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Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers
Encyclopedia
Captain Victory was a comic book
created, written and drawn by Jack Kirby
. It was first published by Pacific Comics
in 1981.
In the last issues of the Pacific series, Kirby crafted an origin story for Captain Victory which he tied in to the New Gods
comic book that he had written and drawn for DC Comics
in the 1970s
. It was suggested that Captain Victory was the son of Orion
, of the New Gods. Orion was not specifically named, but a number of clues were planted, including equipment said to belong to Captain Victory's father that was identical to the astro-harness ridden by Orion in the earlier series. Additionally, Captain Victory's grandfather, Blackmaas, was illustrated only as a cast shadow, but a shadow that to many readers bore a resemblance to Orion's father, Darkseid
.
After the end of Pacific, no more was seen of Captain Victory, until Topps Comics
attempted to revive the character as part of planned 5-issue mini-series, which only lasted one issue ("Victory" #1, June 1994) before Topps cancelled all of the 'Kirbyverse' books in 1994. This issue was a part of a more complex project named Secret City Saga
.
More recently, TwoMorrows Publishing
created a 'graphite edition' reprint of the first Captain Victory issue. The edition, in TwoMorrow's words, "presented [Captain Victory #1] as it was created (before it was broken up for the later Pacific Comics series), reproduced from copies of Jack's uninked pencils!"
In 2000, Jack Kirby’s grandson Jeremy Kirby launched Jack Kirby Comics, the fledgling company’s only offering being a three-issue retelling of Captain Victory, reordered and rescripted by Jeremy. The quality of issues, anyway, is judged fairly inferior of the originals, despite the interesting cover art. The title of the comic book is the same of the original of 1981. The 3rd issue was published exclusively on the web.
In March 2006, it was announced that a new series would be published, based on recently discovered initial, and rejected, character sketches for the Wonder Warriors. Jack Kirby's Galactic Bounty Hunters
was co-written by Jack's daughter, Lisa, and is creator-owned by her under Marvel's Icon
imprint. Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers guest starred in issue #3 of the six-issue limited series
.
In late 2011, Dynamite Entertainment
started a new series under the Kirby: Genesis that used many of Kirby's created and owned characters (many unpublished), including Captain Victory. This lead, in November 2011, to a new Captain Victory title.
reported that Image Comics
planned to publish a completely recolored one volume collection
of Jack Kirby's 14 issues of Captain Victory. In July of the same year, he announced that Image Comics would be publishing an all-new Captain Victory comic book featuring many of Jack Kirby's never-before-seen creations. The hardcover collection was scheduled to be released in November, 2007 (ISBN 1582408149); however, production issues delayed the hardcover, so that better source material could be located.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
created, written and drawn by Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
. It was first published by Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics was an independent comic book publisher that flourished from 1981-1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began out of a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes...
in 1981.
Publication history
One of Pacific Comics first titles, it lasted thirteen issues, plus a special, through January, 1984.In the last issues of the Pacific series, Kirby crafted an origin story for Captain Victory which he tied in to the New Gods
New Gods
The New Gods are a fictional race appearing in publications by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comic books about those characters. They first appeared in New Gods #1 , and were created and designed by Jack Kirby....
comic book that he had written and drawn for DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
in the 1970s
1970s in comics
See also:1960s in comics,other events of the 1970s,1980s in comics and thelist of years in comicsPublications: 1970 - 1971 - 1972 - 1973 - 1974 - 1975 - 1976 - 1977 - 1978 - 1979-1970:See also: 1970 in comics...
. It was suggested that Captain Victory was the son of Orion
Orion (comics)
Orion is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in New Gods #1 , and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby.-Jack Kirby Era:...
, of the New Gods. Orion was not specifically named, but a number of clues were planted, including equipment said to belong to Captain Victory's father that was identical to the astro-harness ridden by Orion in the earlier series. Additionally, Captain Victory's grandfather, Blackmaas, was illustrated only as a cast shadow, but a shadow that to many readers bore a resemblance to Orion's father, Darkseid
Darkseid
Darkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby....
.
After the end of Pacific, no more was seen of Captain Victory, until Topps Comics
Topps Comics
Topps Comics is a division of the American trading card publisher and gum/candy distributor the Topps Company, Inc. that published comic books from 1993–1998, beginning its existence during a short comics-industry boom that attracted many investors and new companies...
attempted to revive the character as part of planned 5-issue mini-series, which only lasted one issue ("Victory" #1, June 1994) before Topps cancelled all of the 'Kirbyverse' books in 1994. This issue was a part of a more complex project named Secret City Saga
Secret City Saga
Secret City Saga is a concept and collection of various comic book titles created by influential writer-artist Jack Kirby, and published by the short-lived Topps Comics, an off-shoot of the popular Topps Trading Card company...
.
More recently, TwoMorrows Publishing
TwoMorrows Publishing
TwoMorrows Publishing is a publisher of magazines about comic books, founded in 1994 by John and Pam Morrow out of their small advertising agency in Raleigh, North Carolina...
created a 'graphite edition' reprint of the first Captain Victory issue. The edition, in TwoMorrow's words, "presented [Captain Victory #1] as it was created (before it was broken up for the later Pacific Comics series), reproduced from copies of Jack's uninked pencils!"
In 2000, Jack Kirby’s grandson Jeremy Kirby launched Jack Kirby Comics, the fledgling company’s only offering being a three-issue retelling of Captain Victory, reordered and rescripted by Jeremy. The quality of issues, anyway, is judged fairly inferior of the originals, despite the interesting cover art. The title of the comic book is the same of the original of 1981. The 3rd issue was published exclusively on the web.
In March 2006, it was announced that a new series would be published, based on recently discovered initial, and rejected, character sketches for the Wonder Warriors. Jack Kirby's Galactic Bounty Hunters
Jack Kirby's Galactic Bounty Hunters
Jack Kirby's Galactic Bounty Hunters is a six-issue comic book limited series by Marvel's imprint Icon Comics and based on some of Jack Kirby's unpublished ideas.-Publication history:...
was co-written by Jack's daughter, Lisa, and is creator-owned by her under Marvel's Icon
Icon (comics)
Icon is a fictional superhero, a comic book character published by DC Comics. An original character from DC's Milestone Comics imprint, he first appeared in Icon #1 , and was created by Dwayne McDuffie and Denys Cowan...
imprint. Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers guest starred in issue #3 of the six-issue limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
.
In late 2011, Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book company that primarily publishes licensed franchises of adaptations of other media. These include adaptations of film properties such as Army of Darkness, Terminator and RoboCop, literary properties such as Zorro, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Alice in...
started a new series under the Kirby: Genesis that used many of Kirby's created and owned characters (many unpublished), including Captain Victory. This lead, in November 2011, to a new Captain Victory title.
Collected editions
In February 2007, Erik LarsenErik Larsen
Erik J. Larsen is an American comic book writer, artist and publisher. He is best known for his work on Savage Dragon, as one of the founders of Image Comics, and for his work on Spider-Man for Marvel Comics.-Early life:...
reported that Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
planned to publish a completely recolored one volume collection
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
of Jack Kirby's 14 issues of Captain Victory. In July of the same year, he announced that Image Comics would be publishing an all-new Captain Victory comic book featuring many of Jack Kirby's never-before-seen creations. The hardcover collection was scheduled to be released in November, 2007 (ISBN 1582408149); however, production issues delayed the hardcover, so that better source material could be located.