to know him was to love him — are very excited about this.
Whoever made up the above graphic put down that the ceremony starts at 11:30 AM. I was told Noon but even if it's 11:30, you oughta get there early. Streets will be blocked off and there will be some sort of viewing stand for V.I.P.s. I will be, for once in my life, a V.I.P. And you might want to bring an umbrella because it looks like we'll all need umbrellas.
I initially booked on Spirit Airlines but then a day or two later, Spirit Airlines mysteriously canceled my reservations and refunded my money. Then a day or two after that, Spirit Airlines mysteriously canceled itself. You know that great song, "Spirit in the Sky?" Well, Spirit isn't in the skies any longer. I don't know what they had against me or Jack Kirby but they couldn't stop me from rebooking with another carrier. That one seems to still be solvent, perhaps because they're considerably more expensive.
If you can't get yourself there, don't worry. I shall attempt to be your on-the-spot reporter reporting on all that happens on-the-spot. I have no idea when I'll have the time or the Internet Access to do this but at some point, there will be a full report on this site.
Contrary to what some have reported, this is not the first time a street has ever been named for a comic book creator. A street in the Bronx on which Stan Lee once lived has been nicknamed Stan Lee Way. In fact, it's possible to loiter at the corner of Stan Lee Way and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and while you're there, you can make up a better quip than I can at the moment.
Also in The Bronx, where E. 192nd St. and the Grand Concourse intersect, you can see a sign designating it as Bill Finger Way. It was probably easier to get his name on that sign than it was to get it on anything relating to his co-creation, Batman.
I don't know of any others in comics but here in L.A., the corner of Franklin and Vermont Avenues has a very small sign, easily missed, that designates it as Forrest J Ackerman Square. It's where the House of Pies restaurant is and Forry loved to eat at the House of Pies restaurant, especially when — as I did once or twice — someone else picked up the check.