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Joe Simon & Jack Kirby's First Team Up on Blue Bolt #2, up for Auction

The legendary team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby collaborated on early issues of Blue Bolt from Novelty Press.

Published Sat, 04 Jul 2026 14:17:08 -0500

Last updated Sat, 01 Aug 2026 06:39:24 -0500

Article Summary

Joe Simon and Jack Kirby first teamed up on Blue Bolt #2, marking the start of a legendary creative partnership.
Blue Bolt features Fred Parrish, a college athlete who becomes a superhero after a lightning strike and radium treatment.
Novelty Press published Blue Bolt, working with key figures like Simon, Kirby, Bill Everett, and Basil Wolverton.
Early Blue Bolt issues are rare and highly sought after due to their creators and pivotal role in Golden Age comics.

Sometimes the desirability of comic books to collectors is not about a first appearance, origin, first issue, or pivotal events in the story. Sometimes, it's more about an important moment in time, and the earliest-days collaboration of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby is one such moment. The legendary pair are among the most famous creative teams in American comic book history. Of course, they are the iconic creators of comic book titles and characters like Captain America and Bucky, Newsboy Legion, Boy Commandos, Manhunter, Boys' Ranch, Fighting American, and numerous others. But before any of that, they worked together on the character Blue Bolt. Blue Bolt #2 features the first Simon & Kirby collaboration, and there's Blue Bolt #2 (Novelty Press, 1940), CGC FN- 5.5 copy up for auction in the July 9 – 11 Comic Books Signature Auction #7467 at Heritage Auctions.

Comic art from Blue Bolt shows two figures in a rocky, industrial setting, with one pointing toward a large mechanical structure. A speech bubble mentions an — Blue Bolt #2 (Novelty Press, 1940) interior artwork by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

As established by Joe Simon in issue #1, the origin of Blue Bolt starts with college football star Fred Parrish, who gains superpowers after being struck by lightning during practice and receiving an experimental radium treatment from scientist Bertoff. With his newfound abilities and a lightning gun given to him by Bertoff, Parrish assumes the Blue Bolt identity and embarks on a mission to combat his arch-enemy, the malevolent Green Sorceress — and eventually the evils of World War II. Starting with issue #2, the creative duo of Simon & Kirby collaborated for the first time, resulting in a unique blend of art and storytelling that would soon form the bedrock for future projects, including Captain America, Newsboy Legion, Boy Commandos, Manhunter, and beyond.

With an underappreciated history that started in the early Golden Age, Novelty Press made its mark by publishing a variety of titles such as Target Comics, 4Most, Young King Cole, and Frisky Fables. As an imprint of Curtis Publishing Company, the successful publisher behind The Saturday Evening Post, Novelty Press was a significant entrant into the competitive Golden Age, and worked with an impressive array of creators, including the likes of Kirby, Simon, Bill Everett, Carl Burgos, Basil Wolverton and Mickey Spillane. In 1949, esteemed artist L.B. Cole and Gerhard Kramer would acquire Novelty Press's assets and co-found Star Publications.

The cover for this issue is by artist W.E. Rowland. Early Blue Bolt issues can be tough to get in any condition, but there's Blue Bolt #2 (Novelty Press, 1940) CGC FN- 5.5 copy up for auction in the July 9 – 11 Comic Books Signature Auction #7467 at Heritage Auctions, with only four higher graded copies on the CGC Census.