Review by Booklist Review
As superhero comics waned in the early 1950s, the team of Simon and Kirby best known for creating Captain America a decade earlier turned to the genres that supplanted them, including horror tales. But while most horror comics were notoriously gory and gruesome their excesses stirred public outrage that nearly destroyed the entire comics industry Simon and Kirby took a less lurid approach, largely eschewing vampires, ghouls, and the like in favor of such relatively subdued paranormal tropes as ghosts, demons, voodoo dolls, and the hereafter. Even the occasional tale about werewolves or mummies is handled in a generally nonviolent fashion. But although the stories may be tame by the standards of the era, let alone modern-day sensibilities, their lasting appeal lies in Kirby's powerful drawings. It must be said that horror was not Kirby's metier; his handsome, heroic figures were better cast as superheroes, spacemen, or cowboys. Even so, his singularly dynamic artwork makes this and the companion Simon and Kirby volumes crucial purchases for comprehensive graphic-novel collections.--Flagg, Gordon Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
