Back Issue #131 by TwoMorrows Publishing

COMICS’ BRONZE AGE & BEYOND

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NO. 131

OCT. 2021

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T HE

DC T A Y C A G E L KIRBY

N! O M E D C! A M O DI! E! N R A O M M A K & N A M ns • Gibbo SAND

e t t e s s i B er featuring • Veitch • Wagn Rude IT! I B T S K–JU

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Edited by MICHAEL EURY, BACK ISSUE magazine celebrates comic books of the 1970s, 1980s, and today through recurring (and rotating) departments like “Pro2Pro” (dialogue between professionals), “BackStage Pass” (behind-the-scenes of comicsbased media), “Greatest Stories Never Told” (spotlighting unrealized comics series or stories), and more!

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SUPERHEROES VS. MONSTERS! Monsters in Metropolis, Batman and the Horror Genre, DOUG MOENCH and KELLEY JONES’ Batman: Vampire, Marvel Scream-Up, Dracula and Godzilla vs. Marvel, DC/Dark Horse Hero/Monster crossovers, and a Baron Blood villain history. With CLAREMONT, CONWAY, DIXON, GIBBONS, GRELL, GULACY, JURGENS, THOMAS, WOLFMAN, and a cover by MICHAEL GOLDEN.

SUPERHERO STAND-INS! John Stewart as Green Lantern, James Rhodes as Iron Man, Beta Ray Bill as Thor, Captain America substitute U.S. Agent, new Batman Azrael, and Superman’s Hollywood proxy Gregory Reed! Featuring NEAL ADAMS, CARY BATES, DAVE GIBBONS, RON MARZ, DAVID MICHELINIE, DENNIS O’NEIL, WALTER SIMONSON, ROY THOMAS, and more, under a cover by SIMONSON.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY ISSUE! A galaxy of comics stars discuss Marvel’s whitehot space team in the Guardians Interviews, including TOM DeFALCO, KEITH GIFFEN, ROB LIEFELD, AL MILGROM, MARY SKRENES, ROGER STERN, JIM VALENTINO, and more. Plus: Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon before the Guardians, with CHRIS CLAREMONT and MIKE MIGNOLA. Cover by JIM VALENTINO with inks by CHRIS IVY.

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CONAN AND THE BARBARIANS! Celebrating the 50th anniversary of ROY THOMAS and BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH’s Conan #1! The Bronze Age Barbarian Boom, Top 50 Marvel Conan stories, Marvel’s Not-Quite Conans (from Kull to Skull), Arak–Son of Thunder, Warlord action figures, GRAY MORROW’s Edge of Chaos, and Conan the Barbarian at Dark Horse Comics. With an unused WINDSOR-SMITH Conan #9 cover.

Celebrates the 40TH ANNIVERSARY of MARV WOLFMAN and GEORGE PÉREZ’s New Teen Titans, featuring a guest editorial by WOLFMAN and a PÉREZ tribute and art gallery! Plus: The New Teen Titans’ 40 GREATEST MOMENTS, the Titans in the media, hero histories of RAVEN, STARFIRE, and the PROTECTOR, and more! With a NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED PÉREZ TITANS COVER from 1981!

SUPERHERO ROMANCE ISSUE! Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark’s many loves, Star Sapphire history, Bronze Age weddings, DeFALCO/ STERN Johnny Storm/Alicia Pro2Pro interview, Elongated Man and Wife, May-December romances, Supergirl’s Secret Marriage, and… Aunt May and Doc Ock?? Featuring MIKE W. BARR, CARY BATES, STEVE ENGLEHART, BOB LAYTON, DENNY O’NEIL, and many more! Cover by DAVE GIBBONS.

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HORRIFIC HEROES! With Bronze Age CREATOR-OWNED COMICS! Featuring histories of Man-Thing, the Demon, and in-depth histories of MATT WAGNER’s the Creeper, Atlas/Seaboard’s horrifying Mage and Grendel. Plus other indie heroes, and Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch) sensations of the Bronze Age, including rides again! Featuring the work of CHRIS COLLEEN DORAN’s A Distant Soil, STAN CLAREMONT, GERRY CONWAY, ERNIE SAKAI’s Usagi Yojimbo, STEVE PURCELL’s COLON, MICHAEL GOLDEN, JACK KIRBY, Sam & Max, JAMES DEAN SMITH’s Boris MIKE PLOOG, JAVIER SALTARES, MARK the Bear, and LARRY WELZ’s Cherry TEXIERA, and more. Man-Thing cover by Poptart! With a fabulous Grendel cover by RUDY NEBRES. MATT WAGNER.

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“Legacy” issue! Wally West Flash, BRANDON ROUTH Superman interview, Harry Osborn/Green Goblin, Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Infinity Inc., Reign of the Supermen, JOHN ROMITA SR. and JR. “Rough Stuff,” plus CONWAY, FRACTION, JURGENS, MESSNER-LOEBS, MICHELINIE, ORDWAY, SLOTT, ROY THOMAS, MARK WAID, and more. WIERINGO/MARZAN JR. cover!

SOLDIERS ISSUE! Sgt. Rock revivals, General Thunderbolt Ross, Beetle Bailey in comics, DC’s Blitzkrieg, War is Hell’s John Kowalski, Atlas’ savage soldiers, The ’Nam, Nth the Ultimate Ninja, and CONWAY and GARCIA-LOPEZ’s Cinder and Ashe. Featuring CLAREMONT, DAVID, DIXON, GOLDEN, HAMA, KUBERT, LOEB, DON LOMAX, DOUG MURRAY, TUCCI, and more. BRIAN BOLLAND cover!

BRONZE AGE TV TIE-INS! TV-to-comic adaptations of the ’70s to ’90s, including Bionic Woman, Dark Shadows, Emergency, H. R. Pufnstuf, Hee Haw, Lost in Space (with BILL MUMY), Primus (with ROBERT BROWN), Sledge Hammer, Superboy, V, and others! Featuring BALD, BATES, CAMPITI, EVANIER, JOHN FRANCIS MOORE, SALICRUP, SAVIUK, SPARLING, STATON, WOLFMAN, and more!

TV TOON TIE-INS! Bronze Age HannaBarbera Comics, Underdog, Mighty Mouse, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Pink Panther, Battle of the Planets, and Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl. Bonus: SCOTT SHAW! digs up Captain Carrot’s roots! Featuring the work of BYRNE, COLON, ENGEL, EVANIER, FIELDS, MICHAEL GALLAGHER, WIN MORTIMER, NORRIS, SEVERIN, SKEATES, STATON, TALLARICO, TOTH, and more!

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Volume 1, Number 131 October 2021 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Eury PUBLISHER John Morrow

Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!

DESIGNER Rich Fowlks COVER ARTISTS Jack Kirby and Mike Royer (originally from The Demon #2, Oct. 1974) COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg

SPECIAL THANKS Lee Allred Ed Lute Michael Allred Harry Mendryk Richard Arndt Dan Mishkin Robert Beerbohm John Morrow Stephen R. Bissette Clem Robins Buddy Blank Mike Royer Gary Cohn Bob Rozakis Robert V. Conte Josef Rubinstein Gerry Conway Steve Rude DC Comics Steve Sherman Steve Englehart Ryan Sook Mark Evanier Bryan D. Stroud Dave Gibbons Roy Thomas Grand Comics Rick Veitch Database Tom Veitch Michael Gustovich Matt Wagner Jack C. Harris Mark Waid Karl Heitmueller, Jr. John Wells Heritage Comics Auctions David Anthony Kraft James Heath Lantz Dave Lemieux Paul Levitz

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BACKSEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Michael Eury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 PRO2PRO ROUNDTABLE: Ye Demon of Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Etrigan rises from Kirby’s imagination and returns in other creators’ hands ROUGH STUFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Demon and Kamandi pencil artwork BEYOND CAPES: Kamandi, the King, and Those Who Followed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Venture to the far-flung future of the Last Boy on Earth BACK IN PRINT: Boy Commandos and Black Magic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 The Simon & Kirby reunion that really wasn’t PRINCE STREET NEWS: Cartoon by Karl Heitmueller, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 A seasonal break from Kirbydom: more superheroes wearing their own Halloween costumes FLASHBACK: The Bronze Age Sandman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 The last hurrah for the Simon & Kirby team FLASHBACK: OMAC: You and What One Man Army Corps? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 This mohawked muscleman and Kirby’s uncanny eye for the future WHAT THE--?!: Kirby’s Odds and Ends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 The King’s most unconventional comics at DC—were they winners or losers? BACK TALK: Reader Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

BACK ISSUE™ is published 8 times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Michael Eury, Editor-in-Chief, 112 Fairmount Way, New Bern, NC 28562. Email: euryman@gmail.com. Eight-issue subscriptions: $90 Economy US, $137 International, $36 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover art by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer. The Demon © DC Comics. Other characters © their respective companies. All Rights Reserved. All editorial matter © 2021 TwoMorrows and Michael Eury, except for Prince Street News © 2021 Karl Heitmueller, Jr.. ISSN 1932-6904. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING.

The Kirby Legacy at DC issue • BACK ISSUE • 1

The Demon by Jack Kirby and Matt Wagner, previously seen as the cover of 2010’s The Jack Kirby Collector #44. The Demon TM & © DC Comics.

PROOFREADER Rob Smentek

by M

ichael Eury

“Why devote an issue to Kirby?” asked a friend, “when your publisher’s Creeper’s stories also demanded more pages. So I pulled the Demon from #124 and rescheduled that article to the current edition, to time flagship title is The Jack Kirby Collector?” its publication with the haunting holiday of Halloween. Fair question. My original idea was for the Demon to anchor a spooky-themed While there may be a few diehards who read all of TwoMorrows’ award-winning periodicals, the magazines’ audiences aren’t edition… but we just did that late last year with “Horrific Heroes.” And we’ve had other mystery-themed, Halloween-published issues in the necessarily the same. past. It was too soon for another. Each of our magazines has its For our cover image I was own voice, its own purview, and its considering Demon illos by other own readership, from Roy Thomas’ artists, all fan-favorites, when I salutes to Golden and Silver Age found in the archives of Heritage comics and creators in Alter Ego Comics Auctions the original art to Jon B. Cooke’s up-close-andby Kirby and Mike Royer to page personal oral histories in Comic 6 of DC’s The Demon #2 (Oct. Book Creator to the celebration 1972), which I realized would of the prodigious talent of the (with minor alterations) make a King of Comics in John Morrow’s dynamite cover. I ran it by publisher aforementioned Kirby Collector. John Morrow to ensure it didn’t BACK ISSUE respects the men and conflict with something in the Kirby women who crafted the comics of Collector, past or present, and got our focus era of the Bronze Age, but his blessings to proceed here in it’s the comic books themselves that BI. (Special thanks go out to cover are the lifeblood of this magazine. colorist Glenn Whitmore for making Each issue we unabashedly flip minor revisions to the original art through the yellowed pages of and for his amazing colors, and to our beloved ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s cover designer Michael Kronenberg spin-rack selections with the same for Demon-izing the BI logo.) wide-eyed gusto we had as kids Then came to mind the when we bought those books “Kirby Legacy at DC” theme, an for 20 cents, or 50 cents, or examination of the second wave of a buck a copy. But we temper material created by Jack during his that enthusiasm with intellectual 1970–1975 DC stint, as a follow-up curiosity, mining the stories behind to our well-received “Fourth World the stories that so captivated us. After Kirby” edition (BI #104). This And since Jack Kirby produced theme really jazzes me as editor, numerous Bronze Age comics—for as it offers BI a chance to explore DC, Marvel, and independents— Bronze Age series like The Demon it’s unfair to both his body of and Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth work and to BI’s readers—many (both of which had been touched of whom have never read a Kirby on previously but not covered at Collector (or vice versa)—to steer length), but also as a reader, since clear of Kirby’s comics just because Demon and Kamandi really grabbed of TwoMorrows’ flagship series. me back in the day. Kirby’s multiSo here we are… with, interestingly layered Fourth World epic was enough, BACK ISSUE’s first-ever beyond my ken at the time of its Kirby-drawn cover. It took us 18 publication, but a couple years years and 130 published issues Page 6 of The Demon #2, from which our cover art was repurposed. later, when Jack released the onebefore featuring the King of The Demon TM & © DC Comics. two punch of Demon and Kamandi, Comics as our cover artist! It didn’t start out that way, though. This cover was instead rooted I finally “got” Kirby—and came to appreciate not only his work but those characters, a monster-hero and post-apocalyptic survivor that in real estate. That’s page count real estate. The Demon, our cover star, was have been used time and again by other writers and artists. You’ll originally slated to be one of the “Horrific Heroes” in BI #124, find them here, along with Sandman, OMAC, Kobra, and a few other alongside Man-Thing, the Creeper, Ghost Rider, the Grim Ghost, and goodies, comic books that helped make the Bronze Age sparkle. And so, instead of asking, “Why devote an issue to Kirby?,” a few other gruesome go-getters. But writer Robert V. Conte’s Demon history began to take on a life of its own while Man-Thing’s and I instead ask, “What took us so long?” 2 • BACK ISSUE • The Kirby Legacy at DC Issue

by R o b e r t

V. C o n t e

Rise, the Demon… Etrigan! (inset) Jack Kirby and Mike Royer’s cover to The Demon #1 (Aug.–Sept. 1972). (above) An incredible Royer recreation of the iconic cover, from 2019. Courtesy of the artist. The Demon TM & © DC Comics.

When most comic-book readers hear or see the name “Jack Kirby,” their minds are usually flooded with an array of fantastical images of characters ranging from Marvel’s Black Panther, Captain America, and Devil Dinosaur; to DC Comics’ Kamandi, Mister Miracle, and New Gods; and sometimes various independent works including Captain Victory (Pacific Comics), Destroyer Duck (Eclipse Comics), and—toward the end of his life—a line of “Kirbyverse” titles (Topps Comics). With Kirby’s almost six decades of conceiving, illustrating, and writing comic books for myriad publishers, there is one unique title that, to me, stands out as one of his best—The Demon! Sometime during the summer of 1979, I first came across the Demon Etrigan and his human host, demonologist Jason Blood, inside the pages of The Demon #8, at a local bargain bookstore in Huntington Station, New York, that sold old comics “25-cents each/ 5-for-a-buck!” In those days, hundreds of titles considered valuable today were available cheap by the stacks. It was fun to visit this store weekly and peruse titles that would be unceremoniously dumped inside makeshift, pressboard bins. Before long, I acquired the entire 16issue run of DC’s The Demon—all for the mere price of under $4.00! Readers were first teased about The Demon on the last story page of another Kirby classic from his Fourth World saga—the last issue of DC’s The Forever People #10 (Aug.–Sept. 1972). A headshot of Etrigan—a red-eyed, yellow-skinned grimace with short horns and a cape, in the foreground of smoldering flame—gave a taste of things to come. The entire series, written and drawn by Kirby with inks and letters by Michael Royer from 1972–1974, combined medieval times, the supernatural, and an antihero all into one complete story. Comics readers wishing to enjoy tales outside the traditional superhero genre were enticed to try The Demon, and it certainly did not disappoint. Guided by the wizard Merlin to seek and protect the Eternity Book from the malevolent forces of Morgaine Le Fey and her minions, Etrigan—suppressed inside the human form of Jason Blood—teams with colleagues Harry Matthews, Glenda Mark, and paranormal Randu Singh, forming a metaphysical “fantastic four” whom would face a supernatural rogues’ gallery including a Creature from the Beyond, a Howler, a Witchboy, a Phantom of the Sewers, a Baron von Evilstein, and an Ugly Meg. Blood and company were based in Gotham City, surroundings familiar to comics readers as home to the Darknight Detective, the Batman.

The Kirby Legacy at DC issue • BACK ISSUE • 3

THE ORIGINAL DEMON RUN

The Men Behind The Demon (top) Forever People #10 teaser of Kirby and Royer’s The Demon. (middle) Mike Royer and Jack Kirby in the 1970s. (lower) Royer at the drawing board, inking a Demon page. Both photos courtesy of Mike Royer. (bottom) Jack Kirby’s appreciation of Hal Foster’s masterpiece Prince Valiant not only provided inspiration for The Demon’s use of Camelot lore, but this sequence from the Dec. 25, 1937 strip inspired Etrigan’s horrific facial features. The Demon TM & © DC Comics. Prince Valiant TM & © King Features Syndicate.

One astounding thing about the 16-issue The Demon series is that its creative team stayed consistent throughout its production. Although Jack Kirby left our mortal realm in February 1994, his longtime colleague, inker, and letterer on the series, Michael Royer, briefly reminisces with BACK ISSUE about their tenure on the character: ROBERT V. CONTE: Any specific memories of your role working on the Demon’s first series? What was your dynamic with Jack Kirby? MIKE ROYER: Nothing specific comes to mind, as it was so many years ago. I do remember that I liked the [Demon] book and character because it was not the usual superhero stuff. It was a nice change of pace. Of course, it was Jack’s usual mastery of dynamics and great visual storytelling and it worked for me. That never changed, no matter what his subject matter happened to be. Our working relationship was no different [on The Demon] than on other titles. On every book I would drive to Jack’s home and we would go over things… quickly, as I remember. Then it was homemade chocolate cake and a glass of milk with Jack and [his wife] Roz at their kitchen dining table, sitting on knocker chairs while we talked about kids and old movies, mostly Warner Bros. There were other books I sent to Jack via the old Post Office Special Delivery service. CONTE: Do you have a particular favorite issue of The Demon that stands out? ROYER: Gawrsh… that’s a good question. I guess each book was my favorite as I lettered and inked them. [I had] to letter, border, and circle balloons on 22 pages in just two days and then ink three pages a day to keep up with Jack. I just reveled in his great work and enjoyed them… and then went on to the next Kirby title. CONTE: Both the Demon Omnibus hardcover and Jack Kirby: The Demon trade paperback are beautifully designed collections of this work for today’s comics readers to enjoy both of your incredible storytelling and exquisite artwork. Pages and panels originally excised from the original comics were added, too. Why do you feel the original Demon series has stood the test of time, remaining in print and online? ROYER: Truthfully, I haven’t given it much thought. There are two camps regarding this color thing but, honestly, I look at all the reprints and just wonder how did I keep up that production pace! [sighs] Of course, I am very proud of my work with Jack. I did not just trace his pencils. I completed his pencils in ink, the way I felt he would have. Steve Sherman, who edited the “Demonology” letters column in the original 16-issue series, comments on Royer’s work on The Demon: “Mike is one of the finest inkers around and a terrific cartoonist in his own right.” Veteran comics historian and retailer Robert Beerbohm (beerbohmrl@gmail.com) has specific memories of Jack Kirby’s excitement about his new character, which he shares with BACK ISSUE: “Back in 1972, during the first El Cortez [Hotel] San Diego Comic-Con, I talked a bit with Jack Kirby about his then-brand-new title, The Demon,” Beerbohm says. “Being a huge Hal Foster fan of both his 1930s Tarzan Sundays run as well as Prince Valiant, I was immediately struck by it as it seemed to pay homage to Foster’s character— dressed up to look almost identical. I asked Jack

4 • BACK ISSUE • The Kirby Legacy at DC Issue

Global Gruesomeness (top left) Kirby’s character’s exploits weren’t limited to his titular US periodical. This issue reprinted (top right) DC’s Demon #5 (Jan. 1973). Cover art by Kirby and Royer. (bottom) Artist Jim Aparo and writer Bob Haney were the first creators outside of Kirby and Royer to tell a Demon tale, teaming Etrigan with Batman in the moody, exquisitely illustrated The Brave and the Bold #109 (Oct.–Nov. 1973). The Demon TM & © DC Comics.

about this. He replied to the affirmative, saying he was a bit over 20 years old when he read Valiant’s adventures in the Sunday newspapers. “Jack talked a bit about how he had done horror ‘black magic’ comics with [former] partner Joe Simon some 20 years earlier, and how that early mid-’50s period in comic-book history had resulted in the collapse of major segments of the industry. And he had reservations about going back into that rabbit hole. “Horror was making a bit of a come back of sorts. Jack was pressured to come up with something inside that genre. Not really wanting to, he was inspired by Prince Valiant being a ‘demon’ but actually ostensibly being a good guy. Or, at least ending up on the side of the forces of good over evil. “This is what I remember from talking with Jack Kirby in summer of 1972 as I dealt with selling out of the 600 copies I had pre-ordered [of The Demon #1] from Omaha News after I had taken some of my copies out to San Diego.” The last issue of The Demon was published with a January 1974 cover date. Although the series did not strand readers with what is known as a “cancellation cliffhanger,” there was still disappointment. Why did Kirby base Jason Blood and Etrigan in Gotham City instead of Metropolis, Coast City, or an all-new location in DC Country? Was a cameo or crossover planned with Batman but unrealized? Batman appeared in Len Wein and Berni[e] Wrightson’s Swamp Thing #7 (Nov.–Dec. 1973), so the Batman/ Demon idea was not far-fetched. Reportedly, Kirby intended to create such a story if The Demon series had continued, but it was not to be. However, the Caped Crusader did team up with Etrigan for the first time inside the pages of The Brave and the Bold (B&B) #109 (Oct.–Nov. 1973). The story, “Gotham Bay, Be My Grave!,” was written by Teen Titans co-creator Bob Haney with art and cover by longtime B&B series illustrator Jim Aparo. The only non-Kirby/Royer story featuring Etrigan published during the original series, this Haney/Aparo tale introduced the Demon to DC’s mainstream readership who did not follow Kirby’s work. This story does confirm the Darknight Detective’s awareness of the occult and of metaphysical exploits within his stomping grounds—at least in the story continuity that, at the time, was considered to be on Earth-One, although as previously explored in this magazine, Haney’s continuity-blindness often relegated his B&B tales to the so-called “Earth-B.” The Kirby Legacy at DC issue • BACK ISSUE • 5

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by B

ryan D. Stroud

It was a major coup for DC Comics. Jack “King” Kirby Jack’s tenure with The Demon and Kamandi. I had seen the movie Planet of the Apes and thought it was coming back to the fold under exclusive was great. We could see that New Gods and contract, and was being given autonomy Forever People weren’t doing as well as nearly unheard of to work his magic. we’d hoped, and we needed something “Kirby’s coming!” was the clarion call new for Jack. Inspired by Planet of the through the books, announcing the Apes, I suggested we do a comic book return of the King. Following the with a boy in a post-cataclysmic famed Fourth World books, the world run by animals. Jack liked the second wave began and soon the idea and revived the name Kamandi readers would experience the postfrom an idea he had in the ‘50s for apocalyptic world of Kamandi, the a newspaper strip about a prehistoric Last Boy on Earth. caveman. Kamandi did well and According to then-DC publisher continued even after Jack went on Carmine Infantino in his autoto other things. If we’re keeping biography, The Amazing World score, you could consider Jack and of Carmine Infantino (Vanguard, carmine infantino me co-creators on Kamandi.” 2001), the concept of Kamandi the 1970 Comic Art Convention booklet, Carmine might have sung a was the result of a mixture of ideas: From courtesy of Scott Edelman. different tune had he looked back at “So, we moved into Stage Two of

Big Bang Weary Pity poor Kamandi, all alone (or so he thinks) on Earth A.D. (After Disaster). Remastered pages 2–3 of Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth #1 (Oct.–Nov. 1972), by Jack Kirby, with inks and letters by Mike Royer. TM & © DC Comics.

The Kirby Legacy at DC issue • BACK ISSUE • 27

a story written and illustrated by Jack Kirby for Harvey Comics in Alarming Tales #1 (Sept. 1957) titled “The Last Enemy!” The synopsis provided in the Grand Comics Database (comics.org) offers a familiar backdrop: “Drake travels to 2514 A.D. He finds dead tigers in a field. A rat tells him that all humans were killed in an atomic war and that animals inherited the Earth.” Regardless of inspirations, Kamandi hit the outlets in the latter part of 1972 with issue #1 (Oct.–Nov. 1972), sporting bold Gaspar Saladino-supplied cover lettering declaring this a “1st DC issue” and “A new sensational DC Jack Kirby Blockbuster!” That Kirby-illustrated cover featuring the Statue of Liberty at an alarming angle and half submerged was seemingly a nod to the final scene in Planet of the Apes, though Gerry Conway, who would come onto the series later, suggests a different explanation: “It was kind of an interesting concept. It was kind of that Planet of the Apes derivative idea. If you look at the first issue, the cover was a direct ripoff of a cover for an Andre Norton novel from the early ’60s called Daybreak – 2250 A.D. It was almost exactly that cover. As a result, I always felt that Kamandi was more of a pastiche than an original Kirby creation.” Following this introductory story, Jack Kirby provided an important reference map titled “Kamandi’s Continent,” which allows the readers to see what has become of the Earth A. D. (After Disaster). What was once North America, for example, is now divided into such mysterious regions as the Dominion of the Devils, Monster Lake, the Lion Tribes, Gorilla Communes, and the Expanding Tiger Empire. Offshore are such hazards as the Intelligent Killer Whale Raiders, Leopard Sea Pirates, and the Bay of Bones. The former Central and South America now contain a jungle area and the “Tracking Site” or city of the nuclear people, respectively. Thus, we can see some foreshadowing of storylines to come as well as getting a feel for the world of Kamandi. Over the next three years, the creative dynamo that was Jack Kirby cranked out monthly stories that he not only wrote, but illustrated, both covers and interiors, and even edited, while simultaneously handling other titles. [Editor’s note: See BACK ISSUE #14 for more details, as well as past editions of The Jack Kirby Collector.] Changes were on the horizon, however, beginning in the latter part of 1975.

“You maniacs! You blew it up!” Material such as (top left) the 1958 Kirby-produced “The Last Enemy!” in Harvey’s Alarming Tales #1, (top right) Andre Norton’s sci-fi novel Daybreak – 2250 A.D. (cover painting by H. R. van Dongen), and (center left) the Rod Serling-scribed shocking ending to Hollywood’s Planet of the Apes predated (bottom) the King’s Kamandi #1 (Kirby-signed copy courtesy of Heritage). (center right) Courtesy of Bryan D. Stroud, Kamandi cast member Prince Tuftan, as illo’ed by Kirby embellisher Mike Royer. Daybreak © Andre Norton estate. Planet of the Apes © 20th Century Studios. Kamandi TM & © DC Comics.

28 • BACK ISSUE • The Kirby Legacy at DC Issue

Land of the Giants (left) Batman and Kamandi first joined forces in The Brave and the Bold #120 (July 1975). This was the third appearance of a Bronze Age Kirby character in B&B, following Batman/ the Demon in #109 and Batman/ Mister Miracle in #112. (right) Kirby would soon be leaving Earth A.D. when Kamandi #32 (Aug. 1975) was published. TM & © DC Comics.

KAMANDI IN CONWAY’S CORNER

it heralds the beginning of a new chapter in KAMANDI’s history, Just prior to that, Kamandi ventured over to the Brave and the Bold with many more changes coming in the news few months. You see, title to team up with the Batman in issue #120 (July 1975). As with Jack has decided to leave DC and move on to other projects. nearly every B&B tale that Bob Haney scripted, it had little bearing That shouldn’t surprise you, since Jack (like most creative spirits) on current continuity and of course, one might ask, how the heck doesn’t stay in any one place for very long—there’s always some does Batman manage to meet up with the Last Boy on Earth? In new territory to explore, or old lands to reconquer. In fact, it’s the same motivation that brought KAMANDI’s new editor back essence, the Caped Crusader was summoned through magic to DC from a competing company…we wish Jack the and has what amounts to an out-of-body experience best of luck wherever his wandering ways take him!” with one remaining in the present in a coma and the That new editor, Gerry Conway, recalls for BACK other traveling to Earth A.D. to aid Kamandi and an ISSUE the genesis of his introduction to Kamandi: intelligent tribe of humans as they attempt to escape “Within the previous few months I’d been hired by the clutches of the gorilla squads near Mount Carmine Infantino at DC as the latest Marvel import Rushmore. The inspiration for summoning Batman and as these things went, as the new guy on the by the shaman was via his discovery of a copy of The team, I would be handed assignments and also create Brave and the Bold #118 (Apr. 1975). Fortunately for projects for myself, and I think Kamandi was at the tail the hardy band, the World’s Greatest Detective helps end of Jack’s contract with DC. He’d made it very clear to deliver them from their enemies, giving mankind that he wasn’t renewing the contract and I think hope for the future, before his reawakening from his Carmine just sort of wanted to take as much away “coma” in Gotham City Hospital. from Jack as he could at that point. He’d soured Returning to the main Kamandi series, with issue gerry conway on Jack pretty early on in the relationship when #32 (Aug. 1975) readers were offered a giant 64the New Gods books didn’t become the runaway page edition, featuring a reprint of issue #1, a Steve Sherman-conducted interview with accompanying photos of Jack hits that Carmine thought they should be, or the kind of books that Kirby, and a revised two-page map of Earth A.D. with such intriguing Carmine could mentally wrap his head around. So, he cancelled those additions as the Vortex, the Kanga-Rat Murder Society on the former and, in the process, he alienated Jack and then proceeded to hand Australian continent, and the island of the “God-Watchers.” Throw in Jack ideas that were mostly riffs on things he had seen or things that he thought would make good visuals. He’d hand them off to Jack and a brand-new tale, and your two quarters went a long way. A mere two editions later, with #34 (Oct. 1975), Gerry Conway Jack would make of them what he would. “Carmine hired Jack simply on the basis that Jack was Marvel’s top took the reins as Kamandi editor, with Paul Levitz as assistant editor. Furthermore, Joe Kubert became the cover artist, but Jack Kirby artist,” continues Conway. “It was a competitive move. Jack produced was still scripting and penciling the stories. The letters column in these books that were like nothing that DC was doing and Carmine this issue, “The Time Capsule,” sought to explain the shake-up: had no idea what that was and just expected that somehow it would “It’s rather ironic that we should be writing this particular letter be these knock-’em-out-of-the-park books. And they did okay, but page for the issue of KAMANDI which marks the magazine’s third there was just no way for DC to market these books. It didn’t fit the anniversary. No doubt you already noticed the new name in the DC Universe and after a couple of years, Carmine pulled the plug and credits and are wondering what ‘Gerry Conway, Editor’ is doing on completely alienated Jack, but still had a five-year contract with him.” Kamandi assistant editor Paul Levitz has some fond recollections a mag that Jack Kirby created and has been writing and penciling for some thirty-three issues. The explanation is very simple, and of working with the King: “There was a brief period there where The Kirby Legacy at DC issue • BACK ISSUE • 29

KAMANDI’S GREATEST CHALLENGE

Last Boy Standing Steve Rude original art to a 2017 variant cover for Kamandi Challenge #8. Courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.

after two years of planning and prepping, with the first issue of the biggest comics event of the New Year: THE KAMANDI CHALLENGE. This series is a labor of love for everyone involved (myself included) as we get to celebrate the work of one of the industry’s greatest creators, Jack Kirby, while playing with one of his greatest characters, Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth. “Unlike more traditional letters pages, this one is written by the previous issue’s writer solely to explain how he or she would escape the trap they left for the next writer. That way, you, the reader, can see what the original writer intended for the story after reading the escape the subsequent writer worked out.” Therefore, as the series progressed, we heard from such talented writers as Keith Giffen, Steve Orlando, and Bill Willingham, to name just a few. The one constant in the series beyond the editorial staff was letterer Clem Robins, who recalls the series fondly: “I was given the opportunity to do a book that was a prestige project. That is fun. That is exciting. And the people who penciled and inked it were the best of the best. To be associated with a project like that is just a lot of fun to begin with.” Despite the inherent editorial challenges with a series containing so steve rude many moving parts and a rotating cast of creators, Clem feels they were more than up to the task: “There are a gazillion approaches to editing, as there are to writing or drawing, but a good editor builds a safe space in which the creative team can operate. Brittany Holtzherr is very good at this. She’s organized, she’s encouraging, and she does very good placement guides for the letterer, which are rough lettering layouts. Placements tell the letterer who is speaking and where to put balloons, sound effects, and captions. I loved The Kamandi Challenge. It was an honor to be a part of it.”

Leaping ahead to 2017, DC Comics rolled out an ambitious project titled The Kamandi Challenge as a tribute to the 100th birthday of Jack Kirby. Not unlike The DC Challenge, a 12-issue maxiseries published in 1985–1986 (see BI #98), the premise of this 12-issue series was to involve a new creative team with each successive issue to pick up the storyline, making it as challenging as possible for the next writer to save Kamandi from a death trap. Classic cliffhangers ensued and the creators picking up the storyline in each case were faced with such dilemmas to be solved as an armed nuclear warhead about to detonate, Kamandi falling from a cliff, being offered as a human sacrifice to a massive leopard, having his heart removed as part of a grisly medical experiment, being attacked by a giant sea monster, and more. In the first issue, publisher Dan DiDio gave an introduction and further explained the unique purpose of the lettercols in the series, beginning with this: “So, here we are,

The story of Kamandi is truly an epic saga, filled with conflict, loss, triumph, and nearly limitless possibilities. Conceived by the tremendous vision and equally limitless imagination of Jack Kirby, a genuine hero’s journey unfolded on a large, worldwide scale and riveted readers for years. It is telling that of all his creations during this time period, Kamandi had the most enduring publication run. In the purest sense of the word, Kamandi is a survivor. Perhaps Mike Royer, Jack Kirby’s stalwart letterer and inker through much of that journey, captures the appeal of Kamandi the best when he states, “I see many times people writing about how as kids they enjoyed Jack’s books but now as adults, they realize how really deep his writing was. Maybe he was able to submerge his ‘deep’ better in Kamandi. Or, maybe his audience identified with a protagonist who was ‘closer’ to themselves and not a super-being. You got me. Maybe it was just a hell of a lot fun, mostly.” Whatever it was, Kamandi has endured and proven conclusively that after all he had accomplished in a lifetime of creativity, Jack Kirby could still unleash his formidable imagination and talents and continue to stun and surprise the readers while further cementing a lasting legacy. BRYAN STROUD is a longtime fan of DC Comics, particularly the Silver and Bronze Ages.

42 • BACK ISSUE • The Kirby Legacy at DC Issue

by R i c h a r d

J. Arndt

That Old S&K Magic… …is advertised but not delivered on these covers! That’s Carmine Infantino and Joe Orlando illo’ing the cover to Boy Commandos #2 (Nov.–Dec. 1973) and a Jerry Grandenetti/Creig Flessel cover on Black Magic #2 (Dec. 1973– Jan. 1974). TM & © DC Comics.

The famed Simon & Kirby partnership, which revolutionized the comics field, had lasted from 1940 until 1955, when changing times in the comics industry and changing goals of the partners caused the sundering of their partnership. By 1973 Jack Kirby was in the third year of his exclusive contract with DC Comics. Joe Simon had just been rehired by DC to edit and write a number of titles, including his new creations Prez and Champion Sports, as well as editing the old stomping grounds of the Simon/Kirby team on the one-time Crestwood/Prize and now DC titles Young Romance and Young Love. The two did have an actual reteaming of Simon & Kirby on what was intended to be a one-shot effort with The Sandman. In addition, Simon launched a reprinting of the old S&K Crestwood/Prize Black Magic stories. The Sandman one-shot, which actually led to a series, is discussed elsewhere in this issue, but the reprint Black Magic and a simultaneous reprinting of Boy Commandos have not and are our topic today. Clearly, DC Comics was not averse to a reteaming or revival of the Simon & Kirby partnership.

BOY COMMANDOS

Boy Commandos had actually already seen some reprinting at DC back in 1971–1972, when DC’s titles were published at 48 pages for 25 cents. Five Boy Commandos classics had appeared as backup stories, running in Mister Miracle #4 (Sept.–Oct. 1971)–8 (May–June, 1972). Those five stories came from Detective Comics #64 (June 1942), 76 (June 1943), 82 (Dec. 1943), and Boy Commandos #1 (Winter 1942–1943) and 3 (Summer 1943). Both of the two issues of the 1973 Boy Commandos reprint series were part of a large number of reprint titles that DC launched in 1973, likely in an attempt to counter Marvel’s flood of reprint titles they had launched over the previous year. Marvel had released so many titles, most of them horror, that they threatened to dwarf the number of DC titles appearing on the newsstands of the day. However, Boy Commandos’ editorial chores were not handled by Joe Simon, but by E. Nelson Bridwell, DC’s “keeper of the DC history.” This isn’t particularly odd, as Boy Commandos was a DC title right

The Kirby Legacy at DC issue • BACK ISSUE • 43

All characters TM & © their respective owners.

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by E

d Lute

The creative partnership of Joe Simon and Jack “King” Kirby spanned over 40 years and left a lasting impact on the comic-book industry from superheroes to the romance genre and just about everything in between. Their last collaboration was a Sandman revival for DC Comics in late 1973. But how did these two iconic creators reunite for a new comic book almost 20 years after they stopped regularly working together? BACK ISSUE takes a look at Simon & Kirby’s time working on the original Golden Age Sandman, how they partnered up one final time for their Bronze Age revival of the Sandman, and the character’s life after Simon & Kirby.

GOLDEN AGE DREAM TEAM

Although the Bronze Age Sandman title was the last one that the Simon & Kirby team worked on together, it wasn’t the first time that these two creative geniuses co-produced a Sandman comic book for DC Comics. Joe and Jack had also worked on the original Sandman back in the Golden Age of Comics. Let’s look beyond BACK ISSUE’s usual Bronze Age timeframe to journey back into the Golden Age of Comics to understand the creators’ history with the character. Within the pages of the DC Comics’ anthology series Adventure Comics #40 (July 1939), readers were introduced to Wesley Dodds, the Sandman. Dodds’ original costumed guise consisted of a gas mask, a fedora, and a green business suit. He didn’t have any superpowers, so he used a sleeping-gas gun to subdue criminals. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman. After Christman left the feature to join the US Navy, several different artists such as Creig Flessel and Ogden Whitney illustrated the stories. However, the Sandman never achieved the popularity that some of his contemporaries did, and the character was revamped.

From Mystery Man to Costumed Crusader (bottom left) The Sandman as he originally looked, on Creig Flessel’s cover for the hero’s first appearance in Adventure Comics #40 (July 1939). (bottom right) The revamped Sandman, with Sandy, as reimagined by Kirby and Simon, on the cover of Adventure #74 (May 1942). TM & © DC Comics.

Famous First (and Last) No one could nod off while eyeing this dynamic Jack Kirby cover for The Sandman #1 (Winter 1974), which signaled the return of the legendary Simon & Kirby team. This would be their final collaboration. TM & © DC Comics.

The Kirby Legacy at DC issue • BACK ISSUE • 51

Issue #1 featured what appeared to be a cover variant with a purple background instead of the more commonly found blue background. However, the variation wasn’t intentional. According to then-DC Comics assistant editor Paul Levitz, “Sorry to disappoint you, but that wasn’t a ‘variant’ cover.

When Visions Merge (left) Signed by Joe Simon and formerly hailing from Mr. Simon’s personal archives, the original Simon/Jerry Grandenetti cover for Simon’s original concept for DC’s Sandman #1. (right) Compare the published version’s production art, which includes a stat of Jack Kirby’s artwork, to see how the original was Kirby-ized. Both, courtesy of Heritage. TM & © DC Comics.

On the long print runs of the day, occasionally the color feed would vary slightly for a while, and at the speed the press ran, a large number of copies would come out slightly differently. I vaguely recall it being the case on Swamp Thing #1 (Nov. 1972). Not intentional, and not truly a variant.”

A SANDMAN #1 VARIANT? DREAM ON!

Adventure Comics #69 (Dec. 1941) featured a new Sandman story written by Mort Weisinger, penciled by Paul Norris, and inked by Chad Grothkopf. In an attempt to attract readers of costumed crimefighters, this time Sandman was adorned in a brightly colored superhero costume and not the pulp-like outfit he had previously worn. This issue also introduced his kid sidekick, Sandy, the Golden Boy. Kid sidekicks had become all the rage in comics since Robin, the Boy Wonder debuted as Batman’s sidekick in Detective Comics #38 (Apr. 1940), and it seemed that every superhero now needed one. Weisinger, Norris, and Grothkopf left the feature a few issues later. Enter Simon & Kirby. Their first Sandman story appeared in Adventure Comics #72 (Mar. 1942). In Simon’s 2011 autobiography Joe Simon: My Life in Comics, he told of his work with Kirby on the Golden Age Sandman: “The first series we did [at DC Comics] was The Sandman. Creig Flessel had been the artist on the original series. His stuff was beautifully illustrated, but it wasn’t selling. The character looked ridiculous to me, a guy in a gas mask, with a gun that sprayed sleeping gas to knock out the bad guys. So, we just did it in the trademark Simon and Kirby style, with the skin-tight superhero costume and a sidekick named Sandy.

52 • BACK ISSUE • The Kirby Legacy at DC Issue

Sweet Dreams (top) The new Sandman’s premise is laid out for readers on this page 2–3 spread from Simon & Kirby’s The Sandman #1. (inset bottom) A few months after the Simon & Kirby Sandman one-shot, The Sandman returned with issue #2 (Apr.–May 1975), with this Kirby cover grabbing readers. (bottom) Inside, artist Ernie Chua (Chan), and frequent Kirby embellisher Mike Royer did their best to emulate the King’s energetic art style. TM & © DC Comics.

“Our stories appeared in Adventure Comics and a couple of issues of World’s Finest Comics. There were even a few that were used in All-Star Comics, where he was a member of the Justice Society of America. Each issue of that title was a collection of stories starring the different JSA characters. Somehow, they managed to tie our stories in with the rest. Within a few short months there were blurbs appearing on the comics, proclaiming, ‘New SANDMAN Hit by Simon & Kirby!’” The revamped Sandman by Simon & Kirby had become a popular feature. Adventure #74 (May 1942) featured a beautiful Simon & Kirby Sandman cover. This was their first Sandman cover for the title, but not their last. Their cover for Adventure #84 (Mar. 1943), with the Sandman talking directly to the reader, remains iconic. The Sandman would dominate the covers of Adventure Comics until issue #102 (Feb. 1946), which was his final appearance in the title. Simon & Kirby had already vacated the feature by that time, their last issue being #90 (Feb. 1944), although a Simon-less Kirby would pencil the Sandman’s final appearance in the book. In 1956, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s partnership ended amicably, and they went on their own creative journeys, in and out of the world of comic books. Beginning in 1970, Kirby’s trajectory had circled back to DC Comics, where he created what many consider his magnum opus, the Fourth World (see BACK ISSUE #104). It was during Kirby’s 1970–1975 time at DC that Simon also made his way back to the publisher, as an editor and writer. The Kirby Legacy at DC issue • BACK ISSUE • 53

KIRBY’S MARVELOUS SANDMAN

Golden Slumber (top) Hector Hall, the erstwhile Silver Scarab, as Sandman, from Infinity, Inc. #50 (May 1988) by Thomas, Vince Argondezzi, and Tony DeZuniga. (bottom) Neil Gaiman incorporated the Hall-Sandman into the pages of his critically acclaimed Sandman title. From issue #12, Part 3 of Gaiman’s “The Doll’s House” arc. Illustrated by Chris Bachalo and Malcolm Jones III. TM & © DC Comics.

THE BRONZE AGE SANDMAN’S LAST STAND

Justice League of America Annual #1 (Aug. 1983) found the superhero team facing off against its longtime foe Dr. Destiny, who had captured the Sandman and taken over the Dream Dimension. When the heroes made their way to the Dream Dimension, they were captured, but not before the Elongated Man freed the Sandman and sent him to Earth to locate Superman. The Sandman located Clark Kent (who he knew was the Man of Steel due to monitoring his dreams), and after explanations were made, the two made their way to the Dream Dimension where they, along with the freed JLA, defeated Dr. Destiny. The Sandman was offered membership on the team but declined because he could only leave the Dream Dimension for one hour every day and felt he wouldn’t be useful to the superhero team. In Infinity, Inc. #50 (May 1988), writers Roy and Dann Thomas, along with penciler Vince Argondezzi and inker Tony DeZuniga, brought the story of Garrett Sanford to a close. In the book, it was revealed that although the Sandman had been seen in previous issues of Infinity, Inc., it wasn’t Sanford wearing the Sandman costume but instead Infinitor Hector “Silver Scarab” Hall, son of the Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman. A deep depression had taken over Sanford because he had been stuck in the Dream Dimension for so long. Sanford died, and so Brute and Glob took it upon themselves to find his replacement. Hector Hall died while fighting as the Silver Scarab, so Brute and Glob found Hall’s consciousness floating in the Dream Dimension, took him in, and made him the new Sandman. Hall’s time as the Sandman continued with an appearance in Sandman #12 (Jan. 1990) from writer Neil Gaiman and artists Chris Bachalo and Malcolm Jones III. Hall’s son Daniel would play a huge role in this Sandman series… but that’s a story for another article. Until that time comes, sleep tight! TM & © Marvel.

Jack Kirby worked on two versions of the Sandman for DC Comics, but these weren’t the only times he was associated with a character named the Sandman. By the end of the 1950s, Kirby was once again at Marvel Comics (then referred to as Atlas Comics), and in 1961, along with writer/editor Stan Lee, created the Fantastic Four. The book was a hit and the duo continued to create more new and creative titles in what became known as the Marvel Age of Comics. It was during this time that Lee also teamed up with artist Steve Ditko on The Amazing Spider-Man. In Amazing Spider-Man #4 (Sept. 1963), the title’s hero faced off against a new villain who called himself the Sandman. This Sandman was named Flint Marko (his real name later revealed to be William Baker), who could change his body into actual sand after he was accidentally bonded with radioactive sand. Ditko’s characters were often portrayed as more down-to-Earth and idiosyncratic than the Kirby-drawn characters that appeared in most of Marvel’s other comic books, a perfect example being Ditko’s Sandman, whose outfit was a simple green-striped shirt, with slacks. Kirby redesigned the Sandman’s costume in the pages of Fantastic Four, making it fantastical, because nothing was ever just ordinary with Kirby. Kirby kept the Sandman’s green color scheme but gave the character an armored suit. Lee and Kirby produced a logical (at least Marvelstyle logic, that is) reason for the Sandman’s costume change. The storyline began in Fantastic Four #57 (Dec. 1966), where Marko stole some of Reed Richard’s technology from his lab in the Baxter Building. When readers next saw Marko on the dynamic cover to FF #61 (Apr. 1967), he had his new armored suit. Frequent FF foe the Wizard had created the suit from the parts that Marko had stolen. Marko continued to use the Kirbydesigned suit for many years until ultimately returning to his Ditko-designed attire.

Thanks go out to Paul Levitz and Roy Thomas for their invaluable assistance with this article. Mild-mannered Elementary School Teacher ED LUTE enjoys the work of Jack Kirby and was excited to be able to revisit this Sandman series for BACK ISSUE. He has also contributed to TwoMorrows’ The Jack Kirby Collector.

58 • BACK ISSUE • The Kirby Legacy at DC Issue

“A startling look into… the World That’s Coming.” Anyone familiar with the original OMAC series or the work of Jack Kirby knows that those words are proudly emblazoned on the cover of the first issue. As well, Kirby was known for advancing ideas of the future in a lot of his work. As a matter of fact, in his introduction to the DC Comics collection Jack Kirby’s OMAC: One Man Army Corps (2008), former Kirby assistant Mark Evanier stated, “[Jack] thought in the future, often forgetting that the real world hadn’t quite caught up with him and never would. I am still astounded at the number of accurate predictions Jack made about how things would be in ten, twenty, thirty years.” Most of the character’s Bronze Age appearances took place in the future, so it’s not surprising that subsequent creators dealt with predictions as well. But, in light of that blurb, we’re going to examine who predicted what, and how well they did. In addition, some of the storylines dealt with the concept of time travel, so we’ll look back at that aspect of those stories. Or is it forward? Or sideways? (Time travel always messes with your perspective.)

CRYSTAL BALL

by B r i a n

Martin

I Go to Pieces Detail from Jack Kirby’s clairvoyant and crazy OMAC: One Man Army Corps #1 (Sept.–Oct. 1974). Inks by Mike Royer. TM & © DC Comics.

OMAC begins in an unspecified future. DC would later explain the relationships between many of their future-set comics in an article in Amazing World of DC Comics #12 (that series was examined in BACK ISSUE #100). In that essay, OMAC was linked to another Kirby kreation Kamandi, and sets the series not long before the Great Disaster, a DCU event that reduces the world almost to rubble. Things are still rather civilized at the point we come in, as we meet Buddy Blank, a nondescript, slightly downtrodden individual, as he works for “Pseudo-People Inc.” in a fairly standard office. It is here that we encounter the first Kirby prediction we want to examine. At PPI, if you feel bad, they have a Crying Room, or a Destruct Room, or a few other specialty rooms. In these you can do pretty much what the name says, all in the name of keeping employees happy. These days, of course, many workplaces have gyms, daycare, and even crisis counseling. Kirby did a pretty good job predicting the generality, if not the specifics, though I am sure there are many reading this who would love to have the type of room PPI does where you could kick a Pseudo Person down a rail and into a wall! Buddy is chosen by members of the Global Peace Agency as the best candidate for their current project. This agency, a grouping of literally faceless individuals, does not represent any one country, as they frequently make clear. Their name pretty much sums up their raison d’être. A nice idea, but one we are still far from achieving. Kirby also predicts something with regard to their origin that has not borne out as time goes by. The Peace Agency grew out of NASA, but given the cuts to that agency’s funding in recent times, that genesis does not seem likely. The agents subject Buddy to “electronic surgery,” which turns him into the One Man Army Corps with that name again giving us pretty much all the information we need regarding the character. The surgery is performed by a bolt of energy linking Buddy to a satellite that is self-aware and even has a name: Brother Eye. This is done at PPI as that company is involved in some shady dealings, to say the least. Pseudo-People creates exactly what their name implies, artificial beings. The state in which they are delivered to their customers forms the basis for the cover of OMAC #1 (Sept.–Oct. 1974) that some readers found, and may continue to find, just a wee bit disturbing. Just before being transformed, Buddy discovers that some of these Pseudos are being used as remote control bombs! This is another instance of Kirby predicting the future, since in the real world suicide bombers did not enter the public consciousness until the 1980s. In this instance, I’m sure Kirby would have been much happier to be wrong. OMAC proceeds to destroy the plant but during his rampage, Kirby has him wonder aloud, “Where does humanity stop and technology begin?” The next time you see a group of people each on their cell phone, think of that. At issue’s end, mission completed, OMAC sets out to find the mastermind behind it all, Mr. Big. The Kirby Legacy at DC issue • BACK ISSUE • 59

The World That Keeps on Coming From a paranoid Batman’s Big Brother-ing of his fellow JLAers to reimaginings and reboots, Jack Kirby’s OMAC concepts continue to inspire DC creators. TM & © DC Comics.

them into remote-control cyborgs, or Observational Metahuman Activity Constructs. So in this age of paranoia regarding COVID-19 vaccination, maybe OMAC Project writer Greg Rucka was predicting the future too. These cyborg entities have continued to have life in the DCU in various forms, a complete discussion of which is a little out of BI’s time frame and the scope of this article. Suffice to say, they have been major pains in the butt. Finally defeated and sent crashing to Earth, Brother Eye seems to be completely destroyed in Infinite Crisis #6 and The OMAC Project Special #1 (both May 2006), and that seemed to be it for Brother Eye and OMAC. Yeah, I don’t believe that either. In fact, as a spinoff from Infinite Crisis, OMAC received his own eight-issue series by writer Bruce Jones and artist Renato Guedes. The length of the series was probably not a coincidence. This OMAC was a man named Mike Costner seemingly the last remnant of the O.M.A.C. Protocol. Once again a one-man army, the character adheres a little closer to the Kirby template.

COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION

Events in the post-Crisis DCU tended toward a future that prevented Kirby’s stories from happening. In what can be seen as an attempt to rectify that negation, in DC’s weekly series Countdown (to Final Crisis) (May 9, 2007–Apr. 23, 2008), a resurrection occurs. Buddy Blank appears in issue #31 when he is tracked down by Karate Kid and Una (one body of the revived character Triplicate Girl), two time-displaced members of the future-dwelling Legion of Super-Heroes. These Legionnaires are seeking a cure for a deadly virus infecting Kid that turns out to be a future strain of the OMAC plague. Blank also has access to the remnants of Brother Eye, which was created from his initial AI design. A bit of foreshadowing occurs when it is revealed that Buddy works for the contemporary version of Pseudo-People, Inc.—now a Waynetech division, just to cross another tee. By the end of the series, Buddy Blank and his grandson are on an alternate Earth. All life on that Earth is brought to an end by Brother Eye. All except for Blank and his grandson, that is. After Buddy refers to his grandson as “the Last Boy on Earth,” Brother Eye frees them from the Command D bunker they are trapped in by transforming Buddy into… OMAC. This only happens long enough for him to free them, but Buddy wonders when the AI may need him again. While not exactly recreating a venue for the Kirby stories, it does re-establish the connection between Blank and Brother Eye and sets up the world for Kamandi. The series that Countdown led into, Final Crisis, continued to set up things for Kirby’s version to appear somewhere in the DC Multiverse, to the point of having the then-current version of the Question be offered a role in creating a Global Police Agency. The Question is, of course, a character with no face.

FLASHPOINT

When the “Flashpoint” event restarted DC continuity in 2011 with the New 52, OMAC, this time linked to a man named Kevin Kho, returned in his own title with #1 (Nov. 2011). His series lasted eight issues. Is anyone else sensing a pattern here? Like so many other Kirby inventions, Brother Eye and various concepts for the acronym O.M.A.C. continue to be used in the DCU even to the point that as this article was being written, the mohawk-coiffed original version made an appearance in the Generations Shattered special. That just goes to show that no matter what spin some creators put on the concept, Jack Kirby’s primal version will still have a place and be treasured by many a comic creator. Though slightly misleading in name, Kirby’s OMAC was an instrument for peace in a chaotic world. Hopefully one lasting effect of this particular idea is that you don’t have to be a One Man (or Woman) Army Corps to make a positive impact in the World That’s Coming. The author would like to thank Lee Allred, Mike Allred, Gary Cohn, Michael Eury, Dave Lemieux, Dan Mishkin, Mark Waid, and John Wells for their invaluable assistance in composing this article. BRIAN MARTIN is an office manager who lives in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Though his primary love is comics of the past, he does look forward to the ones in his future, as well as continuing to write articles about the past ones. Which the future ones will soon become. Darn it, even just writing about time travel and alternate realities messes with your head!

68 • BACK ISSUE • The Kirby Legacy at DC Issue

First issue specials, heroes, and losers… these were among Jack Kirby’s odd jobs at DC. Was the King of Comics right for these books? Were the Losers actually winners? Did Atlas have to carry more than the world on his shoulders? Did Kirby’s unique style do justice to Justice, Inc.? What made some concepts work and others fail? BACK ISSUE will shine its spotlight on the freelance work King Jack put out for DC Comics. Watch out for the Kirby Krackle, dear readers.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

by J a m e s

Heath Lantz

While The Demon and Kamandi (covered elsewhere in this issue) and his opus Fourth World Saga (see BI #104) are his best-known works for DC Comics, Jack Kirby proved that he could transcend genres with his art and storytelling as much as Miles Davis and Prince did with their music. Among the titles the King of Comics used to experiment with his drawing pencils was 1st Issue Special. Kirby wrote, drew, and edited issues #1, 5, and 6 of that tryout series which was the focus of an article in BACK ISSUE #71. In that article, then-DC Comics writer/editor Gerry Conway stated that DC’s publisher, Carmine Infantino, wanted to give Jack something to do. This resulted in Kirby producing what BI writer Jack Abramowitz described as his most bizarre creations. 1st Issue Special #1 (Apr. 1975) introduced readers to Atlas. As with Marvel’s Fantastic Four and Thor and DC’s Fourth World, Kirby conceived characters, settings, and other elements that were, are, and will always be larger than life, while opening the doors of his imagination to show what he was capable of putting on the comicbook page. The man-god Atlas, along with his mentor Chagra, are on a quest for vengeance against the being who killed his family, Hyssa the Lizard King. Chagra agrees to aid Atlas if the powerful mortal helps him find the Crystal Mountain. Chagra believes Atlas to be of a people from there, and the gemstone around the title hero’s neck may prove this. After this single outing, Atlas would not return to the pages of DC Comics until Superman #677–680’s “The Coming of Atlas” in 2008. Superman writer James Robinson, according an interview with Comic Book Resources, stated that he believed that Atlas was a character similar to Marvel’s Prince Namor, the SubMariner, an anti-hero who walks the fine line between hero and villain. This shows when Atlas fights the Metropolis Science Police, Superman, Supergirl, and superdog Krypto in an effort to become the city’s protector. It’s later revealed that Atlas was part of the government’s Project 7734, an organization trying to kill Superman. FIS #5 (Aug. 1975) had Kirby combine mysticism with superhero adventure with Manhunter, a concept that, like Simon & Kirby’s Sandman, traded on an old

Shouldering the Burden The cover of Atlas’ original—and, for decades, only—appearance, in 1st Issue Special #1 (Apr. 1975). Art by Jack Kirby and D. Bruce Berry. TM & © DC Comics.

The Kirby Legacy at DC issue • BACK ISSUE • 69