Tag Archives: Black

Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 3, The Same Old Gang

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Harry

(October – December 1951: Black Magic #7 – #8)

During the period covered in this chapter, along with the bimonthly Black Magic, Simon and Kirby were producing two monthly romance titles (Young Romance and Young Love). Not the largest work load for the prolific duo but apparently all the titles were doing well. Since Simon and Kirby received a share of the profits, sales volume was more important then the number of titles produced.

As was true with the concurrent romance titles (Chapter 17 of The Art of Romance), Jack Kirby was producing less then his normal amount of pages of art work. In BM #7 and #8, Jack would do the two covers and a single 8 page story. It was Mort Meskin who was the most prolific artist providing 23 pages for these two issues. Even John Prentice and Marvin Stein produced more pages then Kirby (both with 12 pages each). Bill Draut would provide a single 7 pages story. That was the complete artist line-up for BM #7 and #8; just the regular studio artists of that time. This is another of those chapters where I have been able to identify all the artists who worked on these issues.

Black Magic #7
Black Magic #7 (October 1951) “The Thing in The Fog”, art by Jack Kirby

The full page splash for Jack Kirby’s single story, “The Thing in the Fog”, is quite unusual for the artist. Typically Kirby focuses on the human elements of a picture but here all we see are the backs of three individuals on a make shift raft. The center of attention is the approaching ship and even it is mostly lost in the fog with only the masthead distinctly delimitated. The depiction of fog would normally be expected to be billowing cloud shapes but instead the mists are rendered by a complex of strong crosshatching. The whole effect is one of eerie mystery and impending doom. It may be an unusual splash for Kirby but still one of his greater pieces of art.

Black Magic #8
Black Magic #8 (December 1951) “Invisible Link”, art by Mort Meskin

Meskin’s splash for “Invisible Link” consists of a repeated image although with different clothing and surroundings. Today the artist would probably simply draw one, make a copy and work on the copy to produce the second image. But at this time there were no cheap copiers and so a stat would have to be made. This not only meant added costs but added delay as well. Instead Mort simply redrew the figure. By quickly going back and forth between the two images you can verify the differences between the mouth, nose and other details. The use of a double image is a simple device but one that captures the essence of the story.

Black Magic #8
Black Magic #8 (December 1951) “Invisible Link” page 4, art by Mort Meskin

I have previously remarked that Meskin would sometimes adopt the tall narrow panels that earlier were used by Leonard Starr. In Mort’s case this typically meant dividing the page into two rows each with 3 panels. Above I provide a page with a slightly different approach. The height of the bottom row has been reduced giving even more vertical dimension to the narrow panels of the top row. To make up for the loss of height, the bottom row only has two panels. These tall narrow panel layouts are normally not found in the works by Jack Kirby during this period and that is another of the recurring indications that Kirby was not providing layouts to Mort as some people have claimed. Further it suggests that whatever script was provided to Meskin it either did not completely detail out the art on the page, or if it did Mort felt free to deviate from the directions.

Black Magic #7
Black Magic #7 (October 1951) “Don’t Ride the 5:20″, art by Bill Draut

A skeletal cloaked figure of death looms over a speeding train in this full page splash by Bill Draut. Of course none of these elements are found among Bill’s romance art so it is by depictions of people in the story that allows this work to be safely attributed to him. The detailing of the drawing of the train indicates it was based on a photographic image. But the sharpness, so untypical for Draut, suggests that rather being swiped from a photograph that perhaps the picture was literally glued down on the board and then inked over to provide the desired effect. If true this would be an unusual occurrence at this time although years later Simon would often build up a cover using stats.

Black Magic #7
Black Magic #7 (October 1951) “Old Tom’s Window”, art by John Prentice

It is not unusual for Jack Kirby to assume the role of art editor and make alterations to the work submitted by artists employed by the studio. Normally this is for less talented artists and I do not recall ever seeing Jack fix up the work of Bill Draut or Mort Meskin. I consider John Prentice as in the same talented class with Draut and Meskin which is why I am surprised to see Kirby art editor’s hand at work in some of art submitted by Prentice when he first appeared in Simon and Kirby productions. Compare the first story panel for “Old Tom’s Window with the rest of the page and you will note subtle but important differences. The figures in panel one are simpler and lack the craggy feel found in the splash and the second panel and which is typical of Prentice’s depictions of men. Also observe the difference in brush techniques. Those in the first story panel include picket fence crosshatching, drop strings and abstract arch shadows (see my Inking Glossary for explanations of these terms) that are typical of the Studio Style inking. The brush work is blunt but nuanced and was almost certainly done by Kirby. The inking on the rest of the page lacks these elements and is typical of Prentice’s approach. It is hard for me to understand why Jack felt compelled to work on this panel since the depiction of the men in hospital beds is really not that different from those done by Prentice on the rest of the page. Perhaps it was not so much Jack correcting John as providing him with guidance about how to do the story. If that was true it was with this single panel as the rest of the story is laid out in Prentice’s characterizing manner.

Black Magic #7
Black Magic #7 (October 1951) “No One Human” page 2, art by Marvin Stein

By this time as I mentioned in The Art of Romance (chapter 16), Marvin Stein’s art was beginning to show some significant improvements from his earlier more crude style but has not quite reached his more mature style. I credit much of Stein’s improvement to his close study of Kirby’s art either through close observation while working in the same studio or perhaps by actually inking Jack’s work (although I have not yet verified Stein’s inking of Kirby at this early date). Marvin’s inking has particularly improved from his early version to this one. Normally I prefer to present a splash, but in the case of “No One Human” it is difficult to recognize Stein’s hand in the first page. Instead I show page 2 where the man in panel 3 is very close to Stein’s mature art style. Note Marvin’s frequent angular crosshatching. While this is not generally found in Stein’s work it plays a prominent part of this story but I have to admit I find it rather distracting. Also observe the vertically oriented captions. Kirby would only occasionally use vertical captions so this is an indication that this story was not based on Kirby layouts. Interestingly vertical captions are often used by Mort Meskin who also occasionally uses similar angular crosshatching. I find it hard to believe that Meskin would be supplying Stein with layouts and even harder to accept that Mort would be inking Marvin’s pencils so I suspect that Stein was also carefully studying Meskin’s work as well.

Black Magic #8
Black Magic #8 (December 1951) “Donovan’s Demon”, art by Jack Kirby and Marvin Stein

I have discussed the splash for “Donovan’s Demons” in the past (Summoning Demons). The only modifications of my previous views is that I know come to credit the artist for the story as Marvin Stein. But to quickly review, while the man appears to have been drawn and inked by Stein, the woman is clearly the work of Jack Kirby. Both are background elements with the most important part of the splash being the chair, candles and star pattern on the floor. The candles are good matches for those done by Kirby found elsewhere. Chairs do not normally play such a prominent part in Kirby’s art so it is difficult to make a comparison. However the perspective on the chair is so well done and since this sort of dramatic perspective played such an important art I believe Jack did the chair as well. It is not that unusual to find a Kirby figure in a splash otherwise done by another studio artist but it is odd to see a single figure by another artist in a splash otherwise done by Kirby. Perhaps this was done so that there would be some continuity between the splash and the rest of the story art.

The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 1 (#1 – 3), Expanding Their Fields
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 2 (#4 – 6), Up and Running

The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 4 (#9 – 11), Another Hit
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 5 (#12 – 14), New Faces
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 6 (#15 – 17), Mix Bag
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 7 (#18 – 20), Kirby Returns
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 8 (#21 – 23), The Gang’s All Here
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 9 (#24 – 26), The Party’s Ovetr
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 10 (#27 – 29), A Special Visitor
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 11 (#30 – 33), The End

Posted in 2009/07, 5 Studio, Artists, Draut, Bill, Kirby, Jack, Meskin, Mort, Periods, Prentice, John, Prize, Stein, Marvin, z Archive | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 2, Up and Running

Posted on May 23, 2009 by Harry

(April to August 1951, Black Magic #4 – #6)

Black Magic #4 to #6 were released during the same period as Boys’ Ranch #4 to #6 (for Harvey Comics). Both titles were bimonthlies which mean that the greatest amount of work produced by the Simon and Kirby studio was for Young Romance and Young Love both of which were monthlies. This is not at all unusual for while Simon and Kirby are most famous for their superheroes most of the work they did during their collaboration was for love comics.

The period discussed in this chapter roughly corresponds with chapter 15 of my serial post The Art of Romance.

While Jack Kirby did all the covers for Black Magic (as he would throughout the first run) in terms of the number of pages drawn he was not the primary artist for Black Magic like he was in the earlier issues. That honors now went to Mort Meskin who did 37 pages compared to Jack’s 17 pages. Even Bill Draut with 18 pages of art did more then Kirby. But even Bill was not the second most prolific artist in the issues covered; surprisingly that would go to the newcomer George Roussos who did 20 pages. Vic Donahue who has been absent from Simon and Kirby productions for some months does a single 5 page story. John Prentice is new to the studio and only provides a single 7 page story. Two stories remain without attributions but one of them is a single page feature.


Black Magic #4 (April 1951) “Voodoo on Tenth Avenue”, art by Jack Kirby

Kirby has scaled back on his splash for his only large piece for Black Magic. Still even with half a page Jack could get a lot of impact. It is amazing how Kirby has managed to make the woman both beautiful and evil; no haggard witch here is just a cold and angry heart. What a text book example of the use of abstract arch shadows (see my Inking Glossary). I count 6 of them in this small splash.


Black Magic #5 (June 1951) “The World of Spirits”, art by Jack Kirby

While Kirby’s other contribution to Black Magic #4 to #6 were very short pieces one of them, “The World of Spirits” is not to be neglected. It is a small masterpiece. It is one of those cases where Jack, so famous for his action, has managed to make exciting art out of nothing more then talking heads. Part of what makes a page like the one shown above so vital is how Kirby changes the expressions in every panel. Since the characters are all past their youth Jack can push his already exaggerated eyebrows to much advantage. The inking is also superb. I am not one to automatically attribute good inking jobs to Kirby but the way the spotting is done on the white shirt in the splash and the use of bold cloth folds make me believe that at least much of the spotting was done by Jack himself. A lot of the times these very short pieces just did not seem to get the same attention from the various studio artists as they gave to the more substantial stories. But not Kirby; some of his greatest masterpieces are short stories such as this one.



Black Magic #4 (April 1951) “The Dead Don’t Really Die”, art by Mort Meskin

I am afraid I am giving short shift to Mort Meskin by only including one example despite the fact that he produced far more work then any other artist. This certainly does not reflect on the quality of the work that Mort was producing; Meskin’s Black Magic work is among the best that he ever did. I admit that Mort did some great work for DC after leaving the Simon and Kirby studio but that unfortunately was done under the severely detrimental effects of Comic Code censoring.

I have selected this particular splash page because of its unusual design. Not that the half page splash is so visually different but the fact that the splash panel is actually the first story panel. Typically splash panels are used as the comic book equivalent of a movie trailer; they provide a sort of a synopsis of the story to entice the reader. I do not remember a story splash panel being used in any prior Simon and Kirby production. The use of this device in “The Dead Don’t Really Die” is still pretty much an isolated case but it would become very typical of Simon and Kirby romance comics in the future.


Black Magic #4 (April 1951) “The Jonah”, art by Bill Draut

Black Magic seems to have given Bill Draut the confidence to draw the type of characters that had all but disappeared from his romance work. You normally would not see something like the sailor with the white hat in Bill’s love stories at this time. The splash panel is also something not to be seen in a romance work. How seedy can you get? Beat up trash cans, littered bottles and yeah I am sure that man in the background is just asking directions from the woman. Note the building on our right; the way the bricks are roughly inked as solid black is a mannerism often used by Draut.


Black Magic #5 (June 1951) “Justice for the Dead”, art by John Prentice

I am not sure why but John Prentice did not seem to do as much work for Black Magic as compared to what he did for the romance titles. It certainly is not because he did a poor job on them; quite the contrary. “Justice for the Dead” is a typical Black Magic piece but with a crime slant that shows that John would have made a great crime comic book artist. He had previously worked for Hillman so perhaps he had done some drawing in that genre there. The GCD lists Prentice as also having worked in Gang Busters and Mr. District Attorney for DC but I have not yet verified that. Years later John would do some work for Simon and Kirby’s Police Trap and later yet take over the syndication detective strip Rip Kirby. My knowledge of John Prentice work outside of the Simon and Kirby studio is sadly incomplete but I am working on rectifying that defect.


Black Magic #5 (June 1951) “The Face from The Future”, art by George Roussos

BM #3 (February) marked the earliest appearance of pencils by George Roussos in a Simon and Kirby production. Despite having two stories in that BM #5 and one in the next issue, it is odd that Roussos has not yet appeared in either Young Romance or Young Love. Since George did a lot of inking and was well known to Joe and Jack there is the possibility that he has help with inking Kirby’s work prior to this but I have seen nothing that confirms that conjecture. That Simon and Kirby both knew Roussos is indicated by a sketches both did for him in 1942 (Joe did Hitler in a zoot suite (Poking Fun at Hitler) and Jack did the Boy Commands (A Belated Happy Birthday to Jack Kirby). George also knew Mort Meskin and had inked some of Mort’s work for DC (Early Mort Meskin).

As often happens in Simon and Kirby productions, George Roussos’ splash for “The Face from the Future” uses some inking technique that seemed borrowed from the Studio Style inking. In this case we find picket fence crosshatching (Inking Glossary) on the hooded figure and a rounded shadow in the upper right corner. However it is clearly Roussos doing the inking and not Joe or Jack touching it up. While there is classical picket fence crosshatching on the right ghostly figure it changes as it proceeds to the left and becomes an inking technique not found in the Studio Style. There the shadow is built with short strokes that initially look like the pickets from the picket fence crosshatching but without the rails. The rounded shadow in the upper corner has a ragged edge that again is not typical of the way it usually is done in the Studio Style.


Black Magic #6 (August 1951) “The Girl the Earth Ate Up”, art by George Roussos

George does such a great job on the splash for “The Girl the Earth Ate Up” I could not resist including it. Do not get me wrong Roussos pencils and inking are on the crude side but his use of blacks makes it really work.


Black Magic #6 (August 1951) “A Wolf That Hummed a Nursery Rhyme”, art by Vic Donahue

Vic Donahue has not been appearing in Simon and Kirby productions for a while and this is the only work that I have assigned to him for 1951. It is an odd story and it allows Vic to draw the type of characters that would not have been appropriate for romance work. Even so I just cannot get enthusiastic about Donahue’s effort. Vic was one of the lesser talents in the Simon and Kirby studio and now that all three of the usual suspects (Bill Draut, Mort Meskin and John Prentice) are present Donahue will rarely appear again if at all (my database has no more entries for him after this one).


Black Magic #5 (June 1951) “Follow Me”, art by unidentified artist

There is one Black Magic artist from this period that I have not been able to identify but he does a nice job on “Follow Me”. Good characterization, excellent inking and good graphic story telling.

The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 1 (#1 – 3), Expanding Their Fields

The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 3 (#7 – 8), The Same Old Gang
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 4 (#9 – 11), Another Hit
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 5 (#12 – 14), New Faces
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 6 (#15 – 17), Mix Bag
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 7 (#18 – 20), Kirby Returns
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 8 (#21 – 23), The Gang’s All Here
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 9 (#24 – 26), The Party’s Ovetr
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 10 (#27 – 29), A Special Visitor
The Little Shop of Horrors, Chapter 11 (#30 – 33), The End

Posted in 2009/05, 5 Studio, Donahue, Vic, Draut, Bill, Kirby, Jack, Meskin, Mort, Periods, Prentice, John, Prize, z Archive | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Magic at DC

Posted on January 18, 2009 by Harry

It has been some time since I posted about Black Magic. The last, and only, blog entry solely about the title was almost three years ago (The Old Black Magic). I hope to begin posting more about it in the near future but today I would like to write about the nine Black Magic reprint comics that DC published between November 1973 and May 1975. These show up frequently on eBay and at comic conventions and generally are still reasonably priced. Given the value placed today on even poor copies of the original Black Magic series the DC reprints may seem like a cost effective alternative. They may be as long as the purchaser is aware of what he is getting.


Black Magic #11 (April 1952) by Jack Kirby (on left)
DC Black Magic #6 (November 1974) by Jerry Grandenetti (on right)
Larger image of Black Magic #11
Larger image of DC Black Magic #6

Seven of the covers of the DC reprints were penciled by Jerry Grandenetti and inked by Craig Flessel. Actually my crediting of the inking to Flessel is not based on any study but from conversations with Joe Simon. Joe told me that Craig did a lot of work for him at the time. When I asked what work that was Joe said he used Flessel to do Grandenetti’s inking but he did not identify any work in particular. Most of the covers, like issue #6 shown above were reinterpretations of the covers that were originally done by Jack Kirby. Today it sounds like an odd thing to do but when the reprints were published most readers probably had not seen any of the original Black Magic comics. Three of the coves were original compositions by Grandenetti based on reprinted stories. Frankly Jerry’s reinterpretations are better then his own more fully original covers.


DC Black Magic #4 (July 1974)

One of the covers used for DC’s Black Magic reprints was one never published before. There are at least three versions of this image that Simon and Kirby intended for the first Black Magic cover. I guess in the end they were not satisfied with any of the versions and used a story about an evil doll as the basis for the published cover. The version used for DC issue #4 was altered slightly by the odd inclusion of an upside down lion in the upper left. I really do not know what to make of it. It seems so out of place with Simon’s typical designs and the art does not seem to match Grandenetti’s style either.


DC Black Magic #7 (January 1975)

The other Kirby cover appeared on DC issue #7 but originally on Black Magic #17 (October 1952). It was a great choice it was one of the best from the entire Black Magic series. But look at that woman’s face, that does not look like Kirby! In fact it does not match the original version and looks like the work of Joe Simon.


Black Magic #29 (March 1954) “The Greatest Horror of Them All” page 2, art by Jack Kirby

I have heard it from many people, Kirby did not draw beautiful women. It is a remark that I truly do not understand, at least for the period of the Simon and Kirby collaboration. Granted the lady in the first panel of the image above leaves much to be desired but surely as depicted in panel 4 she would be described as pretty? Even in the last panel where she is overwhelmed by emotions, I would hardly call her unattractive.


DC Black Magic #1 (November 1973) “The Greatest Horror of Them All” page 2, art by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon

Surprisingly Joe Simon shares the same general opinion. In the earlier issues of the DC reprints he replaced Jack’s woman with a creation of his own. Is it truly an improvement? Well the first panel came out better and I leave it up to the reader whether which version of panel 4 is the most attractive. However in the last panel Joe has completely lost the emotion. It is in conveying the emotions of woman that Kirby is truly at his best and that, for me, is why his females are truly beautiful.


“The Angel of Death” panel from page 6, art by Jack Kirby
Black Magic #15 (August 1952) top
DC Black Magic #3 (May 1974) bottom

A careful observer may have noticed that the two pages of “The Greatest Horror of Them All” are not identical even when Joe was not purposely changing the art. There are subtle differences in the inking as well. The art presented in the DC reprints was not made from bleached comic pages. Simon probably knew even then how to remove the color from old comic books. But the bleaching process does not completely remove the color and more importantly the copiers need to provide a quality finish to the process were not yet commonly available in the early ’70s. Instead I believe Joe worked with a technique that I know he used earlier in the Harvey reprints of Fighting American. He re-inked the art on tracing pages over blown up copies the original, but probably bleached, comic book pages. Generally Simon was very careful to trace the original brushstrokes, but sometimes, such as the panel from “The Angel of Death” he did not do so. It may seem surprising that Joe, who had done so much inking over Kirby’s pencils, would have trouble re-inking the reprints, but the use of tracing paper obscures the art in a way that working on the original pencils did not.

Also not that panel from the DC reprint is higher then the original. Oddly this was due to the smaller size of the comics in the ’70s as compared to the ’50s. The size difference is not in the height but in the width of the page. The art in the DC was slightly reduced in size to accommodate the narrower page. To avoid an overly large top and bottom margins some panels were extended in a vertical direction. There in a small strip of art that was not present in the original comics. Expanding the panels was only done in the earlier DC issues. Later the Black Magic title that appeared at the top of the page was replaced with a larger version that was also moved further from the panels. This fixed the problem of the over sized top and bottom margins without the extra work involving in adding the new art to the extended panels.


“The Girl Who Walked on Water” page 6, art by Jack Kirby

The examples I have provided of the re-inking are really the extremes. Most of the art was recreated well enough that only a close examination reveals the differences. But starting in DC issue #6 and completely dominating issues #7 to #9, are some completely heavy handed re-inking. Even without comparison to the original Black Magic stories it is easy to see something is wrong. Look at the inking in the bottom panel from “The Girl Who Walked on Water”; it looks more like a wood cut then the work of a brush. The sudden appearance of this type of inking convinces me that Joe was not the re-inker. He had handed off the work to less skillful hands with rather disastrous results.


“The Clock”, panel from page 6, art by Jack Kirby
Black Magic #2 (December 1950) top
DC Black Magic #7 (January 1975) bottom

It is like watching a train wreck. I just cannot help myself from providing another comparison between the “woodcut” inking and the masterly studio style inking of the original.


Black Magic #32 (September 1954) “Maniac” page 5, art by Jack Kirby

So far I have been describing the art, but were the stories changed when DC reprinted them? There is good reason to expect that they might have been as the original Black Magic was produced before the creation of the Comic Code Authority. In fact one aim of the Comic Code was to eliminate horror comics completely. In this they succeeded and Black Magic was one of the casualties. But after awhile the Code was relaxed slightly and Prize resurrected the Black Magic title in 1957 this time with the help of Joe Simon alone. Although the title was brought back the content could not be, the Comic Code would not allow it. However by the ’70s the Code had been relaxed even further. In fact horror comics were in a period of popularity. It was still tame stuff compared to what was done pre-Code at say EC, but at least it was permissible to have stories about vampires, werewolves and other monsters. It is an indicator about how relaxed the Comic Code had become in the ’70s as well as how comparatively tame the original Black Magic series were in the early ’50s that I have only found a single case of a story changed for the DC reprint. This was the total elimination of page 5 of the story “Maniac” along with some minor modifications to the captions of the next page to accommodate the sudden leap in the story.

So are the DC Black Magic comics a relatively cheap replacement for the much more expensive Prize Comics version? Yes if all you want is a good read. But if you want to study the art closely the reprints are simply not the thing to examine. The best description of the process used in making the reprints is recreation. In discussions about the art recreations in recent Marvel reprints many have pointed back to the technique that Simon used as justification for similar methods used today. This is ironic because while Simon was limited by the primitive technology then available, today we have computers, scanners and quality printing.

I have created a checklist for the DC Black Magic that includes references to the original source. It is available in the sidebar as well.

Posted in 2009/01, 9 DC (late), Odds & Ends, Periods, Topic, z Archive | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Prize Black Magic Checklist

Posted on January 1, 2006 by Harry 

Last update: 11/20/2010

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

Black Magic (Prize)
  1 (v.1, n.1) October 1950
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Last Second Of Life" 10 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "The Woman In The Mirror" 6 pg - P:Meskin I:[Meskin]
    "His Father's Footsteps" 5 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "Don't Look Now" 6 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "The Idol" 2 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "When You  Were Alive" 6 pg - P:[Premiani]
    "My Dolly Is The Devil" 7 pg - P:[Starr]
  2 (v.1, n.2) December 1950
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "The Scorn Of The Faceless People" 10 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "The Cheerful Old Lady In Black" 7 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The Cloak" 7 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Out of Your Mind" 2 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "I've Seen You Before" 6 pg - P:[Premiani]
    "Yesterday You Died" 8 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
  3 (v.1, n.3) February 1951
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "A Silver Bullet For Your Heart" 11 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "A Curse On You" 8 pg - P:Meskin I:[Meskin]
    "Satan's Sister" 7 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "The Signal" 2 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The World Of Shadows" 6 pg - P:[Roussos]
    "The Voices In The Night" 6 pg - P:Stein I:Stein
  4 (v.1, n.4) April 1951
    (cover) - P:{Kirby}
    "Voodoo On Tenth Avenue" 9 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Hideout" 8 pg - P:[Roussos]
    "A Man's Last Dream" 8 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The Strangest Facts" 1 pg -
    "Up to the Jury" 2 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Dead Don't Really Die" 6 pg - P:Meskin I:[Meskin]
    "The Jonah" 7 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
  5 (v.1, n.5) June 1951
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Who Walks In My Dream" 8 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "Justice For The Dead" 7 pg - P:[Prentice] I:[Prentice]
    "Sleep, Perchance To Die" 9 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The World Of Spirits" 2 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Death of a Sleepwalker" 2 pg - W:Alexander  - (illustrated text)
    "Follow Me" 6 pg -
    "The Face From The Future" 7 pg - P:[Roussos]
  6 (v.1, n.6) August 1951
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "The Masterpiece" 6 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The Moment Of Shadow" 5 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "A Wolf That Hummed A Nursery Rhyme" 5 pg - P:Donahue
    "Union With The Dead" 3 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Vacation in the Mountains" 2 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Skull's Eyes Never Sleep" 6 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "The Girl The Earth Ate Up" 5 pg - P:[Roussos]
  7 (v.2, n.1) October 1951
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "The Thing In The Fog" 8 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "No One Human" 4 pg - P:[Stein] I:[Stein]
    "The Man Who Captured A Ghost" 8 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The Tailor's Dummy" 2 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Old Tom's Window" 4 pg - P:[Prentice] I:[Prentice]
    "Don't Ride The 5:20" 7 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
  8 (v.2, n.2) December 1951
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Donovan's Demon" 8 pg - P:[Stein & Kirby] I:[Stein]- (Kirby splash except right figure)
    "Invisible Link" 9 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The House That Tried To Kill Me" 6 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The Nightmare" 2 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Curse Of The Crystal Ball" 8 pg - P:[Prentice] I:[Prentice]
  9 (v.2, n.3) February 1952
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Faith Healer" 4 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "Mark Of Evil" 7 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "Usnea, Moss Of Death" 1 pg - P:[Roussos] I:[Roussos]
    "The Ghost Of Chateau Bois" 5 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The Man In The Judge's Chair" 5 pg -  - (signed J. G.)
    "A Friend for Billy" 2 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Crusaders In No Man's Land" 3 pg - P:[Prentice] I:[Prentice]
    "You Should Live So Long" 5 pg - P:Roussos I:[Roussos]
  10 (v.2, n.4) March 1952
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Dead Man's Lode" 8 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Memory House" 3 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The World Beyond Reality" 4 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "Seven Years Bad Luck" 8 pg - P:[Stein] I:[Stein]
    "The Typewriter of Henry Silvers" 2 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Coffin For Your Wedding Day" 3 pg - P:[Prentice] I:[Prentice]
    "The Assassin" 7 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
  11 (v.2, n.5) April 1952
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "The Girl Who Walked On Water" 7 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Drop Me Of At The Cemetery" 5 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The Thirteenth Floor" 7 pg - P:[Prentice] I:[Prentice]
    "The Rendezvous" 2 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Room For One More" 4 pg -
    "Through All Eternity" 8 pg - P:Roussos I:[Roussos]
  12 (v.2, n.6) May 1952
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "It's Your Funeral" 8 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "Contact" 7 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "Say the Magic Words" 7 pg - P:Walton
    "A Man's Castle" 2 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "A Giant Walks The Earth" 7 pg - P:[Meskin & Kirby] I:[Meskin & Kirby]- (Kirby pencils first page, inks part)
  13 (v.2, n.7) June 1952
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Up There" 6 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "The Handwriting On The Wall" 3 pg - P:J. G.
    "A Rag, A Bone And A Hank Of Hair" 7 pg - P:[Meskin & Kirby?] I:[Meskin]- (Kirby splash)
    "Visions Of Nostradamus" 2 pg - P:[Eadeh & Kirby]  - (Kirby splash)
    "Tiny Hands of Retribution" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "When I Live Again" 7 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "Minuet by Moonlight" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Where Is Alfred Weeks" 5 pg - P:[McCarty]
  14 (v.2, n.8) July 1952
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Choose A Face" 8 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The Courts Of Sleep" 5 pg - P:[McCarty]
    "Witch Girl" 7 pg - P:Walton
    "A Man's Greed" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Mailed Fist Of McGonigle" 4 pg - P:Roussos I:Roussos
    "Double Destiny" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Voice Of The Dead" 7 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
  15 (v.2, n.9) August 1952
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "The Angel Of Death" 7 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Dead Ringer" 6 pg - P:[McCarty]
    "Ashes To Ashes" 6 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "The Flight that Failed" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Shades Of Rex" 4 pg - P:[Roussos] I:[Roussos]
    "Last Date" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Promised Land" 7 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
  16 (v.2, n.10) September 1952
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "The Sniper" 5 pg - P:[McCarty]
    "Murder in Grove County" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Possessed" 7 pg - P:[Roussos] I:[Roussos]
    "Fly By Night" 7 pg - P:Walton
    "The Cursed Relic" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The End Of His Rope" 7 pg - P:[Eadeh]
    "Number 23" 4 pg - P:[Roussos] I:[Roussos]
  17 (v.2, n.11) October 1952
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Freak" 8 pg - P:[Kirby] I:[Roussos]
    "Guardian Angel" 6 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Roussos]
    "I Wouldn't Let Him Die" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Hoof Beats Of The Devil's Horse" 4 pg - P:[Roussos] I:[Roussos]
    "Warning" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Mary Celeste: Ship Of Evil" 1 pg -
    "The Soul Of A Man" 8 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "The Boy Who Was 2000 Years Old" 4 pg - P:[McCarty]
  18 (v.2, n.12) November 1952
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Nasty Little Man" 8 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "You'll Die Laughing" 6 pg - P:[McCarty]
    "The Man with a Vision" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Horror That Came Out Of The Sea" 6 pg - P:[Roussos] I:[Roussos]
    "The Red Bird" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Poltergeist" 1 pg - P:[J. G.]
    "A Deadly Dream" 2 pg - P:[J. G.]
    "Come Claim My Corpse" 2 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Detour, Lorelei On Highway 52" 1 pg - P:[McCarty & Kirby]  - (Kirby splash in part)
  19 (v.3, n.1) December 1952
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Sammy's Wonderful Glass" 8 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Dead Man's Isle" 7 pg - P:Walton
    "The Monster" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Return From The Grave" 4 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The Swindle" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Man Eater" 5 pg - P:[McCarty]
    "This'll Kill You" 7 pg - P:[Roussos] I:[Roussos]
  20 (v.3, n.2) January 1953
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Birth After Death" 3 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Hatchet Man" 5 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "Pied Piper Of Flame" 4 pg - P:[McCarty]
    "Ruby Riddle" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Patter Of Little Feet" 7 pg - P:[McCarty]
    "The Strangest Stories Ever Told" 1 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "The Malay Boot" 1 pg - P:[Roussos] I:[Roussos]
    "Paid in Full" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Crash Report" 5 pg - P:[Prentice] I:[Prentice]
  21 (v.3, n.3) February 1953
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "The Feathered Serpent" 7 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Warning Voice" 3 pg - P:[McCarty]
    "The Practical Joker" 4 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "Vigil" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Valley Of Phantoms" 7 pg - P:[Eadeh]
    "The Mind Reader" 2 pg - P:[Roussos]
    "The Magic Million" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "A Ghost Story" 7 pg - P:[McCarty]
  22 (v.3, n.4) March 1953
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "The Monsters On The Lake" 9 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Death By Magic" 1 pg -
    "Fletcher's Talent" 5 pg - P:[Eadeh]
    "Stanwick's Theory" 6 pg - P:Walton
    "Ready to Retire" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Horrible Herman" 4 pg - P:[Prentice] I:[Prentice]
    "Barbados Burial Vault" 2 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "The Only Job" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Soul Catcher" 4 pg -
  23 (v.3, n.5) April 1953
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Those Who Are About To Die" 5 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "The Faces Of Death" 6 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "Race with Death" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Land Of The Dead" 6 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "The Guiding Light" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Peg O'Nell's Ghost" 1 pg -
    "Evil Spirit" 5 pg - P:[Eadeh]
  24 (v.3, n.6) May 1953
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "The Changeling" 6 pg - P:[Roussos]
    "His Own Business" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "After I'm Gone" 4 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Strange Predictions" 1 pg -
    "The Lady Is A Ghost" 6 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "Stars Of Fate" 1 pg -
    "The Shadow" 1 pg -
    "Bring Back the Dream" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "As Real As Life" 6 pg - P:[Eadeh]
  25 (v.4, n.1) July 1953
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Strange old Bird" 6 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "The Human Cork" 3 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "The Light" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Romantic Souls" 6 pg - P:[Eadeh]
    "The Crash" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Human Bloodhound" 1 pg -
    "Escape From The Coffin" 1 pg -
    "A Beast Is In The Streets" 7 pg - P:[Kirby]
  26 (v.4, n.2) September 1953
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Fool's Paradise" 6 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "The Beast In You" 5 pg - P:[Eadeh]
    "The Wish" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Sting Of Scorpio" 4 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "The Strange Antics Of The Mystic Mirror" 3 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "The Voice" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Demon Wind" 6 pg - P:[Kirby]
  27 (v.4, n.3) November 1953
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "The Cat People" 6 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "A Hole In His Head" 6 pg - P:[Ditko]
    "The Nightmare" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Merry Ghosts Of Campbell Castle" 5 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Ghost Pictures" 1 pg -
    "Murder?" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Don't Call On The Dead" 6 pg - P:[McCarty]
  28 (v.4, n.4) January 1954
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "An Eye For An Eye" 5 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Thought Transfer" 1 pg -
    "Screaming Doll" 5 pg - P:Benulis
    "The Light Beyond" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Alive After Five Thousand Years" 5 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Great Injustice" 1 pg -
    "Buried Alive" 6 pg - P:[Ditko]
    "Miss Fancher's Living Death" 2 pg - P:[Eadeh]
    "The Crystal Ball" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
  29 (v.4, n.5) March 1954
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "The Monster Of St. Laurant" 4 pg - P:[McCarty]
    "The Greatest Horror Of Them All" 5 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "No Cure" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Madame Cyanide and Mister Tricks" 5 pg - P:[Ditko]
    "Lady in the Moon" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Message from a Murder Victim" 3 pg - P:[Eadeh]
    "Cry Of Death" 2 pg -
    "Flight Without Wings" 1 pg -
    "The Flying Dutchman" 5 pg - P:[McCarty]
  30 (v.4, n.6) May 1954
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "The Head Of The Family" 8 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Mental Murder" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Ghost In The House" 4 pg - P:[Eadeh]
    "The Devil, You Say" 6 pg -
    "Death Omen" 1 pg -
    "The Black Piano" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Lover, Come Back To Me" 6 pg -
  31 (v.5, n.1) July 1954
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Gargoyle" 6 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "A Dish of Jello" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Slaughter-House" 6 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "The Half-Men" 6 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
    "Hungry As A Wolf" 6 pg -
    "Three Million Bucks" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Hungry As A Wolf" 1 pg - P:[? & Kirby]  - (Kirby splash)
  32 (v.5, n.2) September 1954
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Maniac" 8 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "Facts On Witchcraft" 1 pg -
    "The Monsters" 4 pg - P:[Draut] I:[Draut]
    "It" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "The Little People" 5 pg -
    "The Mirror" 1 pg -
    "Welcome Home" 1 pg -  - (illustrated text)
    "Sir Henry Wilson's Death" 1 pg -
    "The Devil Doll" 5 pg - P:[Meskin] I:[Meskin]
  33 (v.5, n.3) November 1954
    (cover) - P:[Kirby]
    "Lone Shark" 7 pg - P:[Kirby]
    "The Strangest Facts" 1 pg -
    "Apprentice" 1 pg -  - (text)
    "This Time You'll Die" 5 pg -
    "Wake Up The Dead" 4 pg -
    "The Ring" 1 pg -  - (text)
    "Mister Tree" 7 pg -
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DC Black Magic Checklist

Posted on January 1, 2006 by Harry 

Last update: 1/17/2009

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

Black Magic (National/DC)
  1 (v.1, n.1) November 1973
    (cover) - p:[Grandenetti]
    "Maniac" 7pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #32 Sep 1954)
    "The Head of the Family" 8pg - (r BM #30 May 1954)
    "The Greatest Horror Of Them All" 5pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #29 Mar 1954)
    "The Vigil" 1pg - (text)
  2 (v.1, n.2) January 1974
    (cover) - p:[Grandenetti]
    "Fool's Paradise" 6pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #26 Sep 1953)
    "The Cat People" 6pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #27 Nov 1953)
    "Birth After Death" 3pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #20 Jan 1953)
    "Those Who Are About To Die" 5pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #23 Apr 1953)
    "The Red Bird" 1pg - (text)
  3 (v.1, n.3) May 1974
    (cover) - p:[Grandenetti]
    "Nasty Little Man" 8pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #18 Nov 1952)
    "The Angel Of Death" 7pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #15 Aug 1952)
    "The Courts Of Sleep" 5pg - (r BM #14 Jul 1952)
    "Minuet by Moonlight" 1pg - (illustrated text)
  4 (v.1, n.4) July 1974
    (cover) - p:[Kirby & Grandenetti?]
    "The Girl The Earth Ate Up" 5pg - (r BM #6 Aug 1951)
    "His Father's Footsteps" 5pg - p:[Meskin] - (r BM #1 Oct 1950)
    "The Man with a Vision" 1pg - (text)
    "Last Second Of Life" 10pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #1 Oct 1950)
  5 (v.1, n.5) September 1974
    (cover) - p:[Grandenetti]
    "Strange Old Bird" 6pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #25 Jun 1953)
    "It's Your Funeral" 8pg - p:[Meskin] - (r BM #12 May 1952)
    "Up There" 6pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #13 Jun 1952)
    "Warning" 1pg - (text)
  6 (v.1, n.6) November 1974
    (cover) - p:[Grandenetti]
    "The Thirteenth Floor" 7pg - p:[Prentice] - (r BM #11 Apr 1952)
    "Satan's Sister" 7pg - p:[Draut] - (r B|M #3 Feb 1951)
    "The Girl Who Walked On Water" 6pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #11 Apr 1952)
    "I Wouldn't Let Him Die" 1pg - (text)
  7 (v.1, n.7) January 1975
    (cover) - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #17 Oct 1952)
    "The Cloak" 7pg - p:[Kirby] - (r BM #2 Dec 1950)
    "The Mary Celeste: Ship Of Evil" 1pg - (r BM #17 Oct 1952)
    "Freak" 8pg - p:[Meskin] - (r BM #17 Oct 1952)
    "The Boy Who Was 2000 Years Old" 4pg - (r BM #17 Oct 1952)
    "Murder?" 1pg - (text)
  8 (v.1, n.8) March 1975
    (cover) - p:[Grandenetti]
    "When You Were Alive" 6pg - p:[Premiani?] - (r BM #1 Oct 1950)
    "The Girl In The Grave" 5pg - p:[Kirby] - (r SWYD #2 Sep 1952)
    "My  Dolly Is The Devil" 7pg - (r BM #1 Oct 1950)
    "Send Us Your Dreams" 2pg - p:[Kirby] - (r SWYD #3 Nov 1952)
    ""It"" 1pg - (text)
  9 (v.1, n.9) May 1975
    (cover) - p:[Grandenetti] - (r BM #2 Dec 1950)
    "Yesterday You Died" 8pg - p:[Draut] - (r BM #2 Dec 1950)
    "Who Walks In My Dreams" 8pg - p:[Meskin] - (r BM #5 Jun 1951)
    "The Woman In The Tower" 4pg - p:[Kirby] - (r SWYD #3 Nov 1952)
    "Double Destiny" 1pg - p:[Kirby] - (text)
Posted in Black Magic, DC, Comic Checklists | Tagged , | Comments Off