Ger Apeldoorn’s comments to chapter 9 of “It’s A Crime” led me to search Prize Comics Western for examples of artists that had also worked for Simon and Kirby. Because of that search I have decide to post a rough outline of this western title. It is rough because I only have access to a little more then half the issues. The biggest gap consists of three missing issues (PCW #86 to #88, March to July 1951). So while it is quite probable that I may miss some artists it is unlikely that any of them played an important part in the title’s history.

Prize Comics Western #74 (March 1949), art by Al Carreno

Prize Comics started as a superhero anthology in March 1940 (cover date). However the popularity of superheroes was in a decline in the late 40’s. Probably spurned on by the success of Simon and Kirby’s crime and romance titles, Prize Comics was renamed Prize Comics Western with issue #69 (May 1948). The primary feature was Dusty Bellows which was a typical, if nondescript, western genre piece. One of the recurring backup features was the Black Bull. While the hero had a western theme, his costume really makes him look like a typical superhero and a bit out of place in the western genre the title had now adopted. Another regular backup was the Lazo Kid.

The earlier issues of PCW would use Al Carreno as the primary artist. Carreno would do the art for the cover and the lead story as well as generally providing a backup story as well. It was Al that was most often called on to work on the title’s main feature, Dusty Bellows. Al Carreno was a competent artist but I have to admit I am not particularly moved by his work.

Prize Comics Western #71 (July 1948) “Bullets at Salt Lick”, art by Dick Briefer

Other artists besides Al Carreno would appear as well. As Ger indicated in his comment, one of them was Dick Briefer. Besides “Bullets at Salt Lick”, Briefer also did “Rod Roper” (PCW #69, May 1948) and “Black Bull Bulldogs a Bandit” (PCW #77, September 1949). Due to the gaps in my collection, it is quite possible he did other stories as well. Briefer was most famous for his long work on Frankenstein, but as seen in my serial post, It’s A Crime, Dick also did some work for a period for Simon and Kirby. Briefer’s work for S&K appeared in Charlie Chan, Headline and Justice Traps the Guilty from October 1948 to October 1949 which was slightly later then his work in PCW.

Prize Comics Western #70 (July 1948) “Rocky Dawn and Windy Smith”, art by Warren Broderick

Another Simon and Kirby artist that appeared in PCW was Warren Broderick. So far I have only found one example of his work in this western title but it a good match for the works that Broderick did for Simon and Kirby. There are 11 stories I credit as having been drawn by Warren they are all from the crime titles Headline and Justice Traps the Guilty. Broderick was involved in only one romance story (”Mother Said No”, Young Romance #7, September 1948) and even then only as an inker on Kirby’s pencils.

Prize Comics Western #73 (January 1949) “The Black Bull Saves the Ranch”, art by John Severin

The first appearance of John Severin in PCW was with issue #73 (or possibly #72 since I do not have that comic). This was some months before the first work that he did for Simon and Kirby (Headline #35, May 1949). In the early period of PCW, Severin only did backup stories and he did not sign his art. But once he arrived he did seem to be a consistent presence in Prize Comics Western.

Prize Comics Western #75 (May 1949), art by Jack Kirby

Most, if not all, of the covers for the early period of Prize Comics Western were done by Al Carreno. The one exception that I am aware of was the cover for PCW #75 which was done by Simon and Kirby. What can I say, while I find it hard to be enthusiastic about Al Carreno’s covers, the one drawn by Jack is a gem. When a gunfight is depicted on a comic book cover it is usually either the moment before the fight begins or it would show the actually fight. Here Kirby shows us the aftermath, or nearly so as the Senorita is just about dispatch the sole surviving enemy. This is very fortunate for Dusty Bellew as he has already turned his back to his fallen foes. Dusty does not have any obvious injuries but the way his right arm hangs suggest he might have been winged. But even if he is physically unscathed, his expression shows that the fight has left him wearied. Pathos in triumph, Jack has depicted Dusty as an unconventional hero. Jack Kirby would draw the cover for PCW #83 as well but it was no were near as effective as this cover.

Prize Comics Western #78 (November 1949) “Bullet Code”, art by Mart Bailey

Like most of the comics published by Prize, PCW switched to photographic covers with issue #76 (July 1949). More importantly there was a change in contents. Al Carreno no longer provided work and his place as lead artist was taking by a new comer for the title, Mart Bailey. As part of the change, the lead story became a movie adaptation. I suspect it was because of the movie adaptation that Bailey was used. While Al Correno could draw well I doubt that he was able to achieve the type of realism Bailey showed in these movie adaptations. I am not saying Bailey’s realism was better art but it probably was more acceptable to RKO. The use of movie adaptations was not long lasting, the last one may have been “Stage To Chino” from PCW #79 (January 1949). However Mart continued used as the primary artist and his artwork was no longer quite so realistic.

Prize Comics Western #85 (January 1951) “American Eagle”, art by John Severin

Issue #85 started the third period for Prize Comics Western. American Eagle was introduced as the new main feature. From this point American Eagle would be on every cover and always was the lead story. Generally there would be at least one backup story, sometimes more, on the American Eagle as well. John Severin had appeared in PCW for some time but now he became the lead artist. It was a position he would retain for much longer then his predecessors Al Carreno and Mart Bailey. Bailey continued doing some backup stories for a few issues before disappearing from the title. John Severin had also worked for Simon and Kirby but not after having attained the position of lead artist for Prize Comics Western.

Prize Comics Western #85 (January 1951) “The Prairie Badman”, art by Marvin Stein

Another artist who had also worked for the Simon and Kirby studio began providing art for Prize Comics Western during this period. Initially Marvin Stein did various backup stories but he most commonly drew the Lazo Kid feature. In his interview with Jim Amash, Joe Simon describes “trading” Stein. Besides his work for PCW, Marvin also became the primary artist for Headline and Justice Traps the Guilty.

The period with John Severin as the primary artist came to an end with issue #113 (September 1955). A short period followed where Marvin Stein became the primary artist. However, unlike before this did not mean that Marvin did all the covers and lead stories.

Prize Comics Western #115 (January 1956) “The Drifter”, art by Mort Meskin

It was during the fourth period that Mort Meskin began doing some backup stories for Prize Comics Western. Of all the artists that had work on PCW, Mort is certainly the one with the greatest ties to the Simon and Kirby studio.

Prize Comics Western #118 (July 1956) “Liberty Belle”, art by Ted Galindo

Another artist with Simon and Kirby connections who appeared during the fourth period was Ted Galindo. Ted even did the lead story, “Liberty Belle” for issue #118.  Galindo did a piece for Foxhole #4, but most of the work he did for what might be called Simon and Kirby productions came after the breakup of the studio.
The fourth period was short and it marked the end of the title with issue #119 (September 1956).

There are a number of artists used throughout the history of Prize Comics Western that I have not discussed here. The number of stories they provided were limited, I have not been able to identify them, and their artistic talents were limited.

In his original comment that prompted this post, Ger wrote that Vic Donahue was one of the artists common to the Simon and Kirby studio and Prize Comics Western. I did not encountered Donahue in the search I did on my PCW issues. I asked Ger to double check and he has not been able to find him either. I am not sure that even the combined collections are not complete so there is still the possibility that Donahue did work on PCW.

One artist, who shows up in Prize Comics Western that I have discussed yet in my serial post, It’s A Crime, was Moe Marcus (”Buffalo Stampede”, PCW #92, March 1952). While Marcus appeared in Headline and Justice Traps the Guilty he did so during the period that these titles were not produced by Simon and Kirby. “Buffalo Stampede” was inked by Rocco “Rocke” Mastroserio. Rocke is most widely known for the work he did for Charlton.

At this point it might seem that there were a lot of comics artist that work on Prize Comics Western as well as on Simon and Kirby productions. However there were more Simon and Kirby studio artists that, as far as I have been able to determine, did not work on PCW. Important studio artists like Bill Draut, John Prentice, Vic Donahue, Leonard Starr, Bruno Premiani?, Jo Albistur and Ann Brewster. There are some lesser S&K studio artists as well such as A. C. Hollingsworth, Charles Nicholas, George Gregg, Manny Stallman and Al Eadeh. Conversely, two of the primary artists for Prize Comics Western, Al Correno and Mart Bailey, never worked for Simon and Kirby. John Severin did work for both, but by the time he became primary artist for PCW he was no longer providing work for Simon and Kirby. I have already written about Joe Simon’s statement about trading Marvin Stein. Mort Meskin was an important S&K studio artist and he provided work for PCW as well. But the work Mort did on PCW was largely done after he stopped working for Simon and Kirby. Actually it is a little surprising that Mort did not supply work earlier then that as he had provided such work for Headline and JTTG when these were not produced by S&K.

The handling of Prize Comics Western seems very different from Simon and Kirby productions. As described above the history of PCW the title was very much defined by the primary artist. During each period it was the primary artist that supplied the covers, did the lead story and at least one backup story as well. Jack was the primary artist for Simon and Kirby productions. If there was a cover to be made it was almost always done by Kirby. But Jack would only dominate the contents of a new title. After the initial launching period of a title, Kirby would not dominate the contents so much and a variety of artists would be used. The type of handling of Prize comics Western was similar to that used for Frankenstein Comics and, as we will see in a future chapter to “It’s A Crime”, the same reliance on a primary artist would be adopted by the crime titles as well.

Boys’ Ranch can conveniently be separated into two groups. The first three issues featured work by Kirby (with one exception), had three stories per issue, and the stories were longer. For the final issues there is much less use of Kirby, only two stories per issue, and shorter stories. Actually each final issue had a single story, but broken into two chapters. It was part of the Simon and Kirby modus operandi to make heavy use of Kirby’s talents in the early issues of a new title and afterwards make more frequent use of other artists. For Boys’ Ranch the change seems much more dramatic then in other titles. The last three issues are good, but they are not the masterpieces that the earlier issues were.

Boys’ Ranch #4 (April 1951) “The Bugle Blows At Bloody Knife”, pencils by Jack Kirby inks by Mort Meskin

In the last three issues of Boys’ Ranch there is only one story completely penciled by Kirby, “The Bugle Blows at Bloody Knife”. However Mort Meskin does all the inking for this story other then the splash page (which looks like Kirby’s inking to me). Both “The Bugle Blows at Bloody Knife” and “I’ll Fight You for Lucy” are good references for Mort Meskins’s use of the Studio style of inking. For his own work Mort generally did not so fully use the Studio inking style and so his thorough adoption of it in Boys’ Ranch provided a more uniform appearance throughout the title. Mort’s inking is very distinctive and he was careful not to overwhelm Kirby’s pencils. Kirby characteristics such as his eyebrows are generally maintained. The two stories also provide good examples of the differences between Kirby’s way of graphically telling a story and that used by Meskin.

Boys’ Ranch #4 (April 1951) “Fight To the Finish”, art by Jack Kirby

Although Jack contributed less work for the title, care was taken for putting his efforts where they would be of the most use. One way this was done was having Jack pencil the splash page even for stories illustrated by others. With the exception of “I’ll Fight You for Lucy”, every splash in the Boys’ Ranch comics was drawn by Kirby and they are all full page splashes. What splash pages these are. “Fight to the Finish” is certainly among the best. It is a pure Kirby battle, up close and personal. To thrust the viewer into the action, Kirby creates a foreground showing only parts of some fighters. This is the same technique Jack used with a horse as seen in last weeks post and the Bullseye #7 double page splash. Here Kirby presents contrasting arms and heads. The antagonists are clearly identified by the officer sword versus tomahawk above, and below the soldier sporting a Calvary hat confronting an Indian warrior with suitable head apparel. The colorist wisely blocked the foreground elements in the same purple color. The background provides an only slightly better view of other contestants. Among some soldiers, we find Clay, Dandy and Wabash. Perhaps Angel had to be left out because even the truncated cast limited the number of Indians that could be included.

Boys’ Ranch #4 (April 1951) “How Cowboys Say It”, art by Marvin Stein

If Jack Kirby was used less in the final Boys’ Ranch issues the natural question then becomes who did the art? The Jack Kirby Checklist lists these stories as having a “Mort Meskin assist”. Well as we have seen Mort Meskin was involved with Boys’ Ranch so he certainly is a candidate to consider. The Marvel reprint volume lists the books creators as Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Mort Meskin and Marvin Stein. So should we add Marvin Stein as a possible contributor? The earliest date that my database has for Stein is for Headline #40 (March 1950, “The Case Of Joe Andrews”). But I am not very confident of that attribution as it is unsigned and has only a passing resemblance to work by Marvin. The earliest dates for work more securely attributed to Stein would be the cover for Justice Traps the Guilty #20 (November 1950, unsigned) and “Brute Force” from JTTG #22 (January 1951, signed). These dates indicate that Marvin Stein was certainly available for work on the last issues of Boys’ Ranch. “How Cowboys Say It” was one of those single page contributions to the Boys’ Ranch title. In the panel for “Quirly” we find a cowboy viewed from above and to the side. This view along with the distinctive manner of handling the eyes and eyebrows indicates to me that this certainly was done by Marvin Stein. The inking was done in a manner typical of Stein’s work. Note the rather blunt brushwork and its often scribbly nature. Marvin did not adopt many features of the Studio style when inking his own pencils and this page from Boys’ Ranch #4 is no exception.

Boys’ Ranch #4 (April 1951) “Fight To the Finish” page 3, art by Mort Meskin? and unidentified artist

In my opinion, the story art for “Fight to the Finish” has only a passing resemblance to work by Jack Kirby. Take a look at panel 4 from page 3 (shown above). The horse’s front is angled in an opposite direction to its rider and posterior. I do not recall Kirby ever having drawn such an odd arrangement. In the first panel Dandy and Angel look much shorter as compared to Clay Duncan then either Jack Kirby or Mort Meskin drew them (although Wabash seems about right). The eyebrows, particularly in the second and third panels, have some of the angular nature typical for Mort Meskin. There are some aspects of the Studio style however the inking as a whole looks much too sloppy for Meskin.

Boys’ Ranch #5 (June 1951) “Bandits, Bullets and Wild Wild Women” page 4, art by Mort Meskin? and unidentified artist

A similar situation is found in “Bandits, Bullets and Wild Wild Women” from Boys’ Ranch #5. Once again some of the eyebrows resemble Meskin’s mannerism. There are more techniques typical of the Studio style but it is still a rather sloppy performance not at all typical for Meskin. However I have seen Marvin Stein use the same coarse picket fence as evident on the back of Wee Willie Wheehawken. Most of the drawing is rather crude but look at Willie in the fourth panel. Willie is really nicely penciled and even the inking is not badly handled.  The comparison of Willie’s portrait with how crudely the rest of the page was done suggests that there may be more then one hand working on this story.

Boys’ Ranch #5 (June 1951) “Last Mail to Red Fork” page 4, art by Mort Meskin? and unidentified artist

Much of what was said previously can be applied to “Last Mail to Red Fork” as well. There is one spotting techniques that shows up more on this page then previous examples. Many of the cloth folds are constructed by multiple overlapping brushstrokes creating long narrow folds. This is a typical Meskin inking technique but its actual use here seems too poorly handled for Mort. Of particular interest is the punch thrown by Clay in the fourth panel. This is not at all the way Kirby would have done it so again I do not believe Jack even supplied the layouts. With Kirby the whole body responds when being hit with a fist, not just the head and arms as in this panel. Clay’s swing and Drapo’s response does look like Meskin’s style to me (see the page from Black Terror #23 from my last weeks post).

Boys’ Ranch #5 (June 1951) “Last Mail to Red Fork” page 6, art by Mort Meskin? and unidentified artist

One final example is from “Last Mail to Red Fork”. Here Mr. Larson from panel 4 distinctly looks like Meskin’s work and is much more carefully inked then most of the story.

So let me summarize my findings for “Fight To the Finish” (BR #4), “Last Mail To Red Fork” (BR #5), and “Bandits, Bullets and Wild Wild Women” (BR #5). In all cases the splash pages were by Jack Kirby, but he otherwise did not have any significant contributions to the art, not even providing layouts. Some of the fight scenes are done in a distinct manner that looks like the work of Mort Meskin. Mort’s touch is also apparent in some of the eyebrows. So I would say the pencils were done by Mort Meskin. Although some of the inking is done in a manner similar to Meskin’s technique on a whole it just seems too sloppy to have been Mort’s. However the inker does seem to have been following the Meskin’s directions. Could these stories have been inked by Marvin Stein? I really cannot say because Stein did not seem to use the Studio style for his own work and so I have little to compare these Boys’ Ranch inking with. So for the moment I am going to leave the question of inking attributions unresolved. But was the second artist just an inker or did he make a contribution to the drawing as well? My current inclination is to provide joint credits.

Boys’ Ranch #6 (August 1951) “Teeth for The Iron Horse” page 3, art by Jack Kirby and unidentified artist

The stories from Boys’ Ranch #6 have a much more Kirby feel to the layouts. In the page from “Teeth for the Iron Horse” shown above the discussion between Clay and Palomino in the first two panels is done in a manner that is very typical for Kirby. There seems to be a progression of art that looks the most like Kirby’s at the beginning of the story grading into work less typical for Jack. I usual take this as a sign that an artist was doing “in between” work. That is Kirby would supply a layout that would be tighter in the beginning and then getting rougher. In cases such as this I give joint credits. The inking, while still somewhat clumsy, is handled better then that found in “Fight To The Finish” (BR #4), “Last Mail To Red Fork” (BR #5), or “Bandits, Bullets And Wild Wild Women” (BR #5). The eyebrows still have the distinct Meskin angularity to them.

Boys’ Ranch #6 (August 1951) “Happy Boy Carries the Ball” page 2, art by Jack Kirby and unidentified artist

The page above from “Happy Boy Carries the Ball” has in my opinion a much more Kirby feel to it. This is particularly noticeable in gentleman in panel 5. The layout of the entire page is much more like Kirby’s then the other stories reviewed earlier. I suspect that as in “Teeth for the Iron Horse”, Kirby may have been supplying layouts that were tighter in some places then in others. I do have some reservations. The ending page of the story is really not done were well; it is not always clear what is happening. This would be very unusual for Jack as he was above all else an excellent graphic story teller. So either this work was edited with some panels removed, or the ending was not based on Kirby layouts. The original art for this story is still in Joe Simon’s collection. That is all but the last page and so cannot resolve this question. All and all I think that joint credits should be used here as well even if I cannot say for certain who the second artist was.

Boys’ Ranch #2 (December 1950) illustration from “Jack McGregor’s Bluff”,
Boys’ Ranch #4 (April 1951) illustration from “Killer Stallion”, art for both by Jack Kirby (these illustrations were not included in Marvel’s reprint volume)

Even with the decline in the last three issues, Boys’ Ranch certainly was one of Simon and Kirby’s greatest creations. Stories were given enough length to fully develop. Some stories had themes that normally never showed up in comics. Pinups were used to an extent that would never be repeated by Simon and Kirby. With such great pinups, splashes and stories you can tell Joe and Jack gave Boys’ Ranch their all. It failed. There is no getting around it. No paper glut or a failing distributor can be used to explain it away. No matter how highly esteemed Boys’ Ranch may be today, it only lasted six issues. Having been given a year to catch on, apparently sales were too low to warrant its continuation. It was Simon and Kirby’s greatest failure.

Justice Traps the Guilty #56 (November 1953), art by Marvin Stein

The cover for Justice Traps the Guilty #56 is probably Marvin Stein’s most famous piece of comic book art. It has been reproduced in Joe Simon’s book “The Comic Book Makers” and “The Art of Jack Kirby” by Ray Wyman, Jr. (in fact my restoration above was made using the same comic book found in the Wyman’s book). The cover’s fame rests not so much on its artistic value but on the people portrayed in the police lineup. Here as the suspects we find starting from our left Ben Oda (Simon and Kirby’s letterer), Joe Simon, Joe Genalo (Prize editor), Mort Meskin and Jack Kirby. This was, of course, an inside joke because none of these individuals were actually criminals, nor were they likely to be recognized by the public. Most of the members of the lineup are people that have previously been discussed in this blog and should need no further introduction with the exception of Joe Genalo. Joe Genalo was working for Prize as an editor, not for Simon and Kirby. Annual postal statements may not be relied on completely but the one in Headline’s March 1953 issue shows Joe Genalo as editor (unfortunately I do not have the equivalent one for Justice Traps the Guilty). Genalo is again listed as editor in the postal statements found in the March 1954 issues of both Headline and Justice Traps the Guilty. The identification of the person in the line up as Joe Genalo is based on Joe Simon in “The Comic Book Makers”; however there is a problem with this. In a photo taken of the Simon and Kirby studio there is a person that Joe also has named as Joe Genalo. The presence of Jimmy Infantino in the photograph indicates that it was probably taken in 1951. The photo “Genalo” does not wear glasses and is much younger then the man on Marvin Stein’s cover even though only a couple of years separate the two. It would be expected that the man portrayed by Stein would be someone important to Marvin’s work and that certainly would suggest that it truly was Joe Genalo in the lineup. I therefore believe that Joe’s photo identification is incorrect.

Mr. District Attorney #4 (July 1948), art by Win Mortimer

Stein’s police lineup was not the only one to appear on the front of a comic book. The similarity between the covers for Justice Traps the Guilty #56 and Mr. District Attorney #4 are striking. Both show the police and a female in the foreground with the lineup in the background higher up on a stage. Further the female for both is on the right pointing out a suspect on the left. Examples like this one are generally referred to in comic book discussions as swipes. It is also examples like this that are the reason I so thoroughly hate that term. I use it only because it is so entrenched in discussions about comic book artists and their art. Among many comic book fans the term swipe is used as a condemnation. However deriving art based on some previous art is not something unique to comic books. The same thing is done in the fine arts without all the negative associations. No one accuses Michelangelo of swiping from Donatello. If the reader wants to think that Marvin Stein swiped his cover from Win Mortimer that is fine. Just note that although the idea may have originated with Mortimer, nothing in Stein’s cover is a close copy of Mortimer’s work. Kudos for Mortimer for coming up with the idea, but kudos for Stein for using it to make something of his own.

As far as I know Win Mortimer never worked for Simon and Kirby and therefore I am not too familiar with his work. In my opinion a good piece of cover art should tell a story and Mortimer certain does that with his cover. An elderly woman points out one of the boys in the lineup while she looks back fearfully to a man in a suit, presumable the District Attorney. Mr. DA rests his hand on her shoulder to provide reassurance. At first glance the boys in the lineup do not appear to be criminal types, everybody seems so clean cut. But that is deceptive because it is based on today’s standards. The boy in the center of the line has a plaid suit with wide lapels and a lavender bow tie. At the time this was hardly considered conservative fashion and despite lacking baggy pants suggested the zoot suit. Zoot suits were infamous during the war and often identified in the minds of the public with Latino gangs. The boy on our right is more conservatively dressed but has a toothy squint that suggests he is not your normal teenager either. However even after a more extended examination, there seems little to suggest that the suspect on our left is not a clean cut American boy. The fact that his response to the lady’s identification is to hang his head in shame supports that notion. The question is what crime could such a seemingly nice boy have committed that lead him to this lineup? Unfortunately this is one shortcoming to Mortimer’s cover as no clue is provided as to his offense, nor is there an interior story to enlighten us. The cover is a little dry for my tastes but an excellent piece of comic book art nonetheless.

I frequently remark in this blog that one should not compare artists that worked for S&K to Jack Kirby. I do so not only as a warning to my readers, but as an admonition to myself. Kirby is such an outstanding talent that the shadow that he casts tends to obscure other artists. I guess that is what happened to me with Stein’s JTTG #56 cover. Previously I found it interesting for the people portrayed but considered it as not having much artistic merit. Having compared it to Mr. District Attorney #4, I now realize it has much to commend it. We may know no more specifics about the crime then with Mortimer’s cover, but no reason to question the woman’s accusation. As depicted on the cover, Simon clenches his fists, turns to face the woman and sneers something (probably “why you little…”). Nor are there any doubts as to the criminal nature of the rest of the lineup. Oda has the cold hard stare of a gunman, Genola’s poorly fitting jacket makes him look like head of some small extortionist gang, Mort has the appearance of a bookie, and Jack, despite his size, could be a small time thug. Marvin Stein has also done a much better job of composing the image. In Mortimer’s cover the foreground and background figures are only connected by the woman’s gesture. However Stein raises the foreground figures up, added a figure, and arranges them in a ‘U’ shape. This all provides a strong visual link to the lineup. Another weakness on Mortimer’s cover is how the woman’s backward glance at the District Attorney directs our vision away from the image. Stein places the DA on the other side of the woman so that she now faces into the image; I find that a very satisfactory solution. Finally Stein uses a spotlight on the lineup which provides an arching shadow giving more focus to the image then Mortimer’s more photographic like approach. I am sure Stein picked up this use of an arch from Jack Kirby who used arcs frequently. All in all Marvin Stein has provided an excellent reinterpretation of Mortimer’s original concept.

I have written about Kirby inking Kirby, but what about Jack’s other inkers? Scholars of the Silver Age have it comparatively easy, many of Jack’s inkers are actually given credit. This provides a head start even in those cases where no inking credits are given. But in the Simon and Kirby years no inking credits were ever provided. Fortunately most S&K studio artists inked their own work. Therefore examining the work by the studio artists can give insight into what to look for in order to determine if they also were Kirby’s inkers.

I am going to start with Marvin Stein. What I am going to say about Marvin is pretty preliminary. I really have not studied Stein as an artist as much as I have other who had worked for Simon and Kirby. This is probably because I have mixed feelings about Marvin’s art. On the positive side Stein was often good at depicting action. However some of his drawing seems a bit crude.

Marvin Stein starts showing up in Simon and Kirby productions in 1951. Not long after his appearance there seems to have been a change in the production of Headline and Justice Traps the Guilty, two crime titles that S&K had created. Well actually Headline had existed before S&K but was not a more general anthology, it was S&K who converted the title to crime. The postal statement for Headline #46 (March 1951) lists Nevin Fiddler as the editor. About that time the artists for both crime titles changed and Jack Kirby work would no longer appear. Marvin Stein would become a prominent part in the new Prize crime issues. Stein did almost all the covers and usually the first story. It was not that unusual for Stein to provide a second story as well.

Headline #51 (Jan 1952) art by Marvin Stein

There is a photograph that indicates that Marvin worked at the Simon and Kirby studio at one time. Certainly he was greatly influenced by Jack Kirby, particularly in the portrayal of action. But Stein did not pick up any of the typical S&K studio inking. Missing from Marvin’s own work are things like picket fence brush work, abstract arch shadows or shoulder blots (see the inking glossary). Stein did occasionally use something like drop strings.

Justice Traps The Guilty #88 (August 1957) “The Spoilers” page 7, art by Marvin Stein

The above image is a typical page of Stein pencils and inking. Marvin’s brushwork tended to be rather blunt. This can be very apparent when the faces are of a smaller size, as for instance in panels 1, 2 and 4. A blunt brush work can even be seen in closer faces as in the criminal in panel 4. Stein often would use very broad cloth folds that seem slightly bent at about the middle of their length as seen on the man in the foreground in the first panel. Cloth folds often have ends that stop abruptly at a right angle (as in the first panel) or a slight angle (there are a couple examples on the man in the second panel). Form and shingle lines are often quite robust. Although not apparent in the image above, Marvin would sometimes make long and simple eyebrows. These eyebrows can resemble those by Bill Draut.

Justice Traps the Guilty #91 (February 1958) “Power Failure” page 4 panel 5, art by Marvin Stein

Occasionally Marvin would like to depict faces with a sort of negative highlight, as in the image above. This is done with diagonal brush work and like so much of Stein’s inking in a rather crude manner.

Young Romance #93 (April 1958) “Jealousy”, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Marvin Stein

Among Jack Kirby’s late Prize romance art is one story, “Jealousy”, where the spotting for the facial features is rather blunt. The facial inking looks so much like Marvin Stein’s that I am certain he was Jack’s inker. Note the final panel where the man’s right eyebrow is extended into a crease above the nose. This is a characteristic often seen in Stein’s own art, for instance panel 3 from the Justice Traps the Guilty #88 page I showed earlier. Surprisingly the spotting other then for the faces in this story seems more carefully done then is typical for Stein.

This blunt treatment of facial features does not seem to occur in inking for any other of Kirby’s work for Prize. But otherwise similar spotting can be found in the inking of a number of Kirby stories. Could it be that Marvin Stein used greater care when inking for Kirby then he did on his own work? Depending on the answer to that question, Stein could have been a frequent inker of Kirby or a rare one.

Showcase #6 (February 1957) “The Secrets of the Sorcerer’s Box”, page 6, panel 3, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Marvin Stein (from DC Archive edition)

When I wrote the DC chapter to “Jack Kirby Austere Inking” I was hampered by my limited access to the work. I am still not ready for a more thorough evaluation of Jack’s DC period but I have gone back over it with Marvin Stein fresh in my mind. Previous I attributed the inking to the initial Challengers of the Unknown stories to Jack. With my latest review I find a number of examples of inking that look like Stein’s work. Take a look at the face in the panel image I provide above, it has Stein’s blunt brushwork style. Also note that a couple of the cloth folds have the slightly off right angle ends that Stein prefers. There is still inking in the first two Showcase issues that look like Kirby’s brush. The red giant in “Dragon Seed” from Showcase #6 seem much better done then I have every seen Stein do. Also the second page from Showcase #7 with its scenes of the Challenger members doing various daring deeds. The problem is that Stein’s blunt brushwork is rather similar to Jack’s Austere style. I now suspect that most of the inking for Showcase #6 and 7 was actually done by Stein with Kirby doing the more difficult parts and perhaps touching up Marvin’s work as well.

Challengers of the Unknown #3 (August 1958) “The Menace of the Invincible Challenger”, page 10, panel 2, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Marvin Stein (from DC Archive edition)

Marvin Stein did some of the inking for later Challenger stories also. The image above from COTU #3 has the same shadow highlights we saw before from Stein’s crime work. But these later inking differ from Showcase #6 and #7 in that Jack Kirby does not seem to have taken a hand in any of the spotting.

I have added a checklist for Marvin Stein, which like all my checklists are works in progress. However a checklist of Stein’s inking Kirby will have to wait, at least until I have reviewed some of the other Kirby inkers.

Last update: 8/31/2008

Codes:
    s:  = script
    l:  = layout
    p:  = pencils
    i:  = inks
  name  = signed
 <name> = signed with an alias
 {name} = signed as Simon & Kirby
 [name] = unsigned attribution

Alarming Adventures (Harvey)
   s 1    Oct  1962    5p "The Aliens"

All For Love (Prize)
     2    (v.1, n2)  June 1957    7p "Loving Is Believing"
     4    (v.1, n4)  Oct  1957    6p "To Win My Love"
     4    (v.1, n4)  Oct  1957    6p "Ingenue at Romance"
     7    (v.2, n1)  Apr  1958    5p "Love For Granted"
     7    (v.2, n1)  Apr  1958    7p "The Man I Married"

Black Magic (Prize)
     35   (v.6, n2)  Nov  1957    6p "The Immortal"
     35   (v.6, n2)  Nov  1957    6p "The Old Man"
     37   (v.6, n4)  Mar  1958    6p "Stranger in 313"
     38   (v.6, n5)  May  1958    7p "The Impossible"
     39   (v.6, n6)  July 1958    7p "Double Trouble"
     40   (v.7, n1)  Sept 1958    6p "The Valley Of Forever"

Boys' Ranch (Harvey)
     4    Apr  1951    1p "How Cowboys Say It"

Headline (Prize)
   ? 40   (v.5, n4)  Mar  1950   10p "The Case Of Joe Andrews"
   s 47   (v.6, n5)  May  1951       [cover]
     48   (v.6, n6)  July 1951       [cover]
   s 49   (v.7, n1)  Sept 1951       [cover]
     49   (v.7, n1)  Sept 1951   10p "Speedway Racketeers"
   s 50   (v.7, n2)  Nov  1951       [cover]
     50   (v.7, n2)  Nov  1951   10p "Muscle Man"
     51   (v.7, n3)  Jan  1952       [cover]
   s 52   (v.7, n4)  Mar  1952       [cover]
   s 52   (v.7, n4)  Mar  1952   10p "The Hideout Racket"
   s 53   (v.7, n5)  May  1952       [cover]
     53   (v.7, n5)  May  1952   10p "The Business Buccaneers"
     53   (v.7, n5)  May  1952    6p "Getaway"
   s 54   (v.7, n6)  July 1952       [cover]
     54   (v.7, n6)  July 1952   10p "Homicide Peddlers"
   s 55   (v.8, n1)  Sept 1952       [cover]
     55   (v.8, n1)  Sept 1952   10p "The Grab-Bag King"
   s 56   (v.8, n2)  Nov  1952       [cover]
   s 56   (v.8, n2)  Nov  1952    7p "The Has-Been"
   s 57   (v.8, n3)  Jan  1953       [cover]
     57   (v.8, n3)  Jan  1953   10p "Counterfeit"
   s 58   (v.8, n4)  Mar  1953       [cover]
     58   (v.8, n4)  Mar  1953   10p "Merchant of Death"
   s 59   (v.8, n5)  May  1953       [cover]
     59   (v.8, n5)  May  1953    8p "Getaway Mob"
   s 59   (v.8, n5)  May  1953    5p "Find the Corpse"
   s 60   (v.8, n6)  July 1953       [cover]
     60   (v.8, n6)  July 1953    8p "Finger Man"
   s 61   (v.9, n1)  Sept 1953       [cover]
     61   (v.9, n1)  Sept 1953    8p "Moonshine"
   s 62   (v.9, n2)  Nov  1953       [cover]
     62   (v.9, n2)  Nov  1953    8p "Espionage"
     63   (v.9, n3)  Jan  1954       [cover]
   s 64   (v.9, n4)  Mar  1954       [cover]
     64   (v.9, n4)  Mar  1954    8p "The Black Hand"
   s 65   (v.9, n5)  May  1954       [cover]
     65   (v.9, n5)  May  1954    8p "Syndicate Boss"
     65   (v.9, n5)  May  1954    5p "Home to Homicide"
     66   (v.9, n6)  July 1954       [cover]
     66   (v.9, n6)  July 1954    8p "Ransom"
     66   (v.9, n6)  July 1954    6p "Manhunt"
   s 67   (v.10, n1) Sept 1954       [cover]
     67   (v.10, n1) Sept 1954    8p "The River Pirates"
     67   (v.10, n1) Sept 1954    6p "The Witness"
   s 68   (v.10, n2) Nov  1954       [cover]
   ? 68   (v.10, n2) Nov  1954    8p "The Charity Racketeers"
   s 68   (v.10, n2) Nov  1954    6p "Speed Merchant"
     69   (v.10, n3) Jan  1955       [cover]
     69   (v.10, n3) Jan  1955    8p "Homicide In The Headlines"
     69   (v.10, n3) Jan  1955    6p "The Honorable Way"
     70   (v.10, n4) Mar  1955       [cover]
     70   (v.10, n4) Mar  1955    8p "The Roller Derby Racketeers"
   s 71   (v.10, n5) May  1955       [cover]
     71   (v.10, n5) May  1955    8p "The Hot Ice Heisters"
     71   (v.10, n5) May  1955    6p "Double Play"
   s 72   (v.10, n6) July 1955       [cover]
     72   (v.10, n6) July 1955    8p "Jig-Saw"
     72   (v.10, n6) July 1955    4p "Puzzle"
   s 73   (v.11, n1) Sept 1955       [cover]
     73   (v.11, n1) Sept 1955    8p "Prison Riot"
   s 74   (v.11, n2) Jan  1956       [cover]
     74   (v.11, n2) Jan  1956    6p "Brainwash at Hong Kong"
   s 75   (v.11, n3) Mar  1956       [cover]
     75   (v.11, n3) Mar  1956    6p "Curse of the River Diamonds"
   s 77   (v.11, n5) Sept 1956       [cover]
     77   (v.11, n5) Sept 1956    6p "Flying Saucers"

Justice Traps the Guilty (Prize)
     20   (v.4, n2)  Nov  1950       [cover]
   s 22   (v.4, n4)  Jan  1951    7p "Brute Force"
   s 23   (v.4, n5)  Feb  1951   10p "Terror Mob"
   s 24   (v.4, n6)  Mar  1951       [cover]
     24   (v.4, n6)  Mar  1951    6p "A Very Unusual Gent"
   s 26   (v.4, n8)  May  1951       [cover]
     27   (v.4, n9)  June 1951    7p "T-Man Blitz"
     28   (v.4, n10) July 1951       [cover]
   s 28   (v.4, n10) July 1951   10p "I Was a Counterfeiter"
   s 29   (v.4, n11) Aug  1951       [cover]
     30   (v.4, n12) Sept 1951       [cover]
   s 31   (v.5, n1)  Oct  1951       [cover]
   ? 31   (v.5, n1)  Oct  1951   10p "Big Time Mobster"
     32   (v.5, n2)  Nov  1951       [cover]
     32   (v.5, n2)  Nov  1951   10p "Shoplifting Syndicate"
   s 33   (v.5, n3)  Dec  1951       [cover]
     33   (v.5, n3)  Dec  1951   10p "The Fake Heir Swindle"
     34   (v.5, n4)  Jan  1952       [cover]
     34   (v.5, n4)  Jan  1952   10p "Million Dollar Medicine Racket"
     35   (v.5, n5)  Feb  1952       [cover]
   s 35   (v.5, n5)  Feb  1952   10p "Alien Blackmail Ring"
     37   (v.5, n7)  Apr  1952       [cover]
     37   (v.5, n7)  Apr  1952   10p "The Head-Hunters"
   s 38   (v.5, n8)  May  1952       [cover]
     38   (v.5, n8)  May  1952   10p "One Way Payoff"
   s 39   (v.5, n9)  June 1952       [cover]
     39   (v.5, n9)  June 1952   10p "The Food Profiteers"
   s 40   (v.5, n10) July 1952       [cover]
     40   (v.5, n10) July 1952   10p "King of the Dock Rackets"
   s 41   (v.5, n11) Aug  1952       [cover]
     41   (v.5, n11) Aug  1952    8p "The Protection Racket"
     42   (v.5, n12) Sept 1952       [cover]
     42   (v.5, n12) Sept 1952   10p "Scandal Sheet Shakedown"
     42   (v.5, n12) Sept 1952    8p "The Arbiter"
   s 43   (v.6, n1)  Oct  1952       [cover]
     43   (v.6, n1)  Oct  1952   10p "The Twentieth Century Pirates"
     43   (v.6, n1)  Oct  1952    7p "Too Smart to Burn"
   s 45   (v.6, n3)  Dec  1952       [cover]
     45   (v.6, n3)  Dec  1952   10p "The Framer"
     45   (v.6, n3)  Dec  1952    5p "Hoodlums Must Die"
   s 46   (v.6, n4)  Jan  1953       [cover]
     46   (v.6, n4)  Jan  1953   10p "KO Syndicate"
   s 47   (v.6, n5)  Feb  1953       [cover]
     47   (v.6, n5)  Feb  1953   10p "The Taxi Tricksters"
   s 48   (v.6, n6)  Mar  1953       [cover]
     48   (v.6, n6)  Mar  1953   10p "The Hockey Fixers"
   s 49   (v.6, n7)  Apr  1953       [cover]
     49   (v.6, n7)  Apr  1953    8p "Duel Passports"
   s 50   (v.6, n8)  May  1953       [cover]
     50   (v.6, n8)  May  1953    8p "Ex-Con Shakedown"
   s 51   (v.6, n9)  June 1953       [cover]
     51   (v.6, n9)  June 1953    8p "Mob Rule"
   s 52   (v.6, n10) July 1953       [cover]
     52   (v.6, n10) July 1953    8p "The Vandals"
   s 53   (v.6, n11) Aug  1953       [cover]
     53   (v.6, n11) Aug  1953    8p "The Wreckers"
   s 54   (v.6, n12) Sept 1953       [cover]
     54   (v.6, n12) Sept 1953    8p "Racket Guy"
     54   (v.6, n12) Sept 1953    6p "Hoods Die Young"
   s 55   (v.7, n1)  Oct  1953       [cover]
     55   (v.7, n1)  Oct  1953    8p "Inheritance Payoff"
     55   (v.7, n1)  Oct  1953    6p "The Ape Man Crimes"
   s 56   (v.7, n2)  Nov  1953       [cover]
     56   (v.7, n2)  Nov  1953    8p "The Hitch Heisters"
   s 57   (v.7, n3)  Dec  1953       [cover]
     57   (v.7, n3)  Dec  1953    8p "Salvage Sharks"
     57   (v.7, n3)  Dec  1953    4p "Dead Wrong"
   s 58   (v.7, n4)  Jan  1954       [cover]
     58   (v.7, n4)  Jan  1954    8p "The Swindler"
   s 60A  (v.7, n6)  Mar  1954       [cover]
     60A  (v.7, n6)  Mar  1954    8p "Body Snatchers"
     60A  (v.7, n6)  Mar  1954    7p "Benny Goes Straight"
     61   (v.7, n7)  Apr  1954       [cover]
     61   (v.7, n7)  Apr  1954    8p "The Safecrackers"
     61   (v.7, n7)  Apr  1954    5p "Legacy of Doom"
     63   (v.7, n9)  June 1954       [cover]
     63   (v.7, n9)  June 1954    8p "Highway Pirates"
     65   (v.7, n11) Aug  1954       [cover]
     65   (v.7, n11) Aug  1954    8p "Blind Man's Bluff"
   s 66   (v.7, n12) Sept 1954       [cover]
     66   (v.7, n12) Sept 1954    8p "Always A Cop"
     66   (v.7, n12) Sept 1954    4p "The Green-Eyed Monster"
   s 67   (v.8, n1)  Oct  1954       [cover]
     67   (v.8, n1)  Oct  1954    8p "Tough Cop"
     67   (v.8, n1)  Oct  1954    6p "Feud"
   s 68   (v.8, n2)  Nov  1954       [cover]
     68   (v.8, n2)  Nov  1954    8p "T-Man Trap"
     68   (v.8, n2)  Nov  1954    6p "Not Fit for Duty"
   s 69   (v.8, n3)  Dec  1954       [cover]
     69   (v.8, n3)  Dec  1954    8p "The Pawn"
     70   (v.8, n4)  Mar  1955       [cover]
     70   (v.8, n4)  Mar  1955    8p "Feud"
     70   (v.8, n4)  Mar  1955    1p "There's Always a Clue"
     71   (v.8, n5)  Feb  1955       [cover]
     71   (v.8, n5)  Feb  1955    8p "Federal Manhunt"
   s 72   (v.8, n6)  Mar  1955       [cover]
     72   (v.8, n6)  Mar  1955    8p "The Spirit Swindlers"
     72   (v.8, n6)  Mar  1955    5p "Bluff"
     73   (v.8, n7)  Mar  1955       [cover]
     73   (v.8, n7)  Mar  1955    8p "The Traitors"
     73   (v.8, n7)  Mar  1955    6p "The Post of Honor"
   s 75   (v.8, n9)  May  1955       [cover]
     75   (v.8, n9)  May  1955    8p "Tragic Circle"
     75   (v.8, n9)  May  1955    2p "Jackpot"
   s 75   (v.8, n10) June 1955       [cover]
     75   (v.8, n10) June 1955    8p "Tragic Circle"
   s 76   (v.8, n11) July 1955       [cover]
     76   (v.8, n11) July 1955    8p "River Rats"
   s 77   (v.8, n12) Aug  1955       [cover]
     77   (v.8, n12) Aug  1955    8p "The Counterfeit Pushers"
     77   (v.8, n12) Aug  1955    5p "Harbor Patrol"
   s 78   (v.8, n12) Sept 1955       [cover]
     78   (v.8, n12) Sept 1955    8p "Undercover Man"
   a 79   (v.9, n2)  Nov  1955       [cover]
     79   (v.9, n2)  Nov  1955    8p "Skin Game"
     79   (v.9, n2)  Nov  1955    6p "Ace in the Hole"
     79   (v.9, n2)  Nov  1955    5p "Firebug"
     81   (v.9, n3)  Apr  1956       [cover]
     81   (v.9, n3)  Apr  1956    8p "Secret Agent"
     81   (v.9, n3)  Apr  1956    5p "Debt Of Honor"
     81   (v.9, n3)  Apr  1956    1p "The Hit-And-Run Driver"
   s 82   (v.9, n4)  May  1956       [cover]
     82   (v.9, n4)  May  1956    7p "The Payroll Pirates"
   s 83   (v.9, n5)  Oct  1956       [cover]
     83   (v.9, n5)  Oct  1956    6p "Big Failure"
   s 84   (v.9, n6)  Dec  1956       [cover]
     84   (v.9, n6)  Dec  1956    6p "Stakeout"
   s 85   (v.10, n1) Feb  1957       [cover]
     85   (v.10, n1) Feb  1957    7p "The Head Man"
     85   (v.10, n1) Feb  1957    6p "Eight Hours To Alcatraz"
     86   (v.10, n2) Apr  1957       [cover]
     86   (v.10, n2) Apr  1957    7p "The Traitors"
     86   (v.10, n2) Apr  1957    6p "Paid in Full"
   s 87   (v.10, n3) June 1957       [cover]
     87   (v.10, n3) June 1957    7p "The Payroll Bandits"
     87   (v.10, n3) June 1957    6p "Skin Game"
   s 88   (v.10, n4) Aug  1957       [cover]
     88   (v.10, n4) Aug  1957    7p "The Spoilers"
     89   (v.10, n5) Oct  1957    7p "The Counterfeit Combine"
     90   (v.10, n6) Dec  1957       [cover]
     90   (v.10, n6) Dec  1957    7p "Fire Crazy"
     90   (v.10, n6) Dec  1957    6p "Personal Favor"
     91   (v.11, n1) Feb  1958    6p "Power Failure"
     92   (v.11, n2) Apr  1958    5p "On Ice"

Personal Love (Prize)
     1    (v.1, n1)  Sept 1957    6p "Old Faithful"

Prize Comics Western (Prize)
     85   Jan  1951    7p "The Prairie Badman"
     93   May  1952    7p "Hootowls of Cactus Gap"
     98   Mar  1953    7p "Army Beef"
     100  July 1953    7p "Rocking Chair Rustlers"
   s 102  Nov  1953    7p "Plunder of the Rio Puerco"
     108  Nov  1954    7p "Stampede at Snake River"
     113  Sept 1955    7p "Claim Jumpers"
   s 115  Jan  1956       [cover]
     115  Jan  1956    6p "Bad Medicine"
     115  Jan  1956    6p "Arranges a Duel"
     115  Jan  1956    7p "Crisis at the Crossroads"
   s 116  Mar  1956       [cover]
     116  Mar  1956    6p "Outsmarts the Cheyennes"
     116  Mar  1956    6p "Bad Men on the Border"

Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (Prize)
     1    May  1955       [cover]
     1    May  1955    1p "Time Scope"
     1    May  1955    2p "The Mystery On The Moons Of Mars"
     2    July 1955    1p "Space Academy Test"
     2    July 1955    2p "Captain Quick and the Space Scouts"

Young Love (Prize)
   s 19   (v.3, n1)  Mar  1951    8p "The Girl Who Loves Him"
   s 20   (v.3, n2)  Apr  1951    9p "Yours For The Asking"
     23   (v.3, n5)  July 1951    8p "Nag, Nag, Nag"
     24   (v.3, n6)  Aug  1951    8p "Left At The Alter"
     25   (v.3, n7)  Sept 1951    8p "Alice Finds Her Wonderland"
     26   (v.3, n8)  Oct  1951    8p "I Was A Fugitive's Sweetheart"
   ? 61   (v.6, n7)  Sept 1954    6p "Mother Never Told Me"

Young Romance (Prize)
     31   (v.4, n7)  Mar  1951    8p "The Things You're Missing"
   s 32   (v.4, n8)  Apr  1951    7p "The Riddle That Was Gloria"
   ? 33   (v.4, n9)  May  1951    3p "Will You Help Me"
   ? 34   (v.4, n10) June 1951    7p "Whistle Bait"
     95   (v.11, n5) Aug  1958    5p "Hold Back The Tears"