Cover Contest June 20-26: Pre-Silver Age Kirby

[Kirby101]

Before Kirby and Stan created the Marvel Age of Comics, Kirby and partner Joe Simon produced some of the best comics around. Teaming up in the earliest days of the industry, they produced one great book after another. So this contest is to post a cover by Kirby from before the Silver Age. To put a end bracket on the time (as these Ages are always debated) the cover should be before February 1957, when Simon and Kirby went there separate ways and Kirby created Challengers of the Unknown for DC. This thread is inspired by my recent purchase of "The Art of the Simon and Kirby Studio" https://www.amazon.com/Art-Simon-Kir.../dp/1419711601.

And just to take it off the table, my sample cover is Captain America #1.



THE RULES:
1) Post One (& ONLY ONE) Cover that fits the theme of this Week's Contest!
2) Cover must be from a Published Comic Book or Collected Volume!
3) Covers must be Posted before Voting Begins!
4) Voting Begins 12 AM Wednesday and Runs Until 12 AM Thursday PST (3 AM EST)!
5) Vote by Posting the name in BOLD of the Poster whose cover best fits the theme or that you simply like the most! A vote need not be in bold, but it does make it easier to Count-The-Votes!
6) The Winner of the Contest is the Entry with the MOST Votes after the Voting-Period!
7) It's Okay to Discuss the Covers but if you Think Someone's Entry Doesn't Fit the Theme or Violates the Rules, you Don't need to Argue it in the thread, Simply Don't Vote for It!
8) Plus: Occasionally Voting will Result in a Tie! The Person Who Started the Thread will do the Counting that Week will Usually call for a TIE-Breaking --Vote from Someone who has Not Yet Voted!
9) AFTER the Tie-Breaker Vote, Voting Ends and the Winner is Declared by The One Who Started the Thread (or assigned surrogate) and Thus will do the Counting.

[foxley]

She's a manhunter target is his heart
She's a manhunter aiming from the start
She's a manhunter he's ought to feed her soul

[PaulBullion]

[Kirby101]

I can't see your image paul.

[PaulBullion]

Thanks, should be fixed now.

[Kirby101]

Thanks, should be fixed now.

looks good.

cool how you incorporated last weeks contest.

[The Darknight Detective]

[Bryan]

[seismic-2]

I've used this cover in a previous Kirby-themed contest, but I want to use it again, because it always makes me laugh. Note that it beats the February 1957 cut-off by one month. I like the basic joke, the reaction of the guy eating the white bread, and speculating about what the hero's hand is doing under the counter.

[Scott Taylor]

[MRP]

-M

[Iron Maiden]

Looking back at all these covers and then looking ahead to the Kirby's later work at Marvel and DC I always found it amazing that Kirby got better when he was in his late middle age. He really evolved his style through the decades.

[nx01a]

[Scott Taylor]

Wonder how the typical monthly sales were for this era of comics.

[MRP]

Wonder how the typical monthly sales were for this era of comics.

Not sure for the 1950s, Comichron's earliest recorded year is 1960 at which point the 48th best selling book (Space Adventures form Charlton) was selling over 100K copies and the #1 book (Uncle Scrooge from Dell) was selling over a million copies. Superman was the #3 book in 1960 clocking in at just over 800K a month, Batman was #6 at 500k per month. So I'd say the 50s were similar as by 1960 post-code reductions in sales were in place.

-M