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Review
"The Simon and Kirby Library: Crime is not only a great read, but also an excellent heirloom piece." --The Daily Blam!
"Even if you're not a comic book fan, Simon & Kirby's Crime is something you should pick up. The historical significance alone makes these collection worth owning... If you're a crime buff but not into comics, trust me this will be the collection that gets you involved. Simon & Kirby's Crime proves without question that these two are the past, present and future of comic books. 10/10 (Because it only goes up to 10)" --Crave Online
"Titan Books has always been a class act when it comes to their collected editions and THE SIMON AND KIRBY LIBRARY: CRIME is no exception. It is a welcome companion to THE SIMON AND KIRBY SUPERHEROES and should be placed on every comic geek's Christmas list this holiday season... Each page barely can contain the crackling energy of Kirby's talent. THE SIMON AND KIRBY LIBRARY: CRIME is a cornucopia of Simon and Kirby greatness." --Ain't It Cool News
"If you're a comic collector, just interested in the history of the medium, or if you like those old gangsters vs. coppers movies, you will love this book. It should have a space reserved on any collector's bookshelf" --Shadowlocked
"For those who bemoan the lack of quality storytelling and variety in comics, I give you The Simon & Kirby Library: Crime, an essential collection of the duo's brief but wonderful foray into "true" noir." --Comics Cavern
"With over 300 pages of amazing stories and fantastic, vivid images from beginning to end, this collection is definitely one to check out, especially if you love comics and just overall good storytelling." --Critiques for Geeks
"These comics are really intense -gloriously, hilariously, over-the-top intense." --Comics Bulletin
"If you're a comic collector, just interested in the history of the medium, or if you like those old gangsters vs. coppers movies, you will love this book. It should have a space reserved on any collector's bookshelf" --Shadowlocked
"For those who bemoan the lack of quality storytelling and variety in comics, I give you The Simon & Kirby Library: Crime, an essential collection of the duo's brief but wonderful foray into "true" noir." --Comics Cavern
"With over 300 pages of amazing stories and fantastic, vivid images from beginning to end, this collection is definitely one to check out, especially if you love comics and just overall good storytelling." --Critiques for Geeks
"Even if you're not a comic book fan, Simon & Kirby's Crime is something you should pick up. The historical significance alone makes these collection worth owning... If you're a crime buff but not into comics, trust me this will be the collection that gets you involved. Simon & Kirby's Crime proves without question that these two are the past, present and future of comic books. 10/10 (Because it only goes up to 10)" --Crave Online
"Titan Books has always been a class act when it comes to their collected editions and THE SIMON AND KIRBY LIBRARY: CRIME is no exception. It is a welcome companion to THE SIMON AND KIRBY SUPERHEROES and should be placed on every comic geek's Christmas list this holiday season... Each page barely can contain the crackling energy of Kirby's talent. THE SIMON AND KIRBY LIBRARY: CRIME is a cornucopia of Simon and Kirby greatness." --Ain't It Cool News
"If you're a comic collector, just interested in the history of the medium, or if you like those old gangsters vs. coppers movies, you will love this book. It should have a space reserved on any collector's bookshelf" --Shadowlocked
"For those who bemoan the lack of quality storytelling and variety in comics, I give you The Simon & Kirby Library: Crime, an essential collection of the duo's brief but wonderful foray into "true" noir." --Comics Cavern
"With over 300 pages of amazing stories and fantastic, vivid images from beginning to end, this collection is definitely one to check out, especially if you love comics and just overall good storytelling." --Critiques for Geeks
"These comics are really intense -gloriously, hilariously, over-the-top intense." --Comics Bulletin
"If you're a comic collector, just interested in the history of the medium, or if you like those old gangsters vs. coppers movies, you will love this book. It should have a space reserved on any collector's bookshelf" --Shadowlocked
"For those who bemoan the lack of quality storytelling and variety in comics, I give you The Simon & Kirby Library: Crime, an essential collection of the duo's brief but wonderful foray into "true" noir." --Comics Cavern
"With over 300 pages of amazing stories and fantastic, vivid images from beginning to end, this collection is definitely one to check out, especially if you love comics and just overall good storytelling." --Critiques for Geeks
Product Description
The creators of Captain America and the Boy Commandos produced some of the hardest-hitting crime comics of the 1950s. Often featuring real-world criminals like Ma Barker, Al Capone, and Pretty Boy Floyd, and true-to-life events like the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, these adventures were torn from post-prohibition headlines. Explosive enough to draw the attention of the congressional committee on juvenile delinquency, they remain action-packed for today's graphic novel audience. These are the best of the Simon and Kirby Crime comics, fully restored and collected for the first time.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the latest volume in the Simon & Kirby Library, reprinting 32 stories from titles published from 1947-49, and 2 from 1954 & 1955, for a total of 299 pages of comics. The titles are Clue Comics 1947 (4 stories), Real Clue Crime Stories 1947 (6), headline Comics 1947-48 (13), Justice Traps the Guilty 1947-49 (9), and one each from Police Trap #2 and #6, 1954 & 1955. There is also a cover gallery of 13 covers, one of which is a photo-cover featuring Jack Kirby as a nervous-looking safecracker facing Joe Simon's police revolver.
The stories range from 4 to 15 pages, but are mainly longer rather than shorter. Although set mainly in the `gangster' era, there are a couple of historical stories, and a couple set in Europe. Some are `true' stories and many are pure fiction - Max Allan Collins describes one of the `true' stories in his Introduction as being a `flirtation with fact'. Also, as Mr Collins notes, although dealing with crime, some of the stories are from other genres; there is a western, a couple of historical, and several are written in the `true romance' format, though also featuring machine guns. Of the `historical' (in relation to the 1940s that is, not just to us today) - one is the story of Guy Fawkes, which is actually quite accurate, despite being rather more melodramatic than was actually the case - but this is a comic-book! (Thinks... Mel Gibson as Guy Fawkes - misunderstood war hero who tries to save England - and Scotland - for the Catholic church, but ends up being tortured and executed for his courage in challenging the Evil British Empire...) Some stories are in theory documentary - but Joe & Jack manage to make them stand out from the drab stories of `Crime Does Not Pay' - see Blackjacked and Pistol-Whipped: The Best of Crime Does Not Pay for examples of those; here however, in "Gang Doctor" for example, a 7-page story, the second page, comprising six panels, is given over to a bank clerk on his first day at the job, who is shot by Dillinger in the final panel of the page. In the ensuing robbery, one of Dillinger's men is shot, and the services of the titular Gang Doctor is thus required, leading us on in to the main story. That page of the bank clerk was not relevant to the plot (and could be construed as filler by the uncharitable), but it `worked', and it showed Simon & Kirby adding that extra touch to the story that lifted their work above so many of their contemporaries.
Note that Dark Horse are going to produce an Archive series of `Crime Does Not Pay' - I recommend you check the `Best of' referenced above and compare the stories in this volume. I gave it 5-stars in my review, which it deserved for what it was, but this book is worth 15 stars by comparison. I will still be buying the Dark Horse series, because I collect stuff, but Simon & Kirby are the undoubted Kings of Crime.
The stories range from 4 to 15 pages, but are mainly longer rather than shorter. Although set mainly in the `gangster' era, there are a couple of historical stories, and a couple set in Europe. Some are `true' stories and many are pure fiction - Max Allan Collins describes one of the `true' stories in his Introduction as being a `flirtation with fact'. Also, as Mr Collins notes, although dealing with crime, some of the stories are from other genres; there is a western, a couple of historical, and several are written in the `true romance' format, though also featuring machine guns. Of the `historical' (in relation to the 1940s that is, not just to us today) - one is the story of Guy Fawkes, which is actually quite accurate, despite being rather more melodramatic than was actually the case - but this is a comic-book! (Thinks... Mel Gibson as Guy Fawkes - misunderstood war hero who tries to save England - and Scotland - for the Catholic church, but ends up being tortured and executed for his courage in challenging the Evil British Empire...) Some stories are in theory documentary - but Joe & Jack manage to make them stand out from the drab stories of `Crime Does Not Pay' - see Blackjacked and Pistol-Whipped: The Best of Crime Does Not Pay for examples of those; here however, in "Gang Doctor" for example, a 7-page story, the second page, comprising six panels, is given over to a bank clerk on his first day at the job, who is shot by Dillinger in the final panel of the page. In the ensuing robbery, one of Dillinger's men is shot, and the services of the titular Gang Doctor is thus required, leading us on in to the main story. That page of the bank clerk was not relevant to the plot (and could be construed as filler by the uncharitable), but it `worked', and it showed Simon & Kirby adding that extra touch to the story that lifted their work above so many of their contemporaries.
Note that Dark Horse are going to produce an Archive series of `Crime Does Not Pay' - I recommend you check the `Best of' referenced above and compare the stories in this volume. I gave it 5-stars in my review, which it deserved for what it was, but this book is worth 15 stars by comparison. I will still be buying the Dark Horse series, because I collect stuff, but Simon & Kirby are the undoubted Kings of Crime.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Kings of Crime: 5-star and extra-leaded
1 Nov 2011
Format:Hardcover
This is the latest volume in the Simon & Kirby Library, reprinting 32 stories from titles published from 1947-49, and 2 from 1954 & 1955, for a total of 299 pages of comics. The titles are Clue Comics 1947 (4 stories), Real Clue Crime Stories 1947 (6), headline Comics 1947-48 (13), Justice Traps the Guilty 1947-49 (9), and one each from Police Trap #2 and #6, 1954 & 1955. There is also a cover gallery of 13 covers, one of which is a photo-cover featuring Jack Kirby as a nervous-looking safecracker facing Joe Simon's police revolver.
The stories range from 4 to 15 pages, but are mainly longer rather than shorter. Although set mainly in the `gangster' era, there are a couple of historical stories, and a couple set in Europe. Some are `true' stories and many are pure fiction - Max Allan Collins describes one of the `true' stories in his Introduction as being a `flirtation with fact'. Also, as Mr Collins notes, although dealing with crime, some of the stories are from other genres; there is a western, a couple of historical, and several are written in the `true romance' format, though also featuring machine guns. Of the `historical' (in relation to the 1940s that is, not just to us today) - one is the story of Guy Fawkes, which is actually quite accurate, despite being rather more melodramatic than was actually the case - but this is a comic-book! (Thinks... Mel Gibson as Guy Fawkes - misunderstood war hero who tries to save England - and Scotland - for the Catholic church, but ends up being tortured and executed for his courage in challenging the Evil British Empire...) Some stories are in theory documentary - but Joe & Jack manage to make them stand out from the drab stories of `Crime Does Not Pay' - see Blackjacked and Pistol-Whipped: The Best of Crime Does Not Pay for examples of those; here however, in "Gang Doctor" for example, a 7-page story, the second page, comprising six panels, is given over to a bank clerk on his first day at the job, who is shot by Dillinger in the final panel of the page. In the ensuing robbery, one of Dillinger's men is shot, and the services of the titular Gang Doctor is thus required, leading us on in to the main story. That page of the bank clerk was not relevant to the plot (and could be construed as filler by the uncharitable), but it `worked', and it showed Simon & Kirby adding that extra touch to the story that lifted their work above so many of their contemporaries.
Note that Dark Horse are going to produce an Archive series of `Crime Does Not Pay' - I recommend you check the `Best of' referenced above and compare the stories in this volume. I gave it 5-stars in my review, which it deserved for what it was, but this book is worth 15 stars by comparison. I will still be buying the Dark Horse series, because I collect stuff, but Simon & Kirby are the undoubted Kings of Crime.
The stories range from 4 to 15 pages, but are mainly longer rather than shorter. Although set mainly in the `gangster' era, there are a couple of historical stories, and a couple set in Europe. Some are `true' stories and many are pure fiction - Max Allan Collins describes one of the `true' stories in his Introduction as being a `flirtation with fact'. Also, as Mr Collins notes, although dealing with crime, some of the stories are from other genres; there is a western, a couple of historical, and several are written in the `true romance' format, though also featuring machine guns. Of the `historical' (in relation to the 1940s that is, not just to us today) - one is the story of Guy Fawkes, which is actually quite accurate, despite being rather more melodramatic than was actually the case - but this is a comic-book! (Thinks... Mel Gibson as Guy Fawkes - misunderstood war hero who tries to save England - and Scotland - for the Catholic church, but ends up being tortured and executed for his courage in challenging the Evil British Empire...) Some stories are in theory documentary - but Joe & Jack manage to make them stand out from the drab stories of `Crime Does Not Pay' - see Blackjacked and Pistol-Whipped: The Best of Crime Does Not Pay for examples of those; here however, in "Gang Doctor" for example, a 7-page story, the second page, comprising six panels, is given over to a bank clerk on his first day at the job, who is shot by Dillinger in the final panel of the page. In the ensuing robbery, one of Dillinger's men is shot, and the services of the titular Gang Doctor is thus required, leading us on in to the main story. That page of the bank clerk was not relevant to the plot (and could be construed as filler by the uncharitable), but it `worked', and it showed Simon & Kirby adding that extra touch to the story that lifted their work above so many of their contemporaries.
Note that Dark Horse are going to produce an Archive series of `Crime Does Not Pay' - I recommend you check the `Best of' referenced above and compare the stories in this volume. I gave it 5-stars in my review, which it deserved for what it was, but this book is worth 15 stars by comparison. I will still be buying the Dark Horse series, because I collect stuff, but Simon & Kirby are the undoubted Kings of Crime.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Classic Crime Comics
10 Dec 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
'The Simon and Kirby Library: Crime [Titan Books; $49.95] reprints
nearly three dozen tales of con men, gangsters, and killers by the
legendary team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. As odds as it seems in
reference to crime fiction and kind of sort of non-fiction, these
stories are big fun. Where the more successful Crime Does Not Pay
comics used huge blocks of copy to drive home the moral expressed
in its title, the Simon and Kirby approach put storytelling before
detail and preaching. They never failed to portray crime and its
perpetrators as true blights on society, but their writing was more
bold and Kirby's art was more action-packed than that seen in other
crime comic books of the era. Characters move across the "stage"
and emotions are portrayed in such an in-your-face manner that it's
like watching a 3-D movie.
Included in this 320-page, full-color collection are a handful of
stories starring recurring characters: the mysterious Gunmaster and
special investigator "Red Hot" Blaze. There are tales of criminals
past and present, some of them "true" in the sense that they only
play slightly loose with actual facts. There are character studies
of criminals who, sometimes too late, regret the bad choices they
made. Some of these characters even seek to make amends for their
crimes beyond serving their prison sentences.
Like every other book in Titan's Simon and Kirby Library, Crime is
worthy of award consideration. I treasure my copy and recommend it
to all fans of the legendary team and also to all serious students
of American comic books.
nearly three dozen tales of con men, gangsters, and killers by the
legendary team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. As odds as it seems in
reference to crime fiction and kind of sort of non-fiction, these
stories are big fun. Where the more successful Crime Does Not Pay
comics used huge blocks of copy to drive home the moral expressed
in its title, the Simon and Kirby approach put storytelling before
detail and preaching. They never failed to portray crime and its
perpetrators as true blights on society, but their writing was more
bold and Kirby's art was more action-packed than that seen in other
crime comic books of the era. Characters move across the "stage"
and emotions are portrayed in such an in-your-face manner that it's
like watching a 3-D movie.
Included in this 320-page, full-color collection are a handful of
stories starring recurring characters: the mysterious Gunmaster and
special investigator "Red Hot" Blaze. There are tales of criminals
past and present, some of them "true" in the sense that they only
play slightly loose with actual facts. There are character studies
of criminals who, sometimes too late, regret the bad choices they
made. Some of these characters even seek to make amends for their
crimes beyond serving their prison sentences.
Like every other book in Titan's Simon and Kirby Library, Crime is
worthy of award consideration. I treasure my copy and recommend it
to all fans of the legendary team and also to all serious students
of American comic books.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
What they said...
4 Jan 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I can't really say much more than my two fellow reviewers have emoted thus far. Simon and Kirby's art and style is just masterful. I had some laugh outloud moments with the audaciousness of some criminals and their wise acre remarks while they're shooting it out with the "Bulls." I also read Crime Does Not Pay: Blackjacked and Pistol Whipped. By comparison, you can see just how much more refined Simon and Kirby were. However, you must remember that Simon and Kirby had the advantage of being able to stand on the shoulders, as it were, of the aforementioned publication. To me, Simon and Kirby's stories could have contained more by the way of 'ultraviolece' and 'the old in-out in-out', but that's just me. Good stuff and a beautiful collection. Highly recommended.
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