[kozmo]

I just caught this -- probably been posted here already, but in addition to the "Best of Simon & Kirby" book that's already been announced (I've got it pre-ordered on Amazon), Titan Books is going to be putting out archive editions of other Simon & Kirby material too.
http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/14057.html

What I don't get is that all of these reprints seem to ignore the Mainline Comics material -- I understand that the failure of Mainline is probably still a sore spot, but everything I've read has indicated that these were good books and the two of them were very proud of them.  I have wanted to read Bullseye ever since I first saw pictures of the character.  And yet, this press release references everything but westerns.  IIRC, Joe Simon has been quoted as saying that Westerns never sold well -- which would be a big surprise to all the creators and publishers of westerns through the 40s and 50s.  I think a more accurate quote might be that Simon & Kirby westerns never sold very well.  But even there, Boys Ranch is definitely considered one of the highlights of their partnership.

[JVJ]

You know what's very odd about Mainline, kozmo?
The first issues of each title had VERY little Jack Kirby in them! This has ALWAYS struck me as extremely peculiar. Why on Earth, when launching their own line of comics, would they figuratively tie one arm behind their back? For example:
Bulls Eye #1 has a great Kirby cover, but the interiors are all John Prentice or Bob McCarty over, at best, Kirby rough layouts.

Likewise, Police Trap #1 has the prerequisite Kirby cover (or at least what looks like one at first glance - more Simon here, IMHO, than Kirby) but inside you find Meskin, Draut, Prentice, Bernard Baily(?!?) and Joe Albistur.

ALL of these artists are good, some even great, but NONE of them is Jack Kirby. So why wasn't he cranking out the pages to launch HIS company? I asked Jim Amash to ask Joe Simon that question when he did his recent interview with Joe, but Joe sidestepped answering it, not once but several times. Jim eventually realized that he wasn't going to get an answer, but the question still hangs in my mind.