Jim Simon

Jim Simon, Jean Depelley, and Reed Man’s ShieldMaster: The Phoenix Project introduces four teenage protagonists who find mysterious alien shields from another dimension that grant them power while drawing them, and Earth, into an interdimensional war. The story evokes the style and tone of superheroes from an earlier generation, with a multi-part story in one volume and a great deal of exposition to fill in gaps. The art resembles the style that was popular in Flash-animated comics and promo work of the late-1990s, which itself was a throwback to some of the mass-produced books of earlier eras. Simon’s father, Joe Simon, created two patriotic superheroes with Jack Kirby: Captain America and the Fighting American. He provided the prototype art of ShieldMaster for this volume, which appears on the title page, and helps link it to that tradition of 1940s characters.… (more)