Peerless Power of Comics!

For my 50th post (I never thought I'd make it this far!) I will examine the 10 stories Jack Kirby produced for Battle , an Atlas comic that originated in 1951 and ceased publication in 1960.   In 1959, concurrent with his output on monster, western and romance stories, Kirby was assigned a number of compelling war stories. Based on a thorough reading it appears that Kirby scripted as well as drew many of the pre-1960 stories (an examination of possible scripts in other genre stories will appear at a later date). There are many similarities in style, tone, emphasis of words, phrases, use of quotation marks and sound effects that point to Kirby’s input. I will focus on these patterns as I go through each story.     "Action on Quemoy!" Battle # 64, June 1959, Jack Kirby story ? Kirby pencils; Christopher Rule inks, Job # T-266. The opening narration is similar to the style Kirby often employed; a long paragraph of exposition (which would be seen in many of his 1970s scripted

Some time ago I was contacted by Gideon Remez asking for information about Paul Reinman's background. He discovered I had written an article on Reinman for Alter Ego  some years ago and hoped I could assist him. I told him there were few Reinman interviews I was aware of, but Reinman wrote a brief memoir for Alter Ego in the early 1960s, which I passed onto him. In that same period I was over Timely-Atlas expert Michael Vassallo's house, and what does he have on his desk? A Paul Reinman interview that appeared in The Burroughs Bulletin # 13, 1962 (Reinman drew the Tarzan strip a number in 1949-1950). Serendipity! I asked Mike to pass on the info to Gideon, as well as information on Reinman's Atlas work, which he gladly did.                            Reinman Tarzan strip, 1949. Image from Heritage Auctions. Gideon is not a comics fan, but his interest in Reinman overlaps with my interest in the lives and history of creators, which extends to many areas, as the article will