In police headquarters, Commissioner Kiernan confronts the imprisoned Kalibak. He wants both sides in the fighting to leave Earth. “Do you HEAR me, whoever you are? Start talking peace, or do your fighting ELSEWHERE!” “I can do NEITHER –in HERE, Earthman!” Taking a huge gamble, Kiernan has Kalibak released—and he promptly goes on a rampage, smashes his way out of the building, while saying, “I’ll deliver your message, human! Kalibak is NOT without a sense of humor!”
Elsewhere, Orion grows impatient to tackle Darkseid, while Lightray and Dave Lincoln try to calm him down. “If my hands were to CLOSE on him thus, I’d SNAP that steel backbone of his as one would a REED from the swamp!” News of Kalibak’s escape arrives, and Lightray suggests they just wait for him to come to them.
Meanwhile, a melacholy Darkseid ponders how Orion and Darkseid have fought since childhood, but something has always kept one from killing the other. Desaad wonders why either’s death should bother him. “ORION AND KALIBAK! How those TWO names haunt my life and destiny! –give me NO rest! --DARKEN my future as surely as their MATERNAL forebears ruled my past-! My mother, Queen Heggra! --Orion’s mother, Tigra! --and the sorceress ---SULI-!” “Suli was KALIBAK’s mother!? Then before Tigra was chosen for you—there was Suli! It was rumored that you DEFIED the Queen’s wishes to court Suli!” “—to secretly WED her, you sly dog! Orion and Kalibak are HALF-BROTHERS! --BOTH are my sons!” “WAHOM!” “—and that little potent OMEGA BLAST is to remind you that I know who poisoned Suli! --at the Queen’s command!!” “I COULDN’T disobey, sire! The Queen mother disapproved of Suli! It was HER decision!” “The old TYRANT! She taught me well the importance of bending others to one’s will! In the end--- when I mastered this fine art---!"” "I-I don’t like to remember it, sire---! ---how I carried your plans---for her---!”
SO! Though it has been obvious to the readers since the 1st episode, at last, Darkseid has revealed the truth about Orion to his best friend and closest ally. And what a revelation, building and expanding on what was revealed in “THE PACT”. Desaad MURDERED Darkseid’s 1st wife on the orders of Darkseid’s mother—then, murdered Darkseid’s mother on Darkseid’s orders! And still he keeps Desaad around. That’s one horribly isolated absolute dictator, if Desaad if the closest thing in existence to what he can consider a friend. To think—the whole FUCKING WAR is a result of this one guy’s monstrously DISFUNCTIONAL FAMILY!!!
Kalibak arrives, and Lightray decides to face him first. A “nova burst” (shades of Johnny Storm) stuns Kalibak, but before he can deliver a follow-up, Lightray gets clobbered. Orion is forced by his code to stand aside and watch it happen, until Lightray’s out of it. Then, he goes in. “Let the silent shades of your COUNTLESS tortured victims stand by to witness the FINISH of their tomentor!” But Kalibak’s not out yet. As he did at the police station, he blasts the street with energy, more and more-- “...given Kalibak by an ALLY! –even as we battle!” (The dule between Dr. Strange and Baron Mordo in STRANGE TALES #132, when Mordo was being supplied with endless power by The Dread Dormammu, comes to mind.) Then he pulls down the side of a building on top of Orion (in a fashion reminiscent of when Hercules once took out THOR).
While this is going on, Willie Walker has once more become The Black Racer. “Death is on the wing this night! ---DEATH FOR AN ANGRY GOD!” Uh oh...
Meanwhile, Dave Lincoln is intent on helping Orion, but Commissioner Kiernan only wants to corral both fighters.
And elsewhere, Darkseid is informed of “STRANGE emanations being transmitted from this VERY location! ...zeroed in on KALIBAK himself!” Sure enough, he finds Desaad has been feeding Kalibak power, to increase the fierceness of the fight, both so that he might absorb their emotions in the heat of battle, and also to ensure Orion’s defeat. “I’ve tolerated you and your twisted mind too long! This time you’ve turned it against my OWN kin!” Darkseid uses the full force of his Omega Effect against Deaad, causing “the TOTAL WIPEOUT”! “And THIS is what you are now! A small, fading patch of light—soon to VANISH from sight! Farewell, Desaad!” I wonder how many readers over the years, who may have read later stories written by others (stories that, in some ways, DON’T really “count”) were surprised to see such a “major” character KILLED off this way—for good?
Orion pulls himself from the rubble to once more face Kalibak, who, to his shock, no longer has his power increased. “We MUST BE BROTHERS, you and I! ---Different sides of the SAME coin! TRUE sons of Darkseid--- the essence of his creed of total violence!” “”Were Darkseid MY father, he would have but ONE true son! KALIBAK! KALIBAK!” Amazing, how, after all these years, neither son knew who their father was. As things reach a climax, The Black Race arrives. “DEATH APPROACHES, ORION! BOTH of you have taken incredible punishment! But I’ve only come for ONE!” “If it be ME—then come and be SWIFT!” He’s surprised to find it was Kalibak whose time had come.
As Kiernan and the police arrive, Orion has an epiphany. “To think I sent that bull moose on a peace mission! How will we ever end this war?” “DESTINY shall end it! It is written that the father of Apokalips shall meet his banished son in the RED light of the fire-pits --- and THERE they shall decide the war! AND SO IT SHALL BE! I can deny it no longer--- to others or to MYSELF! I AM DARKSEID’S SON!! ---armed and ready with the heritage bequeathed me!--- The ultimate ferocity! When I clash with Darkseid--- THE WAR WILL END!”
WHOA!!! What a HELL of a place to cancel the book! For the 2nd episode in one month, “Destiny” is mentioned again and again. DESTINY MY ASS. “DC” editorial, more like it. Which may be what Jack was getting at when he wrote these. Once again, I say to thee—CURSE YOU, Carmine!!! You lured Kirby over to DC with a lot of promises, then repeatedly failed to live up to so many of them.
Many—mostly fans of Marvel Comics and their ubiquitous Editor-In-Chief Stan Lee, have, over the years, repeatedly knocked Jack Kirby’s writing, his sense of story structure, and especially, his dialogue, and backed it up, over and over and over, by saying that his books at DC “weren’t successful”. BULLSHIT. Very few things in comics were “successful” around this time. The truth is, the entire industry was on a long, slow downward plunge, losing ground and retail outlets every year. Very few new series lasted. Hell, many long-time series ended, as well (think AQUAMAN and GREEN LANTERN, both sabotaged by mis-guided and misbegotten attempts to badly try to imitate what Marvel was doing, instead of figuring out what DC did best, and imporve on it). DC was desperate to find something, anything, to be a “big overnight hit”—and it’s clear a complex epic spread over 4 books wasn’t what they were looking for. It may seem obvious in retrospect that, in the case of most successful, long-running series, you start with “small” stories, build your audience, THEN begin doing bigger and longer stories. That Jack tried to do the reverse may have been a misjudgement, but it certainly was a bold experiment, and it deserved more support from DC management than it got. (A single monthly would have been sure to sell more consistently than 2 or 3 bi-monthlies, at the very least.) It’s also become quite clear over the years that behind-the-scenes shenanigans involving distributors also led to false sales reports—something that also plagued CONAN THE BARBARIAN and other books. The industry was sinking, and a wide variety of facets were at work, simultaneously.
That Jack Kirby’s characters and concepts refused to die is both a tribute to his creativity, his actual success in crafting such wonderful, well-rounded, fascinating people on paper, as well as, cynically, corporate-owned publishers refusal to let ANYTHING they own go down quietly. The Fourth World has been revived REPEATEDLY over the years—beginning, perhaps most frustratingly, with the very month Jack went back to Marvel. But it’s also a testmanent to the faulty framework of the entire American comics biz, their utter lack of the relationship between creator and creations, that most of these revivals have FAILED on multiple levels (creatively, sales-wise, etc.). Some concepts, characters and series, are so “personal” in vision, they can ONLY be done “right” by the person who came up with them. OF COURSE Jack Kirby’s NEW GODS repeatedly fails to catch on with later readers. Jack Kirby WASN’T doing it!!!
But, so much for that. By my count, I still have 17 more Kirby DC books to go. And almost half of them feature one of my all-time favorite Kirby creations. (6-1-2012)
Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Strangely enough, I don't actually have a single Jack Kirby issue of KAMANDI, but I just had to find a cover scan of the following to clean up and post here...
On the cover: “Can MISTER MIRACLE survive the death-defying leap into the VAT OF FIRE?”
Inside: “What happens when an idle young press agent meets the most incredible talent on Earth? --- Why, SHOW BUSINESS happens, that’s what! Although this SENSATIONAL act is in its early stages of production, its cast can make headlines at the first sign of trouble! And considering the kind of enemies they have, you’re advised to SIT BACK! GRIP YOUR CHAIR! --- And see --- THE GREATEST SHOW OFF EARTH!”
While Ted Brown films, Barda single-handed lifts a pole, atop which is a manacled Scott (what, again?). After lowering the end of the pole into a hole, the Female Furies go into motion. Bernadeth sets fire to a tank filled with gasolene, Lashina cracks the pole, and Stompa shatters it, causing Scott to plummet straight into the flames! “KEEP FILMING, Ted! DON’T STOP! --- No matter what you think is happening!” Although Barda never took her eyes off Scott, even she didn’t see him free himself and leap away to a nearby tree in time. “You’re FAST, Mister Miracle! The FASTEST thing alive!” I’m beginning to wonder if that isn’t Scott’s real “super power”, since up to this point, he doesn’t seem to actually have one. But what else can explain so many of his miraculous escapes we’ve seen, unless he’s been using teleportation?
All this has been to create a promotional film to advertise his upcoming tour. The scene on the cover has one inaccuracy—in the story, there was no crowd of spectators watching. Presumably, this would be when the act is repeated in the future.
The main part of this story, while somewhat exciting, I find quite a disappointment. Despite everything Scott went thru when he returned to Apokalips, apparently to “play by their rules” and “earn the right to live his own life”, Dr. Bedlam returns for personal revenge, to reverse his earlier defeat. What an A**H***!!! I mean—you’d think this guy walked in from some Marvel Comic or something, where the baddies have nothing better to do but to get “revenge!!!” for something bad that happened to them that they caused themselves.
First, he terrorizes Oberon, then he sends his “animates”, which the Furies destroy. Scott insists on confronting him on his own, and finds him inside what can only be described as a “UFO”. Trapped inside, the flying saucer zooms into space, is battered by meteors, skips along the Earth’s atmosphere generating intense heat, then heads straight for the moon and intense cold. Stupid enough to want to watch Scott’s demise in person, Bedlam winds up trapped within one of his own animates by a plastic sheathe Scott creates. The crash is seen all the way down on Earth, and Bedlam, presumably, is destroyed. Although Bedlam destroyed the Mother Box that Scott had hidden up his sleeve, Bedlam didn’t know that Scott had created a back-up, hidden in his mask. Among other things, it allowed him to escape the craft via “instantaneous descent”. (Isn’t that another way of saying “teleportation”???) It would seem Scott could have escaped at any time; he simply went through all that punishment, to make sure that Dr. Bedlam would be destroyed, so he wouldn’t have to play this game yet again.
I haven’t mentioned the art on the last several issues. It’s been good as always, though in some places, the linework has been a bit too thick, and the faces a bit too “stiff” or “cartoony”. I can only put this down to Jack once again doing 4 books instead of 3, or perhaps losing some interest after the abrupt cancellation of both NEW GODS and FOREVER PEOPLE. In this issue, Mike Royer’s inks suddenly become MUCH sharper and crisper from page 14-on. Did he change pens, or was this a result of someone adjusting a stat machine?
I love the fact that Barda goes thru this entire issue wearing a stylized bikini. WHAT A GAL!!! (She makes WONDER WOMAN look like a BOY!)
From the letters pages: “His character development never ceases to amaze me. I feel I know more about his characters now than I ever learned about his characters at Marvel all the years I read them. The characters love and hate and the reader knows that emotions will last beyind the end of the book.” –Paul Richardson “One quick request—I’d like to see more of Oberon.” –Lynn Holland “Sorry, Lynn... that’s all there is.” --editor “It’s amazing that the man who had been in the business the longest should “think youngest”.” –Salyrwyn Daley And, in answer to a question about Scott’s “bag of trick” in MM #1... “We never said Scott came directly to where he met Thaddues Brown and, therein another flashback lurks.” –editor. OOOH. I SO wish Jack had managed to tell that story. I’m sure it wouldn’t have involved 200 years spent wandering Earth as John Byrne suggested years later (IN ANOTHER CONTINUITY NOT RELATED TO THIS ONE). (6-5-2012)
Registered: Aug 2003
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“A powerful, experimental torpedo is launched from a submarine and streaks toward QUICK detonation!! But this is far from a ROUTINE shot! Someone is tightly shackled to the torpedo’s shell! --- a SUPER-ESCAPE ARTIST – sharing it’s speedy journey to fiery oblivion! His plight is REAL! He will DIE, if he CAN’T free himself before the torpedo reaches its target! CAN HE DO IT?1 CAN HE CHEAT THE OPEN JAWS OF DEATH - !??”
Yep. Scott Free’s at it again. This time, setrting up an elaborate publicity stunt with the help of the U.S. Navy, “Bound to a torpedo—speeding toward a deadly mine” (as it says on the cover). Somehow that reminds me of Henry Corden’s line in the GET SMART episode, “Physician Impossible”, when he said, “I’ll drop him from a plane—in front of a train! No, that’s too GOOD for him. I know, I’ll... uhhh.”
Naturally, Scott escapes in time, and is pulled out of the water by a helicopter. “HANG ON! We’d hate to see you break your neck, AFTER you survived that blast!” The whole bit is observed from a distance by tycoon Colonel Darby and his butler Mudgett. Darby intends to bet heavily against Mr. Miracle surviving a fight with his champion, “Mystivac”, who appears to be a robotic-looking “idol” he purchased from some South Seas island types who worshipped it and did its every bidding.
Back at the Naval base, a news conference is interrupted by a ruckus on the beach. It turns out Barda and The Female Furies clobbered a bunch of sailors who got rude while they were trying to take a swim. Admiral Case’s reaction is similar to that of Chief Clifford after learning of Sam McCloud’s latest escapade. He turns, walks away and contemplates early retirement. (Funny stuff!)
Darby calls up Scott with a proposition, then puts “Mystivac” on the phone. “You want to DIE, Scott Free! You WANT to die! Do not turn death away! --- WELCOME him --- go to him --- death is your FRIEND---! LIVING IS FUTILE --- YOU WANT TO DIE --- YOU WANT TO DIE---!” (This is why I HATE tele-marketers.) In a daze, Scott agrees, yet when Barda arrives, he seems oblvious as to anything having happened. Yet while rehearsing their next death-trap-escape, Scott moves SO slowly, that Barda’s instincts kick in, tell her something’s TERRIBLY wrong, and she only manages to save his life in time. Yet even afterwards, he doesn’t grasp what just happened.
Meanwhile, Ted Brown is meeting with Darby to set up the fight, perfectly happy until Mytivac walks up and tells him NOT to warn or help Scott. Clearly some form of mind-control is going on with this character.
The next day, in a “reconstructed temple in a remote area”, Scott, Barda & Oberon confront Mystivac, who quickly gets the sidekicks out of the way with her persuasive personality. A brutal battle begins, at one point during a pair of long knives extend from Mystivac’s hand, accompanied with the sound effect “SNIK!” (Gee, doesn’t this seem awful familiar? Seems some character in an issue of THE INCREDIBLE HULK had the same gimmick, a few years later.) Scott is able to resist by using circuitry in his mask, and manages to unmask his foe, who turns out to be a diminuative alien in a life-sustaining capsule, who’s been marooned on Earth for centuries, used repeatedly by evil men to further their ambitions, and who has come to hate all humans passionately as a result.
Any possibility that Scott & co., might have been able to help the little guy return home is aborted when the butler opens fire, misses, and hits the alien’s glass bubble by mistake. After the baddies are routed, our heroes find the creature has disintegrated to dust in our atmosphere. As evil as he might have been (or become over time) they still show sympathy for such a tragedy, and decide not to collect any “winnings” from this event. “On to the next one! THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!” Overall, a nice return to form. I could see this book going on for quite a long stretch. If only! (6-6-2012)
Registered: Aug 2003
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“A railroad yard seems like a most UNLIKELY place for high adventure to begin! But—MISTER MIRACLE transforms ANY atmosphere in which his work is done, into a place of spine-chilling thrills and excitement! And this starting point leads to a much larger and thrilling experience! ---from the shores of civilization--- to the distant region of--- THE DICTATOR’S DUNGEON!”
Scott’s at it again. THIS time, he’s chained up and tied down onto railroad tracks, while a steam locomotive speeds toward him. As he tells his promoter, “Don’t worry, Ted! There’ll still be an act when this is over-!” The engineer and conductor seem convinced he’s committing suicide, and even Oberon yells out, “He’s going to die!” Barda lifts him into the air, while telling him, “You sawed-off runt! SIMMER DOWN!” The train continues its approach—and ROARS right over the spot where Scott lay helpless! But when the last car finally rattles past, Scott’s standing on the other side of the tracks, smiling. How the hell does he do that?
Just then, a bizarre helicopter flies over, kidnaps Ted right off the ground, and is followed by Scott & Barda, who cling pecariously to its underside. “Keep your cool, Barda! We’re being HELD fast to this hull by some magnetic flow!” “This craft is beginning to climb fast! I DON’T plan on being pinned out here when it reaches HIGH altitude!” In an exciting scene, Barda smashes a hole in the bottom, climbs in and tackles the crew—who all seem to resemble Neanderthals. Scott follows her in, and soon the crew has been overpowered. But the craft is locked on remote, and they soon find themselves approaching a lamasary high in the Himalayas. (If this were the Marvel Universe, one might have expected a crossover with Dr. Strange—or maybe, Iron Fist!)
Inexplicably, a trap-door opens sending Scott & Barda to the snows below (his anti-grav boots saving them from hitting too hard). Some ways from the building, they find a tunnel. “Off-hand, I’d say that it would take a 50-TON TANK to open this door—BUT---“ “With a mighty heave that would startle fabled Hercules, Barda pulls the great door from its moorings!” “KRAAACK!” Wow. Racing thru the tunnel, they’re attacked by more of the natives. Hefting a sizable rock, Barda amazes her attackers. “The female is a witch!” “She’s a creature of sorcery!” “Wrong n BOTH counts!” She tosses the rock their way. “I’m just a darn good BOWLER!” (Whata great line—I wasn’t expecting something like that.)
As Barda focuses on finding Ted, Scott is confused by the mixture of Eastern design with those of the West, as the place is littered with Swastikas, and a very Oriental-looking statue’s pose is giving a Nazi salute, wears a Hitler moustache, and has an inscription that reads “Dafura”. Knocked out by a ray blast, they find themselves in the same cell with Ted, who informs them their host is Albert Von Killowitz, escaped Nazi war criminal! “One finds it DIFFICULT to disguise his past culture weith another! However, I rule this humble kingdom! I am KING KOMODO!” “DICTATOR Komodo is probably closer to the truth! I’ll bet you rule with an iron fist!” “It’s the ONLY way to train and control my aborigines! ---Why, only recently, they were STILL being called abominable snowmen!” “They’re NO more “abominable” than their MASTER --- you swine!” Considering where Scott & Barda came from, it’s only natural for them to have such open contempt for this issue’s baddie.
The cell is suddenly flooded with electricity, then fire, then acid, all of which our trio barely manages to survive. Killowitz suddenly learns that Scott is a super-escape-artist by trade, and decides a duel of their talents might prove interesting. Next thing, Scott finds himself in a corridor which becomes cylindrical, only to discover he’s in the barrel of a gigantic cannon. No sooner does he escape being blasted to atoms, than he has to sidestep a razor-sharp pendulum (shades of Poe). Scott then uses some circuitry in his mask to overcome Killowitz’ will at a distance, forcing him to order his underlings to free the prisoners and prepare the copter for launching. (Can it be Scott has devised his own personal Anti-Life Equation here???)
Heading home with their prisoner, Ted reveals how he first met Killowitz. While in Korea, his squad was ambushed, he was left for dead in the snow, but was picked up by a band of Mongols. Among them was Killowitz. Once Killowitz realized he’d been recognized, Ted knew he’d have to be killed. But he escape, and made it back to civilization. The experience left Ted deeply disturbed, and no doubt al he wanted to do was put it all behind him. Though not pointed out in the dialogue, the irony is clear, that Killowitz would have been pefectly safe, could have lived the rest of his miserable life a free man, except for his fear and paranoia and desire to kill someone he was afraid would tell others he was still alive. ASSHOLE!!!
This issue must have been important, because a number of readers wrote in to complain to Jack that Ted was reported as having been killed in Korea, yet later turned up alive with no explanantion. They got one now.
Scott & Barda console Ted. “There’s a whole new rodl lying ahead of you, Ted! ---a world without fear of Von Killowitz!” “A world of friends, Ted! We’ll all look after each other!” Again, knowing where Scott & barda came from, it really says a lot about how important what they’re talking about is to them, and how much they understand it.
The Kirby-Royer art is terrific as usual, even though some of the faces are beginning to be a bit “loose” of late. Also, there’s no way for me to be sure, but I’d SWEAR that page 22, panel 4—a close-up of Von Killowitz—was inked by Dave Stevens. (6-7-2012)
Registered: Aug 2003
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“A walk in the woods can turn up anything. In the case of MISTER MIRACLE, it explodes with an incident so totally unexpected and bizarre that it defies the sense and talents of the world’s greatest escape artist! Mystery, villain and danger—he can’t resist their challenge—for these are the elements from which escape is possible, only for--- THE QUICK AND THE DEAD!”
Cutting to the chase for once (literally), Scott & Oberon happen across a man in a very peculiar “demon” type costume, being chased by a crew who look liked they stepped out of some Halloween-themed “B”-movie. Warned to stay out of it, they wind up knocked down (but not out), and soon follow the culprits back to “Satan’s Lair”, a large, run-down, spooky-looking house that might have been the focus of a SCOOBY-DOO episode. Strangely enough, the leader of the gang, Madame Evil Eyes, has Scott & Oberon (who really doesn’t want to be there) invited in, presumably so she can use her mesmerific power on them.
While this is going on, Ted, Barda & The Female Furies are clearing tree trunks out of a patch of ground in order to set up one of Scott’s escape traps. After Barda breaks up a fight between two of the others, Ted suddenly pops a question at her. “We’re NOT so great at keeping tabs on Mister Miracle and Oberon.” “I know who you’re REALLY worried about. Tell me—are you in LOVE with Mister Miracle, Barda?” “Until NOW—I-I NEVER gave it much thought!” Oooh.
Scott, meanwhile, escapes flaming death in the hands of a giant stone statue of a winged demon “Satan”, then clobbers some guards and escapes with Oberon—only for the pair of them to then fall thru a trap door into a cell below where the man they tried to rescue earlier is being held captive. After he’s unmasked, Oberon recognizes him as “Ears” Watson—“a top hood”. Suddenly a hole opens in one of the walls, a hand holding a weapon is shoved thru and Watson is shot in the back with a paralyzing “freeze-gun”. After some taunting from their host, the pair run a “devil’s obstacle” course, then confront Madame Evil Eyes in her lair.
As Oberon describes it, “This is a HIJACK RING! --only your followers steal TOP-SECRET inventions—and YOU sell them to thie highest bidders!” According to the villain, Watson didn’t like his share of the loot, and tried to betray them. Scott says, “We’ll be WITNESSES when you and your henchmen are TRIED for your crimes! And if you’ve sold any top-secret stuff to our government’s ENEMIES, they’ll throw the BOOK at you!” It’s interesting that Scott, who as far as we know is probably an “illegal alien”, seems to casually exhibit loyalty to the country he’s currently living in. Refusing to give up, Madame Evil Eyes informs them that while the Satan Club may be phony, her power isn’t—and she unleashes her “stare” at them, which “can KILL at full force!” Once again, circuitry in Scott’s mask saves the day, as he explains, “her eyes can emit strong beams of MICRO-ELECTRIC WAVES”. His circuits picked them up and sent them back via his own eyes.
As they depart, Oberon suggests, “Too bad we didn’t bring BIG BARDA and her GALS here! That WRECKING crew would’ve given the Satan Club a REAL fright!” “They’d be a tonic for me—especially Barda.” Awww!
With 9 issues of THE DEMON under the bridge already, I wonder if this wasn’t yet another attempt to squeeze “horror” elements into a story? This was the first time in awhile we didn’t see Scott practicing some new escape anywhere in the book, though escapes were well-integrated into the plot’s high-speed action. Interestingly, while Scott & Barda never appear together for once, both had their minds on the other. It’s nice to see a relationship develop naturally at its own pace, without exagerated histrionics. (6-12-2012)
Registered: Aug 2003
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“Although this incident contains the BIZARRE elements that characterize the exploits of our hero, this is essentially a DETECTIVE saga—the fast and thrilling attempt to stop a crime about to be committed in the wildest way with the wildest weapons. The key to the case is a HUMAN one--- a YOUNG one--- a TRAGIC product of adsversity--- who is soon to change the destiny and give new purpose to the life of--- MISTER MIRACLE Super Escape Artist”
The latest escape trap involves an oil drum and a giant pair of pliers, used like a nut-cracker to crush the person inside the drum. “SKONNG!” Barda tells Oberon, “Okay, WORRY-WART! Check and see if I FLATTENED the star of the show!” “You female GENGHIS KHAN!” But Scott appears unscathed, greeting his visitors. Lieutenant Driver and young Shilo Norman, a boy who witnessed his brother’s murder, knows who did it, and must be kept safe while the police try to track down the killer. They’re barely introduced when a masked thug hurls a hand grenade through a window! Without batting an eye, Shilo grabs for it and tosses it back outside. He and Driver are dumbfounded when there’s no explosion—as Scott explain, his circuitry put the “whammy” on it. As Driver leaves, Barda returns with the assassin in tow—but to no avail, as he’s been electrocuted by a “tracer” built into his clothes.
It’s mid-1973, and it seems the “blaxploitation” fad begun by such films as SHAFT and SUPER FLY have caught up with the “white” media as well, as seen in the year’s 007 film LIVE AND LET DIE. Here, Shilo, Driver, and all the baddies are also black, although all seem to come from some upper strata of society, as there’s not a hint of “jive” heard among the dialogue.
Scott, Barda & Oberon are all covinced that Shilo intends to “bolt” as soon as they think he’s asleep—and sure enough, he does. “He’s going after his brother’s murderer –ALONE! At least that’s what HE thinks!” Scott & Barda follow on aero-discs, which we haven’t seen in use in quite a few issues—and I think this is the first time I can remember seeing Barda using them. Inside a warehouse in a bad neighborhood, Shilo is surrounded by a pack of masked thugs—and decides to take them all on single-handedly, because he’s a black belt judo expert. He’s good, but he’s also bitten off more than he can chew. Lucky for him Barda arrives and clobbers the ones he wasn’t able to. But then the boss, Mister Fez, and his tech genius, Jammer, arrive, and use a “brain-wave” weapon to knock out the heroes.
We learn that Shilo’s brother was a truck driver, who discovered he was shipping armaments. Fez has a big weapon (that looks like something Reed Richards or Dr. Doom might have dreamed up) aimed at a hotel across the street, and intends to disable everyone in the place at once, then rob them blind. As for Shilo, they tie him to the muzzle of the huge gun, to permanently take care of him in the process. But Scott & Barda turn out to not be so out of it, thanks once again to the circuitry in his costume (is there nothing advanced technology can’t do?), and they wreck the weapon as easily as they knock out Jammer. The cops arrive then and haul Fez and his gang away. “I’ll get you for this, Mister Miracle! Just you wait!” Decades later, we’re still waiting. No, not really.
Scott & Barda have a suggestion for Shilo. “We CAN’T let fast-action talent go to waste!” “With SPECIAL POWERS training, in addition to your judo—you might become a junior Miracle!” “You’ve got what it take, Shilo—coordination, courage, and standards of your own!” But he seems to have a self-image problem. “Have you taken a good LOOK at me?” “Yes---! I see ME--- as I once was--- trying to escape to anywhere!” “And I helped him do it! I COULDN’T fail him! I WON’T fail you, Shilo! You see--- I once lost a friend who couldn’t ---escape!” Driver adds, “Take the deal, kid. The police force can’t use you until you’ve reached the PROPER age!” “Lieutenant Driver—I think yu’ve BULLIED Shilo into a CAREER!” “I don’t know if I was so smart! Escape artists COULD give us police a lot of trouble!” “This one won’t!”
Some have dismissed Jack Kirby’s writing as being old-fashioned or out-of-date. I say, good writing is good writing. Yet here, in 1973, he did something that possibly no other comics-writer would have done—introduced a KID SIDEKICK! It’s the “Junior Tracy” or “Robin The Boy Wonder” story all over again, for a new generation. A boy who’s had tragedy and loss in his life, given a chance to find a new direction, to learn and grow into the next generation of heroes. I wonder how this was received by comics fans at the time, who seemed brainwashed by one particular Marvel editor’s repeatedly outspoken negative attitude and comments about kid sidekicks? (Remember how Rick Jones was repeatedly put off in CAPTAIN AMERICA, and then, when Cap finally did take him on as a partner, Rick was kicked out the door the instant Jim Steranko left the book?) Here, in MISTER MIRACLE, there’s no problems with secret identities. And Jack even manages to brush aside concerns about RACE so casually as to show just how little such a thing should ever matter. (The fact that Shilo has a thick head of smooth, wavy hair—kinda like Little Richard—almost made him look more Indian than African to me. But what the hey.)
The art in this issue is just gorgeous from start to finish. I also wanted to makle note of the cover—which reminds me a bit of THE AVENGERS #24 (Jan’66). Of course—Jack did THAT one, too. (6-16-2012)
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“Take any ordinary youngster from the inner city and toss him among an extra-ordinary super-group --- to live with them --- to work with them and become one of them --- is a heady experience that may cause the boy some disquieting and hair-raising moments he may not soon forget! Let’s look in on our super-trainee --- SHILO NORMAN.”
While Scott is getting Shilo to break out of a “simple test-trap” (some complex wrist-shackles), he sees a humanoid insect creature which no one else notices. Everyone seems to think he’s making it up! He manages to get out of the shackles, then Barda takes him aside for some other work. “Lifting this two hundred pound weight --- or a two-ton truck is part of a SIMPLE basic principle – “ You know, this kinda baffles me. Time and again Barda has referred to “Special Powers” training, which suggests someone like her, from Apokalips, was not born super-strong, but somehow acquired the ability. But “training” just doesn’t seem to cut it as a possible description for how this may have happened. Surely no amount of physical or psychological “training” can explain her phenomenal super-strength! It would have been nice if at some point, somewhere, Jack had explained this further.
Barda & Oberon joke with Shilo about seeing a creature, but then it reappears and lassos both of them! Shilo dives in to help, but stumbles over some crates. When he gets up, everyone’s gone. Though still disbelieving, Scott discovers infinitely tiny footprints on the floor, suggesting instant size reduction. The creature appears again, and this time, Shilo shrinks with it. Finding himself facing death, Shilo admits to himself that escapes have their own special “kick”. He uses judo, patience and special circuitry to survive and free himself, before being confronted by “Professor Egg”, a scientist (whose head is unusually egg-shaped) who has been conducting some very strange genetic experiments. Just as some genetic material taken from Shilo has caused an insect to hatch in the form of a monster, Shilo suddenly finds himself full-size and surrounded by his friends, who all tell him he struck his head on some crates.
All of this could be annoyingly dismissed as a “Nightmare” (the title of the last chapter), except when Ted introduces a visiting celebrity—“Professor Exe”—a dead ringer for the scientist Shilo saw—who specialty is illusions—making people “see things that AREN’T there”. The 2nd half of this story may have been a dream, but the ending suggests something else was definitely going on in the 1st half. But no further explanations are forthcoming!
Jack’s art & storytelling are top-notch as always, but something is “off” with the linework in this issue. I know that Jack could alter his drawing style to suit different material, and that Mike Royer had the ability to follow along with precision. But I don’t think that’s what happened here. This entire issue looks to me like it was inked by SOMEONE ELSE, and, in fact, it reminds me more than anything of the art from the “Giffbaum” era of LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, when Keith Giffen & Al Gordon were doing a BAD imitation of 2nd-rate Kirby. Was Mike overloaded and this issue was done as a rush-job? Did he have an assistant to the whole thing? Did DC get someone else entirely to fill in at the last minute? Parts of it also reminds me a bit of Frank McLaughlin, who I suspected worked on some of the earlier “Vince Colletta” issues. Very odd.
And what’s up with the half-mask on the Mister Miracle face on the cover? He doesn’t look like that anywhere on the inside (in fact, he isn’t wearing his mask anywhere on the inside, either). (6-17-2012)
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“Heroes can make fatal mistakes! Especially, when they check into a MURDER LODGE!”
Needing a place to stay until their car is repaired, Scott, Barda & Shilo are surprised to find a motor lodge in the middle of nowhere. The manager, who bears somewhat of a resemblance to the old FF villain Diablo, welcomes them. “We’re always at the service of such DISTINGUISHED guests!” Shilo wonders, “How do you KNOW that, man? We’ve NEVER been on any jobs here!” Shilo thinks the guy looks like an old movie villain. He might have been suspicious even earlier, as the front door of the place has a sliding “peep-hole” common of many prohibition-era speak-easys.
Sure enough, no sooner does Barda hit the bed, then she’s jolted by high voltage electricity, before the bed tilts up to drop her body into a hole in the floor. The same fate, also accompanied by “freeze gas”, befalls Scott, while the manager decides to “take care” of Shilo himself—with a sledge-hammer! Shilo smashes the handle thanks to Barda’s “special powers training” (which once again leaves me wondering exactly what that description entails).
Shilo clobbers the manager, then sets off to find his friends, but the manager soon recovers and tries to use a guillotine built into a doorway to dispatch Shilo. When that fails, the manager, named Peppi, gets help from his over-muscled assistant, Mungo, who clobbers Shilo before tossing him into their “Inferno Room”. As Jack asks us, “Has justice flown and evil triumphed? Let’s find out!” This particular death-trap does bring to mind the scariest one they ever had on the 1966 BATMAN tv series, when The Penguin tried to stick Bruce Wayne into a furnace—without actually knowing who he was!
The plot thickens as the baddies talk. “If we CAN’T show his body, we WON’T get paid for it!” “We’ve STILL got the corpses of his friends. The Syndicate will pay PLENTY for them!” “HAHAHAH! They come here to hide out—and we turn ‘em in to whoever they’re RUNNING from!” Very interesting. And since they didn’t mention anyone we already know, it looks like this murder spree may also involve a case of mistaken identity!
Shilo escapes death with help from his jet-boots, then smashes out, once more exhibiting super-strength. He uses his “hidden circuitry” first to locate his friends, then to warm them up and counteract the freeze gas. As Barda tears some very heavy bars out, the baddies are calling The Syndicate about “The Tricky Trio”—who just happen to arrive at that moment and overhear the conversation. Suffice to say, “Della The Dinosaur”, “Mad Merkin” and “Little Bullets” aren’t pleased (and it’s easy to see how the others were mistaken for them! –I mean, what are the odds??). A free-for-all erupts, with the motel baddies being taken out, followed by the “Trio”, though not until Scott once more exhibits what can only be lightning-speed in escaping being shot at point blank range. If Scott indeed has a genuine super-power, I’d say that must be what it is!
After each of our heroes takes out their lookalike counterparts, the cops are called. No sooner do they recognize the Trio, then they realize the ones who called them have gone. I guess they’d had enough of their evening ruined already.
On the letters page, Sue Scheve urges Jack not to ignore character development on the road to non-stop action, while Bob Rodi praises the “new direction” and notes Jack’s been packing the book with gangsters and the like, a step back toward his days of doing “Crime” comics. L.K.Y. notes the possible romantic developments, and hopes Jack will avoid giving his characters “tiresome problems” like too many comics series have, but instead, “a lasting romance”. We’re told “You can certainly expect some surprises to crop up in the next few months concerning Scott and Barda.” One gets the impression that the news of the books’ impending cancellation hadn’t come down yet.
The credits this issue list “Lettering by John Pound and Mike Royer”. And sure enough, on some of the pages, the lettering does look a bit odd, compared to what I’ve been seeing so much of since Royer got on Jack’s books. But it strangely doesn’t mention the INKS, and while I do feel most of the book obvious IS Royer (unlike the previous issue, where I strongly suspect Mike didn’t even touch the pages), here, SEVERAL pages once again look like someone else’s work. Notably, pages 2 (excessively stiff), 13 (unbelievably SLOPPY), 16 & 20 (just—“different”, in the extreme). Considering that for the last year or so, both THE DEMON and KAMANDI have been monthly, it’s pretty obvious that Jack’s schedule has been heavier than usual, and this probably made it more difficult for Royer to keep up the incredible pace. (6-18-2012)
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“On location in a large barren area, the members of a most UNUSUAL company experiment with volatile and deadly material to supplement the most incredible practice of the escape arts--- but here the climax to a great adventure will suddenly confront the participants with the ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN! --- A clash between those beyond the realm of man!! --- a conflict of forces that formed the early lives of --- MISTER MIRACLE and BIG BARDA!”
At it again, Scott has climbed into a glass cylinder sitting at the bottom of a concrete pit in the middle of the desert, as Barda sets up a container of nitro-glycerine. Things go astray when, climbing out of the pit, Oberon and Shilo are grabbed by soldiers from Apokalips, under the command of Vermin Vundabar. Grenades launched into the pit set off a tremendous explosion, but he insists his men keep searching to find the bodies among the rubble. “We’ve been tricked before by this wily foe! He is a SUPER ESCAPE ARTIST! We must be SUPER DESTROYERS!”
Sure enough, in a quickly-dug tunnel, Scott & Barda have survived. At such a moment, they both realize they feel the same way about each other. “We’ve BOTH been fools, Barda--- we’ve WASTED precious time---” “Yes, we’ve spent our time on all the things that DON’T count!” “Then, let’s do something that DOES count! LET’S GET MARRIED! Right away!” ”There’s STILL a little matter of our enemy—“ It’s hilarious that under the circumstances, she almost seems to consider them a trivial afterthought. Exploding out of their hiding place, they clobber Vundabar and his men, only to face Granny Goodness, who’s grabbed Barda and uses a “mass gravity beam” to force Scott into the ground.
With Kanto The Master Assasin helping, Scott is hauled over to a “bomb-clock”, whose magnetic face already holds Oberon, Barda and Shilo in its grip. Granny reveals that Scott’s circuitry was destroyed by Doctor Bedlam, who materializes in one of his animates. The clock is launched into the upper atmosphere, and a massive flash is seen. But Granny’s triumph is interrupted by the arrival of Orion and Lightray. In defiance, she says, “Injure us—and draw the wrath of ALL Apokalips!” Oh, isn’t that just like evil scum? Thinking they can do bad with impunity, yet warning the good guys what will happen if they respond in kind?
But as it turns out, the flash they saw was Lightray—and our heroes are safe, having been rescued by no less than Highfather and Metron. Orion says, “Here, in a gathering of our enemies, the SOURCE has decreed that a WEDDING take place!” Scott tells Oberon than he and Shilo must leave. “I’ll MISS you, old friend! In the face of peril, I’ll ALWAYS remember that you CARED!” Barda tells Shilo, “Remember—good guys finish last—because they’re ON their feet when the bad guy’s DOWN!”
Orion notes how fear drives his enemies. “MAGGOTS! You CRINGE at your master’s name!” “Darkseid rules us!” ”We are NOT your match! As YOU are total destruction—DARKSEID IS TOTAL POWER - ! He can strike us down or TOY with us at will!” A moment after Highfather performs a brief marriage ceremony, a tornado appears, accompanied by lightning bolts. The villains scatter, and Metron “phases” everyone else out. Oberon & Shilo pick themselves up from hiding, only to face Darkseid—who appears in the present-day of this series for the very first time (on the very last page!).
“The face they saw was granite-HARD – and the eyes in it were FIXED on the limitless!” “WOW! Look at THAT dude! Have you been OUT in the storm ALL this time, mister?” “I AM the storm!” “In THIS face was the challenge to gods and men. He was the ULTIMATE TEST for anything that lived!” “”L-let’s go, Shilo. No use in PRESSIN’ our luck—“ “That dude’s got eyes that could stop a clock!” “”But NOT a wedding. I DID spoil it, though --! It had deep sentiment – yet little joy. BUT—LIFE AT BEST IS BITTERSWEET! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!” Knowing what I now know about Darkseid, his words clearly reflect his philsophy. His life was ruined and made miserable by others. So, his entire purpose in life, is to do the same—to EVERYBODY else. Sad, sick bastard.
Well, that was a shock. As with THE FOREVER PEOPLE, MISTER MIRACLE, on suddenly reaching its final issue, saw Darkseid’s forces return for no apparent reason, except to give the series some kind of climax, if not actual closure. I can’t help but think that this was not what Jack had in mind at all. At least, part of it. Re-reading all these stories in sequence again after so many years, I’ve been able to pick up on a lot of things I never noticed before, when I was younger, and less experienced. A few things about this issue really stick out—like sore thumbs. Mainly, the art and writing in the first half of the book-- and on the final page—are as good as ever. In fact, after the 2 previous issue, I’d say the Kirby-Royer art was back on track. EXCEPT... all the panels featuring Granny Goodness looked very rushed, as though she was added to the pages after-the-fact. Just for an example, on page 11, panel 3, Vundabar is very finely drawn and rendered, yet right next to him, Granny looks like a hastily-scribbled sketch.
Further, pages 12-19 ALL look different from the rest of the book. Can it be that Jack only found out the book was being cancelled between pages 11 & 12? Or can it be Jack actually finished the book, then found out it was ending, and went back and REPLACED all those pages very quickly, in order to give the book some kind of “closure” that was not meant to be there when he initially conceived it? (If so, could there be a batch of unpublished pages sitting around somewherre?) Adding weight to this possibility is the dialogue. Much of it is AWFUL. I’ve read so many comments from so-called “fans” who complain about Jack’s dialogue, yet in reading the entire “Fourth World” series from start to finish, this is the ONLY instance that really sticks out in my mind where the dialogue just does not seem “right”. And not just by the so-called standards of other comics—but by Jack’s. The whole sequence feels like it was either done by someone who was very upset and distressed when he did it, or in a terrible rush—or BOTH.
Among other things, I find it hard to believe that somethign as important an momentous as Scott & Barda getting married should go by this fast. But perhaps more important, this marks the first time, EVER, that Scott was reunited with his father—and NO MENTION of it was made at all!!! That just ain’t right.
Of interest is the following from the letters page: “Lately, a lot of mail has been coming in from readers with all kinds of theories as to why NEW GODS and FOREVER PEOPLE were cancelled, ranging from those who thought we were censored due to excessive violence to those who said we were too literate. Naturally, these are not the reasons. The trilogy was an experiment—a new approach to comic-book story-telling—and while the magazine are no longer around, we don’t consider them failures nor do we hold the opinion that they died due to a lack of a following. Your letters have assured us of that. It becomes a matter of the way in which comics are sold plus a variety of intangibles that are peculiar to comic-books. All comic-books—not just the Kirby ones. Books are not cancelled just by a whim on Jack’s part, or on Carmine’s, because they both think too highly of you, the reader, and of the books, as creations.”
So there you have it. Right there, when it happened, the suggestion that something “not right” was going on regarding comics sales, and the fact that it affected comics (and DC Comics) in general.
It’s taken me just a little over a YEAR (including breaks) to plow thru the Fourth World books. It’s been a hell of a ride. I intend to continue all the way through to the end of Jack’s time at DC, before moving on to his 3rd Marvel period. It’s sure to be a blast! (6-19-2012)
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Although early-on, there was a strong effort to tie-in Jack Kirby’s new series with the DC Universe in both JIMMY OLSEN and LOIS LANE, that dropped off almost completely until THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #109 (Sep’73), when Batman first crossed paths with The Demon. Now, for the first time, he runs into one of the actual “Fourth World” characters.
Inside an Egyptian tomb, Mister Miracle and Batman look inside a sarcophagus. MM says, “We FOUND it—the SECRET of IMMORTALITY!” From the open doorway, a shadowy figure holding a long curved sword says, “Yes, but now you two will remain trapped HERE... FOREVER!” (Seems to me Parafino said something like that to Betty Brant once...) This is squeezed into a very cramped, over-crowded cover which has no less than 3 banners across the top: “DC 100 Super Spectacular PAGES 100 Only 60c”, “Brave And Bold” THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD”, and “BATMAN and MISTER MIRACLE”. In addition, down the right side of the cover, we have 3 small panels, each illustrating a different reprint contained within-- “Aquaman & Hawkman”, “The Silent Knight”, and “Batman & Green Lantern”. To finish it off, at the bottom, there’s a 4th banner: “Extra: A Gallery of Batman’s Famous Co-Stars!” To hell with “art” or “design”—this is “advertising”.
Just as, for the Nov’72 cover dates, BOTH Marvel & DC changed their formats from 15 to 25 cent books, both with extra-long stories up-front and reprints in the back, so again, for the May’74 cover dates, BOTH Marvel & DC have once again instituted bigger formats, and this time, BOTH companies are doing it with ADDITIONAL books, rather than across-the-board with all their regular ones. Easier to manage, I guess. Marvel’s new packages began with GIANT-SIZE SUPER-STARS #1 (which was renamed GIANT-SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR with its 2nd issue). B&B #112 was the 1st issue of Batman’s regular team-up series to do this. Mind you, I sense DC was being more cynical about it. The lead story was only 20 pages as usual, not 35 as Marvel was doing, and they have a LOT more reprints, which is an “easy” (“cheap”) way of trying to SQUEEZE more money out of fans if they want to read that NEW story. And DC’s covers on these seem less like comic-book covers than they do “product catalogs”. The mid-70’s were a terrible time for “design” for both companies, but between the two, I’d say DC had a much worse problem, and one that continued to get worse and worse until Carmine Infantino was finally booted out of his job as Publisher. (I wonder what he might have done had he remained “art director”, as the late-60’s covers were many of DC’s best.)
Jim Aparo’s art always reminds me a bit of “Neal Adams lite” (which may be where he took his inspiration from). The actual rendering is a bit on the “rough” or “loose” side, and over the years has reminded me a bit of Dan Spiegle, Frank Thorne, or even Steve Ditko (all, virtually the antithesis of DC’s clean, slick “house style”). But then, the 70’s were much more favorable to “dark, rough, crude, spooky” art styles than the 60’s had been.
A shoot-out at the Gotham Art Museum ends when the thieves set off explosives and blow themselves up rather than be arrested. Batman, on the scene, pulls Gordon out of the way in time. “Luckily, my BAT-SENSE warned me!” Is this anything like Prince Namor’s ability to channel electricity thru his body? You know, one of those amazing abilities that never appeared before or after the story it was featured in? I’m only on page 2, and already I can see why many over the years have joked about Bob Haney’s B&B stories taking place on “Earth-B”.
Inspector Sayid of the Egyptian National Police turns up and informs Carleton French, the curator, that the entire Tomb of Hotep, which was brought to Gotham stone by stone and reconstructed here, was removed from his country illegally, despite having been purchased for the price of one million dollars from a “respectable” dealer, Ali Faroosh. (Do “dealers” actually “deal” in entire tomb buildings? This almost sounds like the work of “The Scavengers” from MISTER MIRACLE #10.)
It seems the thieves were after something of extreme value—the secret of immortality, as it’s explained that Hotep, the 1st of the Pharaohs, promised his people the gift of actual physical immortality, before he disappeared without a trace. The entire tradition of burying people with food and belongings in anticipation of being reborn stemmed from this (in this corner of the DCU, anyway). The curator asks Batman, while he’s in Egypt looking into the illegal sale, to also look into “the world’s greatest secret”. You know, this is a HELL of a lot of set-up for just the first 4 pages of the story. (I’ve clearly been getting spoiled. Isn’t it obvious the editor is Murray Boltinoff—and not Jack Kirby? Jack would have probably used the 100 page format to tell 100 pages of STORY!)
In a scene lasting a mere 2 panels, we find that somewhere in the Alps, in a futuristic building perched on the side of a mountain, someone is dying, and his servants (apparently) are the ones behind what they call “Operation Hotep”. Since one planned failed, they decide to institute a follow-up.
In Paris, Scott Free has been strapped to the very top of the Eiffel Tower in the middle of a violent electrical thunderstorm. Sure enough, the Tower acts as a lightning-rod, and Scott gets ZAPPED. Except, instead of being charred to ashes, he’s floating down to safety, having freed himself just in the nick of time. One thing’s painfully obvious from this scene, and it’s seeing Barda & Oberon watch from below. Bob Haney isn’t even trying to write the characters properly. Barda’s on the verge of panic, both before and after the lightning strikes, while Oberon’s speech pattern is just... “stiff”. I find it very difficult to believe that these are the SAME characters Jack Kirby’s been writing about for 18 issues of Scott’s mag. (Incidentally, we’re told offhand that this story takes place shortly before MM #18, when Scott & Barda got married, and left Earth to go live on New Genesis. Which seems to strengthen my feeling that their departure was a last-minute thing not planned in advance.)
Before Scott gets back to ground-level, he’s confronted with Dr. Ingrid Borg, an archeologist who has a proposition for him involving “the greatest escape of all time!”
In Egypt, Batman finds Faroosh has been murdered, the follows the trail into the desert where he winds up trapped inside an ancient tomb. Meanwhile, Scott & Ingrid arrive at the same location by helicopter, and find themselves facing one underground death-trap after another! After facing what appears to be a still-alive Hotep, Ingrid double-crosses Scott and tries to shoot him, only to miss, again and again. While Jack Kirby kept playing up the mystery, Haney & Aparo leave no question that Scott can move at speeds rivaling The Flash! Ingrid gets killed by a ricochetting bullet, before Scott discovers that “Hotep” is really a hypnotized Batman. Making no mention of the fact that he’s seen Batman unmasked, Scott and his new acquaintaince join forces and use high-tech equipment left behind long ago to escape the tomb moments before the entire place collapses.
Though never spelled out explicitly, it seems the pair were helped by Hotep himself, a member of an alien race from a distant planet, who believes Earth is not ready for their secrets, and vows never to return there. Meanwhile, it seems plain to me that the “Master” who hired Ingrid and the other thieves was probably Ra’s Al Ghul (even though we never see his face or learn his name).
I suppose for fans of mid-70’s BATMAN (post-Adams and pre-Rogers), this was probably a lot of fun. Coming in from Jack Kirby’s comics, however, I’m afraid it was painfully disappointing. The storytelling was cramped, the dialogue “awkward and stilted” (I swear, that’s the description that came to me while I was reading this), and Jim Aparo’s panels rarely ever seem to feature close-ups, and the linework is on the “fuzzy” side. A lot more pages would have allowed room to make this meeting of characters a memorable thing, instead of just "Oh well, one more team-up (YAWN)". I really can't see Scott going off to Egypt without Barda or Oberon, but this is a Boltinoff & Haney comic, after all. Although it seems the entire comics biz was collapsing as the 70’s went on, it seems pretty clear to me why Marvel was ahead of DC at this point. Changing the format to 60c and just slotting one new 20-pager in there is just the latest example of DC's apparent contempt for their own material, and their audience.
Marvel’s GIANT-SIZE comics were about 40% reprints for your money. DC’s SUPER SPECTACULAR comics were about 75% reprints. You know, I NEVER like mixing new and reprint material in the same package. One way or the other, it ALWAYS feels like a rip-off. And it makes it hard to file or find the reprints. That’s why, from the beginning, I always thought Marvel’s MASTERWORKS and DC’s ARCHIVES were long overdue.
Anyway, the reprints this time are from THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #51 (Jan’64), #15 (Jan’58) and #59 (May’65). (6-22-2012)
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While at DC in the early 70’s, Jack Kirby’s NEW GODS and THE FOREVER PEOPLE were both cut short with their Nov’72 issues. One of the replacement series, a concept suggested by Carmine Infantino, THE DEMON, ended with its Jan’74 issue. 2 months later, MISTER MIRACLE ended abruptly with its Mar’74 issue. For the next 6 months, the only new Jack Kirby comics from DC was KAMANDI, THE LAST BOY ON EARTH (issues #15-21). Presumably, during this time, Jack was working frantically developing new concepts, and possibly also getting ahead on KAMANDI. Finally, with the Oct’74 cover dates, the first of Jack’s next wave of ideas hit the newsstands.
On a mostly-blank white cover, a tiny muscled figure hurls a a box, from which protrudes, insanely, the face, legs and hands of a woman. WHAT THE F***??? The copy reads, “Are you ready for OMAC ONE MAN ARMY? A Startling look into... THE WORLD THAT’S COMING!”
Inside, we open with a close-up of that same box. No, your eyes didn’t deceive you. A label on the box reads, “Build-A-Friend”. “OMAC One-Man Army Corps... is the story of a young man in THE WORLD THAT’S COMING!! In that strange place, common objects of today... may become the terrors that we never bargained for... like the one below!”
In one of Jack’s patented double-page splashes, OMAC, who with his tall mohawk looks like a futuristic sci-fi “god of war”, breaks into a heavily-armed factory warehouse, where the product is artificial people. I’m reminded of the “androids” featured in a couple episodes of LOST IN SPACE. “I’m OMAC! Evacuate this section! I’m going to destroy it!” “HE DID IT! The One-man army broke in here against IMPOSSIBLE odds!” “There are still ENOUGH of us here to take him!” “By the powers granted me by The Global Peace Agency... I DECLARE THIS PLANT ILLEGAL AND DANGEROUS!” “CONFOUND the peace Agency! They’ve RUINED our racket!”
Despite one guard’s confidence, they all run. OMAC calmly gets down and speaks to one of the androids, who he clearly knows. “Where does humanity STOP and technology BEGIN? We no longer know, Lila... I’m NO longer who I was... and YOU... Lila... you... you and all these other... THINGS... must be... DESTROYED!” Touching a computer bank, energy from OMAC’s own body transmits explosive power to start a chain-reaction. As the camera pulls back further and further, we see OMAC walking away from the building, as a series of violent explosions totally destroy it. I’m reminded a bit of the finale of the DOCTOR WHO story, “The Greatest Show In The Galaxy”. Only this is a lot more serious.
It’s unusual for Kirby to jump right into the action, and THEN have a flashback explaining how we got here, but it works. (John Byrne did this countless times later on, and it became one of his more annoying and over-used schticks.) After such a powerful 5-page intro, we cut to a “one-man operation, a unit of many small sub-divisions, growing out of what was once called NASA”. Two masked members of the GPA (Global Peace Agency) visit Professor Myron Forest. They hand him the file on “Buddy Blank”, their choice to receive “FANTASTIC powers”—“for keeping the peace in a world that CAN’T afford violence.” After they leave, he makes contact with “Brother Eye”, an orbiting satellite he describes as “the most ADVANCED and complex piece of metal in this dangerous age”. Brother Eye speaks of Buddy, saying “He and I shall become as BROTHERS.”
In the offices of “Psuedo People, Inc.” we meet mild-mannered Buddy, who’s brushed aside, insulted, then ASSAULTED by an unnamed red-haired co-worker who tells him, “DON’T block the pretty SCENERY.” The violent attack catches the attention of their supervisor, “Fox”, who tells the attacker to “Get back to work”, then, incredibly, berates Buddy! “Someone’s always lying when YOU’RE involved, Blank! You’re overloaded with grudges and resentments! I suggest you take steps to RID yourself of them!” As he walks away, his attacker deliberately trips Buddy as he passes his desk. Fox yells after him, “DON’T say it, Blank! Before you blame that on someone, go to ‘Psychology” section and lose those frustrations!”
Something I never noticed the first time I read this was how much in this scene Buddy and his attacker resemble Peter Parker and Flash Thompson. I guess that makes Fox like their high school (or college) teacher. Yes, Jack Kirby is “doing” Steve Ditko here! And the tragic thing is, I know from painful, personal experience, that there ARE people exactly that STUPID in the real world—in school, and in the workplace. A reasonable, intelligent, considerate person might hope that once they get out of school into the “real world” that people might grow up so they can leave that sort of childish nonsense behind them. BUT, NO. Some people STAY that stupid all their lives. I guess it’s obvious from this scene that Jack Kirby knows it, too.
We briefly see a scene of organized violence that might be part of SPECTRE Island’s training facility. But, instead, it’s the “Psychology” section, where people work ot their frustrations by tearing apart phone books, stabbing, beating or kicking human-looking dummies, or even setting fire to automobiles. The “Destruct Room” is only one of several options, others include the “Silent Room” and the “Crying Room”.
Not really in the mood for any of it, Buddy’s suddenly met by Lila, a co-worker from another section that works on “super-secret” projects, who reminds him they’re friends. She says she misses him and think of him often, but they’ve got her working so much she hasn’t had much time for him lately. But as they part, two tough-looking characters observe, “She’s perfect... perfect.” “HUH! She’s MORE of a person than that dummy, Blank!” “These field tests are getting too RISKY... let’s END this one.” This revelation would be more of a shock if we hadn’t already found out the truth in the prologue. One of them asks, “Say, you don’t think that Buddy Blank would get the notion to FOLLOW, us, do you?” “No. The TIMID type NEVER bucks company rules.”
Sure enough, Buddy goes down into “Section D” and is immediately grabbed by armed guards. He’s shown a film of a “field test” that goes beyond anything built for “amusement and business markets”. A man “assembles” one of the artificial women, then, when she kisses him, she explodes, destroying both of them. “Y-you sent that man an EXPLODING model! Y-you sell “MURDER!” You could send those automatons to kill WORLD LEADERS!!... Y-you might START an atomic war...” But money’s all that matters to the man, as he reveals Lila is one of them... But just then, fiery energy engulfs Buddy, a blazing eye appears on his chest, and his body begins to grow before his captors eyes. “I’ve heard some talk about it! ...ELECTRONIC SURGERY...! ...a computer hormone operation... done by REMOTE CONTROL!!”
A moment later, the guards discover he’s become bulletproof. He has become OMAC! “I’m being FED strength and knowledge by some UNKNOWN source. My job is to stop your evil activity.” Bullets, machinery, fire, an entire squad of men, a gun that shoots “a hundred rounds a second”—NOTHING can stop him!!!
The scene returns to OMAC’s confrontation of Lila. “They’ll PAY for this, Lila... They’ve done MORE than trifle with human life... They’ve made a MOCKERY of the spirit...” “In a TERRIBLE flash of insight, OMAC realizes why he exists... what his mission is... and that his enemy is man’s OWN capacity for self-destruction.” “OMAC LIVES... SO THAT MAN MAY LIVE...” Sheer poetry!
The story then jumps ahead again to after the factory’s destruction. Brother Eye contacts OMAC and transmits a “complete orientation course” of his situation. With great sadness on his face, he knows his next moves will be to see Professor Forest, and then—“Mister Big”.
WOW. I’ll say it again. WOW. I first encountered OMAC in the back pages of KAMANDI #59 (Oct’78). To this day, that’s the only issue of that book I have in my collection. I picked it up because I was a big fan of Jim Starlin, who revived OMAC as a back-up series. With the art “finished” by Joe Rubinstein (in my view, one of the best and most consistent inkers the biz has ever seen), it was glorious. Too bad I had to wait a couple years to read the next one, thanks to the infamous “DC Implosion”. As a result of the mass cancellations, Starlin left after only doing 4 short episodes. When the series was brought back again as a back-up in WARLORD, Dan Mishkin & Gary Cohn (along with Greg LaRocque & Vince Colletta) had come aboard to continue. It seemed 3rd-rate after the insane intensity of Starlin’s brief run. It wasn’t until I got ahold of all 8 of Jack Kirby’s issues that I realized that, first, Starlin’s new direction had been completely wrong-headed and ill-advised, and, second, that Mishkin & Cohn had tried to drag the series back toward Kirby’s original direction, by force, but just didn’t have the skills to succeed at it.
So anyway, I first read this issue about 30 YEARS ago. Around that time, I also got my hands on most of the “Fourth World” books, as well as SANDMAN. And of all of these, OMAC became my favorite of all of Jack’s early-70’s DC work.
As it turns out, while both THE DEMON and KAMANDI were concepts suggested by Carmine Infantion, OMAC, like NEW GODS, was an idea Jack had on his own as far back as 1967. The idea, simply, was, “CAPTAIN AMERICA—in the future!” As soon as I found that out, I instantly recognized Prof. Forest as a modern-day Prof. Reinstein. But unlike Steve Rogers, Buddy was not a volunteer. What happened to him was a total shock, without warning. And while it’s been argued whether or not CAP actually had super-strength back in WW2, it’s pretty obvious OMAC is at least as powerful as the original Siegel-Shuster SUPERMAN. (As an aside, it's funny that there was also a "Lila" in CAP's book in the 70's.)
Jack’s essay at the end of the issue is quite compelling. Unlike the vague ramblings when NEW GODS was cancelled, this is completely coherent, thought-provoking, and gripping. Anyone who would even suggest that “Jack Kirby couldn’t write” is totally FULL OF IT. It’s very clear from reading this entire issue that Jack Kirby was probably, by a wide margin, the BEST writer working at DC at the time—if not in all of comics.
I’d like to make a brief comment about the art. Of all of Jack’s DC books, this is the one I really wish someone like Joe Sinnott had inked. Sinnott’s sharp, slick lines would have been a perfect match for the science-fiction theme of this series. And unfortunately, for whatever reason, Mike Royer wound up only inking 2 of the 8 issues (the 1st and the last).
What boggles my mind is trying to figure out what the HELL Carmine and co. were thinking. Both THE DEMON and KAMANDI very quickly became monthlies. OMAC stayed bi-monthly for its entire run. In fact, only one month after it debuted, Jack’s run of The Losers in OUR FIGHTING FORCES began, and that was a monthly. In addition, over the next year or so, Jack would also work on THE SANDMAN, JUSTICE INC., KUNG FU FIGHTER, and 3 issues of 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL (all concepts he came up with which DC decided NOT to go ahead with). Apart from really wishing NEW GODS had been able to be brought to a proper conclusion, and that MISTER MIRACLE could have continued as a bi-monthly indefinitely, I really wish that Jack had done OMAC instead of THE DEMON. I feel that, if it started earlier and gone monthly, we might have gotten several dozen issues of it, instead of a few of all these lesser things.
In short, OMAC is an overlooked MASTERPIECE. I can’t wait to re-read the rest of the run! (6-28-2012)
Registered: Aug 2003
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2 miles outside the limits of Electric City, OMAC is met by an armed blockade. The city has been “rented for the night by a private citizen”, and he’s told by one of the uniformed mercenaries, “Produce an invitation card of TAKE OFF!!” He chooses a 3rd alternative—and crashes through the entire squadron of men. Even a pair on motorcycles fail to stop him. But then he gets picked up by a pair of party-goers, who ask, “WHY did the guards try to stop you? That costume’s a DANDY!” As they drive, they explain the city consented to the deal because, “Citizens won’t have to pay taxes for a year!” “The streets are empty. Only Mister Big’s guests are permitted on them tonight.” But after they drop him off, it’s clear they’re part of a sinister plot, as they follow him.
OMAC arrives at the office of Professor Myron Forest, who designed both the Brother Eye satellite and OMAC himself. “I- I have FAINT memories of being--- someone ELSE---“ “Forget who you were. The world needs you as you ARE--- a force for PEACE! The nations dare not use large armies. Large armies lead to large wars - ! THAT’s why you exist, OMAC. TO CONTAIN CONFLICT BEFORE IT GROWS...” Forest continues, “Mister Big runs the world RACKET COMBINE, but it’s got to be proved.” Just then the two “party-goers” burst in and gun down the Professor, in a shocking replay of what happened to Professor Reinstein moments after Steve Rogers became CAPTAIN AMERICA. Thanks to their costumes being electrically-charged, the killers escape. “No wonder Mister Big RENTED this town--- his party was just a cover for his REAL purpose--- to DESTROY Project OMAC---!”
As Forest dies, OMAC thinks, “H-he’s GONE--- poor old man--- he used his genius in mankind’s SERVICE!” He knows he must find and stop Big before Big stops him. As he leaves, Brother Eye declares, “Nothing here must fall into evil hands--- GOODBYE, Professor—“ “SZZOSH!” “There is a flash of solar heat that is so intense and FINE—that it instantly wipes the room CLEAN of all objects---“
The scene switches to the villain’s location. “THE WORLD THAT’S COMING is a place of BIG POPULATIONS! BIG CITIES! BIG MONEY! And, for those very reasons, it falls prey to BIG CRIME!!! Technology has enlarged society until its scattered evils have merged into one giant target for OMAC--- MISTER BIG!” Looking quite a bit like Marc Lawrence (an actor who specialized in gangster roles), Big and his mercenary soldier sidekick, Major Domo, oversee the party. “Keep trouble to a MINIMUM--- we want to return this city to its residents the way we FOUND it!” “There’ll be ONE thing missing--- “PROJECT OMAC!”” When the pair of hit men make their report, Big tells them “OMAC MUST be dead by dawn—OR YOU TWO SHALL DIE IN HIS PLACE!”
Out on the streets, the party rages. Balloons carry some overhead, including some more killers who try to pick OMAC off. Overwhelmed by a murderous mob, one of the Professor’s killers scores a direct hit, apparently killing OMAC. But after his body is taken to Big as proof of the kill, Big worries about the rumor that OMAC was only half of his problem. And sure enough, just them, several masked Global Peace Agents appear, who announce that Big’s actions have been filmed and recorded—“an airtight case”. Although the GPA are unarmed, the killers are knocked out by electric charges. The GPA explain that although Big’s doctor proved OMAC had no heartbeat or brain activity, the bullet that was fired at him was actually disolved by a laser beam. Further, the beam created a simulated wound, and reduced OMAC’s life functions to simulate death! All this so the GPA could track Big to his lair and get the goods on him.
As he sits up, OMAC says, “It’s great to be alive again---“. As they haul Big and his cronies away, one of the GPA says, “It’s a ROUGH job—keeping the peace in a world stacked with atom bombs—“ As it turns out, Jack Kirby would use a much more downbeat variation on this idea a decade later when he did THE HUNGER DOGS. Thinking on his mission, OMAC gazes skyward. “I’ve got the most FANTASTIC helper man ever had!” High above in orbit, Brother Eye responds, “My beams are READY, when you need me—I shall ACT!”
A really cool follow-up to the 1st issue. I have only one real criticism, and that’s D. Bruce Berry taking over as inker from Mike Royer. For the last few years, Royer has been the most authentic, accurate inker Jack Kirby ever had in his career. Although he started out a bit rough in his first issue or two, he quickly developed into one of the slickest, as well, albeit hewing closer to Jack’s tight pencils than anyone had ever done before. I’m wondering what exactly was going on here? Was Jack’s heavy, hectic schedule finally too much for Royer to handle all of it? Did he need a break? Did other, perhaps better-paying work come up and interfere with his schedule?
I first saw Berry’s inks over Kirby during the latter part of Jack’s 3rd (and final) run at Marvel, and was never quite sure what to make of them. In the long run, Berry inked Jack at DC, Marvel, Pacific and again at DC. His inks have been described alternately as “faithful to Jack’s lines” or “taking all the life and excitement out of the art”. I think it’s a bit of both. Some of the pages in OMAC #2 don’t look bad, but some of them seem very amatuerish compared to just about anything I’ve seen over Jack since the 50’s. I used to think Berry was some young guy, like Mike Thibodeaux, who perhaps hadn’t quite developed his skills yet. But then I found out he was born in 1924 (only 6 years after my Dad—and 7 years after Jack). After being a sign painter in the army during WW2, Berry got involved with science-fiction fandom, and contributed to various fanzines as well as pulp magazines. I’m not sure how he got involved, but considering the finished output, it seems to me he inked far more Kirby comics than I would have preferred. Considering that OMAC may well still be my favorite of all of Jack’s early-70’s work for DC, it’s a shame that 75% of it DIDN’T look nearly as good as it should have. (7-1-2012)
This cover was in excellent shape. I only had to add in a tiny bit of art on the top, left & bottom edges, and a lot more down the right edge, but that was mostly a consistent pattern, so it didn't take long. The one thing that needed adjustment was the skin tones, which were too "pink" on the actual cover (and even more so in the scan). Now, it looks BETTER than the real thing!!
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Allen Smith wrote: "Kirby must have been interested just a bit in dystopian science fiction, as he dealt with futuristic stories in both Kamandi and OMAC."
It's funny, OMAC doesn't seem (at least, it didn't to me) like a "dystopian" future. It seems like the kind of future we had in LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES. Except, there was much greater emphasis on advances in technology being a bigger DANGER to manking than a boon, and OMAC being a necessity to save mankind from its own worst tendencies.
You know how DC & Marvel always seemed to be trying to hit the same markets, and each company responding to the other with their own "variations on themes"??? I wonder how many people ever considered the following "parallels"...
OMAC: One Man Army Corps / DEATHLOK The Demolisher
KAMANDI: The Last Boy On Earth / KILLRAVEN: Warrior of the Worlds
Note that both OMAC and DEATHLOK had ongoing one-on-one conversations with intelligent computers, while both KAMANDI and KILLRAVEN (both "K" names) struggled to survive in futures where Earth had been over-ridden by other species.
Registered: Aug 2003
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