The Simon and Kirby Superheroes [Hardcover]

Joe Simon (Author), Jack Kirby (Illustrator), Neil Gaiman (Introduction), Jim Simon (Contributor)

Book Description

Release date: September 28, 2010

Beginning with Blue Bolt in June 1940, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby set the standard for costumed heroes. Their creation Captain America remains one of the most famous heroes in comic book history, and their work for Timely and DC Comics raised the bar.

This large format hardcover collects the duo’s most exciting characters: Fighting American, their cold-war take on the patriotic hero, The Fly, with origins in an unknown Spider-Man prototype, Lancelot Strong, the man with the double life, and the Hollywood swashbuckler known as Stuntman.

This is the only edition authorized by both Joe Simon and the estate of Jack Kirby, gathered from the official Simon and Kirby archives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A beautiful and expansive book that collects so much of [Jack] Kirby and Joe Simon's great efforts." - Washington Post

"As much a valuable historical artefact as it is a compilation of fantastic comic book classics. 10/10. An essential collection." - Total Sci-Fi Online

 "A gorgeous volume..." - LA Times

"The Stuntman stories are some of the best superhero material this pair ever produced." - Blog Critics

"... another homerun produced by Titan Books. It’s an eye popping and lovingly produced tribute to some of the best talent that the Golden Age had to offer. Go out and pick it up if you love classic superhero stuff. It’s worth its weight in gold and more." - Ain't It Cool

"The ultimate collection for Simon and Kirby’s work..." - Comic Attack

About the Author

Joe Simon and 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: 480 pages
• Publisher: Titan Books; First Edition edition (September 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1848563655
• ISBN-13: 978-1848563650
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1.8 x 11.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #384,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete (hopefully) collection or S&K superheroes not owned by Marvel or DC October 18, 2010

By Michael R. Brown

Format:Hardcover

As people have asked, here is the a list of the works in this collection.

Black Owl
"The Whistler" (Prize Comics #7)
"Return of the Whistler" (Prize Comics #8)
"Menace of Madame Mystery" (Prize Comics #9)

Stuntman
cover of Stuntman #1,2 and #3
"Killer in the Big Top" (Stuntman #1)
"Crime on Cauliflower Row)
"Stuntman Enters the House of Madness"
"Curtain Call for Death" (Stuntman #2)
"Rescue of Robin Hood"
"Stuntman Smashes Rest Camp for Criminals" (Stuntman #3)
"Stuntman Battles the Diamond's Curse" (Stuntman #3)
"Stuntman Battles a New Menace on Terror Island" (unpublished)
"Stuntman Brings to Justice the Evil Sons of M. LeBlanc" (unpub)
"Stuntman Crowns a Jungle Lord" (unpub)

Vagabond Prince
"Trapped n Wax" (unpub)
"Madness of Dr. Altu" (Black Cat Comics #7)
"Death-Trap De Luxe (Black Cat Comics #8)

Captain 3-D
"Man from the World of D" (Captain 3-D #1)
"The Menace of the Living Dolls"
"Iron Hat McGinty and His Destruction Gang"

Fighting American
Covers for Fighting American #1-7, V2 #1,2 and unpublished #4
"First Assignment: Break the Spy Ring!" (Fighting American #1)
"Second Assignment: Track Down the Baby Buzz Bombs"
"Duel to the Finish Line!"
"Assignment: Expose the League of the Handsome Devils!" (FA #2)
"Assignment: Find the King of the Crime Syndicate"
"Assignment: Investigate the City of Ghouls"
"The Man Who Sold Out Liberty!" (FA #3)
"Stranger from Paradise"
"Poison Ivan"
"Z Food"
"Tokyo Run Around" (FA #4)
"Home=Coming Year 3000"
"Operation Wolf!"
"Follow the Dangerous Trail of Jiseppi the Jungle Boy" (FA #5)
"The Year Bender"
"Track Down Invisible Irving"
"Deadly Doolittle" (FA #6)
"Super-Khakalovitch.. Boy Has been"
"Sneak of Araby" (FA #7)
"Three Coins in the Pushcart"
"Space-Face!"
"ROund Robin" (FA V2#1)
"Roman Scoundrels"
"Secret of Yafata's Moustache"
"Beef Box" (from FA collected edition)
"Mad Inker" (unpub)

Double Life of Private Strong
Cover from Double Life of Private Strong #1
"Meet Lancelot Strong" (DLPS #1)
"Double Life of Private Strong"
"Spawn of the X World"
"Private Strong: Sneak Attack" (Adventures of Fly #1)
"Mystery of the Vanished Wreckage" (DLPS #1)
"Menace of the Micro Men"
"Loveable Lou: The Toy Master" (DLPS #2)
"Ultra-Sonic Spies"

Adventures of the Fly
Cover of Adventures of the Fly #1,2
"Strange New World of the Fly" (Fly #1)
"Fly Strikes"
"Fly Discovers His Buzz Gun"
"Come into My Parlor"
"Marco's Eyes" (Fly #2)
"The Fly: Hide-Out" (DLPS #1)
"Tim O'Casey Wrecking Crew" (Fly #2)

Bonus Gallery of S&K covers & rarities

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Long Overdue Tribute Finally Arrives October 5, 2010

By William Cross

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

For those in the know, Joe Simon & Jack Kirby were "THE" super-hero creative team during the Golden Age of the American comic book. While most other creators (Jerry Siegel-Joe Shuster, Bob Kane-Bill Finger, Will Eisner, Jack Cole) had to content themselves with creating one popular strip, the Simon-Kirby team created more than a score of them.

While their work for the major publishers (Marvel & DC) is being reprinted, many of their efforts for the other, smaller publishers has not - until now!

Titan Books has assembled ALL of the super-hero stories the team created for every one of those other publishers in one massive collection.

This is a HUGE volume of meticulously restored comic book stories, prepared with Joe Simon's participation. You'll find the complete Simon & Kirby runs on such characters as Fighting American (their own parody of their wildly popular Captain America strip), Stuntman, the Black Owl, the Vagabond Prince, Captain 3-D, the Shield (Pvt. Strong), and the Fly.

Because this stunning hardcover also contains previously unpublished art and stories, it is a "must-have" for any fan of Simon & Kirby.

You won't find a better value in Golden Age comics material anywhere! Highly recommended!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great... October 22, 2010

By B. Younger

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have been a huge fan of Jack Kirby's work, and the work of Simon & Kirby together, for many years. For a long time, I wouldn't even consider adding a book to my collection unless it was by Kirby. So my expectations for this new volume by Titan Books was very high, especially since their first collection of S&K's work, "The Best of Simon & Kirby", had such excellent production values and reproduction quality.

First, let me just say that this is a MASSIVE volume of work, weighing in at nearly 4 pounds and close to 500 pages of material. It is also a delight to find rarely seen work here, including three Black Owl stories and unpublished stories featuring Stuntman, Vagabond Prince and Fighting American. And a real bonus is having the entire Captain 3-D comic published in full-color 2-D for the first time.

However, despite the great selection of material and a great design, the artwork reproduction and color leave a lot to be desired. The overall quality of the reprinting is much darker than the previous volume, with the black lines seeming to bleed together. Colors are way too dark in most cases, making it even more difficult to see the the line work and distinguish between objects. Overall, much of this fabulous work is rendered murky and flat.

My guess is that the editors decided to reproduce the stories as close as possible to the original printed versions. This seems to be supported by the decision to use coarse screen tints (the dots that make up the color tints) to simulate the look of the four-color pulp printing of yesteryear. Although I can appreciate the desire to reprint the material to appear just like it did 50 to 60 years ago, the unfortunate reality is that decision does not do justice to the ingenious work of Joe and Jack.

I still believe this book is worth the investment, especially for the price, but as much as I'd like to give this rave reviews, the most I can muster is a four out of five star rating. I will continue to support the efforts of Titan Books in compiling some of the greatest comic work ever created, but I urge them to use better digital processes now available to show the work in it's very best light.