Reading Room / Tales Twice Told BACK MAGIC "Buried Alive!"

Tuesday, We Presented the Later Version of This Tale...

...now, we show you the earlier version created by one (possibly two) Silver Age comics legends!

Illustrated by Steve (Spider-Man/Doctor Strange) Ditko, the writer of this tale from Prize's Black Magic Comics V4N4 (1954) is unknown.

It could be either Jack (King) Kirby or Joe Simon, or both, since they were the editor/art director team of the Simon & Kirby Studios which packaged Black Magic and several other books for Prize Comics!
But we don't know for certain!
(And if I have to explain who Jack Kirby is, you're not a regular reader of this blog!)
One thing we are certain of...while both stories used the same script (with a couple of modified word balloons), Ditko's version runs six pages, while Munoz's remake is seven pages long!
Don't believe me?
Click HERE and compare!

Which one do you, dear reader, believe is an example of better storytelling?

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Steve Ditko Archives Vol 1

Strange Suspense

(Which reprints this story...but in black and white)

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Macabre Monday Madness BLACK MAGIC "Madame Cyanide and Mister Tricks!" & HORROR TALES "Broomstick Witch"

Here's a maddening tale (for several reasons) on the Monday before Halloween...

...a never-reprinted tale, which was redone with new art decades later!

Steve (Dr Strange) Ditko illustrated this story from Prize's Black Magic V4N5 (1954).

The writer is unknown, but could be Joe Simon and/or Jack Kirby, since the book was packaged by their studio.

Was it meant to be the first in an ongoing series about Mister Tricks and his attempts at debunking?

The tale's script (with minor changes) served as the basis of this story from Eerie Publications' Horror Tales V6N4 (1974) twenty years later...

"Romero", the artist who signed the piece is not Enrique Romero, who illustrated Modesty Blaise and Axa, but one of several other Romeros who've worked in American comics over the decades. 

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Simon & Kirby Library: Horror!

(which doesn't include this tale!)

Reading Room BLACK MAGIC "Man Who Captured a Ghost!"

Most people wouldn't consider our judicial system a source of horror...

...at least not the non-corporeal type of terror!

Since Kirby (and Joe Simon) were the editors/art directors for the book, it's not unreasonable to think one or the other was also the story's writer.

While Kirby is clearly the cover artist...

...the interior art for the never-reprinted, cover-featured, tale from Prize's Black Magic V2N1 (1951) seems to be a combination of his layouts, pencils by Mort Meskin, and inks by Meskin and George Roussos!

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Simon & Kirby Library: Horror!

(which doesn't include this story)
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Reading Room BLACK CAT MYSTIC "A Weemer is the Best of All!"

"Whimsical" is not a word you usually associate with Jack (King) Kirby...

...but in this case, it's perfectly appropriate!

Though Jack Kirby both penciled and inked (a rare occurrence) this tale from Harvey's Black Cat Mystic #59 (1957), the identity of who wrote it is unknown, but it's probably Kirby himself or ex-partner Joe Simon who was the editor of the book at Harvey Comics!

BTW, Black Cat Mystic, despite the title, was a science-fiction, not horror, comic!

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Simon & Kirby Library

Science Fiction
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BLACK CAT MYSTIC "Woman Who Discovered America 67 Years Before Columbus!"

From Harvey's Black Cat Mystic #60 (1957)...

...comes a Joe Simon/Jack Kirby tale that may have been created for Simon & Kirby's Strange World of Your Dreams, but not used until years later!

Prize's Strange World of your Dreams only ran for four issues.

Several stories planned for the fifth issue ran in Prize's Black Magic after SWoYD was cancelled.

But S&K left Prize and took any unused material with them, so this could be another tale meant for SWoYD #5!

BTW, I was unable to find any record of an actual Marina Dorotea De Vargas, so it's safe to presume this is an entirely-fictional tale.
And, yes, Columbus Day is tomorrow.
But, we have an ongoing Monday feature we couldn't interrupt 

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Strange World of Your Dreams

Comics Meet Dali & Freud!
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Reading Room / Tales Twice Told BLACK MAGIC "Flying Dutchman!"

Last Tuesday, we presented the 1970s reworked version of this tale...

...today, we show you the original, never-reprinted, 1950s story from Prize's Black Magic V4N5 (1954)!

Illustrated by Al Eadeh, this tale based on the long-established legend of the Flying Dutchman may have been written by Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, or both!

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Simon and Kirby Library

Horror!

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Kirby Reading Room/Tales Twice-Told BLACK MAGIC "Alive After Five Thousand Years!"

Only reprinted once since initial publication 70 years ago in Prize's Black Magic V4N4 (1954)...

...here's a tale showing the legendary Simon and Kirby team at their spooky (but non-gory) best!

Just cries out for a sequel, eh?

Sadly, there wasn't one, nor was the story reprinted...until 2014, in Titan's Simon and Kirby Library: Horror anthology (see below).
But, there was a retitled retelling of this tale, in a rather unlikely place, in 1974!

You'll see that version on Thursday!

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Simon and Kirby Library

Horror!

Which reprints this story for the only time since 1954!

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