Kamandi Challenge #11 (of 12)

   As Kamandi Challenge continues to rumble along, we can reflect on the oddness of it.

   One of Jack Kirby's lesser creations, the Last Boy of Earth roamed a dystopian Earth where animals were both intelligent and anthropomorphic, forming their own cities and cultures.

   Kirby, of course, could make anything entertaining (heck, he made Jimmy Olsen worth reading), so we were treated to innumerable menaces of all shapes and sizes as Kamandi fought for survival.

   Which brings us to the Kirby tribute book that's wrapping up next month. The idea is a basic one: a creative team picks up each issue and resolves the cliffhanger left by the previous team, tells a short story, and then ends on a cliffhanger for the next team to sort out.

   The result has been a (mostly) interesting run of action / adventure tales, with not much in the way of emotional growth - but lots of destruction and plenty of explosions.

   Whether I was committed to the whole series or not, I would have grabbed this issue just for the art of Walt Simonson. A powerful artist and designer, he's one of the few able to channel the spirit of Kirby's work while working in his own unique style.

   The story is by Rob Williams, and it covers the bases, throwing in some space battles, heroic sharks, killer robots and lots more fun.

   While a few of the stories have been a bit too grisly, they've tapped into the Saturday movie serial feeling they're meant to evoke - and each creative team has apparently had fun with the idea. It's a shame to see it end!

Grade: A-

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Kamandi Challenge #7 (of 12)

   This fun series continues to roll along as something of a tribute to Kamandi's creator, Jack Kirby, who would have been 100 years old this year.

   For those who came in late (to borrow a phrase), Kamandi is the last boy on Earth, lost in a world of intelligent, talking and anthropomorphic animals.

   The Challenge part comes from the idea that each issue will feature a different creative team (for this issue, it's writer Marguerite Bennett and artists Dan Jurgens and Klaus Janson), and each issue ends on a cliffhanger that the next team has to solve.

   Last issue left Kamandi falling to his death into a nuclear reactor - but he manages to avoid that fate in the best B-movie tradition.

   This issue takes an unusual turn as Kamandi faces off against a small army of dogs - and death on the ice!

   It's all light and fast and furious, and thankfully Kamandi gets to show some initiative this issue, instead of just barely managing to survive the latest crisis.

   My only quibble is the Snickers commercial in the middle of the issue, which looks like it should be part of the regular story - but it isn't.

   So,  no big revelations or shocks (aside from the last page) - it's just a lot of fun!

   Not a bad tribute to the King and all!

Grade: B+

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Kamandi Challenge #3 (of 12)

   Man, I thought I was going to love this issue of Kamandi Challenge.

   It was written by Jimmy Palmiotti and drawn by Amanda Conner, a  creative team whose work I always enjoy.

   But this issue just didn't work for me at all (which proves anyone can stumble, I suppose).

   The art is wonderful as always - expressive, kinetic and loaded with personality. But the story...

   I mean, for a Kamandi story you expect some over-the-top action - but little or no actual violence. (Yes, there's a big difference between the two.)

   But here we see brutality, humiliation, near-cannibalism and death - including horrific decapitations!

    I'll give the team credit for crafting a terrific cliffhanger - and I love the art - but this issue was a real disappointment.

   I just imagine Kirby reading it and saying, "What the hell was that?"

Grade: C

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Kamandi Challenge #2

   It's so nice to read a comic that doesn't bring with it a truckload of pompous drama.

   Instead, Kamandi Challenge is just astraightforward, high octane action / adventure romp.

   Each issue is by a different creative team, and this comic gets the gold star treatment, with a story by Peter J. Tomasi and art by the legendary Neal Adams.

   And I have to say, it's the best work we've seen from Adams in some time - I suspect it's because he was having so much fun.

   The story picks up with Kamandi facing certain death as a nuclear weapon counts the seconds down. And that's just the start of the story, which races at top speed and never stops - and manages to incorporate a couple of completely unexpected Kirby creations, and takes our hero to the ultimate site for comics fans (sorta).

   The series is a heck of a lot of fun, and that's good enough for me!

Grade: A-

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Kamandi Challenge #1

   Of all of the creations by the great writer / artist Jack Kirby, Kamandi is probably the most derivative, being an obvious knock-off of the original Planet of the Apes movie.

     But that doesn't make his adventures any less fun! Kirby loaded up the series with amazing visuals, heart and terrific characters.

   Now the Last Boy on Earth is back with an all-star lineup of top talent - and a twist!

   The series is called Kamandi Challenge, and the idea is is that each creative team tells part of the story, ending on a cliffhanger for the next team to sort out.

   There are actually two sets of creative teams in this issue - kicking it off is writer Dan Didio and artists Keith Giffen and Scott Koblish. Their 12-page story sets up the challenge and leaves Kamandi in the middle of a mess - which the next team, Dan Abnett and Dale Eaglesham, must resolve (they get 24 pages to do so), move the story forward, and leave another cliffhanger for next issue's team of Peter Tomasi and Neal Adams!

   So it's a fun concept that promises lots of action and adventure - certainly this issue delivers on that promise.

   DC Comics actually did this once before, in the DC Challenge - a 12-issue series in 1985 and '86 that had a broader concept (it included the entire DC Universe) and really became quite a mess by the time it lumbered across the finish line.

   By narrowing the focus, hopefully this series will avoid that fate. This issue is a fun ride, and I'm looking forward to future chapters!

   Challenge accepted!

Grade: A-

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The Classics - Kamandi #29

   Surely one of the strangest comics created by the legendary Jack Kirby, Kamandi was solidly set apart from DC's continuity.

   His adventures took place sometime in the future, after the Great Disaster, which left humans in a mute, animalistic state - and mutated animals into intelligent, humanoid-shaped creatures (well, mostly).

   As the series rolled along (this issue is from 1975), Kamandi crossed the country with his small group of friends. In this issue, he's traveling with the mutant Ben Boxer (an intelligent adult male who has the handy ability to transform into living steel).

   They encounter a race of gorillas that worship the legend of the "Mighty One" - and a handy stone carving recites the story (in comic strip form) of how that hero saved the Earth from destruction during the disaster by using his amazing powers to move mountains. After the work was done, he left, promising to return one day. (The cover, of course, gives away that hero's identity.)

   So intense is the legend for these gorillas, they each aspire to earn the rank of the "Mighty One" - so they take part in a number of life-threatening stunts designed to prove their worth. The first one is being shot from a catapult (yelling "Up, up and away!").

   Boxer upsets this fanboy race because he seems to have the qualifications, as a real "Man of Steel" - but it's Kamandi who figures out the secret at the heart of the contest, and he must fight to preserve the legend.

   It's a fun, over-the-top issue with amazing visuals and a compelling (if somewhat silly) story.

   It's also one of the very few Kamandi stories that actually connects to the DC Universe (the only other example I can think of is an appearance in Brave and the Bold - but that wasn't drawn by Kirby).

   Kamandi was an odd book, but Kirby wasn't capable of creating a comic that was anything less than purely entertaining - which is why I love these stories. They're just a heck of a lot of fun.

Grade: A-

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The Classics - Kamandi #1

This particular issue of Kamandi really shocked me when I bought it - though not for the reason you think.

I didn't buy this issue when it was first published (the cover date is October-November 1972), though I'm not sure why. I generally bought everything Jack Kirby wrote or drew. Perhaps the issue was sold out by the time I got to the local newsstand, or perhaps I didn't have enough money. (I know, it only cost 20 cents - but that was a lot of money to a kid in school!)

Perhaps it's because I wasn't a big fan of Planet of the Apes, the obvious inspiration for the comic (although Kirby denied ever seeing that movie).

At any rate, it was years later that I made the effort to track down those old issues I had missed. I remember finding this one in a local comics shop incredibly cheap - it was priced at a dollar.

I picked it up, took it home, opened to the first page, and there was the shock. At the bottom of the page, the issue was (apparently) autographed by Kirby!

You can see it in this scan - and of course, there's no way to know if the signature is real of faked (although it certainly looks like Kirby's writing). I wonder to this day how someone could let this slip through their fingers? Was it an accident? Did they just not care? Had they forgotten? Is it a forgery?

I was never fortunate enough to have met Kirby, so I like to think it's real - a slender connection to one of the greatest artists in comics history.

Getting back to Kamandi - the comic tells the story of "The Last Boy on Earth," who finds himself in a post-holocaust world filled with all kinds of marvels (no pun intended) - including talking animals, mutants and incredible monsters.

It gave Kirby a chance to let his imagination run wild, and the comic is as big and over-the-top as possible. It's not too deep, but it sure is broad and loaded with action.

I find it funny that this comic - which I consider one of Kirby's lesser efforts - ended up being the longest-running title of those he created for DC in the '70s. Shows what I know!

But despite its shaky premise, it's a comic well worth tracking down - after all, Kirby could have made the phone book exciting.

And Kamandi was always good for a surprise or two.

Grade: A-

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