Category Archives: Featured Work

Featured Cover, Fighting American #1

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Posted in 2006/11, 6 Mainline, Assorted, Featured Work, Periods, Topic, z Archive.

Fighting American #1
Fighting American #1 (April 1954) by Jack Kirby

It is easy to see why one of the entries for my recent Best Simon and Kirby Cover contest was Fighting American #1. The cover shows a race car flying off a cliff. It that was not bad enough the engine is exploding. Fighting American and Speedboy leap to safety with Fighting American pulling along another man by his leg. Surprising the man shoots a gun at his would be rescuer. This scene takes up pretty much every inch of the cover below the comic title. I cannot see how Simon and Kirby could possibly have added more excitement to the cover. The art was done when, in my opinion, Joe and Jack were at their peak. Just look at the exaggerated perspective that Kirby uses, it is amazing. No doubt about it this is one great piece of cover art.

Fighting American was obviously Joe and Jack showing how Captain America should be done. They had created Cap in 1941 but only did the first 10 issues, less then one year of work. Timely continued to produce Captain America without S&K up to issue #74 (October 1949) which was re-titled as Captain America Weird Tales. Timely must have known that they were about to end the title because the single Cap story showed the definitive end of their long time nemesis, the Red Skull. I say definitive because although the Red Skull had been shown supposedly killed before this time the story shows him in hell. There was a Captain America Weird Tales #75 (February 1950) but Cap did not actually appear on the cover or in any story.

Coincidentally the demise of Timely’s patriotic hero marked the period of the rise of Joe McCarthy. McCarthy lead a crusade against all the communists that he said had infiltrated the U.S. government. McCarthy’s “investigations” can best be described as a modern day witch hunt. But that was not so obvious to Americans at the time as can be shown by the fact that a Gallup poll taken in January 1954 showed McCarthy had a 50% approval rating. It is only a guess, but perhaps all of McCarthy’s talk about Communist infiltration brought back to the Atlas company thoughts of their previous success with their superheroes. After all if their hero line was was so financially successful fighting the Nazi’s during the war, perhaps it might occur again using the same heroes to fight the Communists. Whether that was thinking or not, Atlas re-launched the Human Torch, Sub-Mariner and Captain America in Young Men #24 (December 1953). It takes three to four months to produce a comic and so the earliest cover date following YM #24 appearance would be March or April 1954. April is exactly the date that appears on the cover of Fighting American #1. The timing is too perfect, could Joe and Jack saw that their old creation had reappeared? This could have prompted them to rush their own patriotic hero out hoping to take part in the superhero revival.

Captain America #76
Captain America #76 (May 1954)

But Joe McCarthy’s rise did not go unopposed. On March 8, 1954 Edward R. Murrow did a segment of “See It Now” critical of McCarthy and his tactics. On June 9 during one of his Senate investigation meetings Joseph Welch addressed McCarthy with the line “Have you sense of decency, sir, at long last?” On June 10 Senator Flanders introduced a resolution to condemn Joe McCarthy. On December 9 1954 the condemnation of McCarthy was passed by the Senate. At this point Joe McCarthy had been pretty much discarded on the rubbish pile of history where he belonged. I do not suggest that McCarthy’s downfall had any affect on the Atlas superhero revival attempt. No I think that the termination of this revival with Human Torch #38 (July 1954) can be blamed on the fact that they were really poor comics. (Sub-Mariner Comics continue until issue #41 dated October 1955 due to a hope of a movie deal). But although I do not think McCarthy’s fall affected Atlas much, it may have had an affect on Fighting American. That title had started out as exciting superhero fare but by issue #3 (August 1954) had turned to humor. The timing is just right for Joe and Jack to begin to see what McCarthy was really about and to change their comic accordingly.

Before closing this post I would like to comment on the artist for the cover of Captain America #76 shown above. Both the GCD and AtlasTales attribute it to John Romita. John Romita did do a lot of the art for Captain America during this revival attempt. For instance he signed the covers for Captain America #77 and #78. Although unsigned, some of the art inside Cap #76 appears to be by Romita. But I find it hard to believe that John was the artist for the cover, Captain America just looks like he was done by a different hand. In an interview of John Romita by Roy Thomas from Alter Ego (volume 3 #9) both seem to indicate that they do not believe the cover for #76 was by Romita either. However the suggestion that John makes in the interview that it may have been done by Carl Burgos or Joe Maneely seems even less creditable. Unfortunately I do not know enough about Atlas artists to suggest an alternative. In the interview John mentions that Stan Lee often had art rework done by whatever artist had stopped by at the office at that time. John particularly suggests that Cap’s smile on issue #76 might be an example of that. But perhaps for Cap #76 the rework was much more extensive.

Featured Cover, Captain America #1

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Posted in 2006/11, 3 Timely, Assorted, Featured Work, Periods, Topic, z Archive.

Captain America #1
Captain America #1 (March 1941)

When I recently ran my Simon and Kirby cover contest I was curious about what some fans considered their favorite cover. There are many possible covers by Simon and Kirby that could be candidates, they put much effort into their covers. There are few S&K covers that I would consider poor works and even in those cases they are often better then covers by many of their contemporaries. One cover I fully expected to be selected was Captain America #1. Cap #1 is truly one of the icons of comic book covers. Whenever I talk about Joe Simon to those of my friends with no interest in comic books I tell them that he was one of the co-creators of Captain America. I doubt that they could name more then a handful of comic book characters but they always recognize Cap. Comic books as we know them today have a long history. But there are few comic heroes that extend throughout much of this history, fewer still if we exclude those with significant costume changes. Captain America was only missing for a fraction of comic book history. Last, but not least, is the presence of Hitler on the cover. Adolf shows up on a number of war time covers but I doubt that any are as famous as this cover and it was done about a year before the U.S. entered the war. Yes I think we can certainly say that the cover for Captain America #1 is an icon.

But aside from it being an icon, is Cap #1 really a great piece of comic book art? I have to admit when I first asked myself this question not only was I unsure, I did not even know how to go about finding the answer.

One place to start is to examine how well the cover tells a story. I realize others may disagree, but for me this is generally an important criteria. Covers of a lot of famous characters just standing around as if posing for a camera just do not do anything for me. Comic books tell stories and I expect the covers to do so also. Well the story told by Cap #1 cover is pretty clear. The bent bars in the window on our right indicate where Cap forced his way into the room. At great risk to himself, Cap rushes forward to deliver one of Kirby’s famous punches to the villain (easily recognized as Adolf Hitler). Although the U.S. was not officially at war with Germany it is clear that Hitler had already strike out against us. Not only are there invasion plans on the left, but in the rear we find a television showing the destruction of a U.S. ammunition plant. There is a blurb that declares

Smashing thru Captain America came face to face with Hitler

Frankly this blurb is really superfluous, it tells us nothing that the image does not already provide. S&K would provide better blurbs in the future and eventually would often leave them out. So I conclude based on the story telling criteria that the cover for Captain America #1 is completely successful.

Another approach to judging the Cap #1 cover would be to compare it with other iconic covers. As a hero Captain America may have played an important part in the history of comic books, but he pales beside Superman and Batman. But when you compare the cover for Cap #1 with Action #1 or Detective #27, well there is no comparison. The covers for Action #1 and Detective #27 may be icons, but artistically they do not even come close to Cap #1. So from comparing icons with icons I again conclude that this cover is deserving of praise.

Well Hitler plays a prominent part of this cover, but how does Cap #1 compare with other comics that depicted Hitler? I cannot claim to have made an exhaustive search for covers to use for comparison, but I certainly have not found any other Hitler cover that I like better. Dial B For Blog has made a more thorough examination and has reached the same conclusion. Not part of his list is the cover to Captain America #2 but I included an image in a recent post. Although both have Hitler and are done by the S&K, issue #1 seems much better then #2. It is not hard to understand why, after all it is much more satisfying to see Adolf getting punched then just being surprised. So Captain America #1 cover does well when compared to other Hitler covers.

Looking at Captain America #1 from various viewpoints I have ended up concluding that this really was a great cover. Although being an icon has made it more difficult for me to evaluate this cover, that does not mean I consider it a negative aspect. Quite the contrary I believe that with its iconic status added to its artistic merits the cover for Captain America #1 is truly one of the greatest covers that Simon and Kirby have produced.

There is one aspect about Captain America #1 that I have not explored in this post. That is the part it played in the history of Kirby’s early artistic development. I have touched on early work by Jack Kirby in my serial post on the Art of Joe Simon here and here. But early Kirby is a subject that deserves a more thorough examination and is one that I plan to make the subject of a serial post in the near future.

Featured Story, “Unfit To Manage” by Bill Draut

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Posted in 2006/11, 7 Freelance, Featured Work, Harvey, Periods, Topic, z Archive.

True Bride-To-Be Romances
True Bride-To-Be Romances #18 (June 1956)
“Unfit to Manage” by Bill Draut

In 1956 Jack Kirby was doing pretty much all the artwork for the Prize romance comics. This was after the failure of the Simon and Kirby publishing company called Mainline. It seems that Joe Simon was doing some editorial work for Harvey Comics. Jack provided some covers but does not appear to have done much else for Harvey. Although I believe Joe was the editor, I think it would be a mistake to consider these Harvey romances as Simon and Kirby productions. Some of the artists had been doing work for these comics before Joe was editor. Also the format of the stories did not change with Joe’s arrival. But two regulars for Simon and Kirby productions, Bill Draut and John Prentice, started to provide material for the Harvey romances. I presume this helped these artists to makeup for the loss of work from the Prize romances since Kirby was now doing all of that. For reasons that can only be guessed at Mort Meskin, another S&K regular, never made the transition to Harvey.

I must admit I generally prefer the S&K produced romances over the Harvey comics. The Harveys tend to be done to a formula while the S&K productions are more variable. But there are some real gems in the Harvey romances and it probably is not a coincidence that these tend to occur with Simon as editor and Draut or Prentice as artist. “Unfit to Manage” is one of those small masterpieces.

Bill Draut is one of those artists that nowadays tends to be overlooked. Part of the problem was that much of Bill’s work was for the romance comics, a now pretty much extinct genre. Further most of Bill’s work was for Simon and Kirby productions. This meant that he was overshadowed by Jack Kirby (weren’t most artists?). Some of Bill’s work has even been attributed to Jack (here, and here). Finally after S&K, Draut went to DC where his art seemed to suffer. I suspect he was trying to adapt his drawing to be more like the DC house style. Although I am not very familiar with this period it seems to me that Bill lost some of his best features without gaining enough in his newer manner.

The panel layout for the first page of “Unfit to Manage” is one very typical of Harvey romances. But the splash panel itself is a real gem. The background is a field of floating musical notes and the words “Garden Dance”. The “Garden Dance” might suggest a banner but otherwise the background is abstract. This sort of suggestive rather then depicted background was a device rarely used in S&K productions and probably never by Kirby. Here it is very effective for Draut and there is little doubt that we are in some dance. An especially good touch are the characters that Bill presents almost like they are some sort of frieze. Starting from the left we find a young man so engrossed in his dance that he is oblivious to the unfolding drama. What a dancer he is with his left leg brought up high and his head thrust back. Next is is partner who has already stopped dancing and looks surprised to our right. The next character is what I am sure was meant to be a hipster. Was the somewhat comical figure he presents due to our modern eyes or was it apparent when the comic was published? Look at that wild shirt and the incredibly short but wide tie that reads “U 4 Me”. Our hipster asserts his right to be the woman’s next dance partner. Our eyes are continued to be directed to our right by his turn of the head. Our direction to the right is finally halted by an angry man looking in the opposite direction. He declares himself the woman’s husband and denies others any dancing privileges. Although limited to half a page, this splash panel does everything you could expect of it. It is visually interesting, the composition controls what we see and when we see it, and that with a few short sentences provides a summary for the story to entice the potential purchaser.

In the story we find a popular and fun loving young woman. Surprising she falls in love with a young man who acts older then his years. The woman does try to be a dutiful wife and then mother, but still enjoys going out. The husband reluctantly indulges her until he looses his job. Unable to support their nice house and the life style his wife enjoys, the man wants to move. The wife refuses to go along and the man leaves with the child and divorce court follows. The lady finally recognizes what she is about to loose and convinces the man to try again before the divorce becomes final. It is a well written story. The overall story of couple meet, couple have problems and couple reunite at end is a standard for romance comics. Keep in mind other that genre at that time such as superhero comics followed their own predictable overall formulas. But “Unfit to Manage” has enough variations within that story outline to make it rather different from most romance comic book stories.

I am unable to read these older romance stories without reflecting how much different the world that they project is from our present one. Actually that is one of the things I enjoy about these romance comics. In “Unfit to Manage” the woman is presented in a bad light while the man comes off rather lightly. This despite the fact that in one scene the woman reaches for her child who the man grabs and raises out of her reach. I am sure that such a use of a baby as pawn in the battle between a couple continues today, but most of the public would consider it unacceptable behavior. The divorce court is interesting because the judge clearly is taking the man’s side and is about to award him custody. But it is not at all clear that the woman’s action were truly so negligent as to justify such an action. Of course a comparison between now and then was not original a goal for such a story. But that does not mean it cannot or should not be one for us today.

Featured Cover, Foxhole #3

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Posted in 2006/11, 6 Mainline, Featured Work, Foxhole, Periods, Topic, z Archive.

Foxhole #3
Foxhole #3 (February 1955) by Jack Kirby

I love the Kirby list, but sometimes Kirby fans just get carried away. Even the most unsubstantiated claims become accepted fact. Not too many years ago the concept of Kirby Kolors burst into the list. This was the idea that Jack created the color guides for many Simon and Kirby comic work. Not only did Jack do color guides, but experts could tell which ones he did. Never mind that no evidence was ever presented to back up this amazing claim. Never mind that color credits was never given in any of the Simon and Kirby productions. Fans and experts seem to vie with one another in spotting Kirby Kolors. When asked how they did it, the best you would get was talk about years spent examining S&K comics and Jack’s frequent use of “salmon” as a color. If the start of this craze was not bad enough, it soon went to ridiculous extremes. Some were even call some Kirby Atlas/Marvel work as Kirby Kolors! This was at a time when Jack was a freelancer providing pencils for someone else to ink. Yet some fans believed Jack sent in his pencils, it was inked by some other artist, and copies then sent back to Jack to make color guides. Did they think Kirby was being paid the low rates that colorist received at that time, or that Marvel was willing to pay him the same rates for penciling and coloring? I have no idea what these fans were thinking. If that was not bad enough someone asserted that a Bullseye story reprinted by Super Comics in the 60’s was a Kirby Kolor! It was colored differently then when first printed by Simon and Kirby. So if it was Kirby Kolor that meant Jack did them later for Super Comics at a time he was busy with Stan Lee creating the Marvel Universe.

If the comics do not provide credits, what do we know about colorists who work on Simon and Kirby productions? Well one thing is that Joe Simon has said that they did not do the coloring work, that was done by the publisher. This statement may be a little misleading. There is at least one photograph showing a colorist at work in the Simon and Kirby studio (working on a Prize Western cover). When I asked Joe about this, he said that the colorist worked for the publisher. Even though the colorist was not being paid for by S&K, it made sense for him to work in the studio. I am sure under that sort of arrangement Joe or Jack would provide guidance on how the coloring should be done. But it is not believable that Jack would do coloring when he was not getting paid for it. Joe and Jack were too much of businessmen to do that.

Joe still has some color guides for work done after the Simon and Kirby studio breakup. When I asked him if he did the coloring he replied that he might do an occasional color guide for a cover, but never for the stories. Do we have any reason to believe that Jack thought more highly of coloring then Joe did?

By now I am sure you are wondering what has all this talk about Kirby Kolor have to do with the cover for Foxhole #3 Well I do believe that for most of the comics that Simon and Kirby produced the coloring was at least the financial responsibility of the publisher. But for a short period Joe and Jack had their own publishing company called Mainline. Obviously for Mainline they must have been responsible for having the coloring done. That by itself does not mean that Joe or Jack personally did it, but it does raise the possibility. I find it suggestive that so many of the Mainline comic covers have exceptional coloring. I have previously posted on Foxhole #2 and Foxhole #4 covers both of which have unusual and very powerful coloring. With its watercolor effect Foxhole #3 is another example of unusual coloring. Some of the other Mainline titles may not have such extraordinary coloring, but they are all extremely well done. It may not be safe to provide an attribution based solely on quality, but it does make one wonder whether Joe or Jack could have been directly involved in some of this coloring. Although I accept this possibility that does not mean I accept Kirby Kolors. I can think of no way judge between Joe or Jack as the source. Joe has always been a fine colorist. I have seen less of Jack’s efforts in color but all were nicely done. I am not sure how anyone could take any of this work done so late in their careers and use it for attribution of work done during the 50’s for comic books.

Coloring is not the only thing that makes Foxhole #3 a superb piece of art. The inking is just fantastic. The inking for the Mainline covers, and this one in particular, is probably the best Simon and Kirby have ever produced. Bold and assured, but also sensitive. Spotting varied from very sparse in sections to areas of carefully orchestrated lines and dots. However large areas of black are avoided. The composition is nice and takes full advantage of the cover. Even the placing of the blurb in the lower right was carefully handled and balanced with the tree stump on the left.

The blurb announces a story called “Office Upstairs” about the “Death March” while the cover shows a soldier carrying one of his comrades. The reference is to the Bataan Death March. At the start of the war the U.S. army in the Philippines was forced to surrender to the Japanese. The Americans were poorly feed and treated badly. Executions were common, for instance any soldier found to possess Japanese souvenirs was summarily killed. The U.S. soldiers, who were malnourished, were forced to march to a camp 100 miles away. Any prisoner who could not keep up, was executed. The treatment of the Americans was no better when they were interred in the camp. After the war the Japanese general who ordered the march was tried and executed as a war criminal. But the Japanese government has never apologized for their abuse of their prisoners of war.

Foxhole #3
Foxhole #3, “Office Upstairs” by Bob McCarty

A story about the Death March and the prison camp is not something you would expect in a comic book which at that time was aimed at young readers. But the story “Office Upstairs” is a small masterpiece. The “hook” for the Foxhole title was that it was produced by veterans. This story has a box saying that it was by Jack Oleck. Jack was Simon and Kirby’s main writer and Joe’s brother-in-law. Since writing credits were not generally given in S&K productions, these Foxhole issues are real treasures. Although there is no credit for the art it appears to be the work of Bob McCarty. Bob generally did not sign his work for S&K, but because he was a veteran Foxhole gives him credit in some other stories.

Foxhole #3
Foxhole #3, “The Face” by John Prentice

This issue provides yet another writing credit, this time by Jack Kirby. Another gem of a story. This time it was drawn by John Prentice, one of my usual suspects (artists who did frequent work for Simon and Kirby). John did some other work in the Foxhole series but surprisingly never was given credit. This is surprising because not only was Prentice a veteran, he was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked.

UPDATE (2/18/07): My attribution here of “The Face” to John Prentice is incorrect. The proper identification of the artist is Joe Albistur.

Featured Cover, Strange World of Your Dreams #2

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Posted in 2006/11, 5 Studio, Anthologies, Featured Work, Periods, Prize, Topic, z Archive.

Strange World of Your Dreams #1
Strange World of Your Dreams #1 (August 1952)

I had a brief discussion with someone at the Big Apple Con yesterday. He mentioned a Kirby cover of a woman in a rowboat and suggested a name of the comic. Neither the comic name or the image rang any bells with me at first. Then I thought perhaps he was thinking of Strange World of Your Dreams #1. I suggested he visit my blog because I had posted on SWYD and thought I had included the cover for issue #1. When I finally got around to check it turned out I that in the post I had used SWYD #3 instead. So in case the gentleman decides to check my blog out here is the cover for SWYD #1.

As I said I have already posted on Strange World of Your Dreams. This title is as unusual as its name but unfortunately the comics themselves are a bit expensive. For anyone with a more limited budget who is curious about this title you might want to check out DC’s Black Magic #8 and #9 which reprint a few stories:

  • BM #8 “The Girl In The Grave” (from SWYD #2)
  • BM #8 “Send Us Your Dreams” (from SWYD #2)
  • BM #9 “The Woman In The Tower” (from SWYD #3)

These were published in 1975 and can still be found at a reasonable fee at comic conventions and eBay. As I have said before, I have mixed feelings about DC’s Black Magic. On the one hand it is great that some of these stories were reprinted. But unfortunately the artwork restoration looses some of the special inking quality of the original comics and gives them a sort of woodcut look. The three SWYD stories that were reprinted are good selections. “The Woman In The Tower” is not only the best in the original series, it is also one of Simon and Kirby’s most unusual stories ever.

Featured Cover, Treasure #10

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Posted in 2006/11, 5 Studio, 6 Mainline, Assorted, Featured Work, Prize, Topic, z Archive.

Treasure Comics #10
Treasure Comics #10 (December 1946) by Jack Kirby

I come across lists all the time; the top 100 artists, the 100 most important comic books, and so on. All listed in a nicely hierarchy with one selected as the best. I do not know how people are able to make such lists. What criteria does one use to rank one artist as #100 and another as #101 (and so be excluded from the list)? Even the selection of the best can be wroth with difficulties. Should the best comic book artist be based on who did the best work or who had the most influence on the comic books of today? It should come as no surprise who I think is the artist that did the best comic book art. Subtle hint, look at the title of this blog. However if it is influence that counts then I might wonder if Will Eisner may be more appropriate. While not denying Jack Kirby’s tremendous influence on pretty much the entire history of comics, Eisner’s graphic novels launched a whole new genre, one that has even made it into the N.Y. Times Book Review.

But even if I try to adopt a subjective viewpoint I do not find myself in an easier position. My favorite painting varies from day to day. My response to a piece of art depends as much as my mood as with the work of art. But ask me what my favorite Simon and Kirby cover is and most days I would say Treasure #10. This is a rather oddball cover for S&K. Treasure #10 comes not long after the failure of Stuntman and Boy Explorers. The publisher was Prize, Joe and Jack had done some work for them early in their career (Prize Comics #7, 8 and 9; December 1940 to February 1941). In March 1947 Simon and Kirby would launch for Prize the crime genre version of Headline Comics. Treasure #10 was used to introduce the new version of Headline. It includes a crime story (“Tomorrow’s Murder”), the earliest Simon and Kirby crime genre piece. There is an advertisement at the end of the story announcing the “bigger and better” Headline. It includes a copy for the cover for Headline #23. Both the ad and the illustrated comic indicate a January-February cover date. Headline #23 was actually cover dated March-April. Further the cover illustrated in the ad was really used for Headline #24.

Treasure Comics appeared to once have an Arabian Knight feature, it is listed on the cover for Treasure #7. However there is no such feature, or anything like the cover, in TC #10. The GCD shows Treasure #6 and #7 covers (April and June) with an Arabian theme signed by H. C. Kiefer. I am not familiar with Kiefer’s work and it would be easy to dismiss him as a inferior artist compared to Jack Kirby. But such comparisons are really unfair and uninformative. The cover for TC #7 may be a bit crude and the demons looking more goofy then threatening. But TC #6 is a rather nice cover with lots of action and a good composition. Both TC #6 and #7 covers show shields with similarities with that used by Jack for TC #10. Further TC #7 adds an unusual point to the turban, a trait shared with TC #10. This suggests that Kirby used Kiefer’s covers as a jumping off point.

What a cover Jack provides! An Arabian Knight seeks to escape with a beautiful princess. Well perhaps she may not really be a princess, but her exotic diadem suggest she is more then just a beautiful woman. The pair are faced with a swarm of adversaries intent on preventing their escape. Not your usual adversaries but a group of yellow bodied, red tailed monkeys. Not what you normally would think of as much of a challenge to our hero. But these monkeys are armed with exotic weapons and quite energetic in their attack. These are scary monkeys indeed. But not your normal scary monkeys, these wear exotic clothing and rather weird hats (how do those hats stay on?). Judging from the sculpted banister I would suspect there is a whole population of these monkeys that our desperate pair must somehow evade.

Take a look at the monkey with the knife in the center of the picture, look carefully at his feet. The big toe is on the outside of the foot contrary to what is found in either monkeys or men. I used to think that this was done by Kirby on purpose to give them an even more exotic look. But during restoring the cover I noticed that the toe is on the correct side of the foot for the two monkeys on the left. So now I guess it is just another of those errors that Kirby is so famous for.

Win A Prize #1
Win A Prize #1 (February 1955)

Simon and Kirby did not do many of this sort of swashbuckler covers. Win A Prize #1 comes to mind as one other. (I wrote about the Win A Prize comic before during my serial post on The End of Simon and Kirby). But Jack was a master of action art and seemed to create such covers almost effortlessly.

Featured Cover, Wonderworld #14

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Posted in 2 Fox, 2006/11, Featured Work, Periods, Topic, z Archive.

Wonderworld #14
Wonderworld Comics #14 (June 1940) by Joe Simon (signed)

What makes a great comic book cover? Well many will say you need an artist capable of drawing realistic figures. Others desire intricate details and finely rendered lines. All that is well and good but for me what is needed more then anything else is a great story teller. You need someone like Joe Simon. As editor for Fox Comics Joe drew sixteen covers. Not a lot of covers but in my opinion if Joe had left comics then, never partnered with Jack Kirby, those sixteen covers alone would have entered him into the select group of the greatest golden age artists. As can be seen in the cover I am featuring for this post, Joe’s anatomy was often inaccurate. The Flame’s rib cage is much too short. Joe also had problems with form. The woman’s right bosom appears rather ample. That makes it surprising to find that even with the dress torn her left breast appears rather flat. A woman’s hair is also very important, at least for a comic cover from the 40’s. But Simon has problems in presenting curls and flowing hair. If that was all Joe had going for him this cover would have been a failure.

With a searing blast the Flame stopped the raging doctor

That is what the blurb in the lower left corner tells us. But who needs the blurb, the picture tells us all that and more. Because it is red, the villain’s clothing might not seem to belong in a laboratory. But look at the pair of scissors (or forceps?) in a pocket clearly designed for them. Obviously this is some sort of medical scientist. Mind you this is not a mild manner researcher. His gaze is intent on the woman. With one hand he reaches for her while with the other he swings a weapon. She maybe conscious at this moment but he intends that she will not be for long. And what a weapon our mad scientist has, a skull that he swings with (can that really be?) the former victim’s own hair (I bet you did not know that the hair is the last thing to detach from a decaying skull?). A skeptic might question what use would the scientist have for a beautiful woman. However anyone raising such an issue obviously is unaware that attractive young women have a long history of providing the essential ingredient for many nefarious elixirs. Hey, the eye of a newt may have been good enough for for a witch of yesteryear, but not for a modern scientific antagonist. Things would look bleak for our damsel in distress if not for the sudden appearance of the hero. Even if you are not familiar with the Flame, you can feel assured that whatever the hero has shot at his foe’s forehead has got to be effective. Once again the Flame has saved the day.

Rescuing a woman from a mad scientist was a common subject for Simon Fox covers. I have previously posted Fantastic #7 and Wonderworld #13. For WC #14 Joe has whittled the theme down to its bare essentials. The background is nothing more then a blue field. We are only provided with a few pieces of scientific apparatus to indicate that the action is taking place in a laboratory. Most of the objects have been given shades of purple. Therefore the apparatus blends with the blue background so as not to distract from the figures done largely in red, yellow and green. The only exception is the gas canister on the right which balances off nicely with the yellow of the Flame’s uniform on the left. Above, under the comics title are just the outline drawing of the gun’s flame and more equipment. This was really a smart compromise. If fully colored the upper drawing would have distracted from the title. However if the lines had been eliminated the top would have been much too plain. Joe may or man not have done the color guide, but if he did not as editor he likely have provided guidance. In any case the total design is well done.

I do not know much about the origin of the Flame. But the story inside shows him appearing out of fire such as from a criminal’s match. In a few months Simon and Kirby would create a character call the Vision for Timely. The Vision would appear out of smoke. What a surprising coincidence!

Lone Shark!

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Posted in 2006/10, 5 Studio, Featured Work, Odds & Ends, Periods, Prize, Topic, z Archive.

I saw an unusual post today in one of my favorite blogs Pharyngula by PZ Myers. (A warning to those religious, the Pharyngula blog is largely about evolution and atheism). In it PZ talks about a comic book called Action. What interests him about this comic is the depiction of a giant squid. PZ has a fondness for squid and other cephalopods. (Actually so do I and I am proud of the fact that a fossil cephalopod was named after me, Nostoceras mendryki Cobban). As a biologist Meyers credits the demise of this comic book not to the graphic violence, but to the inaccuracies inflicted by the artist (actually I am sure this suggestion was done tongue in cheek).

The source PZ Meyer used was something in scans_daily (In this case I must warn readers about the graphic violence). Action started in 1976 but only lasted 21 months. Apparently one feature from Action called Hook Jaw had a man eating shark as the protagonist. Hook Jaw was obviously inspired by the Jaws movies. Although I warned the this stuff was pretty violent, I find it does not affect me very much. Frankly I find the depictions so unrealistic that they seem silly. In one panel body parts go flying even before the sharks mouth full closes. Some might credit the demise of Action as due to criticism they received about the violence, I believe it was more likely due to the poor writing and drawing. It just tries too hard to be gruesome.

Black Magic #33
Black Magic #33 (November 1954) “Lone Shark” by Jack Kirby

But the idea of a killer shark as a protagonist was certainly not new. Simon and Kirby had provided just such a story back in 1954. Actually S&K even went further by providing the shark with intelligence so that with thought balloons we can read the story from his viewpoint. This particular shark was unique, atomic radiation had caused it to develop a tumor. But the growth was not cancer it was actually a second mind! Hence the shark’s intelligence. The idea that some sort of mutation can provide an immediate evolutionary leap was a concept some scientists shared about the time this story came out. Some referred to such a mutate as a hopeful monster. Today the belief in hopeful monsters has been pretty much discredited in evolutionary science. But hey this is a comic book so the heck with the objections of PZ Meyer and other biologists.

Black Magic was a Simon and Kirby production, at least up to this point. Joe and Jack were not interested in the sort of gruesome stories that someone like Bill Gaines would produce. In fact this story was not so much as a chiller as a black comedy. Read the opening page, it really is funny. The whole story is filled with similar humor. Of course there is a final unexpected twist but I hate to give any spoilers. This story is one of my favorites and certainly deserves to be reprinted some day.

After issue #33 Black Magic would be discontinued for a few years. We can only guess why this happened. My belief is that Black Magic found itself in an unfortunate position. Although I find the stories very well done, it cannot be denied that some of the comic book readers preferred horror stories that were stronger and more gruesome. So Black Magic probably lost some of its readership to the publications of Bill Gaines and others. At the same time (adult) public sentiment was rising against comics. Bill Gaines and his horror comics acted like lightning rods attracting much criticism. Black Magic became associated in the minds of many adults with the more extreme fares. In response some newsstands began to refuse to sell certain comic genre, horror in particular. Eventually a comic code would be created and the more extreme comics would cease to exist. But that was too late for Black Magic, at least until it resumed in 1958.

Black Magic #33
Black Magic #33 (November 1954) “Lone Shark” by Jack Kirby

Jack even included in this story another extinct cephalopod. But I was really hoping for a more exciting use of a cephalopod by Jack Kirby. At the moment I cannot think of one. So I will close with one with a tenuous link to Simon and Kirby. At the start of his career, before Joe Simon teamed up with Jack, he did some work for the agency Funnies Incorporated. I previously posted on what have been Joe’s first comic book work which eventually appeared in Amazing Man Comics #10. In the same comic there is a feature called The Shark by Lew Glanz. I guess it was attempt by Funnies Inc. to duplicate the success they had with Bill Everett’s Submariner. In there story is a page with a great octopus, another cephalopod. It shows the confrontation of the Shark with the killer beast. Unfortunately Glanz ruins it all by having the octopus turning coward and fleeing. The whole story is filled with similar build ups with disappointing conclusions.

Amazing Man #10
Amazing Man #10 (March 1940) “The Shark” by Lew Glanz

Happy Birthday Joe!

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Posted in 1 Early, 2006/10, 4 DC (early), Featured Work, Odds & Ends, Periods, Topic, z Archive.

Star Spangled #48
Star Spangled #48 (September 1945)

Best wishes to Joe Simon on his birthday. Joe is still doing well although he has had a cold that he has not been able to shake for a number of weeks. Even so Joe is still very active. As we saw from his ad proposal Joe has some ongoing projects.

Joe Simon
by Joe Simon
Enlarged view

In honor of this day I post images of Joe’s first published comic art. This was done for his high school newspaper the name of which I unfortunately forget. I cannot say I fully understand the humor, perhaps you had to be going to his school to appreciate it.

The Day After

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Posted in 2006/08, 6 Mainline, Featured Work, Foxhole, In Love, Periods, z Archive.

I was going to work tonight on a couple more “Not Kirby” posts. But somehow it just does not seem appropriate the day after Jack’s birthday. So I have decided to continue with progressive proofs of covers. As I said yesterday progressive proofs provide prints of the individual colors which I scan separately and combine using Photoshop. I believe this provides the most accurate idea of what the cover looked like when it was first published. No retouching or color adjustments are required. Joe Simon only had progressive proofs for five covers left. Not surprisingly they were all for Mainline Comics, the short lived comic publishing company that Joe and Jack started.

In Love #1
In Love #1 (September 1954) by Jack Kirby and John Prentice

I have posted a smaller image of this cover proof before although I did not mention then that it was based on progressive proofs. In Love was the romance title for Mainline. Jack did the foreground figures and John Prentice drew the background ones. This is a unique example of two S&K artists working on the same cover. I wish that the original art was still around. Perhaps it could provide evidence as to why this was done by two artists.

Foxhole4.jpg
Foxhole #4 (April 1955) by Jack Kirby

Joe Simon has told me that they (the S&K shop) did not do the color guides for the comics, that was the responsibility of the publisher. Once Joe was pointing out the artists in a photograph of the S&K studio. Joe said that one of the artists, whose name I forget, was the colorist. At the time I though Joe was contradicting himself. But later Joe described the financial deal that he had for producing comics for Prize. S&K had to cover all costs for producing the comics. When a certain percentage of the printed comics were shipped, S&K would get some money back and then share the profits from the actual sales. But I believe that when the deal was made making the color guides was not part of the work that S&K would have to do. But it would not make sense for the colorist to work elsewhere, in fact Prize may not have had their own artist bullpen. So the colorist would work in the S&K studio but be paid by the publisher Prize.

However Mainline Comics were S&K’s own company and so all work in creating the comics were their responsibility. So they oversaw, if they were not actually involved, in making the color guides. It seems to me that some of the Mainline cover color work is very different from work done for Prize. In fact some of them are in my opinion the best color work ever done for Simon and Kirby comics. The cover for Foxhole #4 is certainly one of these great color jobs. In fact it would not be anywhere near as dramatic without the colors.

Police Trap #2
Police Trap #2 (November 1954) by Jack Kirby

The first two Police Trap covers show the interior of a police station. Even though they were swipes from some paintings, they are just great Kirby covers.

In Love #4
In Love #4 (March 1955) by Bill Draut

Jack Kirby did not draw most of the work in the Mainline comics despite the fact that during this period he stop drawing anything for the Prize romances. Joe Simon is said to have handled most of the business aspects of the S&K shop but I suspect running their own publishing company required more business effort which even Jack had to help with. But there were other fine artists to help such as Bill Draut who did this cover. Actually yesterday when I wrote that Jack Kirby did the cover for In Love #3 that was not technically correct. The insert of the book cover was done by Draut.