The lead story by Simon and Kirby is called 'The Cat People'. It has a nice mythic quality to it and contains some visual elements which Kirby would later re-deploy in his work at both Marvel and DC. This suggests to me that he must have liked the tale. This issue of 'Black Magic' also contains the luridly titled 'A Hole In His Head', which happens to be the third published story by a young artist named Steve Ditko. Was this the first time that stories drawn by Kirby and Ditko had appeared in the same magazine? In truth, this is early, formative Ditko and only one or two of the panels exhibit the signature style that we would, quite quickly, come to associate with him. According to the Notes on Comic Book Plus, Kirby re-drew the monster for this story in a number of panels. Those who are already familiar with his style will have little difficulty in spotting the re-draws. However, I am also leaving open the possibility that the monster might have been drawn by Ditko in the style of Jack Kirby. Besides this, Ditko produces a closely drawn and detailed story which I thought worked very well as a "supernatural thriller" of the period. The script is uncredited. This issue also contains a second Simon and Kirby story called 'The Merry Ghosts of Campbell Castle', which is set in the highlands of Scotland. Although not quite as good as 'The Cat People', the story is lent some additional charm by its location. In fact, of the three stories mentioned, two of them are set in Spain and one in Scotland. I like the international dimension which Simon and Kirby were giving to their comics at this period. Overall, this is a very good issue of 'Black Magic' and well worth your time.
Cover colors credit from Greg Theakston via the GCD Error List (5 April 2008)
Content
Genre: Horror-suspense
Notes
Cover colors credit from Greg Theakston via the GCD Error List (5 April 2008)
Comic Story
The Cat People (6 pages)
Comic Story
A Hole in His Head (5.83 pages)
Notes
Jack Kirby redrew the creature on pages 4-6, with the exception of page 5, panel 3. Info per Nick Caputo's Blog: https://nick-caputo.blogspot.com/2013/05/jack-kirby-steve-ditko-and-that-old.html
Previous indexer credited George Roussos on inks but Nick Caputo notes that Ditko inked all his stories in the 1950s and was experimenting with different techniques in this early period.
Text Story
The Nightmare (1 page)
Credits
Letters: typeset
Comic Story
The Merry Ghosts of Campbell Castle (5 pages)
Comic Story
Ghost Pictures (1 page)
Text Story
Murder? (1 page)
Credits
Letters: typeset
Comic Story
Don't Call on the Dead! (6 pages)
Notes
Possible McCarty inks per Nick Caputo. Previous indexer credited John Forte.
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