PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TELLING ME for years that comic books are dying. When they first said it, my response was, “Comics have been dying for the past 30 years.” Now it should be 60 years... or more.
In the last ten years it seems as if I’ve been busier than ever.
Once The Comic Book Makers came out, I stepped back into the spotlight. I started attending conventions and doing signings. It’s gotten to the point that I have to turn down people who ask for sketches. There are just too many requests.
I’ve also done a lot of interviews for television, radio, and newspapers. When Captain America “died” in 2007, the phone wouldn’t stop ringing. When I picked it up, I explained that we were sitting shiva — mourning the dead. They liked that. I was interviewed even before the comic book came out, and sworn to secrecy. When the New York Daily News made the event front-page news under the headline “Death of a Legend,” I was quoted as part of the story inside.
“It’s a hell of a time for him to go,” I said. “We really need him now.”
That really caught on, and there were more calls. I appeared in The New York Times and on the ABC program Nightline.
Now Captain America is back, and he’s in a major motion picture — something Jack and I could never have imagined 70 years ago. The Red Skull, with his origins in a hot fudge sundae, will be the villain. I’ve been in touch with the movie producers, and have watched my character in a commercial during the Super Bowl. I’m impressed with what I’ve seen.
At one point CNN filmed me for an appearance on Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s health program. They asked what I thought was the reason for my longevity, and I explained that it was because I never stopped working. I still haven’t. That’s why this section is called “Prologue.”
A few years ago a good friend of mine, Harry Mendryk, expressed interest in restoring all of the stories Jack and I had done over the years. Then another friend, Steve Saffel, helped me send a proposal out to a number of publishers. Some turned it down, others made offers. We signed with Titan Books, who put us under contract for seven volumes, beginning with The Best of Simon and Kirby and The Simon and Kirby Superheroes. Steve is my editor, and those books are where you can see the wonderful work Harry does breathing new life into the stories, mostly because he loves the material so much. Abrams has signed a deal to produce a high-end art book.
As mentioned before, people have commented on my ability as a businessman. I still think I’m a lousy businessman. I was wiser than a lot of the other guys in copyrighting material and owning properties. You can attribute that to common sense. But I think I missed out to the sharks of this industry.
Joe Simon with Stan Lee at the New York Comic Con Legends panel. We hadn’t seen each other for something like 40 years.
Nevertheless, I’m proudest of deals like Young Romance, which showed the way for creators to keep their rights. And I’m grateful for my ability to find new ways of making a living, all without having to give up on what I love. You enjoy doing something you think you’re good at. I’ve known a lot of writers and artists in my time in comics. If we had a chance to run a bookstore, own a restaurant, or anything like that, I can’t see any of us wanting to do it.
We’re comic book people. I can’t see us wanting to be anything else.