Category Archives: Periods

Featured Story, The Vision from Marvel Mystery #25

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Posted in 2007/01, 3 Timely, Assorted, Featured Work, Periods, Topic, z Archive.

Marvel Mystery Comics #25
Marvel Mystery Comics #25 (November 1941) The Vision, page 1 by Jack Kirby

Professor Enric Zagnar is the leading authority of metaphysics in the country. But he is forced to resign because of his predictions that man will one day be able to control the forces of nature. He retreats from the town vowing revenge and dedicates himself to uncovering the secrets that would make his predictions come true. A short while later a storm hits the town. This is no ordinary storm but one with much fury and persistence. Smoke from a lightning strike of a tree allows the Vision to enter to save the people of the town. He directs the townsmen to climb the nearby mountain in order avoid the flood that forms. But before the people can reach the top a blast from dynamite prevents them from going further. It is Zagner at the peak, relishing his revenge. Zagner urges the storm on using a spell that he reads from a book entitled “Black Magic”. The Vision proceeds to climb in an attempt to stop Zagner. Seeing the Vision, Zagner in turn rolls down a large boulder and when that is unsuccessful throws more dynamite. Despite all this the Vision reaches the top and a fight with Zagnar ensues. Though a dirty trick Zagnar defeats the Vision. Just when he is about to deliver the coup de grace with a large rock, Zagnar gets hit by a bolt of lightning from his own storm! The Vision recovers and reads out the counter spell from the Black Magic book to end the storm and save the day.

Marvel Mystery Comics #25
Marvel Mystery Comics #25 (November 1941) The Vision, page 6 by Jack Kirby

As with the Vision story from Marvel Mystery #24 this splash page makes use of over sized figures. Note the small houses being washed away by the rushing water. I really like the way the title separates the Vision from his foe. The only fault I find with this exciting splash, and it is a minor one, is the “pinning” of the “The” in the title. It seems so unnecessary for this splash. Further it really fails as trompe l’oeil. Not only does the pin not look realistic but also the sharp end is visible so how is the title “pinned” down?

The title of the book that Zagnar uses, Black Magic, is a common enough term. Still it seems interesting that of all the possible titles that Simon and Kirby could have chosen they picked one that they would use again for a comic book that they would launch about nine years later.

The Vision is an unusual hero for a comic book. Comic book art depends on the visual image to provide an indication of the character. Heroes are handsome, heroines beautiful and villains ugly. Although the hero, the Vision is anything but handsome. Of course what Simon and Kirby are doing is to use the Visions unnatural appearance as an indication that he is not of this world. I was just simplifying things when I said villains are ugly, a good comic book artist will go well beyond just making the foe ugly. With his name, Enric Zagnar, is marked as different. Although foreign sounding the origin of the name was probably purposely left ambiguous. Notice that in the first two story panels at the bottom Kirby provides Zagnar with what was then considered long hair. Such hair length was the mark of an intellectual and appropriate for the then Professor Zagnar. In the first panel Zagnar looks fairly normal (but there are those big ears that Kirby would often draw with heads viewed from the back). The next panel provides a glimpse of Zagnar’s already disturbed personality heightened by being partly cut off with the panel edges. The splash panel provides what Zagnar will look like when he becomes at the end of his transformation. You do not need the eyes or the grotesque mouth, the hair alone reveals that Zagnar has gone way past the edge of sanity.

Featured Story, The Vision from Marvel Mystery #24

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Posted in 2007/01, 3 Timely, Assorted, Featured Work, Periods, Topic, z Archive.

In my serial post on “Early Jack Kirby” I commented that I regretted that I only had a few scans of The Vision from Marvel Mystery Comics. I find those that I have very enjoyable provided that to do not let some of the logical inconsistencies bother you. I believe the only way to enjoy any superhero story is to not take them too seriously. Actually I rather enjoy the inconsistencies.

Marvel Mystery Comics #24
Marvel Mystery Comics #24 (October 1941) The Vision by Jack Kirby page 1

The Vision lives in another dimension, entering and exiting this one through smoke. The sole purpose of his visits to Earth seems to be fight evil, which despite the war going on in Europe and Asia, somehow only occurs in America. In this story his foe is someone the Vision is already familiar with. It is Grosso from the war-dust world who has a similar mode of transportation as the Vision only instead of smoke uses metal dust. Grosso comes from a world that relishes war and he has decided that our dust free world would be a suitable place for his people to live and easy to conquer. Grosso method is to enter a weapon factory via the metal dust they produce and destroy it. The Vision soon detects the presence of Grosso’s evil and enters into battle with him. Grosso does seem to have some advantages. One is that he is able to control how fully he is in this dimension. When Grosso is only partly in our world the Vision is unable to touch him. Grosso is also able to use metal dust as a weapon or even a poison.

But the biggest difficulty that the Vision faces is that he does not know where Grosso is going to attach next. The Vision puts on a hood and some glasses as a disguise and gets hired at the largest factory expecting that Grosso will turn up. He tells his employer that he hides his face because it was disfigured when a factory was destroyed by Grosso. The ability of the Vision to appear as a normal mortal that was seen in the first Vision story now seems gone. Also surprising is that nobody seems to make any comment about the disguised Vision’s green hands. Of course in the end the Vision soundly defeats Grosso. It would even appear that Grosso was killed, but we all know how often a good villain stays dead.

This Vision story came out toward the end of Simon and Kirby’s stay at Timely and it shows. Included are lots of irregularly shaped panels, figures that extend beyond the panel edges, running figures with legs stretch out to an unrealistic degree, and square fists. The splash page is particularly effective. Note how over large the figures of the Vision and Grosso are. Such use of over sized figures was not typical for Kirby through most of his career. On the other hand Joe Simon did use large figures from time to time both before teaming up with Jack and after their split. Covers create by Simon and Kirby at Timely never used this motif but over sized figures occur often in their Timely splashes.

Marvel Mystery Comics #24
Marvel Mystery Comics #24 (October 1941) The Vision by Jack Kirby page 7

Check out the dialog from the third panel on page eight.

Vision: Now, Grosso, we face each other for the last time! One of us is not going to leave this factory alive!

Grosso: And it isn’t going to be me!

I have to admit I had to read it several times before I could convince myself that they got it right. It reminds me very much of the script in another story that Jack drew about years later from Tales of Suspense #92

on last panel of page 9

Cap: Okay mister, I’m ready for you! So let’s wrap it up. Only one of us is gonna walk out of here under his own steam…

on first panel of next page

Cap: and it won’t be me!

In this case comes out wrong no matter how many times you read it. Because the story was done by the Marvel method it is not clear whether this snafu should be blamed on Jack Kirby or Stan Lee. Despite the fact that the Vision and Cap stories were done about 20 years apart, the similarity between these two scripts make me suspect that it was Jack who came up with Cap’s goof-up.

Boy Commandos Ashcan

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Posted in 2007/01, 4 DC (early), Odds & Ends, Periods, Topic, z Archive.

Recently on the Kirby List scholar Stan Taylor queried about a Boy Commandos ashcan that appears in the GCD. I am not sure what the proper Internet etiquette is so I do not want to link directly to GCD’s image of this ashcan. So to get the most out of what I will write here, it would be best to make a new window and following my link to GCD and search for Boy Commandos. You will end up with 3 results, one of which is clearly marked ashcan. Although the GCD lists two ashcans (1 and nn) an image is only provided for #1.

Ashcans are used by comic publishers to secure the copyrights to a comic book title. I have heard some people say it is to get the trademark, but I believe you have to register trademarks not secure them by publishing them. But I am not a lawyer so I could be wrong. Anyway only a few copies of a particular ashcan would be made and none would be sold. Generally existing artwork would be used, and the inside story might not even match the cover. Ashcans are typically black and white, without color. I have never had the opportunity to closely examine an old ashcan but since Xerox did not exist during the golden age I suspect the are made from stats. If so they could not have taken long to make, in fact they were probably made using whatever stats that were available on hand. Once an ashcan comic served its purpose the copies could be discarded, hence the name ashcan.

Detective Comics #68
Detective Comics #68 (October 1942) by Jack Kirby

The Boy Commandos ashcan is dated Sept./Oct. and there is a copyright below for 1942. Notice that there is no trademark indication so at least in this case copyright seems to be the purpose. Stan’s original question was had the art for this ashcan cover been published before? By a coincidence I had recently borrowed Joe Simon’s copy of Detective Comics #68 for scanning and could verify that the cover was the same as the splash page for the Boy Commandos story in that book. There are some differences, mostly in all the paste-ups. The main difference in the artwork is a group of planes that appear at the top of the splash page show up on the center right on the ashcan cover, and one of the planes was left out in the ashcan version. The splash page appears to be the original because you can still see on the ashcan an abrupt stop to some smoke where the left edge of one of the paste-ups had been. The planes where moved because they would have been covered by the title of the ashcan. Some smoke lines were also added on the ashcan in a manner very different then what was done on the rest of the art.


Detective Comics #65 (July 1942) by Jack Kirby and Jerry Robinson

My original reaction to this ashcan was that DC was just trying to cover their basis and protect copyrights in case they ever decided to actual publish a Boy commando comic. I thought that it was probably too early for DC to realize that the Boy Commandos were a hit. The Boy Commandos were introduced in Detective Comics #64 (June 1942). They were a backup story to a comic whose principal feature was Batman. Judging from the date and art of this ashcan it was made only four or five months after the first Boy Commandos story. That means that when the ashcan was made the first story had only been out on the newsstands a month or two. I did not think that would be enough time for DC to realize that it was successful enough to warrant its own magazine.

Boy Commandos #1
Boy Commandos #1 (Winter 1942) by Jack Kirby

What convinced me that my original impression was wrong was the logo. The ashcan cover does not use the same logo as the splash page. I have not seen all the early Boy Commando stories but all that I have seen use the same logo. The logo for the ashcan is instead the logo that would be used on the actual covers for Boy Commandos Comics. I do not think DC would have gone through the trouble to make a proper logo for the comic if they did not think they were actually going to create a book to use it on. Even in the short time the Boy commandos had been out there must have been some sort of response that convinced DC that the feature deserved its own title. Joe Simon has always said that Boy Commandos was a top seller. Sandman and the Newsboy Legion, other Simon and Kirby features for DC, never got their own titles.

Early Jack Kirby, Chapter 7, Marvel Mystery

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Posted in 2007/01, 3 Timely, Assorted, Early Jack Kirby, Periods, Serial Posts, z Archive.

Marvel Mystery #12
Marvel Mystery Comics #12 (October 1940)

October (cover date) was a relatively slow time for Jack Kirby. The only full comic story that Jack drew was for Blue Bolt. As we saw Jack had been doing all the penciling for Blue Bolt starting with issue #4. The October story for Blue Bolt was issue #5, the first comic that had a Simon and Kirby credit line. Also to come out in October was Famous Funnies #75. However the art for Lightin’ and the Lone Rider may actually have been done sometime earlier. Even if it was done at the same time as Blue Bolt #5, it is only two pages.

The only other work Jack produced for October was the cover for Marvel Mystery #12. This was Kirby’s fifth comic book cover. Some of his earlier covers (Champions #9, Red Raven #1 and Daring Mystery #6) contain a certain awkward quality. But with Marvel Mystery #12 Jack has arrived to a cover style which he would use quite successfully later with Captain America. The hero for this cover, the Angel, is one of the backup features for this title. Judging from the covers it is not clear how much of a backup the Angel really was originally meant to be. The Angel had appeared on four of the previous eleven covers. Kirby’s Angel cover would be that hero’s last for the title with future Marvel Mystery covers exclusively by either the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, or most frequently both of them.

Unfortunately Jack Kirby would never draw an Angel story. Judging from this cover I suspect that if he had it would have been an interesting read. As was typical in Simon and Kirby covers, the hero arrives just at the critical time. He plows through his diminutive green advisories, shoving one of them in the face in a manner similar to that used for the cover of Champion Comics #10 (see Early Jack Kirby, Chapter 5). The Angel does not use the gun on his most immediate foes. Instead the hero reserves it for saving the beautiful victim, as the blurb says “could the Angel be in time”? Exactly what is going to happen to the woman is not completely clear. A first glance it looks like nothing more then that a mask will be placed on her. On closer look the mask has a strap with a sort of bolt attached. This suggests that the mask will be more then just worn, her face will be forced into the mask. Will this result in some sort of transformation? We may not know what will happen, but the lady seems to have some sort of idea as she squirms away trying to avoid her fate. The victim is unable to move very far as she is being held tightly by two gigantic hands. The hands might seem to belong to a statue, but the color and glint of the eyes, as well as the open mouth, convinces me that this is some monstrous being in league with the little green men. This cover effectively does what it is meant to do, perk the interest of the perspective buyer. The cover is not meant to provide all the answers, but unfortunately the Angel feature inside is a completely different story so questions about exactly what is going on can never be cleared.

Wonderworld Comics #15
Wonderworld Comics #15 (July 1940) by Joe Simon

The cover has some props that would be stock features for many Simon and Kirby covers. The vessel with an open fire in the lower right goes back to some of the covers that Joe Simon did for Fox Comics such as Wonderworld #15 (see above). The chains hanging from the wall can be traced back to Silver Streak Comics #2 one of Joe’s first cover work. The barred window would be used repeatedly in the future. The descending staircase leading into the room would also often show up again.

Marvel Mystery #13
Marvel Mystery #13 (November 1940) The Vision, page 1

For November Jack Kirby penciled a new feature, the Vision. This feature would appear as one of the backup stories in Marvel Mystery. Up to now this was one of the few successful features launched with Jack’s involvement. Jack had be penciling Blue Bolt but that had been started by Joe Simon alone. The Red Raven, a feature started while Joe was editor at Timely, was not only short lived but also assigned to another artist. Jack was involved with Marvel Boy who premiered in Daring Mystery #6, but that hero would only reappear one further time in 1943. The only other ongoing comic feature that Jack started was the Solar Legion for Crash Comics see Early Jack Kirby, Chapter 3. the Solar Legion did last five issues, with the first three stories done by Jack. The Vision would be longer lasting and Jack would be involved in it throughout his stay at Timely.

The Vision is an odd sort of superhero. He was initially brought forth as a scientific attempt to reach the supernatural world. Once this was done, the Vision was then able to appear and disappear from smoke of any kind. This power is reminiscent of the Flame, a Fox hero that could teleport using any fire as a portal. Not only was Joe Simon previously an editor at Fox but he did several covers of the Flame (see Wonderworld #15 above). Although normally residing in another dimension, the Vision also had a secret mortal identity.

It is I Aarkus in material shape. Only those approaching death can see me in my true form as the Vision!

This despite the fact that his “unmaterial shape” had been seen by others who were not facing his retribution. However if you are willing to accept some logical inconsistencies the Vision stories are rather good. As with the cover for Marvel Mystery #12, Simon and Kirby has fully arrived at a story telling style that would shortly bring them fame with Captain America.

Marvel Mystery #13
Marvel Mystery #13 (November 1940) The Vision, page 8

We have seen that Marvel Boy had some features that would later be the used for Captain America; parts of the costume and the fight against spies. One would think that the Vision was so different from Captain America that we would find little in common. But there are a couple of ideas related to the hero’s origin that were carried over from the Vision to Cap. In both witnesses are gathered to observe an experiment being held in a separate lab. Also common is that the experiment is disrupted at a critical time; by criminal thugs in the Vision and by a gun carrying spy in Captain America.

I wish I could present further Vision features. Although short in length they have lots of interest both in their stories and as showcases for Jack Kirby’s development during a critical time in his career. Marvel has been publishing Marvel Mystery Comics reprint volumes. But if they keep to their pattern of four issues per volume it will not be until the fifth volume before any will include Vision stories. I do have scans of two other Vision stories but they both are from the end of Simon and Kirby’s stay at Timely. This is not the correct point to discuss them. I will not be including Captain America in this serial post of Early Jack Kirby, that is a topic that requires much preparation and will have to be subject of a future serial post. So I have decided that perhaps the best thing would be to write the two other Vision stories as Featured Stories after I finish up this Early Jack Kirby serial post. So stay tuned.

Early Jack Kirby, Chapter 6, Daring Mystery #6

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Posted in 2007/01, 3 Timely, Assorted, Early Jack Kirby, Periods, Serial Posts, z Archive.

After Red Raven Comics #1 (August 1940) Joe Simon and Jack Kirby would do work for Daring Mystery Comics #6 (September 1940). Previously Joe had done some stories for this title, but now he would be its editor. This Timely title did not have anywhere near the success of Marvel Mystery Comics. Although declared a monthly, in fact Daring Mystery suffered a rather sporadic publication schedule.

Recently Marvel has been publishing reprint volumes of some of its golden age titles. This has been much appreciated as the original comics are rare and rather expensive. Volumes for Marvel Mystery, All Winners, Captain America, the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner have already appeared. I understand a reprint volume of USA Comics will also soon come out. However I doubt that Daring Mystery is ever likely to receive this reprint treatment. The issues are filled with features that would last only a few issues, sometimes even a single one, and then disappear.

Daring Mystery #6
Daring Mystery #6 (September 1940)

But the obscurity of Daring Mystery’s heroes is not the only reason I doubt it will get reprinted. As I see it another problem with Daring Mystery is the cover for issue #6. I really cannot think of another golden age cover that today is likely to provoke more of a negative reaction then this one. The image of a white woman at the mercy of some African American thugs brings to mind the rise of the KKK in the silent movie “Birth of a Nation”. It is true that when America entered the war there would be similar covers involving stereotyped Japanese or German soldiers. But at least then a war can be used to explain such derogatory works.

Not to excuse it, but those were different times. As uncomfortable as the DM #6 cover may make us feel today, we cannot just ignore it. History is meant to help us understand our past, not to remake it in the image of our present day. African Americans were conspicuous for the absence in comics books of those days. I suspect that in casting them as villains, Joe and Jack were just looking for a way to make their cover stand out on the racks. Whatever their intentions were, they would not repeat it. I can think of only one case where an African American was used as a villain by Simon and Kirby. Captain America #9 introduces the Black Talon. The Black Talon got his hand from an African American criminal who was executed. Pretty tame stuff compared to the cover for DM #6.

But apart from the racial overtones, what can be said about the Daring Mystery #6 cover? We have the hero swinging by a rope simultaneously kicking one thug in the face and pulling the hair of another. It would seem that Jack was trying to make this cover as exciting as possible. This was done early in the history of the comic book industry and both Jack and Joe were still learning. To me this was not that great a cover. I guess much of my feeling is due to the kicking and hair pulling. This is not the type of fighting one would expect from a hero, especially during the golden age. Like the racial reference, this would not be repeated in future Simon and Kirby covers.

Daring Mystery #6
Daring Mystery #6 (September 1940) “Introducing Marvel Boy” page 1 by Joe Simon

Both Joe and Jack were involved in the drawing of two of the interior stories for DM #6, “Introducing Marvel Boy” and “The Fiery Mask”. An interesting pattern is shown by both cases. Joe would do the starting pages of the story and then Jack would do the rest. For Marvel Boy Joe did pages 1 to 3 while Jack did 4 to 10. With the Fiery Mask Joe did 1 to 4 and Jack pages 5 to 10. My interpretation is that as editor Joe wanted to establish the look of the story. Joe had been working with Jack on Blue Bolt so I am sure he was comfortable sharing the drawing with Jack and Knew that the final would look fine. Joe did not use This drawing arrangement with any of the other artist in DM #6.

Daring Mystery #6
Daring Mystery #6 (September 1940) “Introducing Marvel Boy” page 8

Most of the stories we have seen by Kirby outside of syndication have been science fiction. Now Jack was back to doing something from the superhero genre, and doing a nice job of it as well. Marvel Boy fights an assortment of spies. We are not told what government his foes work for but they all seem to have German accents, say “Heil” while saluting, and one exclaims “Himmel” when attached. To keep things interesting, Kirby keeps changing the view point and makes a lot of use of exaggerated perspective.

Inking on the Marvel Boy story is different on the pages penciled by Joe as compared to those done by Jack. It is tempting to assume that the inking for a page was done by the same artist that did the drawing. But Joe was an editor at Timely and there were other artists available to do inking. The use of various hands in the inking of the same art page was a common practice in the future but it may also be occurring at this early stage.

Marvel Boy had costume features (“skull cap” mask, boots) and a story (fighting spies) that foreshadow a future character, Captain America. Neither Joe or Jack would do any further work on Marvel Boy. Years later there would be one further Marvel Boy feature in USA Comics #7 (February 1943) after which he would disappear completely, like so many other Daring Mystery heroes. In the 50’s a character with the same name would have a short run, but that hero only shares the name with Simon and Kirby’s creation.


Daring Mystery #6 (September 1940) “The Fiery Mask” page 5

The Fiery Mask first appeared in Daring Mystery Comics #1 (January 1940) is one of Simon’s earliest published comic book work. Although Joe did other work for some of the early issues of Daring Mystery, they did not include the Fiery Mask. Both the GCD and Atlas Tales indicates that the character did reappear in DM #5 (June 1940) but was done by another artist, George Kapitan. I have not seen the contents of this issue and so cannot add my own opinion. While Joe was editor at Timely the Fiery Mask would make two further appearances, here in DM #6 (September 1940) and also in Human Torch #2 (Fall 1940). It is not clear which was done first. DM #6 runs an advertisement for Red Raven Comics #1, not its replacement Human Torch #2. The cover for Marvel Mystery #13 (December 1940) includes a reference to HT #2 comic. Both facts suggest that DM #6 came before HT #2. The Fiery Mask story in HM #2 was drawn entirely by Simon and it is quite possible that it was actually created earlier just not published right away.

Daring Mystery #6
Daring Mystery #6 (September 1940) “The Fiery Mask” page 9

As mentioned above, Joe did the first 4 pages of the Fiery Mask story in DM #6 and then handed the story over to Jack. Jack did an excellent job drawing it. Part of the story involves a child delivered by a demon to a couple to raise. Jack’s transformation of an apparently peacefully sleeping baby in one panel into a malevolent infant in the next is just marvelous. The fight scene between the Fiery Mask and demons from hell is quite exciting.

Daring Mystery #6
Daring Mystery #6 (September 1940) “The Fiery Mask” page 10

As with the Marvel Boy story the inking appears to be different on the pages drawn by Jack as compared to those penciled by Joe. As previously discussed this could be due to the inker being the same as the penciler. But care must be taken because Joe may have had other artists available and multiple hands may be involved. However there is an exception to the general rule that the inking is the same on the pages drawn by Jack. On page 10 panels 4 to 6 appear to be inked differently. The penciling was still clearly done by Jack but the inking looks to me like it was done by Joe.

Kirby would do further work for Daring Mystery Comics. However because of the erratic publication schedule for this comic DM #7 would not be released until April 1941 and DM #8 would come out in January 1942. It would be best to discuss what Jack did for those comics later in a more appropriate place.

Mea Culpa on Early Kirby

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Posted in 2007/01, 3 Timely, Assorted, Early Jack Kirby, Periods, z Archive.

In a recent post of mine, Early Jack Kirby, Chapter 5, Timely and the Red Raven I used a one to two week lead time (the time between when a strip is created and when it actually is published) as part of a calculation of when Jack Kirby started at Timely. Well one of the great things about blogs is that someone may add a comment when I make a mistake. In this case Kirby scholar Stan Taylor questioned my short lead time.

I could not remember where I got the 1 to 2 weak lead time so I could not refer back to my source. So I reached out to Allan Holtz who has the Srippers Guide Blog. Allan is very knowledgeable about syndication strips and his blog is a treasure full of great information.

Allan’s response was that that daily strips are typically done 4 to 6 weeks ahead and Sundays 8 to 12. He added that these lead times hold every since the 20’s and 30’s. His qualification on these times was that if the strip was produced by contract lead times may be even longer.

I plan to make a corrections to some of my posts, but not tonight. I want to do some scanning for my next post as well to have more time to think things over.

So my thanks to both Stan Taylor for pointing out my error and Allan Holtz for giving me more reliable data.

Early Jack Kirby, Chapter 5, Timely and the Red Raven

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Posted in 2007/01, 3 Timely, Assorted, Early Jack Kirby, Periods, Serial Posts, z Archive.

Red Raven Comics #1
Red Raven Comics #1 (August 1940)

Joe Simon’s last set of covers for Fox Comics were cover dated July 1940. Joe went on to become art editor for Timely. When Joe arrived, Timely had three superhero titles. Marvel Mystery Comics was their big seller, largely due to the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner features. The other two titles, Daring Mystery and Mystic Comics do not appear to have been as successful. Each presented a dazzling assortment of features that would last only a few issues before disappearing. Previously Joe had done some work Daring Mystery through Funnies Inc, the shop that created the art for all Timely’s comics. (see my posts on Daring Mystery #2 and Daring Mystery #3). Now Timely’s owner Martin Goodman wanted to cut out the middleman and set up his own art shop. Although an editor, Joe worked on a freelance basis.

Science Comics #5
Science Comics #5 (June 1940) by Joe Simon

Previous Timely comics had been anthologies, but Joe’s greatest success so far had been with Blue Bolt. Blue Bolt was an anthology also but was named after the key feature. Joe convinced Goodman to do the same thing with a new hero, the Red Raven. While at Fox Comics, Joe had drawn a similar flying figure called the Eagle for the cover of Science Comics #5 (June 1940). But the success of Timely’s new title would depend largely on the key feature. Joe had to make sure the Red Raven story was especially good. The story would be 17 pages long, seven pages more then any other of the features in the comic. But surprisingly the Red Raven story was drawn by an unidentified artist. Jack Kirby drew the cover for Red Raven #1 along with two of the stories, so it is clear that he was available to do work. At this point Kirby was already doing all the drawing for Blue Bolt and was clearly a much better artist then the one Joe actually used. I can understand that as editor Joe might not want to draw it himself, but why did he not turn to Jack for this?

Red Raven Comics #1
Red Raven Comics #1 (August 1940) “The Red Raven” by unidentified artist

According to Joe and Jim Simon’s book, “The Comic Book Makers”, Jack Kirby did not immediately follow Joe to Timely but continued at Fox. In the book Joe says it took three months. The last Blue Beetle strip that Jack did was published on March 9, 1940. Syndication strips are usually created only a week or so before publication. Comic books take longer to be created and the covers are dated with the removal time, not the distribution date. The result of all this is that comics will have a cover date that is five to six months after work started. This means that the first comics that Jack worked on after Fox would be cover dated August or September. I believe that Joe is right about Jack staying at Fox but perhaps it was not for a period of months but actually weeks. If when Joe started work on the Red Raven Jack was only available on a moonlight basis Joe might have reluctant to use him for the all important feature story. By the time Jack transferred to Timely it was too late to change artists.

Red Raven Comics #1
Red Raven Comics #1 (August 1940) “Mercury in the 20th Century”

The credit given for “Mercury in the 20th Century” go to the writer, Martin A. Bursten (actually spelt Burstein). This is Kirby’s earliest foray into a feature loosely based on mythological characters. The hero is of course Mercury and his adversary is Pluto. Pluto is causing havoc in the world and has taken the mortal disguise of Rudolph Hedler, leader of Prussland. America was still at peace, but Europe certainly was not. In this story Mercury uses his powers as a god to thwart Pluto war promoting activities.

Red Raven Comics #1
Red Raven Comics #1 (August 1940) “Mercury in the 20th Century” page 7

Inking on this story is different from that on Jack’s pervious comic book work. The inking used to define the form is lighter. Further spotting is not limited to form, but includes shadows and design aspects. Page 7 shown above provides good examples. Although Jack did not limit spotting to form when working for Blue Beetle or Lightn’ and the Lone Rider the way it was used in those works was different then what was done here. I believe someone other then Jack did the inking for this Mercury story.

In panel 4 from page 7 of “Mercury in the 20th Century” notice the large size of the man on our left. Similar large ears on people viewed from behind was a Kirby trait in the future during the years he and Joe worked at DC. But it also shows up occasionally at other times, the image above is perhaps the earliest example. But this trait is not as common during Jack’s period at Timely. This is because during this time Jack would not use this viewpoint as often and when he did he would not always get the ear size wrong.

Red Raven Comics #1
Red Raven Comics #1 (August 1940) “Comet Pierce”

Jack also provided a science fiction feature, Comet Pierce. In many ways this story is written and drawn very much like his previous sci-fi work. The biggest difference is before the hero was a sort of sheriff of the stars while here Comet Pierce is a rocket ship racer. Once again lots of flying rockets, monsters and of course a beautiful woman. Even the inking is similar to the earlier work in that it is largely limited to describing form. But “Comet Pierce” is even more important in that for the first time a story credit’s uses the newly acquired name of Jack Kirby. The credit is for Jack alone, not for Simon and Kirby. Yet another reminder that although Joe and Jack worked together for Blue Bolt, they were not yet truly a team.

But the Red Raven title only lasted one issue. Because of the amount of time it took to get a comic book published, three months, it it clear that Red Raven Comics was discontinued well before any idea could be made about how well it would sell. Martin Goodman may have liked the idea about having a comic title dedicated to one key hero but he may have gotten cold feet about basing a comic on a new, untried, character. Instead it was decided to start a title for the successful Human Torch and (to save money on a new mailing permit) take over the numbering from the Red Raven. The first Human Torch would therefore be issue #2 and would be cover dated as Fall 1940.

Early Jack Kirby, Chapter 4, Enter Joe Simon

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Posted in 2 Fox, 2006/12, Early Jack Kirby, Periods, Serial Posts, z Archive.

Blue Bolt #3
Blue Bolt #3 (August 1940) page 1

Jack Kirby met Joe Simon when the latter became art editor for Fox Comics. I find it interesting that Jack started doing actual comic book work (as opposed to syndication strips) at the same time as Joe’s first cover for Fox (May 1940). Perhaps it is just coincidence or perhaps Joe gave Jack some Fox features and may even had help Jack get work outside Fox (Crash Comics, see previous chapter). In any case it is clear that Joe quickly recognized Jack’s talent. Previously Joe had submitted a feature called Blue Bolt to Funnies Incorporated, a shop run by Lloyd Jaquet. Initially it was not used but later became the basis for a new comic title. Blue Bolt #1 came out with a cover date of June 1940. Joe did all the art for the first Blue Bolt story since it actually was done prior to his starting work at Fox. But for new issues of the comic, Joe got Jack to give him a hand. The feature in issues #2 and #3 are signed by just Joe Simon. However the art was done by both Joe and Jack, working on different pages. Jacks contribution for these issues was rather limited. For BB #2 Jack did pages 1 (except for the splash), 2, 4 and 5 while Joe did the rest of the 10 page story. For BB #3 Jack would do pages 1, 2 and 7. He may also have done page 5 but I am not sure of that.

Blue Bolt #5
Blue Bolt #5 (October 1940) page 1

By issue #4 Jack was doing all the penciling as he would do for all the remaining issues. With issue #5 for the first time we find credits as “Joe Simon and Jack Kirby”. It is only fair that Joe’s name comes first, after all he created the feature. Although Joe and Jack were now working together, I think it would be a mistake to consider them at this stage as equals. Simon was art editor at Fox and after that would have the same title at Timely. People were starting to recognize Kirby’s talent but Jack had yet to have a hit. In any case once established, Simon and Kirby would be the credit order for the rest of their time together.

Blue Bolt #7
Blue Bolt #7 (December 1940) by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon

One surprising thing about the Blue Bolt title was how few of the covers were done by Joe or Jack. Joe alone did the cover for Blue Bolt #3. The cover for BB #7 was a joint Simon and Kirby effort. The figure of the Blue Bolt was clearly done by Jack. But the flying ships and the earth do not look like Kirby’s work. Similar blimp-like ships (without the wings) can be found on Simon’s pages from Blue Bolt #2. So I believe Joe is responsible for the background art on this cover.

Blue Bolt #10
Blue Bolt #10 (March 1941)

Blue Bolt was a monthly so it provides excellant examples of Kirby’s art as it rapidly improves. It is fortunate that issues #2 to #10 have been reprinted by Verotik Publishing. The book is out of print but can be found on eBay from time to time at a resonable price. Early in the series Kirby’s fight scenes were as awkward as it was in the Blue Beetle syndication. But by Blue Bolt #10 Jack was providing exciting action. The last Simon and Kirby Blue Bolt, issue #10, came out in March, the same month as the first Captain America. But S&K could not have known about how successful Captain America would be when then stopped working on Blue Bolt. Rather I suspect that Joe and Jack were just getting better page rates at that time. Since Blue Bolt was still being handled by Funnies Inc. that shop would get their cut, leaving a lower page rate for S&K.

Champion Comics #9
Champion #9 (July 1940)

While at Fox Jack and Joe also collaborated on some covers for Champion Comics. Joe had previously done the cover for Champion #8. The cover for Champion #9 along with Blue Bolt #2 were the first Simon and Kirby joint efforts (cover dated August 1940). Champion #9 was also Jack’s first comic book cover. It was a good start, Jack’s depiction was already rather unique for the time. Still you can still see some of Joe Simon’s touch in the face of the hero. With the cover for Champion #10 we get all Kirby. Lots of action and exaggerated perspective.

Champion Comics #10
Champion #10 (August 1940)

Green Hornet #9 (October 1942)

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Posted in 2006/12, 4 DC (early), Harvey Covers, Periods, Topic, z Archive.

Green Hornet #9
Green Hornet #9 (October 1942)

When I started this Simon and Kirby blog one of the first subjects I posted about were the Harvey covers done by Jack and Joe. These comics are rare and generally in poor condition and so these covers are not often seen. But they are some of my favorite covers. I have not forgotten to finish up that series of post, but I do not have access to two of them (Speed #22 and Green Hornet #8) and two others are technically very challenging to restore (Speed #23 and Green Hornet #9). Well I finally have restored GH #9 and I am sure the reader will agree it was worth the effort.

Green Hornet #9 is another of my favorite Harvey covers (along with Champ #19 and #20). Jack Kirby’s touch is all over this one. In it he uses the mirror to great effect. The crook is so started by seeing the Green Hornet in the mirror and has turned so quickly to confront him that his cigar and its reflection still hang in the air. Although the crook is reaching for his gun, the Green Hornet already has the drop on him. However the mirror reveals to us that yet another gun carrying foe is climbing into the room be hind them. This device of a gun carrying foe, or sometimes the hero, sneaking in through a window or door was used by S&K a number of times while working for National. But the thing is, if we can see the crook in the mirror should not the heroes?

Well the cover says “Read the story behind the cover”. This was one of the clever ideas that some of these early Harvey covers used. The text story, required to insure a low cost delivery by the U.S. Post Office, was based on the cover, or perhaps it was the other way around. From the story we learn that the crook by the dresser is the Jackal and the gun carrying foe is Dapper Dan. The key passage reads:

Just as he was gloating over piles of money in his drawers, he heard stealthy steps creep toward him. Instinctively he reached for his automatic and glanced at the mirror. It was the Green Hornet!

“Keep jour hands from that roscoe!” the Green Hornet ordered.

The Jackal scowled and obeyed. But when he looked at the mirror again, his spirits rose. Hefting an automatic, Dapper Dan was coming through the fire escape window.

Dapper Dan was just as visible to the Green Hornet and Kato as he was to the Jackal. Almost unperceived, Kato moved sidewise, and as Dapper Dan set a foot into the apartment, Kato turned around. Then Dapper Dan found himself sailing through the air toward the wall, which he struck hard with his head. He fell on the floor without a groan.

It was jiu-jitsu carried to perfection.

Green Hornet #9
Green Hornet #9 original art

The original art for this cover still exists and it was up for auction by Heritage a few years ago. It reveals there was more to the art that was either covered up by stats (of the “film strip” and the title) or painted out with white-out. The now missing parts are interesting but frankly superfluous. Whoever made the decision to remove them was absolutely correct. The finished cover is much more focused.

Some experts and scholars also attribute part or all of the Green Hornet #10 to Kirby. I presume this is because of the use of a criminal clown similar to that by Jack for Green Hornet #7. But to me this more like swiping. Although it is conceivable that Kirby might return to the idea of a killer clown, I doubt he would have used for GH #10 a costume so similar to that from GH #7. Further the folding of the clown’s costume has a flair unlike how Jack would handle it. The killer clown also shows up for the cover of Speed #21. That cover looks like it was done primarily by Joe Simon and it would not be surprising to find Joe using the same costume. But I do not see Joe’s hand in the art for GH #10. The car, the Green Hornet figure and the overall composition do not remind me of either Jack or Joe. I therefore do not accept Green Hornet as by either Simon or Kirby.

Early Jack Kirby, Chapter 3, Moonlighting

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Posted in 2 Fox, 2006/12, Early Jack Kirby, Periods, Serial Posts, z Archive.

Crash Comics #1
Crash Comics #1 (May 1940) The Solar Legion page 3

At the same time Jack Kirby drew his first comic book feature for Fox Comics he also created The Solar Legion for TEM Publishing. Jack did not sign this work, most likely he did not want to draw Victor Fox’s attention to his moonlighting. Work for The Solar Legion is a good match for what Jack did on Cosmic Carson, a good story, lots of action (particularly using spaceships), and good artwork. Kirby continues to use larger and irregularly sized panels. There seems to be a lot more emphasis on long distance views, often in exaggerated perspective, then Jack would use in his later years. The inking is the also the same, the spotting was mostly done to define form and does not play much part in the overall design.

Crash Comics #2
Crash Comics #2 (June 1940) The Solar Legion page 4

One thing Jack was able to do for the first time in The Solar Legion was to draw various monsters. Besides the giant worm in the image above, there was also giant serpent like creature.

Crash Comics #5
Crash Comics #5 (September 1940) The Solar Legion page 4 by unidentified artist

Jack would create Solar Legion stories for the first three issues. Although some sources attribute to Kirby the feature in Crash #4 and #5 this appears to be incorrect. You can see in the image above from issue #5 that the artist tried to imitate Kirby, however with very limited success.

Famous Funnies #74
Famous Funnies #74 (September 1940) Lightin’ and the Lone Rider

July finds the return of Lightin’ and the Lone Ride to Famous Funnies. You may remember that previous installments were, like all the other features in the comic, reprints of syndicate strips. Jack had completed one story line but the second one was neither finished or published. Now when Jack Kirby returns to the Lone Rider he starts an all new story. But this new installment is very different from the previous one. The most obvious is that the story made of three rows of panels. When the story is read it clearly was not made for syndication publication. The plot paces not one strip at a time, but rather one page at a time. This story was clearly made for publication in the comic book. The artwork is much more advance from the first appearance of Lightin’ and the Lone Rider. The Blue Beetle strip art is closest to this later Lone Rider. Particularly in the inking and the use large areas of blacks as part of the design or for depicting a character in silhouette. However the depiction of action it clearly more advance then in the Blue Beetle. This all suggests that the art was started while Jack was still at Fox Comics but not long before he left.

Famous Funnies #76
Famous Funnies #76 (November 1940) Lightin’ and the Lone Rider

Kirby introduces into the Lone Rider story a character type that he would return to, in one form or another, thoughout his career, a small bodied man with a big head. As in the Blue Beetle, Jack has orchestrated an interesting story that he never finished. Jack leaves us completely unclear where he was going, let alone how he would end it.