TITAN BOOKS TO PUBLISH JOE SIMON COLLECTIONS

[MattBrady]

Press Release

Titan Publishing Group Ltd. has announced the acquisition of worldwide rights to a range of books celebrating the work of Golden Age comics legend, Joe Simon, co-creator of Captain America. Throughout his career, Simon pioneered every aspect of the industry, from writing to art, editing to publishing. He ran a studio that employed some of the industry’s most talented artists, including the famed Jack Kirby. He was the first editor in chief of the company that became Marvel Comics, and ultimately played a pivotal role in comics’ transcendence to an American art form.

Scheduled for spring 2009 is Joe Simon: The Man Behind The Comics, an in-depth illustrated autobiography written by Simon himself, taking readers on an illustrated journey through the life and career of this seminal figure in comics history. From his beginnings in newspaper cartooning through the birth of the comics medium, military service during World War II, the Kefauver hearings and beyond, this volume reveals the man and his work.

Further volumes will celebrate the collaborative efforts of Joe Simon with Jack Kirby. The Best Of Simon & Kirby, a deluxe hardcover edition, explores the duo’s acclaimed proliferation of work in all genres, including superheroes, horror, detective fiction, westerns, and the first of the romance comics. The Simon & Kirby Superheroes delves into the duo’s work that set the standard for costumed characters through heroes such as Blue Bolt, Fighting American, Stuntman, and the Fly.

Compiled with unprecedented access to rare archive material and exclusive contributions from Joe Simon, these are the only editions authorized by both Joe Simon and the estate of Jack Kirby, marking the beginning of a line of publishing that will offer an unprecedented look at the Dream Team of Golden Age comics.

[Pepoy]

Wow! I'll sure be buying all those books! And Titan usually does such a nice job on production, so they should look great.

[CoreyB]

This is great news. Joe Simon deserves more recognition for what he accomplished both with and without Jack Kirby.

Originally Posted by MattBrady

Press Release

Scheduled for spring 2009 is Joe Simon: The Man Behind The Comics, an in-depth illustrated autobiography written by Simon himself, taking readers on an illustrated journey through the life and career of this seminal figure in comics history. From his beginnings in newspaper cartooning through the birth of the comics medium, military service during World War II, the Kefauver hearings and beyond, this volume reveals the man and his work.

I wonder how this will compare with Simon's The Comic Book Makers.

[Dave Elliott]

I'd love to see collections of the material from RACE FOR THE MOON and BLACK MAGIC.

I'll be picking these up.

Dave

[hondo]

As great as Jack Kirby was, he sort of eclipses his longtime partner, Joe Simon. The two of them were the McCartney / Lennon of Golden Age comics. I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Simon years ago at SDCC. I was shocked at the size of the man. I'm 6'3" and he looked me square in the eye and had a pretty good build and was surprisingly spry for a man his age.

I hope these works will be available for purchase here in the U.S.

I love how a lot of the best stuff is getting the just treatment it has deserved for so long and is getting reprinted in fine formats like this.

[Fan4Fan]

Originally Posted by Dave Elliott

I'd love to see collections of the material from RACE FOR THE MOON and BLACK MAGIC.

Does DC still own the rights to BLACK MAGIC? If so, they should put out a S&K BLACK MAGIC omnibus!