Month: March 2024

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Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth Volume One

This is a review of Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth Volume One. Jack Kirby (the creator of Kamandi) wrote a lot of material for DC. Thus far I’ve read The Demon and OMAC, but this graphic novel blows them out of the water. Kamandi is a riff on the original Planet of the Apes movie that came out in the late 1960’s, but Mr. Kirby runs with it. In Kamandi, there are super-intelligent lions, tigers, cheetahs, groundhogs, bats, etc. Humans are now on the low end of the totem pole, and are treated like animals or even exotic pets. Some enterprising animals have even taught humans how to talk!

Kamandi, who owns a single pair of blue cargo shorts, lives in a bunker (Command 1 – get it?) with his grandfather. One day he leaves the shelter to see how earth fares after being ravaged by an unnamed natural disaster. He finds out that things are much, much worse than he thought. Thus begins a bizarre road trip.

This is not superhero comic. Kamandi has no special powers, and gets the crap kicked out of him on a regular basis. Indeed, there’s a scene where he goes berserk because he realizes that he’s stuck in this world with no way out. He’s rescued by one of his friends – Kamandi makes lots of friends, both animal and human, but the friendships never last long. He’s always wandering away, being captured by rampaging gorillas, or falling out of the hot-air balloon he’s using to escape.

This graphic novel moves quickly, has a rotating cast, and in many ways reads like a war comic. It’s really a post-apocalyptic comic. Substitute zombies for the different animals, and you’ll see what I mean. My favorite storyline in this volume is when a group of conservationist lions put Kamandi and his female companion, Flower, into their version of a nature preserve. Unfortunately, there are cougar poachers who want a piece of him. This issue is the best single comic I’ve read in years.

Highly recommended!

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Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Volume One (Part Two)

 This is part two of my review of Rom: The Original Marvel Years Omnibus Volume One. You can read my review of the first part here. I have most of the original issues of Rom stored in an attic somewhere, but one of the advantages of aging gracefully is the fact that I don’t recall what I ate for breakfast two days ago.

The upshot: I don’t remember most of this series, although I do recall enjoying it. First off, this is a horror comic disguised as a superhero comic. Rom has a meta-story that lasts 70+ issues, albeit with a number of side stories. Unlike superhero comics, it has a beginning and a definite end. The monsters, the sense of paranoia that permeates this book, and the weird conspiracy theories remind me of The X-Files, but unlike the X-Files Rom hasn’t jumped the shark…yet.

The other reason this is a horror comic is the body count. The creators (Mantlo & Buscema) use a cast of mostly new characters. There are cameos by Marvel heroes – in this volume we get the Torpedo, the X-Men, Power Man & Iron Fist, Nova, and the Fantastic Four – but they make sense in the context of the larger storyline, which is earth’s invasion by the Dire Wraiths. Bottom line: many of the characters are new, and the creative team has no qualms about killing them. This can be unsettling, because cast changes in superhero comics tend to remain static. In practical terms, this means that nobody is safe.

The highlights of this volume are Rom’s battle with Hybrid, the offspring of a human mother and a Dire Wraith father. Hybrid – who is also a mutant, and whose character design is totally grotesque – wastes no time killing his parents. His battle with Rom is interrupted by the arrival of the X-Men, searching for the new mutant. A number of misunderstandings ensue, which leads to the X-Men attacking Rom.

The second highlight is Rom’s return to his home planet of Galador, which leads to an encounter with Galactus, who wants to eat the planet. Rom strikes a deal with the planet-eater and leads Galactus to the Dark Nebula (the Dire Wraiths’ home planet), but who will consume who?

Mention should also be made of the arrival of The Torpedo, the Grade Z hero Rom chooses to protect his adopted home town of Clairton, WV from the Wraiths. So far, his record is 0-1, as Clairton is overwhelmed by a mystical fog in Rom’s absence. The Torpedo seems like a nice guy, and he does his best, but sometimes that’s not enough…

Highly recommended!

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Tales of the Batman: Len Wein

This is a review of Tales of the Batman: Len Wein. The comics in this volume are amongst the first Batman material I ever read, over forty years ago. I enjoyed the five-part Ra’s Al Ghul story in a mass market paperback before there was such a thing as graphic novels. The Joker’s Birthday Bash story is the first Batman comic I ever bought. For some reason, I thought the writer was Gerry Conway but it’s Len Wein.

Anyway, this is a hefty volume. Over thirty issues of 70’s Batman goodness, which if you like the Dark Knight turns out to be pretty good deal. I’d suggest waiting until Comixology has another sale, though, as these volumes are pricey.

The stories are mostly one-shots, and feature Batman’s rogue gallery as well as villains from other titles. Hawkman villain the Gentleman Ghost makes an appearance here, as well as Captain Boomerang (a Flash foe). Two-Face, The Joker, Kite Man, Calendar Man, Firebug, Signal Man, etc., etc., etc. also make appearances. Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, is present, but this time it’s mostly as Bruce Wayne’s love interest.

Selina and Bruce manage to have sex, off-screen, a fact I missed because I was twelve years old. This leads into a two-part story where it turns out Selina is dying of some rare unnamed disease she caught as Catwoman, which okay. The only cure is an urn full of even rarer Egyptian herbs, because the ancient Egyptians knew so much more about medicine than us. When the herbs are stolen from the museum, Selina becomes suspect #1. You know, the usual nonsense.

I like Mr. Wein’s portrayal of Batman. Instead of being portrayed as a sociopathic asshole, the Dark Knight manages to achieve balance in both sides of his busy life. His powers of detection are highlighted, as well as his escape artist skills. There are a number of instances where Batman is knocked out and put into a death trap, which he always manages to escape. I’m assuming the villains who choose to tie him up instead of just putting a bullet through his head either have a bondage fetish or watched too many episodes of the 60’s TV show.

Recommended for Batman fans!

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Marvel Masterworks: Defenders Volume Two

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks Defenders Volume Two. The high point of this graphic novel is the six-issue Avengers/Defenders war, in which the two teams duke it out to retrieve what looks like a plumber’s helper. The plot has a slapdash energy that I liked, even though I’ve seen it a million times before. Other storylines include a romp in the past with the Black Knight, along with The Hulk fighting the Abominable Snowman. Also: The Squadron Supreme sells earth to aliens!

Being Marvel’s one and only non-team, The Defenders’ roster changes with the winds, but semi-regular members include Doctor Strange, The Valkyrie, and The Hulk. In the volume I read, Hawkeye and Nighthawk come to visit, but only Nighthawk stays. 1970’s superhero comics mostly consist of a bunch of one or two issue storylines and have a villain of the month quality – Loki, Mordred, The Squadron Supreme, Magneto, etc.

These issues read fine, but are mostly forgettable. Writer Steve Englehart leaves, and writer Len Wein arrives. Both Mr. Englehart and Mr. Wein do good work here, but both have done better elsewhere. This is perfectly decent comics schlock that doesn’t take itself too seriously.