Kamandi
Encyclopedia
Kamandi is an American comic book
character, created by artist Jack Kirby
and published by DC Comics
. The bulk of Kamandi's appearances occurred in the comic series Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, which ran from 1972
to 1978
.
Kamandi is a young hero in a post-apocalyptic
future. After a huge event called "The Great Disaster," humans have been reduced to savagery in a world ruled by intelligent, highly evolved animals.
had tried to acquire the license to make Planet of the Apes comic books but when this failed to happen he asked Jack Kirby
for a series with a similar concept. Although Kirby had not seen the films he knew the rough outline and he had also created a very similar story, "The Last Enemy!", in Harvey Comics
' Alarming Tales that predated the original Planet of the Apes novels. He also had an unused comic strip he created in 1956, called Kamandi of the Caves. So Kirby brought all those elements together to create Kamandi. Although his initial plan was to not work on the comic books themselves, the cancellation of Forever People
freed him up to do so.
through its 37th issue, in January 1976. Kirby also drew issues #38 through #40, although they were scripted by Gerry Conway
. Kirby subsequently left DC, but the series continued, initially written by Conway and drawn by Chic Stone. Later issues were alternately written by Paul Levitz
, Denny O'Neil, David A. Kraft, Elliott S! Maggin, and Jack C. Harris, with art by Pablo Marcos
, Keith Giffen
, and Dick Ayers
. It was canceled during the "DC Implosion" of 1978, despite respectable sales figures. The final published issue was #59, cover-dated September–October 1978. Two additional issues, completed but not released, were included in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1 and #2.
series, which was set sometime prior to the Great Disaster. The only explicit connection to the DC Universe
occurs in issue #29, where Kamandi discovers a group of apes who worship Superman's costume, and who speak of legends of Superman trying and failing to stop the Great Disaster. The story leaves it ambiguous whether the legends are true (although Kamandi believes Superman was real) and whether the costume is indeed Superman's.
Various non-Kirby stories tie the series more explicitly to the DC Universe. In Brave and the Bold #120 (July 1975), Kamandi meets a time-traveling Batman
. Superman
#295 (January 1976) establishes that the costume seen in issue #29 was indeed Superman's, and that Earth A.D. is an alternate future for Earth-One, distinct from that of the Legion of Super-Heroes
. Issues #49-#50 of the series establish that Kamandi's grandfather was the elderly Buddy Blank, hero of the OMAC
series, and features a brief return of OMAC's satellite ally, Brother Eye. Kirby's Kamandi story in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2 guest stars The Sandman
and establishes that Kamandi is Jed Walker
.
The 1975-1977 Hercules Unbound series and OMAC backup stories in Kamandi and Warlord
tie OMAC to both the storyline of Hercules Unbound and to the Atomic Knights, indicating that the Great Disaster was the atomic war of 1986 that precipitated the events of the latter. DC Comics Presents
#57 (May 1983) indicates that the events of the Atomic Knights stories were a fantasy in the mind of Gardner Grayle, but DC Comics Presents #64 and Crisis on Infinite Earths
make clear that both OMAC and Kamandi still existed in an alternate future of Earth-One.
In the wake of the Crisis on Infinite Earths
, the Great Disaster did not occur, and the boy who would have become Kamandi instead became Tommy Tomorrow
.
, a bunker named Command D has been built under the ruins of the city of Blüdhaven
.
In early 2007, DC Nation house ads showed a partial picture of Darkseid
and mention a "Great Disaster". Additional DC promotional art for the series Countdown
show the Statue of Liberty in ruins, similar to Kamandi #1 (although later, Dan DiDio
revealed that the Statue's appearance in that teaser ad was a reference to the Sinestro Corps War
). Throughout 2007, DC Comics contained continual references to a coming Great Disaster. In Countdown #31, Buddy Blank and his unnamed blond grandson are introduced into the storyline. As of Countdown #6, The Great Disaster is in its early stages on Earth-51 due to the outbreak of a virus, which is causing humans to develop animal like features, and animals to develop humanoid features. In Countdown #5, the virus claims Earth-51's Buddy Blank's daughter, but his grandson is safe. Una, an alternate Earth's version of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Triplicate Girl, gives him her Legion flight ring, which he uses to safely get him to Cadmus
' "Command D" facility, which was used to control Brother Eye, and has the defenses necessary to protect them from the virus' victims. As he settles in, he hopes that his grandson can forgive him for making him "The last boy on Earth."
Comments from Grant Morrison
at 2007's San Diego Comic-Con International indicated that Kamandi (The Last Boy) will appear on the last issue's last page of DC's Final Crisis
, mirroring the appearance of Anthro
(The First Boy), on the first page of the first issue. This eventually did not come to pass, with Anthro as an old man appearing instead.
In Countdown: Arena
#2, an ape Starman from Earth-17 mentions he is attempting to form a truce between the forces of Kamandi and Ben Boxer, indicating a second variant Kamandi Earth, unlike Earth-51.
Kamandi, by Dave Gibbons and Ryan Sook.
limited series
, a sequel to the earlier Crisis on Infinite Earths
and Infinite Crisis
. In the first issue he appears in what seems to be a time distortion, asking Anthro
, the "first" boy on Earth, for the weapon the New God Metron
gave him, a reference to the series' opening scene in which Anthro, like Prometheus
, is given knowledge in the form of fire. He makes another appearance in the second issue as one of the captives of the evil New Gods
(alongside Batman
), warning the detective character Dan Turpin
that they are making slaves of them. In the final issue, he appears on Earth-51 after it has been reconstructed.
.
Kamandi returns to New York and to the bunker where he was raised by his grandfather to honor his death, as he does every year at this time. He meets up Prince Tuftan and they fight their way out of a horde of rats, bravely looking for food and supplies. Rescued by Doctor Canus in a blimp, Kamandi and Prince Tuftan ride to the city of the apes in an attempt to aid the tiger army. Great Caesar has been captured by the apes. When Kamandi sees the ape chasing a girl below, he jumps out of the blimp, swinging down on a rope, in an attempt to rescue her. Prince Tuftan follows and both get captured by the apes. The apes blow up the blimp. Kamandi and the girl manage to escape while Prince Tuftan is taken to be executed along with his father. Along the way, Kamandi, the girl and Doctor Canus meet up with the remnants of the tiger armies and are joined by Lion Rangers. Using information found under his old birth place, the Command D Bunker's data base computer, Kamandi and the other animal allies find pre-Disaster weapons and vehicles, to raid the apes living in the city of Sintin—remnant of Washington D.C. In the battle to rescue King Caesar and Prince Tuftan, the girl is shot by a gorilla sniper. She dies, but not before she gives Kamandi her locket and tells him that humans—possibly intelligent humans like him and her—exist somewhere in the South of North America.
" (in the series' letter column, Jack Kirby and his then-assistant Steve Sherman repeatedly asserted that the Great Disaster was not a nuclear war, a fact confirmed in issue #35). The Disaster wiped out human civilization and a substantial portion of the human population. A few isolated pockets of humanity survived in underground bunkers, while others quickly reverted to pre-technological savagery.
Shortly before the Great Disaster, a scientist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
, Dr. Michael Grant, developed a drug called Cortexin, which stimulated the reasoning abilities of animals. During the Great Disaster, Grant released the experimental animals affected by the drug, and dumped the Cortexin itself into the stream created by a broken water main. In the ensuing days, animals escaping from the National Zoo
drank from that stream and became affected by the drug.
By Kamandi's time, an unspecified period after the Great Disaster, the affects of Cortexin and the radiation unleashed by the Great Disaster itself had caused a wide variety of mammals, including gorillas, tigers, lions, cheetahs, leopards (all descendants of escaped zoo animals), rats, dogs, wolves, and kangaroos to become bipedal, humanoid, and sentient, possessing the power of speech. Others, including dolphins, killer whales, and snakes, developed sentience, but retained more or less their original size and form. The newly intelligent animal species, equipped with weapons and technology salvaged from the ruins of human civilization, began to struggle for territory (horses were apparently not affected, and serve as a means of transportation in the technologically impoverished world of Earth A.D.).
By this time, most surviving humans are bestial, with very limited reasoning ability. Most have only the most rudimentary ability to speak, although they can be trained. (The precise cause of the loss of reasoning ability is ambiguous in the original series.) The animals treat humans as beasts, using them for labor or as pets.
Kamandi is the last survivor of the human outpost in the "Command D" bunker near what was once New York City
("Kamandi" is a corruption of "Command D"; it is unclear if Kamandi ever had any other name). Raised by his elderly grandfather, Kamandi has extensive knowledge of the pre-Disaster world, thanks to a library of microfilm and old videos, but he has spent most of his time inside the bunker, and is unaware of the state of the world outside. When his grandfather is killed by a wolf, Kamandi leaves the bunker in search of other human outposts.
He soon discovers that the only other intelligent humans left on Earth are Ben Boxer and his friends Steve and Renzi, a trio of mutants genetically engineered to survive in Earth A.D. He also makes a number of animal friends, including Dr. Canus, the canine scientist of Great Caesar, leader of the Tiger Empire, and Caesar's teenage son, Tuftan. Later additions to the cast included the alien woman Pyra, the girl Spirit and the consulting detective Mylock Bloodstalker (loosely based on Sherlock Holmes) and his associate Doile (named for Holmes' creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle); Bloodstalker is, appropriately, a bloodhound. Even the most sympathetic animals, however, are nonplussed by Kamandi and Ben's ability to speak.
Kamandi and his friends set out to explore the world of Earth A.D., in hopes of one day restoring humanity to sentience and civilization.
miniseries Kamandi: At Earth's End was issued in 1993
, but had little relation to the Kirby comic except by name. This series was followed up by Superman: At Earth's End
.
Superboy
series when Superboy appeared in a Kamandi-like world.
series, which showed the heroes traveling through time, they met or fought with, variously, Sgt. Rock, Jonah Hex
, Darkseid
, and Kamandi.
story arc "This Savage World" (from #76-81) was directly inspired by, and a tribute to, Kamandi.
and Ryan Sook
produced a Kamandi serial for Wednesday Comics
in 2009. The stories for Wednesday Comics have their own continuity.
, a movie poster of Kamandi is seen as "Karl
" and Lois exit the Smallville movie theater.
series:
Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth #1, #10 and #29 are reprinted in an 80-page giant entitled Countdown Special: Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth.
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...
character, created by artist 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....
and published by 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...
. The bulk of Kamandi's appearances occurred in the comic series Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth, which ran from 1972
1972 in comics
-Events:* Marvel Comics forms their British publishing arm, Marvel UK .* Phil Seuling founds East Coast Seagate Distribution, developing the concept of the direct market distribution system for getting comics directly into comic book specialty shops, bypassing the established newspaper/magazine...
to 1978
1978 in comics
This is a list of comics-related events in 1978.- Year overall :* DC suffers the DC Implosion, the abrupt cancellation of more than two dozen ongoing and planned titles, with the vast majority of the books leaving uncompleted storylines .* Archie Goodwin resigns as Marvel Comics editor-in-chief,...
.
Kamandi is a young hero in a post-apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
future. After a huge event called "The Great Disaster," humans have been reduced to savagery in a world ruled by intelligent, highly evolved animals.
Creation
DC editor Carmine InfantinoCarmine Infantino
Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books...
had tried to acquire the license to make Planet of the Apes comic books but when this failed to happen he asked 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....
for a series with a similar concept. Although Kirby had not seen the films he knew the rough outline and he had also created a very similar story, "The Last Enemy!", in Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers Robert B...
' Alarming Tales that predated the original Planet of the Apes novels. He also had an unused comic strip he created in 1956, called Kamandi of the Caves. So Kirby brought all those elements together to create Kamandi. Although his initial plan was to not work on the comic books themselves, the cancellation of Forever People
Forever People
The Forever People are a fictional group of extraterrestrial superheroes published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Forever People #1 , and were created by Jack Kirby as part of his "Fourth World" epic.-Fictional history:...
freed him up to do so.
The series
The Kamandi series was launched in October–November 1972. It was written and drawn by Jack KirbyJack 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....
through its 37th issue, in January 1976. Kirby also drew issues #38 through #40, although they were scripted by Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
. Kirby subsequently left DC, but the series continued, initially written by Conway and drawn by Chic Stone. Later issues were alternately written by Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he has worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles...
, Denny O'Neil, David A. Kraft, Elliott S! Maggin, and Jack C. Harris, with art by Pablo Marcos
Pablo Marcos
Pablo Marcos Ortega, known professionally as Pablo Marcos is a comic book artist and commercial illustrator best known as one of his home country's leading cartoonists and for his work on such popular American comics characters as Batman and Conan the Barbarian, particularly during the 1970s...
, Keith Giffen
Keith Giffen
Keith Ian Giffen is an American comic book illustrator and writer.-Biography:Giffen was born in Queens, New York City....
, and Dick Ayers
Dick Ayers
Richard "Dick" Ayers is an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on some of the earliest issues of Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four, and as the signature...
. It was canceled during the "DC Implosion" of 1978, despite respectable sales figures. The final published issue was #59, cover-dated September–October 1978. Two additional issues, completed but not released, were included in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #1 and #2.
Entering the DC Universe
During Kirby's run on the book, Steve Sherman indicated in the letters column that the series was connected to Kirby's contemporary OMACOne-Man Army Corps
OMAC is a superhero comic book created in 1974 by Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics. The character was created towards the end of Kirby's contract with the publisher, following the cancellation of Kirby's New Gods, and was reportedly developed strictly due to Kirby needing to fill his...
series, which was set sometime prior to the Great Disaster. The only explicit connection to the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
occurs in issue #29, where Kamandi discovers a group of apes who worship Superman's costume, and who speak of legends of Superman trying and failing to stop the Great Disaster. The story leaves it ambiguous whether the legends are true (although Kamandi believes Superman was real) and whether the costume is indeed Superman's.
Various non-Kirby stories tie the series more explicitly to the DC Universe. In Brave and the Bold #120 (July 1975), Kamandi meets a time-traveling Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
. Superman
Superman (comic book)
Superman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938...
#295 (January 1976) establishes that the costume seen in issue #29 was indeed Superman's, and that Earth A.D. is an alternate future for Earth-One, distinct from that of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
. Issues #49-#50 of the series establish that Kamandi's grandfather was the elderly Buddy Blank, hero of the OMAC
One-Man Army Corps
OMAC is a superhero comic book created in 1974 by Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics. The character was created towards the end of Kirby's contract with the publisher, following the cancellation of Kirby's New Gods, and was reportedly developed strictly due to Kirby needing to fill his...
series, and features a brief return of OMAC's satellite ally, Brother Eye. Kirby's Kamandi story in Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2 guest stars The Sandman
Sandman (DC Comics)
Sandman is the name of seven fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. All are connected in one way or the other, though there are three largely dissimilar concepts, with two or three persons having served in each role various times...
and establishes that Kamandi is Jed Walker
Jed Walker
Jed Walker is a DC Comics character. He appeared in Jack Kirby and Joe Simon's short-lived series The Sandman, where he was protected from nightmare monsters by the titular hero. He lived with his grandfather, Ezra Paulsen, a fisherman on Dolphin Island, and, after his grandfather's death, with a...
.
The 1975-1977 Hercules Unbound series and OMAC backup stories in Kamandi and Warlord
Warlord (comics)
The Warlord is a sword and sorcery comic book published by DC Comics. The series and titular character debuted in 1st Issue Special #8 , and was created by Mike Grell.-Publication history:...
tie OMAC to both the storyline of Hercules Unbound and to the Atomic Knights, indicating that the Great Disaster was the atomic war of 1986 that precipitated the events of the latter. DC Comics Presents
DC Comics Presents
DC Comics Presents was a comic book published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 featuring team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters of the DC Universe...
#57 (May 1983) indicates that the events of the Atomic Knights stories were a fantasy in the mind of Gardner Grayle, but DC Comics Presents #64 and Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
make clear that both OMAC and Kamandi still existed in an alternate future of Earth-One.
In the wake of the Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
, the Great Disaster did not occur, and the boy who would have become Kamandi instead became Tommy Tomorrow
Tommy Tomorrow
Tommy Tomorrow was a long-running science fiction hero published by DC Comics in several of their titles from 1947 to 1963. He first appeared in Real Fact Comics #6...
.
Revival
In the aftermath of the Infinite CrisisInfinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
, a bunker named Command D has been built under the ruins of the city of Blüdhaven
Blüdhaven
Blüdhaven is a fictional city in the . Created by Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel in 1996, it was originally intended to serve as a backdrop for the Nightwing comics series.-Fictional geography:...
.
In early 2007, DC Nation house ads showed a partial picture of 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....
and mention a "Great Disaster". Additional DC promotional art for the series Countdown
Countdown to Final Crisis
Countdown, known as Countdown to Final Crisis for its last 24 issues based on the cover, was a comic book limited series published by DC Comics. It debuted on May 9, 2007, directly following the conclusion of the last issue of 52...
show the Statue of Liberty in ruins, similar to Kamandi #1 (although later, Dan DiDio
Dan DiDio
Dan DiDio is an American writer, editor and publisher who has worked in the television and comic book industries. He is currently the Co-Publisher of DC Comics, along with Jim Lee...
revealed that the Statue's appearance in that teaser ad was a reference to the Sinestro Corps War
Sinestro Corps War
"Sinestro Corps War" is an American comic book crossover event published by DC Comics in its Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps titles. Written by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons and drawn by Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, and Ethan Van Sciver, the 11-part saga was originally published between June...
). Throughout 2007, DC Comics contained continual references to a coming Great Disaster. In Countdown #31, Buddy Blank and his unnamed blond grandson are introduced into the storyline. As of Countdown #6, The Great Disaster is in its early stages on Earth-51 due to the outbreak of a virus, which is causing humans to develop animal like features, and animals to develop humanoid features. In Countdown #5, the virus claims Earth-51's Buddy Blank's daughter, but his grandson is safe. Una, an alternate Earth's version of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team in the 30th and 31st centuries of the . The team first appears in Adventure Comics #247 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
Triplicate Girl, gives him her Legion flight ring, which he uses to safely get him to Cadmus
Cadmus
Cadmus or Kadmos , in Greek mythology was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor and queen Telephassa of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa. He was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores...
' "Command D" facility, which was used to control Brother Eye, and has the defenses necessary to protect them from the virus' victims. As he settles in, he hopes that his grandson can forgive him for making him "The last boy on Earth."
Comments from Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
at 2007's San Diego Comic-Con International indicated that Kamandi (The Last Boy) will appear on the last issue's last page of DC's Final Crisis
Final Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
, mirroring the appearance of Anthro
Anthro (comics)
Anthro is a fictional character published by DC Comics. Anthro was created by cartoonist Howard Post; he first appeared in Showcase #74, .-Publication history:...
(The First Boy), on the first page of the first issue. This eventually did not come to pass, with Anthro as an old man appearing instead.
In Countdown: Arena
Countdown: Arena
Countdown: Arena is a four-issue American comic book mini-series published by DC Comics. Written by Keith Champagne with art by Scott McDaniel, that ran for four weeks in December 2007....
#2, an ape Starman from Earth-17 mentions he is attempting to form a truce between the forces of Kamandi and Ben Boxer, indicating a second variant Kamandi Earth, unlike Earth-51.
Kamandi, by Dave Gibbons and Ryan Sook.
Final Crisis
Kamandi is seen in DC's Final CrisisFinal Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
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....
, a sequel to the earlier Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
and Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
. In the first issue he appears in what seems to be a time distortion, asking Anthro
Anthro (comics)
Anthro is a fictional character published by DC Comics. Anthro was created by cartoonist Howard Post; he first appeared in Showcase #74, .-Publication history:...
, the "first" boy on Earth, for the weapon the New God Metron
Metron (comics)
Metron is a character created by Jack Kirby for his Fourth World series in DC Comics. He was "based on Leonard Nimoy as Spock", and designed as a character who "would frequently change sides [between New Genesis and Apokolips]"...
gave him, a reference to the series' opening scene in which Anthro, like Prometheus
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
, is given knowledge in the form of fire. He makes another appearance in the second issue as one of the captives of the evil 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....
(alongside Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
), warning the detective character Dan Turpin
Dan Turpin
Daniel "Terrible" Turpin is a character published by DC Comics. He first appeared as Brooklyn in Detective Comics #64 , and first appeared as Dan Turpin in New Gods #5 .-Publication history:...
that they are making slaves of them. In the final issue, he appears on Earth-51 after it has been reconstructed.
Wednesday Comics
With story by Dave Gibbons and art by Ryan Sook, these 12 pages evoke Hal Foster's classic Prince ValiantPrince Valiant
Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur, or simply Prince Valiant, is a long-run comic strip created by Hal Foster in 1937. It is an epic adventure that has told a continuous story during its entire history, and the full stretch of that story now totals more than 3700 Sunday strips...
.
Kamandi returns to New York and to the bunker where he was raised by his grandfather to honor his death, as he does every year at this time. He meets up Prince Tuftan and they fight their way out of a horde of rats, bravely looking for food and supplies. Rescued by Doctor Canus in a blimp, Kamandi and Prince Tuftan ride to the city of the apes in an attempt to aid the tiger army. Great Caesar has been captured by the apes. When Kamandi sees the ape chasing a girl below, he jumps out of the blimp, swinging down on a rope, in an attempt to rescue her. Prince Tuftan follows and both get captured by the apes. The apes blow up the blimp. Kamandi and the girl manage to escape while Prince Tuftan is taken to be executed along with his father. Along the way, Kamandi, the girl and Doctor Canus meet up with the remnants of the tiger armies and are joined by Lion Rangers. Using information found under his old birth place, the Command D Bunker's data base computer, Kamandi and the other animal allies find pre-Disaster weapons and vehicles, to raid the apes living in the city of Sintin—remnant of Washington D.C. In the battle to rescue King Caesar and Prince Tuftan, the girl is shot by a gorilla sniper. She dies, but not before she gives Kamandi her locket and tells him that humans—possibly intelligent humans like him and her—exist somewhere in the South of North America.
Fictional character biography
In the eponymous series, Kamandi is a teenage boy on a post-apocalyptic Earth (which the textual narrative describes as "Earth A.D. (After Disaster)") that has been ravaged by a mysterious calamity called the Great Disaster. The precise nature of the Great Disaster is never revealed in the original series, although it "had something to do with radiationRadiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
" (in the series' letter column, Jack Kirby and his then-assistant Steve Sherman repeatedly asserted that the Great Disaster was not a nuclear war, a fact confirmed in issue #35). The Disaster wiped out human civilization and a substantial portion of the human population. A few isolated pockets of humanity survived in underground bunkers, while others quickly reverted to pre-technological savagery.
Shortly before the Great Disaster, a scientist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center was the United States Army's flagship medical center until 2011. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military...
, Dr. Michael Grant, developed a drug called Cortexin, which stimulated the reasoning abilities of animals. During the Great Disaster, Grant released the experimental animals affected by the drug, and dumped the Cortexin itself into the stream created by a broken water main. In the ensuing days, animals escaping from the National Zoo
Smithsonian National Zoological Park
The Smithsonian National Zoological Park, commonly known as the National Zoo, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States, and as part of the Smithsonian Institution, does not charge admission. Founded in 1889, its mission is to provide leadership in animal care, science, education,...
drank from that stream and became affected by the drug.
By Kamandi's time, an unspecified period after the Great Disaster, the affects of Cortexin and the radiation unleashed by the Great Disaster itself had caused a wide variety of mammals, including gorillas, tigers, lions, cheetahs, leopards (all descendants of escaped zoo animals), rats, dogs, wolves, and kangaroos to become bipedal, humanoid, and sentient, possessing the power of speech. Others, including dolphins, killer whales, and snakes, developed sentience, but retained more or less their original size and form. The newly intelligent animal species, equipped with weapons and technology salvaged from the ruins of human civilization, began to struggle for territory (horses were apparently not affected, and serve as a means of transportation in the technologically impoverished world of Earth A.D.).
By this time, most surviving humans are bestial, with very limited reasoning ability. Most have only the most rudimentary ability to speak, although they can be trained. (The precise cause of the loss of reasoning ability is ambiguous in the original series.) The animals treat humans as beasts, using them for labor or as pets.
Kamandi is the last survivor of the human outpost in the "Command D" bunker near what was once New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
("Kamandi" is a corruption of "Command D"; it is unclear if Kamandi ever had any other name). Raised by his elderly grandfather, Kamandi has extensive knowledge of the pre-Disaster world, thanks to a library of microfilm and old videos, but he has spent most of his time inside the bunker, and is unaware of the state of the world outside. When his grandfather is killed by a wolf, Kamandi leaves the bunker in search of other human outposts.
He soon discovers that the only other intelligent humans left on Earth are Ben Boxer and his friends Steve and Renzi, a trio of mutants genetically engineered to survive in Earth A.D. He also makes a number of animal friends, including Dr. Canus, the canine scientist of Great Caesar, leader of the Tiger Empire, and Caesar's teenage son, Tuftan. Later additions to the cast included the alien woman Pyra, the girl Spirit and the consulting detective Mylock Bloodstalker (loosely based on Sherlock Holmes) and his associate Doile (named for Holmes' creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle); Bloodstalker is, appropriately, a bloodhound. Even the most sympathetic animals, however, are nonplussed by Kamandi and Ben's ability to speak.
Kamandi and his friends set out to explore the world of Earth A.D., in hopes of one day restoring humanity to sentience and civilization.
Elseworlds
The ElseworldsElseworlds
Elseworlds is the publication imprint for a group of comic books produced by DC Comics that take place outside the company's canon. According to its tagline: "In Elseworlds, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places — some that have existed, and others...
miniseries Kamandi: At Earth's End was issued in 1993
1993 in comics
-January:* Doom Patrol #63: " The Empire of Chairs," Grant Morrison's final issue as Doom Patrol writer.-February:* Action Comics, with issue #686, suspends publication following "The Death of Superman."...
, but had little relation to the Kirby comic except by name. This series was followed up by Superman: At Earth's End
Superman: At Earth's End
"Superman: At Earth's End", is a 1995 one-shot DC Comics Elseworlds story. It was written by Tom Veitch, with art by Frank Gomez.The story is, more or less, the sequel to the miniseries At Earth's End which is spin off from the DC Comic series Kamandi, created by Jack Kirby in 1972.-Plot:After the...
.
Superboy Tribute
A tribute was paid to Kamandi in the 19981998 in comics
-Spring:* Gay Comix , with issue #25, publishes its final issue -October:* Toy Biz buys Marvel Comics* Excalibur is canceled by Marvel with issue #125.-November:...
Superboy
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
series when Superboy appeared in a Kamandi-like world.
Superman/Batman
In the third story arc of the Superman/BatmanSuperman/Batman
Superman/Batman was a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular characters: Batman and Superman...
series, which showed the heroes traveling through time, they met or fought with, variously, Sgt. Rock, Jonah Hex
Jonah Hex
Jonah Woodson Hex is a Western comic book antihero created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga and published by DC Comics. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is horribly scarred on the right side. Despite his poor reputation and personality, Hex is bound by a personal...
, 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....
, and Kamandi.
Savage Dragon Homage
The Savage DragonSavage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
story arc "This Savage World" (from #76-81) was directly inspired by, and a tribute to, Kamandi.
Wednesday Comics
Dave GibbonsDave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons is an English comic book artist, writer and sometime letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything"...
and Ryan Sook
Ryan Sook
Ryan Sook is an American comic book artist from San Jose, California.-Career:Sook's first professional work was in Challengers of the Unknown #15 published in 1998...
produced a Kamandi serial for Wednesday Comics
Wednesday Comics
Wednesday Comics was a weekly anthology comic book launched by DC Comics on July 8, 2009. The twelve issues of the title were published in 14" x 20" broadsheet format, deliberately similar to Sunday newspaper comics sections...
in 2009. The stories for Wednesday Comics have their own continuity.
JLA: Another Nail
In JLA: Another NailJLA: Another Nail
JLA: Another Nail is a comic book mini-series published in the United States by DC Comics, a continuation of events seen in the original three-part mini-series JLA: The Nail. As with its predecessor, Another Nail occurs outside of the official DC Universe continuity, belonging to the Elseworlds...
, a movie poster of Kamandi is seen as "Karl
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
" and Lois exit the Smallville movie theater.
Television
- Kamandi and his supporting cast made three appearances in the animated series Batman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the BoldBatman: The Brave and the Bold is an American animated television series based in part on the DC Comics series The Brave and the Bold which features two or more super heroes coming together to solve a crime or foil a super villain...
voiced by Mikey KelleyMikey Kelley-Biography:He was born in Quincy, Massachusetts.Kelley was the voice of Michelangelo in the 2007 animated film TMNT.He landed his first major animation role when he was cast as the lead in Steven Spielberg's Invasion America for The WB Network...
. The first instance was as part of the teaser introduction to the episode "Dawn of the Deadman" where he, Dr. Canus, and Batman evade a bunch of Rat Men. His second appearance was for the full-length of the episode, "Last Bat on Earth" where he teams up with Batman when Gorilla Grodd goes to Kamandi's time. In "The Malicious Mr. Mind," Kamandi assists Batman when the Misfit follows Kamandi to Batman's time. In "Joker: The Vile and the Villainous", Misfit and his robots attack Kamandi and the Tiger Men in order to claim a doomsday device that was in their possession. When a time portal opens and it was first thought to be Batman coming to Kamandi's aid, it was actually JokerJoker (comics)The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
who came to Misfit's aid and they defeat Kamandi and the Tiger Men. Afterwards, Joker unknowingly pushes a button on the doomsday device which blows up the Earth, killing Kamandi.
Miscellaneous
- A DCAU version of Kamandi appears in the comic book Justice League Adventures #30, and he is aided by the FlashWally WestThe Flash is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first Kid Flash and the third Flash....
.
Collected editions
Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth is being reprinted as part of the DC Archive EditionsDC Archive Editions
DC Archive Editions, collect early, sometimes rare, comic books published by DC and other publishers into a permanent hardcover series. With more than 100 titles, this series began in 1989 with Superman Archives Vol. 1...
series:
- Kamandi ArchiveDC Archive EditionsDC Archive Editions, collect early, sometimes rare, comic books published by DC and other publishers into a permanent hardcover series. With more than 100 titles, this series began in 1989 with Superman Archives Vol. 1...
:- Volume 1 (collects Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth #1-10, 224 pages, October 2005, ISBN 1401204147)
- Volume 2 (collects Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth #11-20, 228 pages, February 2007, ISBN 1401212085)
Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth #1, #10 and #29 are reprinted in an 80-page giant entitled Countdown Special: Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth.
- Kamandi Omnibus v1 by Jack Kirby (collects Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth #1-20, 448 pages, September 2011, ISBN 1401232337)
- Kamandi Omnibus v2 by Jack Kirby (collects Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth #21-40, not yet released)