Jack Katz, a comic-book artist and writer, whose 768-page magnum opus, “The First Kingdom,” published in installments over a dozen years starting in 1974, was widely credited with helping give birth to the long-form graphic novel, died on April 24 in Walnut Creek, CA. He was 97.

The revered comics pioneer Will Eisner once called “The First Kingdom” “…one of the most awesome undertakings in modern comic book history.” Jerry Siegel, who created Superman with Joe Shuster, said that “reading ‘The First Kingdom’ is like seeing captured on paper glimpses of a dream world depicted by an artist with remarkable creative vision.

After completing his masterwork, Mr. Katz continued to paint and teach art. He published two books on the art of anatomy, two volumes of sketchbooks and another graphic novel “Legacy,” about the mysterious fate of a billionaire’s fortune.