The Best of Simon and Kirby [Hardcover]

Joe Simon (Author), Jack Kirby (Author), Steve Saffel (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 12, 2009

A collection of complete comic book stories from the legendary team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, covering every genre in which they made their mark.

From the very beginning in the late 1930s, Simon and Kirby produced the finest stories around, creating dramatic new super heroes (Captain America, Blue Bolt, Fighting American, The Fly), western action (Boy’s Ranch), gruesome horror (Black Magic), explosive detective fiction (Justice Traps the Guilty), and the very first romance comics (Young Romance). They were the dream team.

• The only edition authorised by both Joe Simon and the estate of Jack Kirby

• Hand-picked by Joe Simon himself, with introductory material by him

• The images are fully restored to their original vibrancy by Harry Mendryk and presented in an impressive, collectible package

• Contains more than two-dozen tales, presented in their entirety, including stories from Simon and Kirby’s time at DC and Marvel

• Includes some of the most famous S&K creations, including Captain America, Fighting American, The Fly, Boy’s Ranch, Bullseye, and Stuntman

• The beginning of a planned collection of the entire Simon and Kirby Library

• With illustrated essays by Mark Evanier, author of Kirby: King of Comics

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Joe Simon and Jack Kirby are comics’ Lennon/McCartney dream duo. Teaming in the 1940s, Simon was the seasoned writer/editor/inker and Kirby the hot young artist who ultimately became one of the industry’s most influential and creative personalities. They invented Captain America, received the first cover bylines, and their jump-off-the-pages action told the story as strongly as the words, changing comics forever. This first in a six-volume series offers a broad look at their collaborations. They worked in many genres, and chapters spotlight heroes, science fiction, war and adventure, crime drama, Westerns, horror, sick humor, and romance (future volumes will cover some subjects individually), each with a background intro by Kirby biographer Mark Evanier. The book sports 25 gloriously restored comics selected by Simon plus five additional covers—the art is absolutely killer!—and is capped with a checklist of all the comics they produced together/apart. Dazzling from beginning to end, The Best of Simon and Kirby is a monumental piece of comics’ history and a hunk of Americana that is a dream come true for legions of fans. Buy it for your graphic novels, art, or pop-culture collections, but buy it. Essential." — Library Journal

About the Author

Joe Simon, with Jack Kirby, created one of the most enduring American heroes in 1940 with the first issue of Captain America Comics from Timely Comics—the company that became Marvel Comics. Simon proved to be a brilliant editor, writer, penciller, inker, and businessman, serving as an editor for Archie, Harvey, Fox, Crestwood, and Mainline Publications—Simon and Kirby’s own company.

Jack Kirby is one of the most famous illustrators in comic book history. Having begun in the Fox Comics Bullpen in 1939, he teamed with Joe Simon on such seminal series as Blue Bolt and Captain Marvel Adventures. In subsequent years they worked in every genre imaginable, often seeing their titles sell in excess of one million copies.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Titan Books (May 12, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845769317
• ISBN-13: 978-1845769314
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 1 x 12.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #603,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of the Best, May 17, 2009

By 

F. Scott Valeri (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Best of Simon and Kirby (Hardcover)

Titan Books and Steve Saffel ( editor ) have just done all of us who love comic book history a tremendous service in releasing this wonderful volume of golden age Simon and Kirby hit stories. This is a sampler of all genres, but superheroes are well represented. The book is gloriously oversized with the best production values of any book of this type that I have ever seen. If you had mint condition books you still could not experience these stories with the clarity and size and loving reproduction that this book delivers. The colors are perfect (not overdone with modern production techniques ) and the art is a master showcase of Jack Kirby talent. If you are reading this review STOP and buy this book NOW ! You know you want to ! You will be more pleased than you can possibly imagine.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best of simon and kirby, May 14, 2009

By 

Mark Vaz - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best of Simon and Kirby (Hardcover)

ASIN: "The Best of Simon and Kirby"
"The Best of Simon and Kirby" is a joy to behold. I think it's great that a generation raised on TV, the Internet blogosphere, cell phones, and i-pods gets a taste of two-fisted Golden Age comic book action. This book delivers, and with style.

This book marks that seminal territory where American popular culture took off, where the Marvel Age of Comics really began. The sheer exuberance, the youthful quality if you will, of the comics medium is evident on every page, both in the wild storylines and dramatic action. Jack Kirby's figures practically feel rubberized, about to bounce through the panel borders (and occasionally do).

The art restoration by Harry Mendryk reminds me of the best film restoration work. Many comics reprints, particularly from the 1940s, often have a dark and blurry look. In this book every line pops, the visuals are crisp and vibrant.

I did have the good fortune to meet Joe Simon a few years ago, in the company of this book's editor, Steve Saffel. The term "living legend" absolutely applied, and it's great that Joe is around to see this wonderful tribute to the pioneering work of the immortal team of Simon and Kirby.
Mark Vaz

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Have Been Waiting for This Book All My Life!, May 16, 2009

By 

William Cross (Florida) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Best of Simon and Kirby (Hardcover)

There are very few names as magical as Simon & Kirby in the history of comic book creators. This gorgeous volume is a long-overdue look at one of the most prolific and inventive teams in the field.

Joe Simon & Jack Kirby created some of the most memorable super-heroes beginning with Captain America and continuing until the team broke up in the 1950's. Most of their better known creations are all here with a representative story each.

But thank goodness this "must have" hardcover doesn't end with the super-heroes because S&K could never be pigeon-holed by any one genre. In addition to creating Romance Comics, they made significant contributions to just about every type of book you could imagine. This BEST OF volume gives you a sampling of their War, Horror, Crime, Science Fiction, Romance, Humor and Western (Yes, BOYS RANCH & BULLS EYE are here) work as well.

The book itself has been lovingly produced. The scan work is the best I have ever seen, actually improving on the color registration and correcting other flaws in the source material.

The oversiize format is terrific. Joe & Jack's art is often so crammed with detail that having it reproduced slightly larger than the old comic books really saves on the eye strain.

Future volumes will focus on specific genres, but this comprehensive overview is the perfect way to kick off the series. Highly recommended to fans of pop culture in general and exciting, action-packed comics in particular.