Along with starting his line of "New Gods" comics titles upon his arrival at DC Comics in the early 1970s, Jack Kirby also worked to develop two anthology titles for the publisher, which were aimed at what he saw as a more "mature" audience.
Days of the Mob would focus on hard-boiled crime stories of the type Kirby and his partner Joe Simon produced in the pre-Comics Code 1940s, while Spirit World would feature tales that were spooky and supernatural in nature.
These titles would be larger in format than the typical comic and distributed on magazine stands, rather than spinner racks.
Kirby planned to edit these magazines, which would feature short comics stories by himself and other creators. DC expressed at least moderate interest in the concept and gave the go-ahead for Kirby to produce the first issues himself -- meaning that he was left to write and draw all the content, with only a bit of scripting help from his young assistants Mark Evanier and Steve Sherman and inks by Mark Royer and Vince Colletta.
Neither mag was distributed well at the time, and have gone unseen by many comics fans until now.
Fleshed out with introductions by Mark Evanier (for Spirit World) and Jack Kirby Collector publisher John Morrow (for Days of the Mob), along with several leftover stories intended for the never-published second issues of each magazine, both titles have now been collected in a pair of slim hardcovers from DC.
For Kirby fans, it's nice to see this rare work so well-reproduced. There is no color, but both titles feature a brown tint to the art to make it not "plain black-and-white," although I think plain would've been the better choice. Some of the leftover stories are presented without the tint and look beautifully crisp and clear, particularly those featuring Royer's dynamic inks.
The art is spectacular. I like this period of Kirby's work. His visual storytelling was as excellent and powerful as ever, yet there's also an element of "pure art" to it. The King's graphic hallmarks were so distinctive and prominent that the images almost seem to comment on themselves: "This is a Jack Kirby drawing. This is how Jack Kirby draws people and shapes and motion..."
The dialogue is typical of late-period Kirby -- lots of awkward phraseology, mixed metaphors, "random quote marks" and multiple exclamation points!! This stuff drives some readers bonkers and provides some evidence that, if nothing else, Stan Lee brought a lot to table when it came to making Marvel's Kirby comics easy and fun to read. Me? I don't get too worked up about it. It's Kirby doing words in his own ways, just as he did the art.
The stories per se, however, aren't earth shattering. While maybe a touch edgier and more violent than typical DC fare at the time, they don't veer into Creepy or Eerie territory. They are simple and meant to entertain. There's an element of cheesy Ripley's Believe it Or Not sensationalism to the supernatural tales, while the crime stories are meant to point out how ruthless and despicable Al Capone and his cronies were.
Both titles feature Crypt Keeper/Rod Serling-style narrators who provide introductions and links between the tales.
Also on display are some experiments Kirby did with fumetti (the use of photography to create comics) and collage, which are fun to see, but which also add to the overall curio-feel of both books.
I'd not recommend either book as a starting point for those interested in Kirby's work, or to anyone only mildly interested in his art. But to students and devoted fans, they are must-haves, providing insight into the master's experimental side.
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