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Product Description
Review
"Joe Simon's memoir is essential reading for any fan of comic book history and storytelling." --ComicBook.com
"It's a lovely memoir, often funny, sometimes thought-provoking, and never ostentatious. It's a true pleasure to read." --Graphic Novel Reporter
"A true visionary, Simon's book is laced with never-before-seen photos and illustrations, and told in his own words. If you're at all curious about the history of comics and one of its earliest visionaries, My Life in Comics is a must-read." --IGN.com
"Simon is a born storyteller, and this is one amazing story that he's telling." --Comics Worth Reading
"The book is a great read, and Simon's voice feels like you're just sitting down at the table with him as your friend, telling you stories of the good old days." --Comic Attack
"[An] awesome biography." --Maxim
"If you enjoyed the Captain America film then you owe it to yourself to learn more about the man behind it, and Joe Simon is about as fascinating as they come. And the easiest way to do it is to read about it in his own words, do yourself a favor and pick up Joe Simon: My Life in Comics. You won't regret it." --The Huffington Post
"Simon is one of the titans, and his book would be worth reading even if it didn't contain so many good anecdotes." --Financial Times
"If you're a fan of comic book history or just a fan of the history of pop culture in America I'd suggest you pick up JOE SIMON: MY LIFE IN COMICS. Heck, I'd recommend it for most modern comic fans as well. It offers a terrific glimpse of a time when comics were made with real elbow grease and determination. It will inspire you as a comics fan to imagine what it was like to have been in the trenches of the early days of comics with a professional who loved his work and did his best with the tools that he had at his disposal." --Ain't It Cool News
"Like his most famous creation, Joe Simon has earned the title of Living Legend." --Kirkus Reviews
"It's enjoyable and optimistic, and it makes for a really addictive and fast read." --CHUD.com
"Joe Simon one of the oldest living legends of the comic book industry. Joe Simon: My Life if Comics is a solid account of a man who helped shape an industry, and how his role in that industry accidentally helped shape America." --Sci-Fi Mafia
"Touching, honest and charmingly written, this is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the First Avenger - and comics generally. 4 stars." --Empire
"It's a lovely memoir, often funny, sometimes thought-provoking, and never ostentatious. It's a true pleasure to read." --Graphic Novel Reporter
"A true visionary, Simon's book is laced with never-before-seen photos and illustrations, and told in his own words. If you're at all curious about the history of comics and one of its earliest visionaries, My Life in Comics is a must-read." --IGN.com
"Simon is a born storyteller, and this is one amazing story that he's telling." --Comics Worth Reading
"The book is a great read, and Simon's voice feels like you're just sitting down at the table with him as your friend, telling you stories of the good old days." --Comic Attack
"[An] awesome biography." --Maxim
"If you enjoyed the Captain America film then you owe it to yourself to learn more about the man behind it, and Joe Simon is about as fascinating as they come. And the easiest way to do it is to read about it in his own words, do yourself a favor and pick up Joe Simon: My Life in Comics. You won't regret it." --The Huffington Post
"Simon is one of the titans, and his book would be worth reading even if it didn't contain so many good anecdotes." --Financial Times
"If you're a fan of comic book history or just a fan of the history of pop culture in America I'd suggest you pick up JOE SIMON: MY LIFE IN COMICS. Heck, I'd recommend it for most modern comic fans as well. It offers a terrific glimpse of a time when comics were made with real elbow grease and determination. It will inspire you as a comics fan to imagine what it was like to have been in the trenches of the early days of comics with a professional who loved his work and did his best with the tools that he had at his disposal." --Ain't It Cool News
"Like his most famous creation, Joe Simon has earned the title of Living Legend." --Kirkus Reviews
"It's enjoyable and optimistic, and it makes for a really addictive and fast read." --CHUD.com
"Joe Simon one of the oldest living legends of the comic book industry. Joe Simon: My Life if Comics is a solid account of a man who helped shape an industry, and how his role in that industry accidentally helped shape America." --Sci-Fi Mafia
"Touching, honest and charmingly written, this is a fascinating read for anyone interested in the First Avenger - and comics generally. 4 stars." --Empire
Product Description
In his own words, this is the life of Joe Simon, one of the most important figures in comics history, and half of the famous creative team Simon and Kirby. Simon began his prolific career in the Great Depression, and this book reveals what it was like to bring comics out of their infancy, as they became an American art form.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Hardcover
This is how autobiographies should be written a thoroughly enjoyable engaging read. Joe Simon's easy style of writing makes this one of those books you cannot put down, filled with anecdotes and also how both he and his partner Jack Kirby created Captain America and then went on to revolutionise the comic book industry. As I was reading this book I heard the sad news that Joe Simon had passed away, this book is the perfect way to remember a true pioneer of the comic industry and a truly talented man. Please do yourself a favour and buy this book I know you will not be disappointed.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
For those arriving late, Joe Simon was one of the founding fathers of the American comic book. He was in the business from almost the very start, and was working with his long-term creative and business partner Jack Kirby almost as early. Together, they created Captain America, which simultaneously established what is now Marvel Comics and the way in which superhero stories are best told. They then went off to DC, where they revitalised or created a number of other superheroes, as well as creating the "kid gang" genre. After the war, they invented the romance comic genre (which lasted for 30 years even though most of their successors were anaemic in comparison to the originators), made substantial contributions to the crime, horror, war and western genres, and continued to develop their work in the superhero and kid gang fields. They were ridiculously successful, though they split up in the comicbook slump of the mid-fifties, and only once and briefly worked together again after that. Simon dabbled in all sorts of fields, and occasionally appeared in mainstream comics with strange, anomalous and misunderstood titles like Brother Power the Geek (too odd to describe here) and Prez (nearly as odd). Kirby went on to do a few strips you might have heard of, too.
About twenty years ago, Simon brought out a book called "The Comic Book Makers", his memories of his peers in the industry of the 1940s and 1950s. This autobiography is a sequel of sorts, and though its style appears artless it's one of the most captivating books I've read all year, the sort of thing that you pick up from the bedside table intending to read for ten minutes, only to put the light out 90 minutes later knowing you're not going to get enough sleep but not caring anyway.
You see all those comments above headed "Review", under "Product Description"? Every single one of them is correct. Even, God forbid, the one from Ain't It Cool News. Simon has a highly engaging, conversational style - it's like spending time with a coherent, truthful Grandpa Simpson who's actually done something with his life.
The target audience for this book must be comic book fans of a certain age - mea culpa - but what struck me was how interesting it was when Simon was talking about other things entirely, like the towns he grew up in, his family's roots (in Leeds, of all places), his time working in newspapers in the 1930s, his wartime service in the coastguard and his children. He has a habit of going on interesting diversions; it's like he's taking a conversation for a walk.
Towards the end of the book, you get the impression that Simon has chosen not to mention much about certain aspects of his private life: the long and evidently unhappy years after his wife's death are brushed over, and there's a hint that one of his children had a disability. It's his right not to discuss these matters, but many readers would probably like to know more, not out of prurience but because we just want to know more about a fascinating, eloquent man who's clearly led a very interesting and rewarding life.
Because of my interest in American comic books I bought this thinking I'd learn something more about them: I did, but the real pleasure, and the real interest, was in all the other stuff, and in feeling I'd got to know a highly interesting, very engaging and totally distinctive character. I was disapppointed when I finished this book, but only because I wanted it to go on for so much longer.
About twenty years ago, Simon brought out a book called "The Comic Book Makers", his memories of his peers in the industry of the 1940s and 1950s. This autobiography is a sequel of sorts, and though its style appears artless it's one of the most captivating books I've read all year, the sort of thing that you pick up from the bedside table intending to read for ten minutes, only to put the light out 90 minutes later knowing you're not going to get enough sleep but not caring anyway.
You see all those comments above headed "Review", under "Product Description"? Every single one of them is correct. Even, God forbid, the one from Ain't It Cool News. Simon has a highly engaging, conversational style - it's like spending time with a coherent, truthful Grandpa Simpson who's actually done something with his life.
The target audience for this book must be comic book fans of a certain age - mea culpa - but what struck me was how interesting it was when Simon was talking about other things entirely, like the towns he grew up in, his family's roots (in Leeds, of all places), his time working in newspapers in the 1930s, his wartime service in the coastguard and his children. He has a habit of going on interesting diversions; it's like he's taking a conversation for a walk.
Towards the end of the book, you get the impression that Simon has chosen not to mention much about certain aspects of his private life: the long and evidently unhappy years after his wife's death are brushed over, and there's a hint that one of his children had a disability. It's his right not to discuss these matters, but many readers would probably like to know more, not out of prurience but because we just want to know more about a fascinating, eloquent man who's clearly led a very interesting and rewarding life.
Because of my interest in American comic books I bought this thinking I'd learn something more about them: I did, but the real pleasure, and the real interest, was in all the other stuff, and in feeling I'd got to know a highly interesting, very engaging and totally distinctive character. I was disapppointed when I finished this book, but only because I wanted it to go on for so much longer.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
12 reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
A 5 Star Spangled History
22 Jun 2011
Format:Hardcover
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!
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!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Joe is a gem
17 July 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
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.
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.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
A Great Book by a Living Legend
23 Jun 2011
Format:Hardcover
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.
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