The cover story in this issue is “Lone Shark”, a brilliant 7-page story about a shark who, as a result of undersea atomic explosions, grows a tumor that serves as a second brain, giving it human level intelligence. What really makes the story special is that it’s told from the perspective of the shark.

I fell in love with this story based on the splash page when it was covered in a “Kirby Obscura” column a few issues back in THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR. I couldn’t not buy it when I saw a copy for sale. It doesn’t disappoint. From the punny title on, it’s a masterpiece, with a nice sense of humour in the shark’s “voice”, complaining about the scavenger fish that follow him around, expressing curiousity, complaining about those damn headaches. He becomes almost sympathetic by the end. And the artwork looks great, following his undersea roamings.

The Kirby Checklist also credits him with the one page “The Strangest Facts” feature, a sort of “Ripley’s” collection of stories. It’s printed kind of dark in my copy, but the half-page of a “Juoslavian Amazon” soldier from 1915 is really nice, as is the odd drawing of a swearing parrot.

Kirby also draws the cover to this issue.

This was the final issue of BLACK MAGIC produced by Simon&Kirby, though the book would be revived by Prize a few years later, and then eventually resurrected by Simon as a reprint vehicle for DC in the 1970s.

There’s an untrustworthy guy if I ever saw one. A nice dramatic cover to contrast with the more explicit horror that’s more common on these BLACK MAGIC covers, showing the variety of fantasy stories the book held, and a good showcase for the inking on the S&K covers. A bit heavy on the text, though.

Published 1952

Klarion the Witchboy, along with his pet cat Teekl return to make Jason Blood’s life miserable in this first of a two-part story. First they invade his dreams, making him have a horrific vision of Etrigan in Hell, including a great two page spread of Gargora, a Medusa-like demon of a thousand heads. After Blood awakens, Klarion gathers together six undead witnesses for his spell which creates a doppelganger of Blood, who plans to take his place.

The rest of the issue has Blood, changed to Etrigan, going out and saving his friends from attacks by the false Blood, while slowly fading away from existence, until finally he’s no more than a phantom.

Mike Royer inks the 20-page story and cover, with some uncredited assistance from Bill Stout that Royer mentioned in a few interviews.

Published 1973

One 6-page S&K reprint in this issue, “Girl Who Walked on Water” from BLACK MAGIC #11[v2n5] (1952). Two guys in a mail order firm discover a young girl who is able to walk on water or up walls, simply because she doesn’t believe there’s any reason she shouldn’t be able to.

They see the money-making possibilities in this immediately, but unfortunately before they’re able to arrange a demonstration for the press a young neighbour of the girl sees her walking down a wall and attempts the same thing, getting badly injured. This shakes her confidence so the next time she tried water-walking she has, for the first time, the idea in her mind that she might sink, and so of course does.

A clever little story, with a lot of nice visual touches, including a really great panel where one of the men has to rescue the drowning girl at the end, plus the little details in the girl’s cramped little apartment. Some funny captions, as well, like “my thoughts ran wild and merged and frothed and hissed like soapsuds lurching from one side to the other of my reeling brain”.

Published 1974

Two Simon&Kirby reprints in this issue, both from STRANGE WORLD OF YOUR DREAMS #2 (1952). “The Girl in the Grave” is a 5-page story, starting with dream analyst Richard Temple encountering a nervous woman who it turns out was going to see him about a series of nightmares she’s been having that threaten her performance in her upcoming new job. She’s been having dreams about seeing her own grave, leading to an underground office where she’s overwhelmed by work and then facing rising water.

Of course Temple easily figures this out as symbolic of her doubts and fear of failure. Which even I could have figured out, but it seems to ease her mind.

Some great moody bits of artwork in the dream sequences, especially the graveyard on the opening page.

The other story is a 2-pager from the regular “Send Us Your Dreams” series from the book, with a man describing a dream of trying to race through a storm to a peaceful garden, being blocked by a fence, a horde of dwarves and a highway of futuristic cars. Temple explains that these kinds of dreams are common, and a reaction to tensions raised by the uncertain new world of atom bombs. I’m really not sure how Temple ever actually helps anyone, but man, a Kirby-drawn attack of misshapen dwarves is always fun.

Published 1975

Kirby’s riff off Frankenstein continues in “Rebirth of Evil”. First there’s a flashback to Etrigan’s old encounter with the original Baron Von Rakenstein and his creatures years in the past. Great double page spread of the assorted beasties. Back in the modern day, we see that the Demon didn’t quite manage to wipe out the Rakenstein evil, as the modern Baron has inherited his ancestor’s instruments and has Jason Blood prisoner and plans to put his head on the creature’s body.

Fortunately Blood transforms before the cut can be made, and frees the creature, who also has a telepathic link to a psychic girl who Harry and Randu went for help in finding Jason.

Mike Royer inks the cover and 20-page story.

Published 1973

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