Customer Reviews

Joe Simon: My Life in Comics

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Imagine sitting alone with Joe Simon, the cocreator of Captain America, whose career evolved with the earliest history of comic books and having him tell you the story of his life. Include personal anecdotes about the major companies and personalities of the last 75 years in the comic book industry, all told in an easy conversational style. That's what you have in this entertaining, mesmerizing book. You can't put it down once you start and you don't want the conversation to ever end. Every few pages you have an amazing reveal or insight about the origin of a name or a character or a genre in the development

of the comics industry. By the end of the book Joe Simon becomes a friend and you feel privileged to have heard

such a personal and detailed life story. This is much deeper and richer than any comic book history I have ever read.

Even if you have read Joe's first book, there is so much more included in this new one. The style in which it is written makes it a page turner. I could not recommend it more highly. So quit pondering and 1- click it already!

Joe Simon is one of the few living treasures still around from the Golden Age of Comics, and this autobiography is a gem as well.

Even if you aren't familiar with the history of comic books, this is an enjoyable read, both entertaining and educational. Joe has a friendly and easy-to-understand writing style, honed from nearly seven decades of writing (and drawing) for comics.

If I have a complaint, it's that Joe sometimes portrays a rosy view of some events that we know were pretty trying for him and his partner. But better to look back on those times with optimism than with bitterness. Good for Joe.

I consider myself pretty much aware of comics history, but I learned several things I hadn't known before.

Thanks to Joe, editor Steve Saffel, and Titan Books for bringing this one to us, along with the beautiful color reprints of Joe and Jack Kirby's stories in the other volumns in this series.

Highly recommended.

For those who know Joe Simon, his autobiography reads true to form. It is quite a piece of work. I started reading his life story and cruised through experiences he had from Rochester NY to New York City, and the stops in between. The book speaks to the reader with humor and insight. Joe's book is like sitting down with him in his apartment (Joe's Habitat) and allowing him to reminisce about his life, his family and his friends. He tells it like it is with out pulling punches. For those who enjoy the history of comic books, this book is a must. For those who enjoy being entertained, this book is a must. For those who want to learn about a great man's life, this book is a must. For those who just want to know more about a living legend, this book is a must. This book speaks to the reader and allows the reader to follow Joe's life through pictures and illustrations. This book is a much easier read and much more fun than his previous book, The Comic Book Makers.

There is a somewhat widely held theory that anyone in comics who is `someone', or has accomplished anything of note has the initials J.S. Jim Steranko, Joe Sinnot, Joe Staton, and Joe Simon come to mind. It is currently my theory that anyone who reads "My Life in Comics, Joe Simon" will agree with that hypothesis.

Few individuals are alive today who contributed to the beginning of the American comic book industry, and even fewer are alive who made such a contribution that they are still held in awe. Joe Simon, if we were to list his significant works, would probably blush. So, we will indeed list some of his notables:

Captain America and Bucky

Newsboy Legion

Fighting American

3-D Comics

Boys Town

Romance Comics

Challengers of the Unknown

Silver Spider

Sick Magazine

Black Magic

The Prez

Stuntman

Okay, get the point? In addition to being prolific, he really could do it all. From his early training in newspapers, he learned paste up, production, art touch up, writing, photography, promotion, printing, sales, and contract law. I probably forgot to mention lettering, and coloring too. He, in addition to his comic book work, served industry in advertising, layout, painting, and even produced work during his army stint.

His cohorts in artistic endeavors included: Jack Kirby, Bob Powell, George Tuska, Steve Ditko, Jim Steranko, Carl Burgos, Bill Everett, Mort Meskin, Jack Davis, and many others.

If any man is THE source for the real history of comic books, Mr Simon is it. At 98, he still remembers. At 98, he still can draw. At 98, he still goes to comic conventions. He, is truly a living legend, just like his creation a la crème, Captain America.

The book covers his career from the early 1930's to 2010. Nearly 80 years of experience and memories tied up in one impressive book that seems to pass by like a flowing stream. This is a seamless read, that begs for more intimate memories of the past, more stories of Jack Kirby, more, more, more.

The illustrations are plentiful, but not enough to illustrate his entire career. I really wonder how many books he illustrated, edited, and wrote? The list, I am sure, would be shocking. I am pleased to note that Abrams will be releasing a high quality art book from Joe Simon soon as well.

I have read many biographies, and many `art of' books. This is a `Life of' book, that really digs into the past where no modern creator has been. Only Joe Simon could tell these stories. Stan Lee? Yeah, Joe know him WAY BACK WHEN...Al Harvey, a lifetime of memories.

This is a masterpiece that needs to be read by collectors everywhere. The forward, introduction about the Civil War soldier is particularly meaningful, and serves to be a symbol of Joe Simon today. Like the solider speaking to a grade 5 class, Joe speaks to us about the Platinum age.

He may have shook the hand of the man who shook the hand of Abraham Lincoln, but we can read HIS words...

Tim Lasiuta

I am a child of the eighties. Even though I grew up loving comics and comic books, it wasn't until recent years that I took an interest in reading the back-issues and the foundations of the stories I had grown to love.

Joe Simon was instrumental in creating those foundations. In this book, you get the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Simon for a few hundred pages as he reminisces about the world of comics and his contribution to that world. It's like sitting down with your grandfather, or an old friend, as he takes you on a journey to a place and time that we can now only barely imagine. If it weren't for the Joe Simon's and the Dave Cockrums, the Stan Lee's and the Jack Kirby's...there would be no "X-Men First-Class" summer blockbusters. There would be no Hugh Jackman "Wolverine's", no Ryan Reynold's "Green Lantern". Not to mention the artists and the writers that create the countless comic-book issues that fill thousands of comic-book stores every week, all who owe a great deal of gratitude to the generation of the greats like Joe Simon.

But this book isn't just for comic book fans and readers. This book is about the incredible life of one incredibly talented individual and the impact he had on generations of children and adults alike.

It's a fantastic journey behind the curtain of a media that has long been evolving, and growing.

Joe Simon invites you to sit with him as he takes you on the ride that has been his decades-long career. It's a fantastic book. I would recommend it to everyone.

I had the opportunity to pick this up at Heroescon, cover to cover it is an amazing read. Not only is it a unique look into Joe Simon's life and career, it also reminded me of many of the opportunities we take for granted everyday. Joe Simon mentions his "search for the great American hero," one can argue that in many ways he epitomizes so much of what he was looking for. I know it may seem early to add, but I anxiously await next year's Eisner Awards where I expect to see this as the Best Comics-Related Book!

The book reads as if you are in the room with Joe Simon as he shares both personal and professional moments from his amazing life. Touching anecdotes mixed with an inside account of comics from their creation to the modern era make this a great read for anyone with a passion for comics or appreciation of 20th century history.

Joe has an amazing memory at his age, and uses it to best advanatge in this overview of his unique life in comics. I enjoyed every word of this book and if I have any complaints at all, it's just that it could have been twice as long with twice as much detail and I'd have liked it that much more. If you have ever read and enjoyed a Simon & Kirby comic book, or Sick magazine for that matter, you owe it to yourself to read Joe's very entertaining and enlightening true story. This is very much the REAL Adventures of Kavalier And Clay!

After a lifetime of fantastic, inspiring creations, Joe Simon leaves us with perhaps his most fascinating tale; his life. Written in an episodic, off-the-cuff style, Simon relates events of great cultural import with the endearing, unaffected modesty of a guy who made history just by doing his job. It was a job he loved and we are all the richer for it. Both as an insider's history of comics and the story of a life well-lived, this autobiography delivers. Any fan of American popular culture would do well to read it. Joe Simon was one of the greats.

This is one of the best written autobiographies that this reviewer has encountered in a long time -- not only does Simon delve into just about every area that a fan of his work (or comic books in general) might be interested in, but he also transcends his subject matter -- he leaves lots of room here, in the course of telling his story, for reasons why the uncoverted might actually care (and should care) about his field. And he tells a great story -- actually, lots and lots of them, that bear some pondering and also re-reading. A fun and informative read, and an enlightening one, as well.

In Joe Simon we have a rare and unique resource:

There at the inception of the medium

Involved in every aspect of the medium; artist, writer, editor, publisher, entrepreneur.

Worked with and for the most important companies and personalities in the history of the medium.

Longevity

Great recall

As opposed to other professionals who have written books in the medium, the points outlined above provide Joe with the broadest of perspectives. This spares us the all bias's inherent in virtually every other history of the medium making this a must read.