More reprints repackaged by Joe Simon from the 1950s Prize series, two 6-pagers by Simon&Kirby, plus one by Mort Meskin.

“Strange Old Bird” from BLACK MAGIC v4#1[#25] (1953) is told by the old caretaker of an apartment building, about an old woman who lived in the building and took care of birds. She tells him the story of the immortal firebird the Phoenix, which turns up in the form of a sick bird she takes care of.

A nice short story, and I like the way Kirby drew the Phoenix (especially compared to the odd non-Kirby new cover where the bird looks like a man in a bird suit).

“Up There” from BLACK MAGIC v2#7[#13] (1952) is a story about a series of test pilots who die in a series of crashes. One of the pilots waiting for his turn sees his wife die of a lingering illness, and then goes up and crashes, with the recording equipment on his plane recording him imagining the ghost of his dead wife, which is then backed up by a photo found in the crash. Not quite sure I got the point of this story, and I’ve seen the basic theme done better, but the splash page is really nice.

Published 1974