JACK KIRBY Kamandi DC Archives Volume 1 sealed NM

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Book is brand new sealed in plastic. JACK KIRBY'S KAMANDI Kamandi was a unique book in a number of ways. It was one of the first projects, along with the New Gods, that Jack "The King" Kirby worked on after leaving Marvel for DC in the early 1970's. The days of artists bullpens of the 60's and 70's are pretty well gone today by work-for-hire freelancers and comic writers and artists work for a number of different companies. But back then, Kirby leaving Marvel w he been working since the Golden Age was huge news. It would have been like Mickey Mantle going to the Red Sox. While Kamandi does not reflect Kirby at his very best, it may be his last GREAT work. This Archive edition collects the first ten issues of the Kamandi series. Kirby was given free reign on the book as writer, penciller and editor with Mike Royer handling the inks and letters. Kamandi, Last Boy on Earth, is a wild and adventurous look at a post apocalyptic, near future Earth w a great disaster has all but wiped out the race of men and in their place, talking, intelligent animal races now rule the world. Tigers, Lions, Dogs, Rats, Gorillas, and more now hold sway and the surviving men are basically kept as slaves and though of as animals. The story is heavily influenced by the Planet of the Apes films which were enormously popular at the time but also by other films such as "The Omega Man". Kamandi was raised in an underground complex by his grandfather. The complex was named Command "D" hence the name "Kamandi". When his grandfather is killed, Kamandi finds himself alone and on the run in this strange world of intelligent beasts. He will eventually befriend a tiger prince named Tuftan, aiding the tigers in their war with the gorillas, much to the disapproval of Tuftan's father Caesar, ruler of the Tigers. Kamandi does eventually meet more humans including Ben Boxer. Boxer, in his old style Apollo era space suit looks uncannily like a certain other character named Ben...one Ben Grimm of the Fantastic Four. Boxer and his companions have been exposed to radiation which allows them to undergo a nuclear fission reaction that transforms their bodies making them hard as steel and invulnerable. Once again the theme of radiation causing mutations becomes a central theme. Kamandi joins with boxer and his friends as they make use of the existing old technology of man such as mini subs and air ships. These first ten issues follow Kamandi through one turbulent adventure after another as he finds himself constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time, captured and then having to escape. The beasts of this new world take on the personalities that we commonly associate with them. Lions are noble and good and actually help Kamandi while the rats are devious and attack the weak in packs. The variety of stories that Kirby writes makes these tales all a bit different. T's a wonderful spoof of King King when a giant ape named "Tiny" escapes his captors. In another scene, Kamandi is seen reading a copy of "The Demon" another 1970's Kirby title and boasting about these "old comic magazines". A not so subtle plug but Kirby's certainly earned the right if anyone has. Kirby's art still is solid and I think some of his very best work of the 1970's. Jack's action was dynamic and t are some truly memorable covers and pages in this collection. True, Kamandi does look a little bit like a young Thor with his long, blond wavy hair and square jaw but if you're going to draw on earlier work why not draw on perhaps his very best work of the 1960's. Mike Royer does a great job with the inks doing his best Joe Sinnott imitation. He lets Kirby be Kirby without trying to embellish his own style or diminish Jack's pencils the way a Vinnie Colletta often did. Kamandi was a vastly underrated book back in the 1970's when people didn't pay much attention to a book if it wasn't a super hero or horror theme. Many thanks to DC Comics for giving this title the Archive edition it deserves and preserving the work of the great Jack Kirby. Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: D... read more

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