By Andrew A. Smith
Tribune Content Agency
April 3, 2021 — It’s been a while since I’ve mentioned that we are in the Golden Age of Reprints. But we still are, and it’s worthwhile to check in now and again on the latest, greatest collections:
The Complete Kirby: War & Romance offers a choice of war or romance covers. This is the war cover, obviously. (Cover art by Jack Kirby, copyright Marvel Comics)
The Complete Kirby: War & Romance
Marvel Comics, 592 pages, $125.00
Written by Stan Lee, art by Jack Kirby
We’ve all seen Jack Kirby’s famous 1960s work on Marvel’s nascent superhero line — Avengers, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, X-Men, etc. — reprinted a jillion times. (And if you haven’t, you should.) But I never expected to see the King’s work with the equally legendary Stan Lee on Marvel’s romance and war stories of the 1950s, when the publisher was known as Atlas Comics.
And now we can. The love stories are lifted from such alluring titles as Love Romances, My Own Romance and Teen-Age Romance. The war stories are all from Battle and Battleground, with Kirby’s work on 1960s Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos as a bonus.
Sadly, very few romance stories from the comics hold up well, given the gender roles and social mores in play at the time they were published. The war stories are limited in their own way as well, with Americans generally being courageous heroes who win the battle even if they fall valorously at the end.
But Lee’s stories usually had more wit and sparkle than the competition. And then there’s Kirby, a one-of-a-kind artist who virtually created the visual language of comic books. So, yeah, this one gets a prominent place in my library — next to all my other Kirby collections.
Two quick things of note. First, the title is obviously a misnomer. This book isn't The Complete Kirby War & Romance, it's only "Most Kirby War & Romance Published by What Is Now Known as Marvel Comics." So you’re not going to find, you know, Kirby’s Boy Commandos from his years at DC Comics. And I don’t think the book is really comprehensive, even for Kirby’s Marvel work.
The second is that the book comes with two covers, both Kirby reprints. One is the cover to My Own Romance #73, and the other is from Battle #69. You get to pick which genre you like best.
She’s Josie collects the earliest adventures of the teen who would someday be best known for wearing a catsuit and playing guitar. (Cover art by Dan DeCarlo, copyright Archie Comics)
She’s Josie
Archie Comics, 192 pages, $10.99
Written by Frank Doyle; art by Dan DeCarlo, Rudy Lapick, Vincent DeCarlo, Bill Yoshida and Victor Gorelick; cover by Dan DeCarlo.
Most fans are familiar with Josie and the Pussycats, but very few know that Josie McCoy didn’t start out as a bandleader — or even as a McCoy. She first appeared as Midvale High School student Josie Jones in Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals #23 (1962) before graduating to her own title, She’s Josie in 1963. She was a good-natured redhead, more or less a female version of Archie Andrews, and had her own pals ‘n’ gals.
Very few of Josie’s gang made the transition when the book was revamped as Josie and the Pussycats in 1969 — namely the irresistible Melody Valentine and series antagonists (and Veronica-level wealthy) Alexander and Alexandra Cabot. Josie Jones became Josie McCoy at some point, probably to avoid confusion with Jughead Jones’ family in nearby Riverdale.
So the only way you’ll ever see the adventures of Josie’s beatnik boyfriend Albert, Josie’s tart-tongued best friend Pepper (think Jughead) and dull-witted jock Sock (think Moose) is in reprints. To the rescue comes She’s Josie, a 5” x 8” trade paperback collecting She’s Josie #1-9.
Is it good? Well, it’s solid, old-style Archie comics, which I always find charming (and funny). Further, it’s always a treat to see a lot of Dan DeCarlo artwork — the guy who created Josie and named her for his wife. DeCarlo was such a master that his work became the house style at Archie for decades, and is still aped by some Archie artists today.
Oh, one more thing: Archie himself makes a wordless cameo in issue #9. There’s some extra value for your money!
Norse Mythology Volume 1 adapts stories from the novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman, which in turn adapts Norse myths, legends and poems collected by 13th century historian Snorri Sturluson. (Copyright Dark Horse)
Norse Mythology Volume 1
Dark Horse, 160 pages, $29.99
Written by Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell; art by Lovern Kindzierski, Piotr Kowalski, Mike Mignola, Jerry Ordway, David Rubin, P. Craig Russell, Galen Showman, Dave Stewart, Jill Thompson; cover by P. Craig Russell
Raise your hand if you love Neil Gaiman. If you didn’t raise your hand, what are you doing in this column?
Gaiman is, of course, the beloved grandmaster of fantasy. He has won nearly every major award, for works such as American Gods, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, The Sandman and Stardust. His work has premiered in, or been adapted to, almost every medium, including comics, movies, novels, radio and television.
So when Gaiman adapted my favorite works of mythology, Snorri Sturluson’s Elder Eddas and Poetic Eddas, in novel form in 2017, I couldn’t wait to read it.
And was cruelly disappointed. Gaiman’s breezy, engaging prose was as smooth as ever in Norse Mythology (W.W. Norton, $25.95) but it also read something like a primer. Was this book aimed at children? It seemed so, although none of the trade dress or marketing material said so.
Whatever was going in the novel, though, was absent in the six-issue comics adaptation for Dark Horse. Accompanied by P. Craig Russell, one of the finest fine-arts artists in comics, and a gaggle of other talented pros, the collected Norse Mythology Volume 1 virtually sings. (And yes, there will be a Volume 2; Dark Horse will launch a second miniseries this month that will surely be collected at some point.)
For the record, Norse Mythology Volume 1 includes the Norse creation myth (the sky is a frost giant’s skull!); epic stories involving Thor, Odin, Loki and more; plus the end of all things (and the beginning of the next cycle of life), Ragnarök.
It is an unadulterated joy. Unless, of course, you think other myths and legends are better. You’re wrong, of course, but even so you’ll probably still enjoy Norse Mythology.
Find Captain Comics by email (capncomics@aol.com), on his website (captaincomics.ning.com), on Facebook (Andrew Alan Smith) or on Twitter (@CaptainComics).
Replies
KIRBY WAR & ROMANCE:
"...this one gets a prominent place in my library — next to all my other Kirby collections."
I have mine shelved to the immediate right of The Golden Age Simon & Kirby. (Just thought you should know.)
NORSE MYTHOLOGY:
"And was cruelly disappointed."
I'm sorry to hear that. I don't think it was written from children, though (although it would be a great choice to introduce children to mythology). I think Gaiman was striving to achieve a similar feel to that John Steinbeck used in The Pearl. the second volume of comic adaptations has already been solicited.