Simon & Kirby American Heroes

I don't have too many examples of Simon/Kirby artwork in my files because when I was collecting scans from about 2003 - 2005 my main focus was on Jack's 1960s material. Plus at that time there weren't a lot of Simon/Kirby interior scans available and the original books themselves were very expensive.

I want to make this website a kind of kaleidoscope where I flash all over Jack's career, so I'll do a quick eBay search and see if I can find some gems.

Looking at the brilliant Simon/Kirby covers as I scroll through all the hundreds of comic books for sale reminds me of summer afternoons in the 1970s where I'd wander down the block and check out a neighbors flea market. Finding a box full of old comics that were a nickle apiece was like finding buried treasure.

Here are a couple Simon/Kirby scans I thought were great. First of all, look at this mess.

Beautiful Kirby/Simon art from 1954, but this is why I love looking at comics online. I shudder to think about what those brown stains on the cover of that book might be. I remember when I was about 9-years-old in the late 1970s going to a friend's house to buy some comics, because he had a mint condition copy of Star Wars #1 for me. Only one problem, unfortunately his cat went to the bathroom on it. Not saying that's what happened to this book, but I don't expect to see it in a CGC slab anytime soon.

I've also met a lot of collectors who say they love the smell of newsprint, but I'm not a member of that club. I love looking at comics on the computer, which is one of the reasons I decided to start showing some Kirby art on this website. In my opinion, looking at art on the computer makes the process more active, I can cut and paste images and try and put together my version of the ultimate PowerPoint presentation on the diversity and dynamics of Kirby's art and storytelling.

I hadn't seen this cover before and it actually made me laugh. Fighting American #1, Kirby/Simon art (1954).

Not your typical "super-villain." Looks like a human version of George Lucas's Jabba the Hut.

Here's the last Simon-Kirby Captain America cover before Jack and Joe headed off to war. Attributed to Kirby/Crandall (1942).