Thread:Farlstendoiro/@comment-61022-20160418192329/@comment-61022-20160419172123

You nailed it. Great job.

Marvel creators are all exempt from the topical reference rules for the most part. Their Earth-616 versions all exist in the Modern Age and are depicted as being in their "prime" during this era. Particularly Jack Kirby himself, who appears in modern age stories that have been published after his death in 1994.

Per the entry on Topical references:

"The only individuals that are exempt from becoming topical references are Marvel Comics creators who make appearances in various stories. For example Marvel Comics forefathers Stan Lee and Jack Kirby both make an appearance in Fantastic Four #10. The pair have made regular appearances in Marvel publications over the years. All current editions of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe identify them by name when recounting their interactions with characters in the Marvel Universe. As such one should always consider appearances of Marvel creators like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Chris Claremont, and John Byrne to be considered factual as opposed to topical. Their Earth-616 counterparts all make their appearances in their prime, and age according to the Sliding Timescale."

The only difficulty with this is some creators (such as Carl Burgos and John Romita) are shown as living in both the Modern Age and in past eras (notably during the 1940s in the two examples referenced above) No real explanations there. Marvel certainly hasn't explained this. Perhaps Marvel creators on Earth-616 are immortal. It's certainly something that is up to interpretation.