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Review
"Dazzling from beginning to end, The Best of Simon and Kirby is a monumental piece of comics' history and a hunk of Americana" --Library Journal
"The oversized hardcover is a pleasure to read due to the excellent reproduction and coloring on thick matte paper." --Comics Worth Reading
"This book is exactly why coffee table volumes are needed." --Comics Bulletin
"The Best of Simon and Kirby is done right; it's a gorgeous hardcover and full-color treatment of the work of two men who changed the industry forever. Highly recommended." --Graphic Novel Reporter
"After hearing for years and years about how great the comic-book creative team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby was, I finally 'get it.' All it took was reading the pair's The Best of Simon and Kirby, a fabulous hardcover collection from Titan Books." --Bookgasm
"If you only know the legendary Simon & Kirby team for their work on Cap or the Newsboy Legion, this book is a must-read. You gain an entirely new appreciation for their efforts and Titan is to be commended for reminding us about the field's pioneers." --Comic Mix
"As far as execution I have never seen a book on comic books that is as well done as The Best Of Simon & Kirby." --Crave Online
"The oversized hardcover is a pleasure to read due to the excellent reproduction and coloring on thick matte paper." --Comics Worth Reading
"This book is exactly why coffee table volumes are needed." --Comics Bulletin
"The Best of Simon and Kirby is done right; it's a gorgeous hardcover and full-color treatment of the work of two men who changed the industry forever. Highly recommended." --Graphic Novel Reporter
"After hearing for years and years about how great the comic-book creative team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby was, I finally 'get it.' All it took was reading the pair's The Best of Simon and Kirby, a fabulous hardcover collection from Titan Books." --Bookgasm
"If you only know the legendary Simon & Kirby team for their work on Cap or the Newsboy Legion, this book is a must-read. You gain an entirely new appreciation for their efforts and Titan is to be commended for reminding us about the field's pioneers." --Comic Mix
"As far as execution I have never seen a book on comic books that is as well done as The Best Of Simon & Kirby." --Crave Online
Review
"These gems show the Simon/Kirby hydra mastering every genre from superheroes to sci-fi, war to romance... Intelligent, frequently postmodern scripts are bolstered by dynamic art that pioneers the laws of comic book physics"
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
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Length:
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Joe Simon and Jack Kirby are two popular names in the comics industry for good reason. Their partnership has created enduring heroes, like Captain America and gave comic book readers a reason to be excited. They are also the first to create the double-page spread.
The Best of Simon and Kirby is a selection of stories restored from scans of the original comics. The restoration is great and brings us back to the days where background colours are rendered in halftone dots. The few genres in this book includes superheroes (of course), sci-fi, war, romance, crime, western, horror and humour. There are 26 stories.
Within these panels, the greats show us how comics are done in the past, why they became American popular culture. Readers who grew up reading these comics should find them nostalgic.
This is a large hardcover book with dust jacket. It seems, from what I've read, that this is the beginning of a planned collection of the entire Simon and Kirby Collection.
This book is for those into classic comics.
(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)
The Best of Simon and Kirby is a selection of stories restored from scans of the original comics. The restoration is great and brings us back to the days where background colours are rendered in halftone dots. The few genres in this book includes superheroes (of course), sci-fi, war, romance, crime, western, horror and humour. There are 26 stories.
Within these panels, the greats show us how comics are done in the past, why they became American popular culture. Readers who grew up reading these comics should find them nostalgic.
This is a large hardcover book with dust jacket. It seems, from what I've read, that this is the beginning of a planned collection of the entire Simon and Kirby Collection.
This book is for those into classic comics.
(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In the 1960s, the dream team in comic books was Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. 20 years earlier, the dream team was Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. As this beautifully-produced book shows, Simon and Kirby were pioneers, introducing dynamic page layouts, the double-page spread, the 'kid gang' and romance genres, and upping the ante in existing genres with war, cowboy, crime, horror, sci-fi, humour and, of course, super-hero stories. Well-chosen examples of all of these are included in this introductory volume to a planned series of Kirby/Simon reprints. Spanning the years 1940 to 1960, we have complete stories of Captain America, the Sandman, Stuntman, Fighting American, the Fly, Blue Bolt, Boy Commandos, the Kid Cowboys of Boys' Ranch, Bulls Eye and others.
Perhaps the main thing that set Simon and Kirby apart from most of their contemporaries is that they didn't treat their readers like idiots. At a time when comic books were regarded as disposable trash, Joe and Jack saw them as a great way to tell stories about, well, anything, and to do so with wit and intelligence. And that's what they did. While Kirby handled most of the pencilling, bringing a new, cinematic dynamism to comic art, Simon did most of the inking, and both men devised plots and wrote dialogue. Obviously the artwork looks old-fashioned by modern standards. After all, we're talking about stories published 70 years ago. At the time, it was cutting edge stuff that influenced a whole generation of comic book creators, establishing much of the 'language' of comics still used to this day. They simply understood the possibilities of four-colour comics in ways that left their contemporaries running to catch up.
While these stories are interesting period pieces, there are some that still pack quite a punch, particularly where they deal with issues close to the hearts of their creators. Among these, I'd single out 1947's 'My City is No More,' and 1954's 'Booby Trap.' Another stand-out is 1950's 'The Scorn of the Faceless People,' which is not only a classic weird tale but contains some of the best artwork in the book.
This is a large-format hardback with the stories beautifully reproduced from enhanced scans from the original comic books and printed on archive quality paper. Many of the tales reproduced here are almost impossible to find and, if you can find them, will set you back hundreds of dollars. All in all, a master-class in how to do classic comic-book reprints and a great taster for what promises to be a superb and highly-collectible series.
Perhaps the main thing that set Simon and Kirby apart from most of their contemporaries is that they didn't treat their readers like idiots. At a time when comic books were regarded as disposable trash, Joe and Jack saw them as a great way to tell stories about, well, anything, and to do so with wit and intelligence. And that's what they did. While Kirby handled most of the pencilling, bringing a new, cinematic dynamism to comic art, Simon did most of the inking, and both men devised plots and wrote dialogue. Obviously the artwork looks old-fashioned by modern standards. After all, we're talking about stories published 70 years ago. At the time, it was cutting edge stuff that influenced a whole generation of comic book creators, establishing much of the 'language' of comics still used to this day. They simply understood the possibilities of four-colour comics in ways that left their contemporaries running to catch up.
While these stories are interesting period pieces, there are some that still pack quite a punch, particularly where they deal with issues close to the hearts of their creators. Among these, I'd single out 1947's 'My City is No More,' and 1954's 'Booby Trap.' Another stand-out is 1950's 'The Scorn of the Faceless People,' which is not only a classic weird tale but contains some of the best artwork in the book.
This is a large-format hardback with the stories beautifully reproduced from enhanced scans from the original comic books and printed on archive quality paper. Many of the tales reproduced here are almost impossible to find and, if you can find them, will set you back hundreds of dollars. All in all, a master-class in how to do classic comic-book reprints and a great taster for what promises to be a superb and highly-collectible series.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
23 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
The Best of the Best
18 May 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Titan Books and Steve Saffel ( editor ) have just done all of us who love comic book history a tremendous service in releasing this wonderful volume of golden age Simon and Kirby hit stories. This is a sampler of all genres, but superheroes are well represented. The book is gloriously oversized with the best production values of any book of this type that I have ever seen. If you had mint condition books you still could not experience these stories with the clarity and size and loving reproduction that this book delivers. The colors are perfect (not overdone with modern production techniques ) and the art is a master showcase of Jack Kirby talent. If you are reading this review STOP and buy this book NOW ! You know you want to ! You will be more pleased than you can possibly imagine.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
the best of simon and kirby
15 May 2009
Format:Hardcover
ASIN: "The Best of Simon and Kirby"
"The Best of Simon and Kirby" is a joy to behold. I think it's great that a generation raised on TV, the Internet blogosphere, cell phones, and i-pods gets a taste of two-fisted Golden Age comic book action. This book delivers, and with style.
This book marks that seminal territory where American popular culture took off, where the Marvel Age of Comics really began. The sheer exuberance, the youthful quality if you will, of the comics medium is evident on every page, both in the wild storylines and dramatic action. Jack Kirby's figures practically feel rubberized, about to bounce through the panel borders (and occasionally do).
The art restoration by Harry Mendryk reminds me of the best film restoration work. Many comics reprints, particularly from the 1940s, often have a dark and blurry look. In this book every line pops, the visuals are crisp and vibrant.
I did have the good fortune to meet Joe Simon a few years ago, in the company of this book's editor, Steve Saffel. The term "living legend" absolutely applied, and it's great that Joe is around to see this wonderful tribute to the pioneering work of the immortal team of Simon and Kirby.
Mark Vaz
"The Best of Simon and Kirby" is a joy to behold. I think it's great that a generation raised on TV, the Internet blogosphere, cell phones, and i-pods gets a taste of two-fisted Golden Age comic book action. This book delivers, and with style.
This book marks that seminal territory where American popular culture took off, where the Marvel Age of Comics really began. The sheer exuberance, the youthful quality if you will, of the comics medium is evident on every page, both in the wild storylines and dramatic action. Jack Kirby's figures practically feel rubberized, about to bounce through the panel borders (and occasionally do).
The art restoration by Harry Mendryk reminds me of the best film restoration work. Many comics reprints, particularly from the 1940s, often have a dark and blurry look. In this book every line pops, the visuals are crisp and vibrant.
I did have the good fortune to meet Joe Simon a few years ago, in the company of this book's editor, Steve Saffel. The term "living legend" absolutely applied, and it's great that Joe is around to see this wonderful tribute to the pioneering work of the immortal team of Simon and Kirby.
Mark Vaz
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
I Have Been Waiting for This Book All My Life!
17 May 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
There are very few names as magical as Simon & Kirby in the history of comic book creators. This gorgeous volume is a long-overdue look at one of the most prolific and inventive teams in the field.
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby created some of the most memorable super-heroes beginning with Captain America and continuing until the team broke up in the 1950's. Most of their better known creations are all here with a representative story each.
But thank goodness this "must have" hardcover doesn't end with the super-heroes because S&K could never be pigeon-holed by any one genre. In addition to creating Romance Comics, they made significant contributions to just about every type of book you could imagine. This BEST OF volume gives you a sampling of their War, Horror, Crime, Science Fiction, Romance, Humor and Western (Yes, BOYS RANCH & BULLS EYE are here) work as well.
The book itself has been lovingly produced. The scan work is the best I have ever seen, actually improving on the color registration and correcting other flaws in the source material.
The oversiize format is terrific. Joe & Jack's art is often so crammed with detail that having it reproduced slightly larger than the old comic books really saves on the eye strain.
Future volumes will focus on specific genres, but this comprehensive overview is the perfect way to kick off the series. Highly recommended to fans of pop culture in general and exciting, action-packed comics in particular.
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby created some of the most memorable super-heroes beginning with Captain America and continuing until the team broke up in the 1950's. Most of their better known creations are all here with a representative story each.
But thank goodness this "must have" hardcover doesn't end with the super-heroes because S&K could never be pigeon-holed by any one genre. In addition to creating Romance Comics, they made significant contributions to just about every type of book you could imagine. This BEST OF volume gives you a sampling of their War, Horror, Crime, Science Fiction, Romance, Humor and Western (Yes, BOYS RANCH & BULLS EYE are here) work as well.
The book itself has been lovingly produced. The scan work is the best I have ever seen, actually improving on the color registration and correcting other flaws in the source material.
The oversiize format is terrific. Joe & Jack's art is often so crammed with detail that having it reproduced slightly larger than the old comic books really saves on the eye strain.
Future volumes will focus on specific genres, but this comprehensive overview is the perfect way to kick off the series. Highly recommended to fans of pop culture in general and exciting, action-packed comics in particular.
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