ARE YOU READY FOR OMAC?

Images copyright DC COMICS

OMAC - ONE MAN ARMY CORPS!  According to former JACK KIRBY assistant MARK EVANIER, the character was based on an unrealized idea for a futuristic version of CAPTAIN AMERICA that Kirby had come up with around 1968 while still freelancing for MARVEL.  Whether he decided to hold off due to growing dissatisfaction with the company, or because he felt the time just wasn't right for such a character, we'll probably never know for sure.  However, the future Cap finally saw the light of day as Omac over at DC COMICS when Jack jumped ship in the early '70s.

Unfortunately, it never really caught on - lasting a mere eight issues before cancellation.  If DC had expected Kirby to infuse new life into their comics line due to their mistaken belief that Jack had been the 'main man' behind the fortunes of Marvel Comics (a rumour that was doing the rounds back in the late '60s, early '70s), they must have been sorely disappointed.  With the exception of four magazines (JIMMY OLSEN - 15, MISTER MIRACLE - 18, KAMANDI - 40, and The DEMON - 16), his other titles were all cancelled before they had seen out a dozen issues.

(Jack's tenure on The LOSERS lasted for twelve issues exactly, but the comic predated his involvement and continued after he left.  None of The Losers were Kirby characters, unlike the GOLDEN GUARDIAN and the NEWSBOY LEGION in Jimmy Olsen's mag.)

So Kirby went back to Marvel - and failed to make much of a dent there either on his second time around.  The problem was that, although Jack was a solid and dependable storyteller in his own right, without the input (one might say magic) of his former collaborator STAN LEE, his stories were competent but uninspired, with leaden dialogue and an increasingly abstract style of art.

However, even lacklustre Kirby is well-worth looking at, and I have fond recollections of most of his DC output from this time.  (Just a shame he didn't use a scripter in the style of Lee to 'punch up' his stories a bit.)  Anyway, enjoy the covers of all eight issues of Omac, even if the last one is by JOE KUBERT and not Jack himself.