“The Strange Aftermath Of The Kansas City Massacre” (k002)

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“The Strange Aftermath Of The Kansas City Massacre” is an 8-page crime story by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon first published in Prize’s HEADLINE COMICS #26 [1947].

This story is based on the real life Kansas City Massacre, a botched attempt to free a prisoner being transported to Leavenworth which resulted in the death of four officers and the prisoner. The three perpetrators scatter, and we follow Verne Miller, who finds little support among the criminal brotherhood and has some close escapes from the cops until he meets his inevitable end (portrayed in a manner which doesn’t really match the historical record).

The S&K team did some great work on crime comics, which allowed them to explore the dark side of human nature, with the determined and unrepentant (but usually impeccable dressed, as you’d see in movies of the era) criminals dealing with sudden bursts of violence.

Kirby returned to the Kansas City Massacre story almost a quarter century later with a story for IN THE DAYS OF THE MOB #1 [1971].

https://www.comics.org/issue/127898/#486715
THE SIMON AND KIRBY LIBRARY – CRIME [2011]

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