Kirby's In The Days Of The Mob

[Kid Robson]

In case anyone doesn't know yet, Jack Kirby's 'In The Days Of The Mob' has been republished in hardback and is on sale in comics shops now. It's a follow-up to the 'Spirit World' volume published a year or so back, and is a must-have for all true Kirby fans. I'm lucky enough to have the original magazines, but I'll be picking this book up later today from my 'local' FP.

To those who are familiar with the material, which magazine did you prefer out of the pair?

[stevezodiac]

I came across my copies of the originals a couple of weeks back and much prefer the period detail of the Mob comic (after the wild west I am also interested in prohibition era America). Are the hardbacks in black and white or have they been coloured?

[philcom55]

I have the originals as well so I won't be forking out for expensive reprints. Surely it would have been better to release the unpublished second issues instead (from what I've seen of the material intended for them it was some of Kirby's best work ever). Like Steve I preferred 'Mob', though I loved the later Spirit World strips that appeared in colour in the first three issues of Weird Mystery Tales. Seeing Jack inked by Mike Royer instead of Colletta was a revelation at that stage in his career!

- Phil R.

[Kid Robson]

Steve & Phil, I'm just back from Glasgow with the book, which looks like scans from a published magazine at first glance, but I'll have to compare it with my original copy before I can say for sure. All the stories intended for the second issue are in the back of the book - it's well worth having.

[stevezodiac]

I bought Weird Mystery Tales (probably still have them) and heard they were the stories meant for the black and white magazines. If any comic artist deserves the word genius its Kirby. His output was extraordinary.