Customer Reviews

Kamandi Archives, Volume 1 (DC Archive Editions)

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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 where 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 where 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. There'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 there 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.

Reviewed by Tim Janson

I started reading comics toward the end of Jack Kirby's career, so I never really had an opportunity to read his mid-70's DC work. I kind of had my doubts about this one, but I decided to give it try. I've gotta say I really loved it. The stories were just bustling with energy and I was riveted by the storytelling. So much so that I read this over a 2 day period. My one early complaint would be how close the first issue is an homage to the Planet of the Apes movie, but things branch out from there. This was a lot of fun and I'm anxiously awaiting #2.

Time and again, Jack Kirby created characters and premises that have gone on to inspire multiple generations of comic book readers. Though Kamandi certainly doesn't rank as one of his best remembered efforts, I truly believe it was his greatest work. Though it contains all of the trademark Kirby touches that one should expect (fantastic layouts, dynamic action, awe-inspiring splash pages, and a strong sci-fi premise) this story of the last surviving boy making his away across a post-apocalyptic American landscape dominated by evolved animals goes so much farther.

In every issue, Kamandi ventures into a new area, discovering amazing villains and support characters, unforgettable settings, and bewildering cultures, technologies, and back stories. And yet, every issue, both Kamandi and Kirby move on, leaving behind amazingly rich content that could easily have formed its own hit series, in pursuit of a new city with new potentials for amazing adventure.

That's the true wonder of Kamandi. In every issue, the story and setting are so dramatically different from the previous one, whether containing a race of Grecko-Roman inspired tigers, a 1920s Al Capone Chicago run by robots, an enormous department store that sells people, a futuristic outpost of humans representing man's next evolutionary step, or an ape cult that worships the fallen Superman, Kirby keeps producing amazing premises that dazzle the mind while his art works to dazzle the eyes.

In the end, whereas efforts like The Fourth World, The Eternals, and even Kirby's classic Golden and Silver Age works began with one fascinating premise and took it until it wore thin, Kamandi's is a premise that forces Jack to keep introducing new premises, literally each issue, and this continually works well for at least the first twenty stories. In a sense, Kamandi is the ultimate Kirby work, the recipient of the lion's share of his creative energies, because it truly is 30+ Jack Kirby premises, each given one to two issues, and each featuring a boy named Kamandi.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not only a big Jack Kirby fan but an itinerant comic book writer who's probably learned more about telling a story with pictures by reading Jack Kirby than every other creator I've followed combined.

My memories of Kamandi were muddy. I was finishing up on the Fourth World Omnibuses and picked this up out of a combination of curiosity and a desire for another Kirby fix.

I read the series when it first came out in the Seventies and recall I was pretty lukewarm about it. Too Planet of the Apes-y, not Super-Hero-y enough. It was just okay.

So imagine my surprise when I picked up this volume and was completely blown away!

If the conceptual underpinnings of this series aren't quite on a par with the Fourth World the execution and storytelling is. In fact, in many ways the individual tales are often superior, with tighter focus, since the series isn't winding its way along through four separate books.

It's rollicking good adventure with interesting characters aplenty, occasionally seasoned with a bit of deeper meaning.

The art is simply fabulous, with inker Mike Royer obviously more comfortable and acclimated to working with Jack. Though his earlier work with Jack was a bit touch and go here he operates on a level close to Joe Sinnott, high praise indeed as he remains my very favorite Kirby inker.

Any Kirby fan who sort of turns his nose up at Jack's post Fourth World work (and you know who you are) should reconsider and pick up this volume.

When I was a youngster back in the 70's, the Planet of the Apes movies were hugely popular, and I was a major part of that popularity.

Then came Jack Kirby's first issue of Kanandi: The Last Boy on Earth.

I was instantly sold. The cover art was astounding and new. The storyline took the Planet of the Apes concept, and went further by having ALL animals becoming intelligent and walking on two legs. Lions, tigers, bears - oh my!

This was my first introduction of Jack Kirby's writing and awesome artwork. His artwork is so very different and eyecatching, that you can always instantly tell his artwork from all the others. I still have most of the entire Kamandi series.

This would be a gigantic Hollywood hit if they turned this into a movie. And it would ambitious and intelligent if someone were to make it. With the success of all the Planet of the Apes movies, taking it further with Kamandi would be a brilliant move by any filmmaker.

But that's probably why it will never see the silver screen.

But if you've never read or seen these classic comics - then do yourself a huge favor and delve into the bizzarre and action-filled Kamandi comics.

I do not own this particular volume, and I was debating purchasing it. I LOVE Kamandi, and up until a few years ago only had 10 or so issues of the entire run. A few years back I decided to go and get the missing back issues. This I was able to accomplish quite quickly. (It took two days at a major Comic Book Convention). I was able to complete my run on most of the missing issues for $1 to $2 a piece. I don't think I spent more than $10 for any given issue, even the earlier ones. I WAS LUCKY! Prices have since shot up for back issues of this book, so grab it here while you can!

This is GREAT Kirby stuff, and I LOVE the "Planet of the Apes Post-Apocalyptic" flavor. I still might buy it, just to keep my originals in good condition.