Synchronicity: Jack Kirby And Me

Several years ago while doing a search for "Knickerbocker Village" I was directed to a site on Jack Kirby (Jacob Kurtzberg), the comic book "king," and part of the inspiration for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. This is part of what I found: It was the culture of the street that defined the neighborhood, and the boy Kurtzberg had an eyeful. "It wasn't a pleasant place to live; crowded, no place to play ball," Jack said. "You became a toreador at an early age, just dodging the ice wagons. The streets were also filled with pushcarts, itinerant peddlers, and every type of humanity imaginable." Overall the district was diverse, home to a eclectic mix of neighborhoods: The East Village, Chinatown, Little Italy, Astor Place, and Knickerbocker Village, though the area between Delancey Street (true home of the Yancy Street Gang?) and Houston was predominately Jewish......Born on Essex Street, Jacob moved with his family a few blocks away into a Suffolk Street tenement house. The average tenement building contained 20 three-room apartments... arranged four to a floor, two in the front and two in the rear. They were reached by an unlighted, ventilated wooden staircase that ran through the center of the building. The largest room (11' x 12' 6") was referred to in plans as the living room or parlor, but residents called it the 'front room.' Behind it came the kitchen and one tiny bedroom. The entire flat, which often contained households of seven or more people, totaled about 325 square feet. Only one room per apartment - the 'front room' - received direct light and ventilation, limited by the tenements that hemmed it in. The standard bedroom, 8' 6" square, was completely shut off from both fresh air and natural light... Rent for their Suffolk Street flat was, according to Kirby, $12 a month.. Intrigued, I joined a Jack Kirby listserve and asked if anyone knew where Jack lived on Suffolk. The answer came quickly..he lived at 76 Suffolk Street! WOW This is where I lived from 1948-1952. Imagine, I could have lived in the same apartment that Jack Kirby lived in. (a 1 in 20 chance) Of all of his comic book series, the one in which Kirby used his childhood experiences most was the WWII era "Newsboy Legions." The cost of these collectable comics is astronomical and they have yet to be reprinted in any Kirby collection. I did find the first one online (superman.ws/superman-comics). Here's a slide show that I made of it It's a great source for teaching about kids' life at that time and life during the home front of WW2