Issue #7, Oct. 1995

FullyAuthorizedBy TheKirbyEstate

$495$5.40 Canada$7.40 Foreign

The Newsboy Legion and The Guardian © DC Comics, Inc., Artwork © Jack Kirby

A SpecialDouble-SizeTheme ISSUECelebratingJack’s

kid gangs!

An Unpublished

1987 InterviewWith Jack!

An overview of

Simon & Kirby’sKid Gangs

In Search Of the

Unpublished Boy ExplorersKirby’s best or worst?

The Dingbats OfDanger StreetUnsung kid gang

The Boy Heroes

Boys’ Ranch Unused pencils

Newsboy LegionOld & New

Unpublished ArtFrom X-Men, Jimmy

Olsen and others,

including PencilsBefore They WereInked, And Much

More!!

A NO

T- FOR-PROFIT

• P U B L I C A T I O N •

CELEBRATING THE LIFE & CAREER

OF THE KING!

Enter The BIG KIRBY CONTEST & Win Prizes!(see page 34 for details)

2

The Golden Boys

TThroughout the Golden Age of Comics, Joe Simon and Jack Kirbygave “birth” to a score of young characters through their “kidgang” comics. They pioneered a hugely popular genre, and their

adventures were read by thousands of readers over the years. Theywere the Golden Boys of comic’s first era, and their kid gang comicshelped catapult them to the forefront as one of the premier teams incomics history. Though kid gang comics aren’t as prevalent today, wefelt a closer examination of them was important.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Simon & Kirby kid gang strips,you’re in for a treat. If you think you already know everything aboutthem, I think you may find a few surprises waiting for you in thisissue! And though we’re finally giving some much-deserved space toJack’s Golden Age work, fans of his later work shouldn’t be disap-pointed, thanks to our Jimmy Olsen and Dingbats Of Danger Street arti-cles. Finally, we wrap it all up with a short piece on “Street Code,”Jack’s autobiographical story about growing up in the real-life kidgangs. And Ken Viola’s unpublished interview with Jack is a treasure.

After weeks of promoting TJKC at comic conventions inCharlotte, San Diego, and Dallas, we’re happy to bring you this kidgang issue. Thanks for your patience in waiting an extra month for it;we hope you’ll feel it was worth the wait.

Long live the King!

John Morrow, Editor 502 Saint Mary’s St. • Raleigh, NC 27605(919)833-8092 • FAX (919)833-8023 Email: twomorrow@aol.com

(This issue’s cover is a drawing of TheNewsboy Legion and The Guardian inkedby Dave Stevens. The original pencil drawing is in the Kirby Unleashed portfolio.)

Kirby NewsOur Apologies To Joe Sinnott

OOn page two of TJKC #6, we inaccurately printed that Joe Sinnotthad once offered to ink one of the Fourth World books, but DCturned him down. In a letter we received from Joe, he stated, “I

never sought work at DC – I had no reason to. In fact, over the yearsDC often contacted me about leaving Marvel to work for them, but Iturned them down.”

Our published comments were based on a rumor we’d heard,and we carelessly neglected to contact Joe to confirm it. Joe, being thekind gentleman that he is, graciously accepted our apology, but itbears repeating in print. We humbly ask his forgiveness for our care-lessness, and promise that we’ll be more diligent in the future inchecking our facts. Joe, please accept our apologies for any inconve-nience this caused you, both professionally and personally.

About DC’s Reprints...RR

ecently, we had a very pleasant and informative phone conversa-tion with DC Comics Reprint Editor Bob Kahan (not ‘Kahn’ aswe erroneously spelled his name in an earlier issue - our apolo-

gies, Bob!). First of all, it seems a number of you have sent somerather nasty letters to Bob complaining about the possible cancella-tion of the proposed Kirby Sandman, Challengers of the Unknown, andJimmy Olsen reprint projects. For the record, none of these volumeswere ever definite, just in the early thinking stages. Bob is a big Kirbyfan, and wants to see these volumes published as much as you do, solet’s show him a little support! He’s working hard to get at least oneKirby volume on the 1996 schedule, and he should be commendedfor his efforts. Positive, constructive letters can be sent to Bob at hisnew address: DC Comics, 1700 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

Secondly, the only way these volumes will happen is if retailersthink they can sell them. Bob is well aware of your interest in them(he’s gotten many letters), but if the retailers don’t think they’ll sell,the distributors won’t order them, and DC won’t publish them. So

Jack at the 1971 San Diego Comic Con(photo by James Henry Klein)

The Jack Kirby Collector, Vol. 2, No. 7, Oct. 1995. Published bi-monthly by TwoMorrows Advertising, 502 Saint Mary’s St., Raleigh, NC 27605, USA. 919-833-8092. John Morrow, Editor. Pamela Morrow, Asst. Editor. Single issues and back issues: $2.50 each U.S., $2.70 Canada, $3.70 outside N. America. 6-issue subscriptions:$12.00 US, $13.20 Canada, and $19.20 outside North America. First printing (dated 9/25/95). The initial printing of this issue was mailed the week of Oct. 2, 1995.All characters are © their respective companies. All artwork is © Jack Kirby unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter is © the respective authors.

The Jack KirbyCollector #7

Edited by:John Morrow

Design & Production:John & Pamela Morrow

Proofreading:Richard howell

Special thanks to:D. Hambone, Mark Evanier,Chris Harper, Richard Howell, Steve Sherman, Greg Theakston, Mike Thibodeaux,Jon Warren,& of course, Roz Kirby.

This Issue’s Contributors:Jeff Clem,

Paul Doolittle, David Hamilton, Chris Harper, Richard Howell, Frank Johnson,

Estate of Carol Kalish,James Henry Klein,

Peter Koch, Richard Kyle,

Andrew Mackler, Rich Morrissey, Leo Pando,

Francis St. Martin, Daniel Serafin, Greg Theakston,

Ken Viola, R.J. Vitone, and Curtis Wong.

(Each Receives one freeissue for their efforts!)

Copyrights:Orion, Dr. Bedlam, Mr. Miracle,

Kalibak, Darkseid, Oberon, Big Barda,Boy Commandos, Newsboy Legion,The Guardian, Batman, Robin, JimmyOlsen, Superman, and Dingbats OfDanger Street are © DC Comics, Inc.

Captain America, Agent 13, Galactus, Hulk, Young Allies, X-Men,

Angel, and Sentinels are © Marvel Entertainment Group.

Boy Heroes, Boy Explorers, & Boys’Ranch are © Joe Simon & Jack Kirby.

Argosy® is a trademarkof Richard Kyle.

All artwork is © Jack Kirby unless otherwise noted.

3

instead of continuing to bombard Bob with letters, it’s time to let allour local retailers know that we want to see these books. Only with agroundswell of support on the retail level will these books ever getpublished.

Lastly, just what Kirby work is likely to be reprinted soon?Probably a hardcover New Gods collection. The reason for this is eco-nomics. For anything DC published before 1950, no negatives exist atall. So DC has to pay to have the original comics scanned, the colorbleached out on a computer, and the entire book recolored for goodreproduction. This costs almost as much as creating new art today,which means they have to sell lots of copies to just break even. Andonly the black negatives exist for books published between 1950-1980, so those must still be recolored. Since all the negatives existfrom the 1984 New Gods baxter reprints, expenses are lower and thebook can make a profit with fewer copies sold.

Jack Kirby: A CelebrationMM

ark Evanier reports that most of the legal hurdles are over onJack Kirby: A Celebration, the tribute book he and Frank Millerare co-producing. The format may have to change a bit to

accommodate the staggering list of artists and writers who wish toparticipate. Stay tuned for more details next issue. Also, Mark’s newmailing address is: 133 S. Fairfax Ave., #303, Los Angeles, CA 90036.

Golden Age Kirby Comics OnlineGG

reg Theakston reports that he is supplying scans of publicdomain Kirby comics to the CompuServe online computer ser-vice, which will make them available for downloading in their

Comics and Animation Forum. All you need is a modem, a computer,and access to CompuServe (call 800-848-8990 for information onCompuServe membership). This service should be available by theend of the year, and will feature such Golden Age classics as Jack’sSolar Legion story from Crash Comics #1, his last issue of Blue Bolt(#10), the Black Owl, and more.

As for Greg’s Complete Kirby reprint series, he still needs Blue Bolt#4 & #9, Daring Mystery #7, Famous Funnies #80, and Justice Traps TheGuilty #2. If you know where Greg can acquire these in any condition,call him at (404) 424-5151.

Petitions Sent To MarvelWW

hile attending the Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC, the San DiegoComic Con, and the Dallas Fantasy Fair this summer, we col-lected 773 signatures on a petition to get Marvel Comics to give

Jack co-credit on his many creations. Our petition was done in con-junction with Mark Miller’s ongoing letter-writing campaign. If youdidn’t get a chance to sign, send a letter to: Mr. Terry Stewart, MarvelComics Co., 387 Park Ave. South, New York, NY 10016.

Help Get TJKC In Comics StoresWW

e’ve got TJKC in a number of comics shops nationwide. Thishas increased our print run, which allows us to add extra pagesfrom time to time, like in this issue. If your local shop doesn’t

carry TJKC, show them a copy and ask them to contact us regardingquantity discounts. The more copies we print, the more we canexpand TJKC - starting with color covers on each issue!

Mob #2 Story Published!AA

n unpublished Kirby story from In The Days Of The Mob #2 wasprinted in the June 1995 (Vol. 6, No. 6) issue of Robin Snyder’sfantastic publication The Comics. Order a copy for $2, or sub-

scribe for 12 issues for $22. Send to: Robin Snyder, The Comics, 255N. Forest #405, Bellingham, WA 98225-5833. Highly recommended!

New Tribute Book Upcoming!JJim Steranko is currently working on a Kirby tribute book in con-junction with Mike Thibodeaux of Genesis West. It promises tocontain a large assortment of previously unseen Kirby artwork,

including many pieces from the Kirby family’s private collection. Butto fill the book out, Jim needs more unpublished Kirby art. If youhave any obscure Kirby art in your collection, including rejected covers and pages or nice convention pin-ups, please send photocopiesof it to Jim at Supergraphics, Box 4489, Reading, PA 19606. (Andwhile you’re at it, make an extra copy and send it to us at TJKC!)

Kirby Portfolio PreviewCC

heck out Dark Horse Presents #103 (November issue) for a two-page preview of an upcoming Kirby portfolio from Dark Horse,featuring Jack’s Biblical imagery. It’s $2.95, and on sale soon.

We Need A Volunteer!WW

e’re working on compiling an up-to-date checklist of everythingJack ever had published (including reprints and interviews).Compiling and cross-checking all this information is a time-

consuming task, and we need a volunteer to take on the bulk of it.Qualifications should include a thorough knowledge of Jack’s work(although you’ll have interaction with many knowledgeable Kirbyfans to help you out), access to a computer, good organizational skills,and a detail-oriented mind. We can’t pay for your services, but we canoffer a LIFETIME SUBSCRIPTION to TJKC in return! If you’re inter-ested in volunteering, drop us a letter detailing why you feel you’rethe one for the job. We look forward to hearing from you!

As a starting point for the checklist, we’re using the existing onefrom Blue Rose Press’ The Art Of Jack Kirby. So keep sending thoselists of errors and omissions from the AOJK checklist, or if you’ve gotan accurate list of your own to contribute, write us!

Corrections From Previous IssuesBB

esides the error we made in #6 about Joe Sinnott (detailedabove), there are a few other errors and omissions from pastissues which need reporting:

• We neglected to mention that Chic Stone inked the EsquireMagazine story about Jack Ruby from TJKC #2.

• In #3, Joe Simon mistakenly mentioned that he created the RedSkull. He was actually created by Ed Herron.

• In #6, we neglected to mention that Captain Victory is © Jack Kirby.

Happy Birthday, Rosalind Kirby!Don’t forget that you can still make donations to the educational fund that was set up in Jack’s name shortly after his death. Send to:

The Jack Kirby Educational Fund, Temple Etz Chaim, 1080 Janss Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91360.

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Interviewed February 1987 by Ken Viola

Introduction and interview © 1987, 1995 by Ken Viola. All rightsreserved. This interview, excerpt or otherwise, cannot be reprintednor quoted from without the express written consent of Ken Viola.

I thank God that in February 1987, before hepassed through that portal to the Positive Zone and thecosmos beyond, I got to meet and interview Jack Kirby.

Like a lot of you, I was fortunate enough to come ofage and grow up with Jack Kirby. Over 25 years hadpassed since my seeking and fertile mind had firstencountered and embraced Jack’s art as it leaped off theracks right into my hands.

There were a lot of comic books to choose from inthose days, or so it seemed, and not much money to buywith, even at 10¢ each... but Jack’s work never let youdown. I can still, if I close my eyes and let myself fallback, feel that thrill of excitement and anticipation thatcame from the discovery of a new Kirby book.

I firmly believe that the best part of us all, thefinality that gives meaning, purpose and satisfaction toour lives, is the ability to communicate and share witheach other what is special about being human; to feeldown to the very fiber of our being that tingle, that sparkdeep in our soul; The Essence Of Life.

When I first began the journey to make my 1987film The Masters Of Comic Book Art, I had no idea itwould end up being about The Storyteller—artists whoboth drew and wrote. It is the supreme challenge of theartist and their ability to tell the story—to break itdown visually, in terms of content, time, space, action,emotion, reflection... et al. The accomplishment of thatgoal is to take the personal and private experience of theartist and give it to the reader. To then be able to com-municate that same spark of life to the masses is therarest of gifts. That achievement is Jack Kirby’s life’s work.

In a medium which is comprised of a singularexpression, uniquely composed of a combination ofwords and pictures, with Kirby’s work you almost didn’tneed the words.

He came from a humble and oppressed beginning.Instilled with a strong work ethic and an overwhelmingthirst for survival, he self-intellectualized with his ownhand, heart, and mind his means of escape.

When I visited him in his home in Thousand Oaks,California, he had made it to the top of his mountain.Jack had the support and love of his wife, Roz. His chil-dren were grown. He was happy, fulfilled. The legacy ofhis life’s work lived on; a true triumph of the realAmerican Dream.

Close-up and in-person, Jack was bursting with energy, crackling,glowing, and awe-inspiring; rough-hewn on the outside, kind and pureinside.

Jack told me that behind Dr. Doom’s mask was a flawless, unmarkedface that Doom could not bring himself to look upon. He told me how muchhe loved young people, among them kids who grew up in the 1960s, my gen-eration. On the wall in his studio was a photo of Jack with Frank Zappa.How well he’d come to understand human nature.

“Comic book people are the nicest people in the world,” he confided tome.

I miss him.

KEN VIOLA: When you approach the blank comic book page, how doyou service it in terms of the storytelling?JACK KIRBY: I see that story first. I feel that story first. I know thosepeople first, and I put them down as I’d like them to live on thosepages. My stories are very sincere. My stories are people stories andthere are elements that are very, very real. It doesn’t matter what thesubject is, and I’ve done stories on a wide range of subjects.

I feel that no matter what kind of a story you’re going to write, ifyou’re sincere in telling that story and not contriving it, you will findwhatever you feel will have a pungent element of that story. The readerwill feel it because he’s (or she’s) no different than you. I’ve always felt

Cap slugs it out with several baddies - uninked pencils to Captain America #103, page 17.

Jack Kirby - The Master Of Comic Book Art

OOne of the trademarks of Simon and Kirby was a seemingly endlessvolume of sheer inventiveness. During the early 1940s, the teamre-shaped tired (for even then) clichés and made them look fresh.

Finding inspiration in old dime novels, radio dramas, feature films,and news reports of the day, they created entire new fields of comicbook genres that exist even now. One of the most enduring and bestremembered was the kid gang motif, and nobody did it better.

The Sentinels Of Liberty - Comics’ First Kid GangDuring the early success of Captain America Comics at Timely, a

hugely popular promotion was run featuring the Sentinels of Libertybadge. Just about every Timely title ran colorful ads for the kit. Bysending in a dime, hero-worshiping readers could possess not onlythe bronze shield with Cap’s likeness on it, but would also becomefull-fledged members of the nationwide Sentinels of Liberty club. Thegimmick was simple and brilliant. Since most of Cap’s readers wereyoung boys, and since the title was a runaway hit, why not offer those

readers the chance to contribute directly to that success? The responsewas terrific. The badge went back to press at least three times beforewar-time metal restrictions forced cancellation of the promotion. Butthe groundwork was laid. Bucky became de facto head of hundreds ofthousands of Sentinels, usually speaking to them right from specialbulletin pages in the comics. Simon and Kirby followed the logicalprogression of the situation. It was clearly time to create a new featureusing kids as central characters. And so Young Allies #1 was born.

The Young Allies - Sidekicks Go SoloKid sidekicks were hardly a new idea. The Shield at MLJ had one.

So did The Human Torch. Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Robin forBatman at DC because, “Batman didn’t have anyone to talk to, and itgot a little tiresome always having him thinking.” Simon and Kirbyhad introduced Bucky in the very first Cap story, but the basic idea ofthe Young Allies strip was very different. Here was a cross-section ofAmerican kids caught up in fantastic situations fighting frighteningvillains, all against a background of the World War—and almost noadults around to spoil the fun! That first issue introduced all of whatwould be standard in the field for years to come—a small group of pals,inner rivalries, playful (often deadly) antics, and terrific adventures.

The Young Allies were led by Bucky (even though Toro arguedthat point), and included some soon-to-be familiar stereotypes:Percival Aloysius “Knuckles” O’Toole, the Brooklyn Dead-End Kid;Jefferson Worthington Sandervilt, rich boy inventor; Henry “Tubby”Tinkle, the fat kid; and “Whitewash” Jones, the Harlem black kid witha harmonica. Where their parents were or how this group could everstrike terror into an enemy’s heart never concerned S&K. The teamdid some minor work on the first issues (cover and splash for eachchapter of number one, plus issue two’s cover), and then suddenly leftTimely. Ironically, one of the reasons they left was the success of theSentinels of Liberty club. Joe Simon said years later that of all thedimes that rolled in for those membership kits, Jack and Joe never goteven one of them.

So it was over to DC Comics, then king-of-the-hill in the comicsfield, and time to re-invent the kid gang.

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Simon & Kirby’s Kids Go To War!by R. J. Vitone

Could any red-blooded kid resist Cap’s call? The art looks to be more Simon than Kirby.

(left and middle) Splash pages from Young Allies #1. (right) Splash page from Star Spangled #9, June 1942.

Enter The Newsboy Legion & The Guardian!When Simon and Kirby switched over to DC, they hit the

ground at full gallop. The Newsboy Legion was the third strip theyintroduced, and the first featuring characters wholly created by theteam for their new publisher. (The revamped Sandman and Sandycame first, then the re-designed Manhunter. Both strips ran inAdventure Comics.) Dated April 1942, Star Spangled # 7 cover-featuredS&K’s latest effort. That the gang elbowed the incumbent star of thecomic (Star Spangled Kid) to back-up status showed just how highlythe powers-that-be at DC thought of their new artist/writer team.

Expanding on the concepts introduced in Young Allies, the firstNewsboy Legion tale spun fresh twists into a formula epic: JimHarper, resolute, square-jawed rookie policeman, assumes the per-sona of The Guardian. His quest: Stamp out crime in Suicide Slum...and have a helluva good time doing it!

Speed was the key. Jack Kirby produced a staggering amount ofhigh-quality pages during this period. The accelerated output showedthrough in the pace of the stories. The intro of Jim Harper and his ori-gin as The Guardian takes up only two pages! Kirby’s art flowed withthat pace. Pages became pushed-together vignettes as scenes collidedat break-neck speed. Dynamic figures stretch with exaggerated power,and when The Guardian throws a punch, hoods fly out of the panelgutters, breaking more than just the Laws of Physics! And just whenyou think this will turn out to be “just another” super-hero story,along come four ragged street corner newspaper sellers: Tommy,leader of the gang; Gabby, the rambunctious talker; Big Words, the“professor;” and Scrapper, the Flatbush slum kid with an impossibleaccent. (Maybe he was related to the soon-to-come Brooklyn of theBoy Commandos?) Arrested for petty crimes, the boys are about to betossed in jail until their twenty-first birthdays. Jim Harper saves theday, taking responsibility for the orphans for a “trial period.”

Needless to say, it became a long period.The basic strength of the Simon and Kirby Newsboy Legion run

lay in one simple area: storytelling. Each issue of Star Spangled wove anew tale around some facet of life in “Suicide Slum.” In fact, Kirbyknew those streets well. In his early twenties by the time he movedover to DC, Jack had grown up in that area of New York known as“Hell’s Kitchen.” When he transferred the images of his youth to thepages of the Newsboy Legion, he drew on those childhood memories,mixed them with a touch of Hollywood romanticism, and produced astriking backdrop for each new story. From the kids who played in thestreets to the cops who chased them, right on through the immigrantshopkeepers and gossiping housewives, they all sprang from Kirby’sown unique vision. Except for a stray Nazi agent who wandered intothe area, almost every threat came from home-grown thugs. A Kirbystock company of hoods became interchangeable plot devices, andthe simple honesty of the gang sometimes was all it took to help themsee the light and go straight. Will Eisner occasionally used the sameformula, but usually it came across with a touch of tongue- in-cheek.The gentle humor that shines out of the Newsboy Legion run wasanother trademark of S&K. Corny? Maybe. But very well-done corn.

From that first story in April ’42, Kirby drew the covers and athirteen-page story for almost every issue of Star Spangled until num-ber 30. Long after the team had left the strip, the title sported coverswith the distinctive S&K signatures.

Where did they go? Off to war, that’s where!Not literally. Not yet. That reality was just ahead. But another

chapter in comics history came first.

Boy Commandos - Kids Go To War!The United States entered World War II in December 1941. Any

casual student of comics history knows that many super-heroes hadbeen fighting fascism long before that date. Superman routinelytossed foreign despots around, Blackhawk blitzed the Axis in Quality’sMilitary Comics, and the Sub-Mariner sank many a Nazi U-boat longbefore Pearl Harbor. Simon and Kirby’s Captain America was a directresponse to the “Jap-a-Nazi” threat, and the Red Skull remains per-haps the most notorious war-time villain of all. Hitler himself oftencrossed the lines of disbelief to “guest-star” in many a comic-bookstory. As exciting as the Newsboy Legion was, their battlefield wasrestricted mainly to Suicide Slum... but what if they had guns...?

Detective Comics # 64 (June ’42) introduced The Boy Commandosstarring Rip Carter. Once again, the now-familiar basics were there. Amulti-national gang of kids function as mascots and operatives for aBritish-based elite commando force led by U.S. Army Captain RipCarter. By design ornot, each symbolizes anation involved in thewar: Andre Chavard,hoping to free France;Alfy Twidgett, jovialEnglish subject; JanHaasen, blond Hollandrefugee; and (of course)Brooklyn, street-wisewise-guy who actuallycarried a tommygun inhis trusty violin case.The group was led (orrefereed) by CaptainCarter, who struck asolid, very determinedimage but had a heartof gold under it all. Asis often the case in aseries like this, once

A DC house ad shows S&K turning out stories. They look happy, don’t they?

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A sketch Jack did for a fan while stationed at Camp Stewart, GA in WWII.

Splash page from Detective Comics #65.

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AAfter being discharged from the military at the end of World WarII, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created a promising new series forHarvey Comics called The Boy Explorers. But the easing of paper

rationing at the end of the war brought a flood of post-war titles to thestands, and Boy Explorers was crowded out and cancelled after only oneissue. That first issue sent the lads on a quest to complete seven ardu-ous tasks, or face death! But did they ever complete those tasks? Wewent searching for answers, and compiled this list of their appear-ances, including ads, text-only stories, and some unpublished stories.

Stuntman #1 (April 1946)This issue contains a 2-page text-only story entitled “The Boy

Explorers Meet Commodore Sinbad” (note the misspelling of“Sindbad”). It was later reprinted in Thrills Of Tomorrow #19.According to cover dates, this text story pre-dates Boy Explorers #1.

Boy Explorers #1 (May 1946)Following the formula of their previous successful kid groups, Joe

and Jack developed an intrepid group of youngsters to assist crusty oldCommodore Sindbad in his quest for adventure: Smiley, the All-American boy; Gadget, boy inventor; Gashouse, streetwise Brooklyntransplant; and Mr. Zero, a pint-sized tot. The premiere 12-page storyentitled “Talent For Trouble” served as a prologue to what promised tobe an epic adventure that would stretch over several issues. It seems

that in his youth, Commodore Sindbad had promised to marry thePrincess Latima, and she had just shown up to collect on that promise.Looking for a way out of the marriage, Sindbad heads to the BluehillsOrphanage, where he finds the four boys getting into mischief. He pro-ceeds to adopt the four from Miss Prunella Axehandle, the proprietressof the orphanage.

But the Princess won’t let Sindbad off the hook that easily. Shegives him a choice: Marry her or duplicate the seven heroic feats of“Sindu San—the greatest sailor who ever lived!” And the price for fail-ure is death! The kids voice their support, and a fired-up Commodoreis ready to take on the first task. The story ends with the Commodoretelling the boys they must travel to the “edge of the world” to face theold man of the sea.

This issue featured an ad that supposedly showed the cover of BoyExplorers #2. Although the copy in the ad says, “The Boy ExplorersFind The Edge Of The World,” the cover depicts an underwater scenethat doesn’t take place in the “Edge Of The World” story, and wasmeant to accompany the unpublished “Centropolis” story whichwould’ve run in issue #3. So the cover shown in the ad in issue #1 isreally issue #3.

Stuntman #2 (June 1946)This issue contains another 2-page text-only story entitled

“Triumph For The Boy Explorers.” Although it runs opposite an ad for

In Search Of... The Boy Explorers!by Frank Johnson and John Morrow

Splash page from the story in Joe Palooka #5.

Splash page to Boy Explorers #1 - the prologue to the Seven Tasks.

The work of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby very likely inspired DC’sStar Spangled Comics from the very beginning. The success of Timely/Marvel’s Captain America hadn’t gone unnoticed there, and in late1941 DC introduced its own patriotic pair, created by the company’sown star writer, Superman creator Jerry Siegel. While company policyrefused to allow a hero to make his debut in his own title as CaptainAmerica had done, DC came close by giving The Star Spangled Kidand Stripesy several stories in each issue of the similarly-named StarSpangled Comics. Siegel’s own contribution to the concept seems tohave been the idea that the boy (rich Sylvester Pemberton) would leadthe team and the adult (chauffeur/mechanic PatDugan) would be his sidekick. Yet, although thestories featured a wide variety of unique villainslike The Needle and some above-average writing,the Star Spangled Kid didn’t really catch on—per-haps due to the less than stellar art of co-creatorHal Sherman.

So, with Star Spangled Comics #7 (April1942), the title character was relegated to a sec-ondary slot while new characters were introduced.DC had reached the reasonable conclusion thatthe best way to duplicate the success of aSimon/Kirby feature was with Simon and Kirbythemselves, recently lured to DC from Marvel.“The Newsboy Legion, starring The Guardian,”like “The Star Spangled Kid and Stripesy,” gavekids top billing over an adult super-hero, and thename might have been contributed by editorMort Weisinger, who had always been fond of theword ‘Legion.’ The Seven Soldiers of Victory, whostarred in Leading Comics, were also known as theLaw’s Legionnaires; many years later Weisingerwould introduce the still-successful Legion of Super-Heroes.Everything else in the Newsboy Legion feature was pure Kirby.

The Newsboy Legion wasn’t a group of middle-class kids like the

Young Allies (who had spun off of Captain America’s feature duringSimon and Kirby’s stewardship), but a street gang of young orphans.Tommy, Gabby, Scrapper, and Big Words made what little moneythey had by selling newspapers, giving them their name, but they ini-tially weren’t averse to augmenting their income by petty pilfering.The Guardian was literally just that: a young policeman named JimHarper who had initially arrested the boys, but then saved them fromreform school by getting himself appointed their legal guardian. Atfirst the boys resented him, but after Harper adopted the identity of acostumed hero to rescue them from hardened adult criminals, they

became fonder of the cop, whom they didn’tknow—but frequently suspected—to be the cos-tumed Guardian. To the best of my knowledge,this was the first instance of a hero whose identitywas regularly suspected by his supporting cast:Lois Lane didn’t begin to regularly suspect ClarkKent of being Superman until some years later,also in comics edited by Mort Weisinger.

The young protagonists, and the crimi-nals and situations they faced, may well havebeen inspired by Simon and Kirby’s earlier workon Young Allies, as well as by influences outsidecomics. The late E. Nelson Bridwell has cited thethen-contemporary Dead End Kids movies as amajor influence, and MGM’s “Our Gang” come-dies, with a cast averaging a few years youngerthan the Newsboys, were still successful. Butthey were also rooted in the reality of the streetson which Kirby had grown up, with the wise butfriendly adult mentor, as Ray Wyman has notedin The Art Of Jack Kirby, reflecting the lessons ofKirby’s own boyhood.

With the Newsboy Legion as its lead feature (where it wouldremain until #65), Star Spangled Comics became one of DC’s more suc-cessful titles. The boys remained energetic and somewhat wild, but

EXTRA! The Newsboy Legion!by Rich Morrissey

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(above) The Newsboy Legion’s first appearance from Star Spangled #7. (left to right) Covers to Star Spangled #13, #15 and #19.

under the Guardian’s influence they applied it more and more toimproving their neighborhood. They collected papers and raisedmoney for the war effort as World War II escalated, tried out for amovie, published their own newspaper, and prevented a slumlordfrom swindling the people of Suicide Slum. Interestingly enough,those people, like the boys themselves, seemed to be almost entirelywhite, but this only reflected the segregation of urban neighborhoodsat the time, and the continuing tendencies of street gangs to segregatethemselves by race, sex, and ethnic background. My friends who’veexperienced such groups directly, as Kirby himself had as a boy, con-firm that the Newsboy Legion accurately reflected real-life gangs incontaining no Hispanic, black, or female members. While non-whiteboys, and girls of all races, certainly aren’t averse to joining gangs,most of them also tend to segregate them-selves by race and sex.

Simon and Kirby continued to turnout the Newsboy Legion and other fea-tures—Boy Commandos, Sandman andManhunter—until their own draft noticesarrived. At that point they began takingon more assistants, including the youngCarmine Infantino, Joe Certa, and GilKane, in an effort to turn out as muchmaterial as possible for their featuresbefore they had to report for duty. Aftertheir final departure, writers DonCameron and Joe Samachson, and artistsGil Kane, Louis Cazeneuve, and Phil Bardtook over their features. Kirby brieflyreturned to his DC characters after thewar, but once Simon was discharged, heaccepted an offer for the pair from HarveyComics.

After Simon and Kirby’s departure,the Newsboy Legion (along with the BoyCommandos) was turned over to writerEd Herron, a one-time protégé of Simonand Kirby who had worked for them onpast features like Captain America. CurtisSwan, a mapmaker with whom Herronhad worked on Stars and Stripes duringthe war, came to DC with him and madehis debut on Boy Commandos, soon tak-ing over the Newsboy Legion as welltoward the end of its run.

The Newsboy Legion was droppedfrom Star Spangled Comics in 1947, ironi-cally replaced by DC’s first kid sidekick ina starring role—Robin the Boy Wonder,in mostly solo stories in which Batman’sappearances were limited to supportingroles. Their last story, interestinglyenough, was the first and only one not toinvolve the Guardian in any way, symboli-cally allowing them to set off on their ownas the partnership dissolved. Kirby wouldexplain years later that Jim Harper hadbeen promoted to detective, and reas-signed to another precinct. Even thenumerous other Golden Age revivals atDC in the ’60s left the Newsboy Legionand their Guardian untouched, almost asif they were waiting for the return of theircreator, who was at that time creating anew mythology with writer-editor StanLee at Marvel Comics.

Jack’s Back!When Kirby returned to DC in 1970, there had already been talk

of bringing back his first fully-realized teen group, the NewsboyLegion, in the pages of Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen. It has been saidthat Kirby was literally offered any book at the company but refusedto displace any existing creative team. With a revival of his classiccharacters being discussed at the same time Jimmy Olsen had lostartist Pete Costanza to deteriorating eyesight, Olsen was his immediatechoice. “Jimmy Olsen Brings Back the Newsboy Legion” was the titleof Kirby’s first issue, #133—but his revival of his 1942 group showedhow much both Kirby’s outlook and the comics world had changed.

The Newsboy Legion itself seemed to have hardly changed at all

The Newsboy Legion confronts The Guardian’s murderer. Uninked pencils from Jimmy Olsen #143, page 10.

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WWhen I learned Jack Kirby was leaving DC in 1975 I was sorelyfrustrated. I mean it; looking back on my life, the mostpoignant memory I have of early summer 1975 was my reaction

to the word in Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth #34’s letter column thathe was moving on to a different company. Actually, I was initiallystunned, giving way to frustration. I didn’t know anything aboutKirby’s pre-’70s work, except for reprints in 100-Page SuperSpectaculars. He was with DC when I jumped on board in 1972 and Ijust assumed he’d always been there, and was going to remain there,forever. Since I wasn’t into picking up back issues yet (in early 1975 Iwas just becoming aware that it was possible), I had no idea Kirbyhad worked for so many different comic book companies. Kirby hadbeen at Marvel in the sixties? News to me. (I was thirteen and in juniorhigh at the time. Comic book history was not part of my daily studies.)And where was Kirby going now? In those days there wasn’t Wizardor Previews or comic book shops to fill you in on industry news. All Ihad were the clerks at Stop ‘n Go and 7-Eleven, and the check-out lady atPantrymarket, and I didn’t dare ask them for fear of feeling like a fool.

Kirby leaving DC. It was incomprehensible. But wait, maybe itwas just a mistake. I mean, wasn’t that Kirby’s bold work on the coverof First Issue Special #6 (September 1975) welcoming ‘The Dingbats ofDanger Street’? What was a new concept by the King doing out inJune of 1975? He was practically gone, wasn’t he? Just a few moreKamandi and ‘Losers’ stories to crank out, and off he’d go. Why would

he start anything new with DC?Gee, maybe there was hope.

So I read it, and loved it,and thought, wow, I’m going toget my own modern NewsboyLegion, and Kirby will stay atDC to do it! Right after thestory, in the final panel of page18, there was a notice: “Wouldyou like to learn how theDingbats were formed? Wehave their tragic stories! Writeand tell us if you want to seethem!” So I did, and I waited,and Kirby left DC for Marvel, then went on to Pacific Comics, thenreturned briefly to DC, then did some work for Topps and Image, andnow he’s gone, and I’ve heard rumors over the years that there wereadditional Dingbats tales, but they’ve never been published.

I’ve been waiting almost twenty years.Does the first tale still stand up today? Nostalgically, there’s no

doubt; I loved it as a kid, having picked it up just as school closed inJune and the three month summer break began. How do I feel aboutit as an adult? Well, there are hundreds of comics I’ve grown out of,but not this one. Its pleasure is eternal, I suppose. I get just as much a

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The Dingbats Of Danger Street© 1995 James G. Kingman

Double-page spread meant for Dingbats Of Danger Street #2, inked by Royer.

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Two generations of unpublished Kirby kid gang stories. Shown here is unpublished art from what would’ve been Boy Explorers #3 (partially inked, without ‘spotting’ the black areas) and a page from what would have been Dingbats of Danger Street #3, inked by D. Bruce Berry.

KIRBY COLLECTOR #7Special Kid Gangs issue! Unpublished 1987 Interview with Jack,overview of Simon & Kirby's Kid Gangs, the Unpublished BoyExplorers, Dingbats of Danger Street, unsung Kid Gang The BoyHeroes, Boys' Ranch unused pencils, Newsboy Legion old andnew, unpublished art from X-Men, Jimmy Olsen & others, includ-ing pencils before they were inked, and much more!

(36-page magazine) $4.95 (Digital edition) $1.95

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