[BlackCat]

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 also 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. 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 leant 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.

Link to the book: Black Magic 27 (v04 03)