by Robert Greenberger

Kamandi Omnibus Vol. 1

Good creators never toss out their ideas. They file them away until inspiration or opportunity strikes. Such was the case when DC Comics publisher Carmine Infantino called up his most creative editor, Jack Kirby, and asked for a new series. DC had tried and failed to gain the comic book rights to the Planet of the Apes franchise, which had proven box office gold with no end in sight in 1972.

Kirby had not seen the films but was familiar enough with the premise and put his mind to work. Earth After Disaster was nothing new to the King, having previously trolled this territory, notably with The Last Enemy! for Alarming Tales back in the 1950s. At the same time, 1956, he prepped a prospective comic strip called Kamandi of the Caves and since it never sold, thought the time had come. He intended to create the series and let others execute it but Infantino unexpectedly canceled Forever People so Kirby decided to do the book himself.

Rather than a world with dominant apes, Kirby went author Pierre Boulle one better and gave intelligence to the entire animal kingdom. In late 1972, Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth debuted and was a success, lasting for six years. Now, DC is repackaging the first two volumes of the Kamandi Archives as the lower priced Kamandi Omnibus, collecting the first 20 issues. Kirby wrote and drew the first 37 issues, his longest run at DC, and then illustrated three issues written by Gerry Conway before returning to Marvel Comics. The series, under other hands, lasted until the infamous Implosion in 1978.

Kamandi’s Earth is a radically different one as you see in the two-page map provided in the very first issue. Whatever the Great Disaster was, it not only altered the relationship between man and beast, but it also changed the topography as a massive land bridge formed, connecting North America to Greenland with a link from Canada as well. Alaska was now a land of “strange fire”. Different animal species held dominion over different stretches of land and instinctive enmities were now played out in grand wars. Humanity was reduced to a handful of people compared to the billions before the unexplained cataclysm.

Zoo animals evolved thanks to a chemical called Cortexin and radiation, eradicated mankind and went to war with one another, amassing land and power. Most animals were altered in size and dexterity, while others merely gained superior intelligence. Oddly, horses seemed entirely unaffected. Surviving men and women were pressed into service as slave labor with a mere handful acting as freedom fighters, hoping to unite mankind once again. Some of these men find a young blond boy in the bunker marked Command D, and thus a heroic name was born. Kamandi accompanied Steve, Renzi and the powerfully-clad Ben Boxer on numerous adventures around the globe, making friends and enemies wherever they went. In time, they are joined by the mute girl dubbed Flower and the canine Dr. Canus and Tuftan, a Tiger prince.

In true Kirby fashion, the series is brimming with ideas and breathless adventure while the dialogue is somewhat stilted and most characters sound interchangeable. But the vistas created by Kirby, clearly having fun, are worth the price of admission.

Volume two is when the explicit connections between Kamandi and the DC Universe manifest themselves including the classic #29 and the reverence paid to Superman’s uniform. With hope, this first volume will sell well enough so we can have a second collection, completing the King’s opus.

Purchase

Kamandi Omnibus Vol. 1 HC

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