The Newsboy Legion 1 Hardcover – March 30, 2010

Quite possibly the best of Simon & Kirby's pre-war DC creations The Newsboy Legion is fun from cover to cover.It blends so many of the elements of their best work. The gritty urban slums with which they were both intimately familiar; a gang of tough street kids who could have been their neighbors; the physically fit and morally upright hero who's greatest power wasn't flight, laser beams from his eyes or even his good right hook but his courage and decency.The streets of Suicide Slum are as much of a star of the strip as the Guardian or the four newsboys. And if Gabby, Scrapper, Tommy and Big Words are something of one-note characters, it's still one more note than many of their contemporaries displayed.The strip is less outrageously plotted than the Sandman, more believable in concept than the Boy Commandos, warmer and more accessible than Manhunter. And if the Guardian isn't as inherently unforgettable as Simon & Kirby's other shield slinger it's more a function of costume and name than any inherent weakness in the character. Personally, I find Jim Harper to be much more well rounded and fully-realized than Steve Rogers.(Though perhaps Jack & Joe had a hard time keeping them straight; on page 5 of the origin story they slip and call our hero Steve.)There is, unfortunately, a noticeable slip in quality as the volume goes on, likely a by-product of the rush to stockpile as much material as possible before Uncle Sam came a-calling for our creators, but the series never loses its charm.The last couple stories in the volume are illustrated by a young Gil Kane. Though not the artist he would later become, and certainly not at Jack's level this early in the game, it's interesting enough and far from the worst work I've seen from the era.The downside, as in DC's other recent golden-age reprints, is production. Though it's not nearly as bad as in the recent Sandman volume, color is at times washed out or muddy. More damaging is the reduction in printed page size to fit the format of the volume; the cramping does not serve the artwork well.Too bad they did not see fit to give this and the Sandman the same loving care that the older DC Archive volumes received. Obviously the market for this older material is limited and I believe most of those who are interested enough to buy it would happily pay an extra few bucks to see it done right.

It was interesting to read in the introduction Joe Simon's claim that this book was at one point the biggest selling comic book in the world. I can actually believe it because the book is very well written and drawn for its time.In fact, I feel that it reads more like a Silver Age book than one from the Golden Age, when art when amateurish art was typically more accepted. The lines are very tight, in many ways "tighter" than the linework from Jack Kirby's Marvel Age work. I don't know if this has anything to do with his changing style, his trying to meet tougher deadlines at Marvel, the use of more assistants during the Golden Age, or Joe Simon's input, but that is how it is if you compare the two side by side. The art also has a more "grotesque" feel, especially when it comes to the drawings of the gangsters, which gives the book a unique "mood".I also found the stories to be a lot of fun. Sure, there is a formula, which can typically be described as: The Newsboys start some new venture or job but get in trouble with the mob. The Guardian comes to the rescue but he himself finds himself in danger. The Newsboys help him out of the jam and then together they punch everyone's lights out. Finally, the Newsboys try to prove that the Guardian is really Jim Harper, but he eludes them in some humorous way. Despite the formula, it is much easier to read than a lot of other Golden Age books (and even Silver Age ones) where the plot either seems to take forever to complete or where they try to "trick" the reader in some kind of illogical way (typical of Silver Age Superman). Here the stories are quite straightforward and to the point. While there is very little in the way of true character development, the Guardian and each of the newsboys have unique personalities which are interwoven into the plots cleverly. Scrapper picks fights, Gabby talks too much, Big Words is intellectual and Tommy is the straight man (and clearly least interesting character, although probably essential as a foil to the others). This leads to some genuinely laugh out loud funny moments.Although the book is obviously a product of its time, being based on kids that the authors knew during the Depression era, there is very little that stands out as something that modern audiences either cnanot understand or which may offend modern sensibilities. Other than the fact that these children are basically left to fend for themselves and get into fights with gangsters despite Jim Harper being their supposed legal guardian, the only things that I can think of are one panel depicting a Chinese laundromat and the occasonal scene or cover which seemingly condone violence against the axis powers, such as one cover where the Newsboys are signing a (nuclear?) missle addressed to "Adolf".Overall, very impressive stuff which stands up well more than 60 yeaars later!A final world on the binding/reproduction. Being a scan, the colours are not very vibrant, but I don't think they will hurt the overall enjoyment of the story that much for most people. Consider the fact that this book would probably not have been reprinted in any other way. The binding is glued but perfectly well done. I disagree with the other reviewer who claims that artwork is "lost". It curves in the middle as any glued book does, but it is all intact.

Great Simon & Kirby art and story, marred only by the relatively small size of the book. Kirby's great art always deserves to be seen super-sized!

fine book, recommended seller

The Guardian was one of the few golden age D.C. heros I had never had a chance to read. I was never a big Simon and Kirby fan so I don't give points for that. One thing I did catch on to is that the kids are the stars and the adult super hero comes in and cleans up everything. The stories are a cut above the usual 1940s' stories and are fairly good. The art is the usual S.& K. product. Personally I like to see the masked hero all over the pages. Here, you might see him in a few captions and then he shows up in the last couple of pages. Just not enough for my taste but the higher quality stories help make up for it. As for the reproduction of the book....it's lousy. The colors are murky and all the other complaints from revues are true. Just look at the covers of the stories and you can see the gold color on the Guardians'change from gold to some other other color and then back from one cover to another. Although I bought this book knowing the 'down side', from other buyers it just works out to be a very average bunch of stories from the '40s. If you can get a deal on the price it might be worth it to you.

This collection of early Simon & Kirby adventures is full of raw power and energy!