Jack
Kirby's creations are legendary. His legion of fans is universal--As
are the characters of Simon and Kirby; They are timeless.
The characters of Simon and Kirby live on. This is a
collection of their favorites.
Joe
Simon started his art career in the newspaper field. In the mid-1930s,
he came to New York and stumbled into the then new publishing venture
called comic books. A shabby, amateurish industry of lackluster
talents, it was far removed from today's multi-million dollar
phenomenon which is now regarded by cultists and educators as a true
American art form.
In 1939, Simon moved to comics,
free-lancing for Funnies, Inc one of the first comics packaging shops.
Funnies was run by a former World War One Colonel, Lloyd Jacquet. While
free-lancing for Funnies Inc, Simon produced art and stories for
Centaur, Novelty, and Fox Publications.
After
creating Captain America, which was published by Timely (Marvel), Simon
went on to DC Comics where he created the popular Newsboy Legion,
Sandman, Boy Commandos, and Manhunter. He created Stuntman, Boy
Explorers, and Boys' Ranch for Harvey Publications, The Fly for Archie
Comics, and Fighting American, Bulls Eye, and the entire romance genre
for Prize Publications. Besides editing for Timely, Fox, Harvey, and
Crestwood, Simon was publisher of Mainline Publications and Sick
Magazine.
In the 1960s, Joe Simon moved to
advertising. He produced many political, commercial, and educational
comics. In the 1970s, he created comics for DC and Marvel while
continuing his work in advertising. DC and Marvel have continued to
license and reprint his work. Marvel has reprinted hard-cover deluxe
editions of his collected work in the books Fighting American, Boy's
Ranch, and the two-volume Captain America: The Early Years.
He
has been interviewed in many publications, including The Chicago
Tribune, as well as having been interviewed on television and radio,
and he has spoken at various universities. His art has been auctioned
at Christies. In 1990, Joe Simon, with his son, Jim Simon, wrote The
Comic Book Makers, an autobiographical history of the
comics.