Fourth World, Part 11

(Continued from Part 10)

In the months following the cancellation of MISTER MIRACLE, Jack Kirby was busy creating concepts, proposals and "pilot episodes" for several new series.  But for whatever reason, the powers-at-be at DC apparently rejected most of what he was coming up with.  Such potential series as DINGBATS OF DANGER STREET (a new "kid gang" series) ATLAS (which followed the long-standing tradition of Hercules and the hugely-successful Italian "sword and sandals" film genre of the 1960's), and a totally new take on DC's MANHUNTER (which Kirby had worked on in the early-1940's) all fell by the wayside, to turn up eventually in 1st ISSUE SPECIAL, a new "SHOWCASE"-style title which seemed designed more to publish already-rejected "inventory" stories than any genuine attempt at promoting potential new series.

The first new concept to debut from this period was OMAC (One Man Army Corp), which was a variation on a concept Jack had been toying with since 1968-- "Captain America In The Future".  OMAC allowed Jack to go completely wild not only with high-charged, explosive action, but with wild, outrageous science-fiction ideas.  Perhaps the scariest thing about "The World That's Coming", as Jack called it, was how much of it has already come true in the years since its publication.

And meanwhile, KAMANDI kept cranking on and on and on...

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 21  /
art by Jack Kirby & D. Bruce Berry   (September 1974)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 22  /
art by Jack Kirby & Dick Ayers   (October 1974)

OMAC 1  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (October 1974)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 23  /
art by Jack Kirby & D. Bruce Berry   (in progress!)   (November 1974)

In a strange twist of fate, ONE month after the debut of Jack's "One Man Army Corps",  he took over The Losers series in OUR FIGHTING FORCES.  The series had been created by Robert Kanigher with art by Joe Kubert in OFF #123 (Feb'70), and featured 4 characters who had each previously headlined their own series in various DC anthology titles.  In effect, it was a U.S. Army version of the J.S.A., J.L.A. or AVENGERS, only with a decidedly downbeat, "bad luck" attitude influenced by the then-current Viet Nam War.

Typical of Jack, he changed the tone of the series to suit his own style & attitude, a move which resulted in negative fan letters at the time, but positive reviews in the decades since. The series gave Jack a chance to do some of his most "personal" writing ever, as he mined his own WW2 experiences for story ideas.

For more info on THE LOSERS, see the Wikipedia article.

OUR FIGHTING FORCES 151  /  art by JOE KUBERT   (November 1974)

 Here's a brief review of the issue above by Bob Heer.

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 24  /
art by Jack Kirby & D. Bruce Berry   (December 1974)

OMAC 2  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (December 1974)

Perhaps the strangest detour Jack Kirby took while at DC in the 70's was being briefly re-teamed with his ex-partner Joe Simon.  Simon & Jerry Grandenetti had been working together to create a number of series, none of which were very successful, when someone apparently thought it might be a cute idea to have Kirby do the art for one of them. Somehow, sales on the intended one-shot warranted a continuation some months later, and while Ernie Chua pencilled issues #2 & 3, Kirby returned for #4-7 (the final story actually being run in a BEST OF DC digest).  I can honestly say this new version of THE SANDMAN is, by a mile, the worst-conceived & written comics I've seen Kirby associated with in the whole of the 1970's. It's a toss-up as to whether Joe Simon or Michael Fleischer was the worse writer.

THE SANDMAN 1  /  design sketch by JERRY GRANDENETTI   (Winter 1974)

THE SANDMAN 1  /  unused art by Jack Kirby & Joe Simon   (Winter 1974)

THE SANDMAN 1  /  inked art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (Winter 1974)

THE SANDMAN 1  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (Winter 1974)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 25  /
art by Jack Kirby & D. Bruce Berry   (January 1975)

OUR FIGHTING FORCES 152  / 
art by Jack Kirby & D. Bruce Berry   (January 1975)

To read the above story online, go to
Matthew H. Camp's Mars Will Send No More blog!

(Continued in Part 12)

For in-depth reviews and a fascinating discussion of these issues,
go to the CAPTAIN COMICS message board...

See THE LOSERS page at Wikipedia
See THE SANDMAN page at Wikipedia
See the JOE SIMON page at Wikipedia
See the JERRY GRANDENETTI page at Wikipedia

Artwork (C) DC Comics Inc.
Raw scans of KAMANDI #21-22 & 25
     and OUR FIGHTING FORCES #151-152 from Heritage Auctions
Raw scans of KAMANDI #23 from Comics Brain & Midnight Fiction
Raw scan of KAMANDI #24 from Comic Book Swap
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa   

Fourth World, Part 10

(Continued from Part 9)

We come to the final MISTER MIRACLE issue.  A careful reading of MM #18 suggests that it was a complete surprise when the book was cancelled, as second half of the issue, the plot, the art, and the dialogue all go completely haywire.  It would seem that whatever hopes Jack Kirby had for still doing a proper conclusion to his Fourth World epic were dashed at that point.

Ironically, the 1st "Fourth World" crossover since Jack left JIMMY OLSEN came out 2 months later, when Batman met Mister Miracle for the first of several times.  THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #112, however, failed to reflect the shocking changes in MM #18, and so it was specifically described as taking place before it.

Meanwhile, KAMANDI cranks on and on. I suppose Carmine Infantino was pleased that his suggestion, "Give me something like PLANET OF THE APES", worked out so well... but I don't think he deserves to be claiming that HE "created" it.

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 13  /
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (January 1974)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 14  /
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (February 1974)

MISTER MIRACLE 18  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (March 1974)
KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 15  /
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (March 1974)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 16  /
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (April 1974)

The May'74 cover dates were when both Marvel and DC took another stab at "bigger" comics.  Marvel started their "GIANT SIZE" comics, with a new 35-page story backed with a 20-page reprint, while DC's "SUPER SPECTACULAR" comics had a new 20-page story backed by 3 20-page reprints.  Personally, I've never cared for mixing new and reprints in a single package, and while old comics were harder to come by back then (thus making any reprints at all seem more attractive), looking back, I'd have preferred if someone had come up with the idea of MASTERWORKS and ARCHIVES a decade or two sooner.

Doesn't the design of this cover make it look more like a product catalog than an adventure book?

THE BRAVE & THE BOLD 112  /  art by JIM APARO (etc.)   (May 1974)
THE BRAVE & THE BOLD 112  /  art by JIM APARO (FANTASY version!)
KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 17  /
art by Jack Kirby & D. Bruce Berry   (May 1974)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 18  /
art by Jack Kirby & D. Bruce Berry   (June 1974)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 19  /
art by Jack Kirby & D. Bruce Berry   (July 1974)

AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS 1  /
art by CARMINE INFANTINO   (July 1974)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 20  /
art by Jack Kirby & D. Bruce Berry   (August 1974)

(Continued in Part 11)

For in-depth reviews and a fascinating discussion of these issues,
go to the CAPTAIN COMICS message board...

Artwork (C) DC Comics Inc.

Raw scans of THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #112,
     KAMANDI #13-14 & 16-20
     and AMAZING WORLD OF DC COMICS #1 from Heritage Auctions
Raw scan of KAMANDI #15 from ComicVine

Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa

Fourth World, Part 9

(Continued from Part 8)

As 1973 draws to a close, KAMANDI has proven to be Kirby's biggest "success" in sales.  Still pumping with enthusaism despite (or because of) the complete change in direction, MISTER MIRACLE continues with Scott, Barda, Oberon and now Shilo having the sort of adventures that Jack might have told in Harvey's STUNTMAN had that title not fallen prey to the post-War comics glut.

Meanwhile,  the 1st crossover between one of Jack's new characters and the rest of the DC Universe since Jack left JIMMY OLSEN arrived when Batman met The Demon, in the pages of THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #109.   Often, these kind of crossovers are seen as a promotional tool, to help sell the regular books of the guest-stars. In this case, it probably didn't help, as THE DEMON ended after 16 issues.  I suppose Jack may have been relieved, as he always seemed to have more of an affiinity for science-fiction-- and crime-drama.

THE DEMON 13  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (October 1973)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 10  /
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (October 1973)

THE BRAVE & THE BOLD 109  /  art by JIM APARO   (November 1973)

MISTER MIRACLE 16  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (November 1973)
THE DEMON 14  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (November 1973)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 11  /
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (November 1973)

THE DEMON 15  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (December 1973)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 12  /
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (December 1973)

MISTER MIRACLE 17  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (January 1974)
THE DEMON 16  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (January 1974)

(Continued in Part 10)

For in-depth reviews and a fascinating discussion of these issues,
go to the CAPTAIN COMICS message board...

Artwork (C) DC Comics Inc.
Raw scans of THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #109, THE DEMON #13-16
     and KAMANDI #10-11 from Heritage Auctions
Raw scan of KAMANDI #12 from eBay
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa  

Fourth World, Part 8

(Continued from Part 7)

It's pretty obvious that the limits of this project have now expanded.  From here on out I'll be including EVERY Jack Kirby-related DC book and spin-off as well.  This will add a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it to be able to collect every one of these covers in one place, in a single, chronological listing.

We continue on now with more of THE DEMON,  KAMANDI THE LAST BOY ON EARTH, and the last few remaining issues of MISTER MIRACLE.

THE DEMON 9  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (June 1973)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 6  / 
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (June 1973)

MISTER MIRACLE 14  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (July 1973)

THE DEMON 10  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (July 1973)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 7  / 
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (July 1973)

THE DEMON 11  /  art by Jack Kirby & Frank Giacoia   (August 1973)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 8  / 
art by Jack Kirby & Frank Giacoia   (August 1973)

MISTER MIRACLE 15  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (September 1973)

THE DEMON 12  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (September 1973)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 9  / 
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (September 1973)

(Continued in Part 9)

For in-depth reviews and a fascinating discussion of these issues,
go to the CAPTAIN COMICS message board...

Artwork (C) DC Comics Inc.
Raw scans of THE DEMON #9-12 and KAMANDI #6-9 from Heritage Auctions
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa 

Fourth World, Part 7

(Continued from Part 6)

With his most ambitious, personal project cancelled abruptly in mid-story (like so many network TV series), more due to falsified sales records and management panic than lack of actual buyer interest, Jack Kirby plowed on.  MISTER MIRACLE continued for another year, joined by 2 series created in answer to editorial mandate than his own interest.  But, as always, Kirby gave his best, and often, more than what was called for.  THE DEMON was an "answer" to the already-fading HORROR boom, while KAMANDI was specifically DC's "answer" to PLANET OF THE APES and the early-70's disturbing sci-fi bent toward post-apocalytic futures those sad films inspired.  Between the last gasps of the Viet Nam War and the downfall of Republican President Richard Nixon, the early-70's could be a very grim time indeed.

THE DEMON 5  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (January 1973)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 2  / 
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (January 1973)

MISTER MIRACLE 12  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (February 1973)

THE DEMON 6  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (February 1973)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 3  / 
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (February 1973)

THE DEMON 7  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (March 1973)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 4  / 
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (March 1973)

MISTER MIRACLE 13  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (April 1973)

THE DEMON 8  /  art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (April 1973)

KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH 5  / 
art by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer   (April 1973)

(Continued in Part 8)

For in-depth reviews and a fascinating discussion of these issues,
go to the CAPTAIN COMICS message board...

Artwork (C) DC Comics Inc.
Raw scans of THE DEMON #5-8 and KAMANDI #2-4 from Heritage Auctions
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa