Interview with THE BEST OF SIMON AND KIRBY editor Steven Saffel

Joe Simon and Jack Kirby are legends in the comic world. These creators of Captain America have so many credits to their names that they would fill a book. And they do. THE BEST OF SIMON AND KIRBY, edited by Steve Saffel, is a beautiful tribute to the work of this dynamic duo and must be checked out if you're a fan of the genre. I got a chance to interview Steve Saffel about the book, his connection to Joe Simon and what it is about the work of Simon and Kirby that is so enduring in the world of comics.


JB: This is the only collected edition of Simon & Kirby comics authorized by Joe Simon and the estate of Jack Kirby. Why now and how did you get involved?

SS: I've known Joe for a bunch of years, and some time ago he expressed the desire to get back into the game again. I offered to use my publishing experience to help him prepare proposals and reach out to publishers, and we got several responses. By far the most enthusiastic one came from Titan Books, with Nick Landau, Vivian Cheung, and Katy Wild coming to New York and meeting with Joe to discuss their proposal. As things progressed, and the Official Simon and Kirby Library grew, I was tagged to be the editor--which easily falls into the "labor of love" category.



You oversaw this process from start to finish. What was the process like? What challenges did you face?

For THE BEST OF SIMON AND KIRBY the greatest challenge was choosing stories that would be considered "the best," given that there are easily hundreds of stories that could fall into that category. Then there was the challenge of keeping the book in a format that would best support the artwork, yet remain affordable in these difficult economic times.

Our goal was to give the reader the experience of picking up that comic off the stands 60 years ago, reading it and enjoying it in pristine form. I think we succeeded, giving the stories their due and offering the fans an ambitious-yet-affordable edition.
One aspect of the process stretched back further than you might expect. Harry Mendryk, whose brilliant restorations make this one of the finest projects in comics history, has been Joe's friend for years, and has been working to restore the entire S&K library. From the moment we decided to do this book, Harry was always a part of the team, and it was his head-start that helped us get a jump on the production schedule.



Perhaps the other unusual aspect was working with the Titan team in London. I'm based in New York, and most of our contact was via e-mail, yet it went more smoothly than we had a right to expect. Designer Martin Stiff and Bob Kelly, the head of the production team, really put for Herculean efforts, and it shows in the end results.

Joe Simon says in the introduction that he and Kirby were like the Beatles before WWII. He also says that they turned out "the finest features of any team in the entire history of comic books." He seems like quite a character. What is he like, and do you agree with that statement?

Joe is great. He's the epitome of the great editor, stepping in where a decision needs to be made, but stepping back to let the team do their work. Every time we sit down to work I see what made him such a creative force from the very beginning of the comic book medium. He and Jack were like the Beatles in that they were among the first to become household names, at least within the comics world. The Simon and Kirby byline appeared back in 1940 in Blue Bolt and continued into Captain America Comics. And while Siegel and Shuster, Bob Kane, and Will Eisner--to name a few--had their own bylines, it was Simon and Kirby whose credit moved to the front cover when they were at DC Comics.

And there's no arguing that they raised the bar.


Archie Comics had a star-spangled hero before Captain America, yet when Captain America came out I think it was John Goldwater who demanded, "Why can't The Shield be more like Captain America?" Their style set new standards for power and excitement, and they constantly lent it to all of the genres.

Simon & Kirby are known for creating the double spread and other art techniques that changed the genre. What do you think it was about this team that made their work together so popular?



It seems to me as if the way they worked together made it possible for them to turn out such exciting stories. Joe could package, edit, write pencil, ink, letter, and color a comic, and Jack was nearly as versatile (though I think he always admitted that Joe was the better businessman). When they sat down to produce a story, each of them focused on what was needed to make that story great. Thus, the end result was far more than just a joint effort--it was a true (and dynamic) collaboration in every detail.

Kirby worked with Stan Lee and co-created characters like The Hulk and The X-Men. Did you speak to Stan Lee about working with him?

Stan and I have talked more about his work with Joe, who is the one man I've ever heard Stan refer to as a "mentor." At the 2008 New York ComicCon, there was a wonderful moment when he and Joe were on a panel with a number of other comics legends. Out of the blue, Stan grabbed the mike and said--in essence--"you people have no idea how talented Joe Simon could be--he could do it all." He launched into a wonderful rant about how much he respected Joe, and learned from him.

Of course, in that same panel, each panelist was asked who the greatest collaborator was with whom they had worked. Both Stan and Joe named Jack Kirby.

Simon mentions an upcoming and previously unseen character, Captain 3D that we'll see in an upcoming book. Did you ever discuss putting it in this one?

We did, but there was only one issue of Captain 3-D, and there were other features that seemed more appropriate, including some that simply wouldn't fit (such as Private Strong). So both Captain 3-D and Private Strong will have to wait for The Simon and Kirby Superheroes.

We all know Simon & Kirby created classic characters like Stuntman (who was a casualty of the glut of comics after WWII), The Fly, and, of course, Captain America. But these were only a few. What do you think is the most under-appreciated character they created?

Very hard to say. I'm tempted to say Fighting American, whose extraordinary combination of superhero action and dry humor made him utterly unique, yet he hasn't received the attention so many other heroes have enjoyed.



But it's more likely Bulls-Eye, who was also a juxtaposition--this time of western action and masked hero. Bulls-Eye is also one of Joe's favorite characters.

In the resurgence of comics in recent years, we mostly think about horror comics and superheroes. But Simon & Kirby had incredible success in the romance genre. They also mastered sci-fi. Can you talk about how the changing times affected their work and why they had success in multiple genres when others didn't?

Well, as Joe always says, they always had to be looking for the next great thing. They broke ground by putting Hitler--a real-life super villain--on the cover of their first blockbuster title, then their next million-seller was Boy Commandos, which was featured in three different titles and out-sold Superman. But it was Joe's urge to identify the next audience to conquer which led him to suggest to Kirby that they package an entire issue of Young Romance before even taking it to a publisher. They were so certain that they had a hit that they were willing to do that much work on spec. It didn't hurt that, in genres like science fiction and detective fiction, they were huge fans of the movies, the pulps, and the novels. Another example of that would be Joe's features like "The Duke of Broadway," which was his Damon Runyon take on the comics. Joe had met Runyon while working on the boxing circuit for the Hearst newspapers, and always loved Runyon's novels. So it was natural for him to capture that love for the material.

The art is a huge part of this collection. What sort of art restoration (by Harry Mendryk) had to be done for the book? Did Joe Simon or Jack Kirby's estate give you access to any new material or rare artwork? Was it difficult to get DC Comics and Marvel Comics to come together for this one?

Harry does his beautiful restorations from the original comics (though the Captain America story was done from original art proofs Joe and Jack had kept). His goal is to give the reader the sense that they just picked up the latest issue of Stuntman or Black Magic, and in that he succeeds beyond what anyone else has ever accomplished.
The new materials and rare artwork will come into play in future books, and we're working on that right now. As for DC and Marvel, they were wonderful. Our negotiation with then consisted of asking, and making it known that we were asking on Joe's behalf. Their respect for him is so huge that they bent over backwards to support what he was doing. It was a joy to behold.

While I was reading, one piece really stood out. The cover of one of the Stuntman comics, which read, "SPECIAL SOUVENIR ISSUE - SAVE THE 1ST ISSUE OF STUNTMAN COMICS...IT WILL BE A VALUABLE SOUVENIR SOMEDAY!" I'm just curious about what something like that is worth now.

That's been on my mind lately, because I'm looking for a copy of Stuntman #1. (Of course, Harry has his own copy for the next book.) I favor low-grade copies because they cost less, thus allowing me to buy lots more old funny books on a publishing salary. According to the latest Overstreet price guide, that issue will run me about $116 in good condition (a low grade), and more than $1,000 in really high grade.

Do you have a favorite story in the collection?

It varies between the detective story "Trapping New England's Chain Murderer," the horror story "The Scorn of the Faceless People," and the amazing romance story "The Savage in Me!" That last story is especially eye-opening because is shows how dramatically different the S&K romance stories could be. And I have a real soft spot for all of the Blue Bolt stories, which really launched the team of Joe and Jack.


Talk about the choice of Mark Evanier to do the essays in the book.

It was a no-brainer. Mark is the greatest authority on Jack Kirby, having known and worked with Jack for many,many years. His awareness of their work, his love of the medium, and his ability to bring Jack's voice to the book added another facet to an already amazing project. And his writing is just terrific. I was at Joe's place while he was reviewing the introductions, and Joe kept looking up to say, "This is really well-done. Mark is a great writer." We'd have been crazy not to have him on the team.

You have a huge collection of comic memorabilia yourself. Do you have a favorite piece?

That's really hard to say. I've got everything I want from the Silver Age (post-1956), so lately I focus on the older titles. Not long ago I picked up low-grade copies of Daring Mystery #6 with Joe and Jack's "Marvel Boy," and Adventure #79 with a terrific Manhunter cover. What is perhaps my prized book isn't likely worth much, though--a copy of Jules Feiffer's The Great Comic Book Heroes signed by Simon, Kirby, Eisner, Feiffer, Kane, Robinson, and a bunch of others. That was the book we were attempting to channel with THE BEST OF SIMON AND KIRBY.

This appears to be the first in a series of upcoming books about Simon & Kirby and their work. What can we expect and will you be involved with the other projects?

I will be, and next up we have THE SIMON AND KIRBY SUPERHEROES, followed by editions offering their incredible romance, detective, and horror stories. I'm also working with Joe, assisting him as needed on his definitive autobiography. What we love about this is that, at 95, Joe has a seven-book publishing deal, and he's gonna be celebrating each and every blockbuster release.