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Like Science Fiction? Like SIMON & KIRBY? Then this is the book for you! Amongst its many gems are two early stories, the premises of which turned up again in two of Jack Kirby's later DC COMICS mags - JIMMY OLSEN and KAMANDI. The CADMUS SEED is a tale about CLONING, and The LAST ENEMY is about Earth in the future being ruled by intelligent, talking animals.
So tell the wife you're cutting her housekeeping money this week, then dash straight 'round to your local comicbook store and spend the moolah you've prevented from being wasted on food, bills and other unnecessary items on your own copy of this valiant volume. You'll be glad you did, even if the wife never speaks to you again!
See the back cover (three down) for info about contents.
Ok I admit it. I haven't seen this collection. Though I have seen the story about the bulldog soldier strangely enough!
ReplyDeleteIf you're into Simon & Kirby material, then you're sure to love it, Phil.
ReplyDeleteKid - it'll take more than one or (or two) weeks worth of 'housekeeping' money to cover all of these amazing collections you have been bringing to our attention! Most of theses are new to me. I'd love to get hold of this one. I have many of the mags in digital form but as mentioned, probably on several occasions now; ya can't beat an actual hardback volume that sits on the shelf and can be taken down and read at your convenience. No special app or software required. Kirby's style of old has always seemed, strangely enough, to my eyes more contemporary than his later iconic and stylised art. The looser, but more accurate, drawing technique and sketchy inking reminds me of some of the European comic art as seem in mags like Metal Hurlant / Heavy Metal.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great book, PC, and part of a library of different S&K themes - Science Fiction, Superheroes, and Crime - published by Titan Books. You're right - nothing beats an actual book or comic in the hands - I just don't dig the digital experience when it comes to comic strips. There are some interesting examples of Kirby strips inked by different artists in the book, from Joe Simon, Marvin Stein and Al Williamson. Send a Dalek out to steal a copy.
ReplyDeleteWow! I was big into Kamandi back in the day. That's pretty cool that he had already worked on some of these concepts. Kirby was playing chess when everybody else was playing checkers. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that DC's response to Marvel's Planet of the Apes, Kamandi, had the same theme as The Last Enemy, which appeared 6 years before Pierre Boulle's novel Planet of The Apes (or Monkey Planet, which I believe is a more literal translation). Wouldn't it be something if Boulle had been inspired by Kirby's tale, written POTA, which then (after a few movies and a TV series) prompted DC to launch Kamandi? Chicken/egg/egg/chicken, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm not very good at chess, I did beat my nephew once though. I didn't know that a chessboard could fly that well, I think he thought he was Gary Kasparov. This looks like it might be a good buy, except that the colour is a bit saturated, that grates a bit with me when they do that.
ReplyDeleteThat might have something to do with me 'punching up' the colours a bit, for maximum effect, DSE. (However, then again, it may not.) You should still check out a copy if you ever see one - you may love it.
ReplyDeleteMonkey Planet is NOT a more literal translation of Pierre Boulle's novel. In the original French it was called 'La Planete Des Singes' which literally translates as The Planet Of The Apes/Monkeys. The novel was printed in English as 'Monkey Planet' which was still the title when I first heard of it (in the pages of the POTA weekly) but it has since been retitled more accurately as Planet Of The Apes - I bought it as an e-book version with that name in 2014.
ReplyDeleteWell, Monkey Planet cuts to the chase if the title is Planet of the Monkeys, don't you think? I remember reading years ago that the English version of the book was called Monkey Planet, hence my tentative belief that it might be a more literal translation. Planet of the Apes is certainly a better title 'though.
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