The 1970s were a troublesome time for comic books, but especially DC Comics. The decade before, the company had finally met with some competition in Marvel Comics, who were ever more popular to the point where in the 1970s, their titles were selling much more than DC’s. During the mid-1970s, DC thought that they could best Marvel in sales by launching a vast number of new titles, giving them more of the spotlight. This was known as the DC Explosion, which gave birth to numerous titles during the seventies, nearly all of which got cancelled just a few months later. That became known as the DC Implosion, which was a complete and embarrassing failure for DC. Despite terrible sales, there was some good to come out of the explosion. It allowed creators such as Steve Ditko and of course, Jack Kirby, to create new characters and concepts, some of which are remembered to this very day. Ever since 1970, Jack Kirby had moved to DC from Marvel, where he co-created such famous characters like the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and the Hulk (the list goes on). At DC, Kirby continued to create memorable characters in his Fourth World Saga, creating Darkseid, Orion, Mister Miracle and others. Afterwards, Kirby turned his attention to other creations such as Kamandi, The Demon and OMAC. The last couple of sentences was effectively everything that Jack Kirby was known for (with the exception of Captain America with Joe Simon), but there are many Kirby characters which have been forgotten, lost in titles which only had brief lives. One of those was 1st Issue Special, a title which featured a new character every month by a different team of creators, including Kirby himself, Joe Simon, Bob Haney, Gerry Conway, Steve Ditko and many others. Kirby had written and drawn three issues of the title, creating (or reinventing in some cases) characters with the possible aim of providing them with their own titles. However, did any of Kirby’s creations have potential for an ongoing series? That is the question.
In this review of Jack Kirby’s three stories in 1st Issue Special, I will be reviewing:
Atlas the Great --- 1st Issue Special 1
Manhunter --- 1st Issue Special 5
Dingbats of Danger Street --- 1st Issue Special 6
While 1st Issue Special 1 was released in April 1975, issues 5-6 were published from August to September 1975. All the stories were written and pencilled by Jack Kirby,
with inks by D. Bruce Berry and Mike Royer. Lastly, I have read all these stories in The Jack Kirby Omnibus Volume 2 hardcover.
Atlas the Great --- Written and pencilled by Jack Kirby with inks by D. Bruce Berry
THE STORY
Deep in the past, a young strong man named Atlas crushes large stones with his bare hands. However, the villagers are not impressed and Kargin, a servant of the Lizard King Hyssa (who rules the village), decides to fight Atlas, only to be quickly crushed by him. Afterwards, Hyssa himself arrives and sends his guards after Atlas, but they are defeated by him. Suddenly, Atlas grabs a guard, threatening to kill him, but then, Atlas hears a familiar voice. As a child, Atlas witnessed his village being attacked and destroyed by Hyssa’s men. As Atlas went to help his father, he was caught by Hyssa who threatened to make Atlas into a slave. Even as a child he had his strength and Atlas knocked out Hyssa and hid in the tall grass, where he meets a mysterious man named Chagra. After Hyssa’s troops leave, Atlas heads back to his home only to find that his family has been killed. However, Chagra notices Atlas carrying a glowing orb and he bows down to the child. Chagra claims that Atlas’s people were from Crystal Mountain and as he is the only survivor of the group, Atlas is now the leader. As the years pass, Chagra follows Atlas, who fights against strange animals and other dangers, saving villagers. In the present, Atlas recognises the mysterious voice to be Hyssa but he doesn’t recognise Atlas, who claims to be his conqueror!
MY THOUGHTS
For all three of these stories, instead of judging how well they work as one-offs, I will be discussing how well they would have worked as ongoing titles, since that was the whole point of 1st Issue Special. In terms of Atlas, it is a very Jack Kirby idea. Atlas is (continued
an over-muscular strong man who fights against an evil regime led by a dictator. Kirby has used this idea many times, but most famously for his Fourth World titles. Despite the working success of that idea, it is a problem for Atlas. It isn’t because its an old idea that Kirby has reused several times, its simply because the idea (especially for an ongoing title) isn’t unique or particularly compelling. Don’t get me wrong, the story is interesting, and the character of Atlas has been constructed well with a strong origin and background. The villains may be underdeveloped, but that could have been changed if Atlas became an ongoing series. However, none of this would have changed the fact that the title just isn’t unique enough or unpredictable enough to work as a monthly title. Atlas could have worked as part of the Fourth World saga, but the problem is that you have Orion, a character who is very similar to Atlas in almost every regard (the big exception being that Atlas’s father is dead, unlike Orion’s). Really, there isn’t much else to say about Atlas. It isn’t a very long read, like most of the other Kirby DC titles at the time, but it is very fun and enjoyable, despite the fact that I don’t think it would have worked as an ongoing series.
Story: 7/10
Art: 8/10
Manhunter --- Written and pencilled by Jack Kirby with inks by Mike Royer
THE STORY
Entering the Cave of the Talking Heads, Manhunter finds just that: a load of talking heads that threaten him with death. Although the Talking Heads attempt to kill Manhunter, they fail as he manages to take out Chopper, who controls the Talking Heads using his electric head. However, Manhunter manages to take him out. Manhunter then takes his own mask off, revealing himself to be an old and tired man. Meanwhile, public defender Mark Shaw shouts to his uncle about how he can no longer obtain justice for his clients. Once Mark says that he has dedicated his life to justice, his uncle opens a secret door to his artifact collection. Inside, Mark’s uncle shows him a Manhunter costume, one which was worn by somebody who was part of the Shan, an old sect who fought against the injustices of the warlords. His uncle then reveals to Mark that he could become one of the warlords, if he speaks the truth to their lion medallion, the Shan shall answer. Meanwhile, Manhunter meets with the Grandmaster, who learns from Manhunter that he is too old and that he must soon retire. Therefore, Manhunter and the Grandmaster speak to the symbol of the Lion, which claims Mark Shaw to be the next Manhunter. Days later, Mark Shaw becomes Manhunter after the sect delivered a costume to him. Mark learns from his (continued_
uncle that Joe Burk (Mark’s client) has been murdered. Suddenly, Joe Burk’s killers arrive to kill Mark, but as Manhunter, he manages to take them out. Although some of the criminals escape, Manhunter captures one and attempts to get a name out of him. Afterwards, Manhunter searches for the killer’s employer, named the Hog…
MY THOUGHTS
Unlike Atlas and the Dingbats, Manhunter isn’t exactly a new character. Far from it. In fact, Jack Kirby had worked on a character named Manhunter in Adventure Comics with Joe Simon in the 1940s and it is very similar to the one in this story. Out of the three Kirby 1st Issue Specials, I think that this one had the most potential to work as an ongoing series. As opposed to Atlas and the Dingbats, a lot more information about the characters and their backgrounds is revealed, while also leaving plenty of room for development and progression. As an idea, the Manhunter sect works very well as you could imagine Kirby revealing more and more about it with each issue. I could also envision the Manhunter sect growing, making Mark Shaw’s Manhunter just one among many heroes, similar to the Green Lantern Corps. Kirby has set out the main plot here well and it is written in such a way that makes it compelling. It could easily continue into another issue and progress from there. In terms of the story of Mark Shaw, he is a rather dull candidate for a hero but as I said, they could have had him being one Manhunter among many, which would have worked. That being said, there are many aspects of the story which never really were explained, such as the Talking Heads, which work well on the cover, but they don’t really have much to do with the main story. Then there is Mark Shaw’s uncle, who seems to have all these old artifacts, including an old Manhunter costume. It is never explained how or why he has it. Overall, I do think that Manhunter could have worked as an ongoing title, but if it did become one, it wouldn’t have lasted long as Kirby left DC just a year or so afterwards. Plus, could Kirby have written and drawn this when he was doing Kamandi, the Losers and OMAC in just one month? Despite his magnificent speed, I somehow doubt it.
Story: 8.5/10
Art: 8.5/10
Dingbats of Danger Street --- Written and pencilled by Jack Kirby with inks by Mike Royer
THE STORY
On Danger Street, The Dingbats, consisting of Good Looks, Krunch and Bananas chase after villain Jumping Jack, who has captured their other member, Non-Fat. With the help of Lieutenant Terry Mullins, Jumping Jack is captured and Non-Fat is saved (if only the story ended there). Afterwards, the Dingbats joke around with each other, before they are threatened by the Gasser, a man in purple robes and a green
mask with a gun. Somehow, the Dingbats manage to put up a fight against the Gasser, but he retreats when he takes the kids out. However, nearby, the Gasser escapes in his van and Non-Fat hides on top of it. Meanwhile at police headquarters, Mullins interrogates Jumping Jack, who has stolen a film strip, but he denies it. Then, the Dingbats appear with the film strip and give it to Mullins. Suddenly, Jumping Jack attacks and escapes. While the police and Dingbats hunt after Jumping Jack, he meets with the Gasser, who has captured two hostages, one being Non-Fat. Although the Gasser and Jumping Jack attack, the police and the Dingbats manage to defeat them, rescuing Non-Fat…
MY THOUGHTS
So, we come to what many consider to be one of Kirby’s weakest creations. Back in the 1940s, Kirby worked hard to create kid gangs such as the Newsboy Legion and the Boy Commandos with Joe Simon and thanks to their war effort and charm, they worked excellently. Thirty-five years later and the whole thing dates awfully. In 1st Issue Special 2, Joe Simon and Jerry Grandenetti created the Green Team, another kid gang with distinctive personalities. At least that story was bad in a funny way. Honestly, the Dingbats are just plain awful. I don’t really like any of their characters as I find them incredibly irritating and annoying. Kirby’s attempt at kid comedy here with characters like Non-Fat falls flat and completely fails, while the villains such as the Gasser feel totally out of place here. I guess Jumping Jack fits with the mood of the story, but he’s certainly nothing great. To me, one of the biggest problems of this whole story is that Kirby didn’t show us the origins of these characters. Sure, we are hinted with them at the end of the story, but if we were shown their origins, then perhaps the characters would mean much more to us, because to me, they are just a bunch of annoying kids. My overall issue with the Dingbats is that it dates horribly. Kid gangs just don’t work anymore. The times have moved on. The Dingbats don’t even work as a one-off story, let alone an ongoing series.
Story: 2/10
Art: 8.5/10
THE ART BY JACK KIRBY, D. BRUCE BERRY AND MIKE ROYER
For all three of these stories, whether they are good or bad, Kirby’s dynamic and dramatic art works wonderfully with all of them and makes them so much more memorable. His page layouts are as awesome as always and they add so much to every scene of the stories, even with the Dingbats of Danger Street. However, the art here isn’t as perfect as his work from the 1960s, as Kirby’s style is very chunky and overly muscular here. Sometimes that can work. Atlas is a great example of this as he is displayed to look almost like a god, but with Manhunter and the Dingbats, it doesn’t really work. The inks on the Atlas story also aren’t great, as D. Bruce Berry makes everybody look rather plastic and almost robotic. On the other stories, Mike Royer follows Kirby’s pencils incredibly faithfully (almost too much I could argue), but he adds a great sense of iconic-ness to Kirby’s pages. Plus, his smooth inks work very well with the pencils.
VERDICT
Overall, Jack Kirby’s 1st Issue Specials stories are somewhat mixed, but there are some good ideas in there. However, I don’t think any of them had the potential to be massively successful and ongoing for a long period of time. As a concept, Atlas works well but as an ongoing series, it would have lacked uniqueness and intrigue. Manhunter is undoubtedly the most developed of the three stories and although it could have worked as an ongoing series, it wouldn’t have been a long one. And lastly, the Dingbats of Danger Street is probably the worst Jack Kirby comic book I’ve ever read. The characters are woeful and the whole concept is thirty-odd years out of date. Still, Kirby’s art is good, and it works well with the stories, especially when Mike Royer is involved. Looking back at 1st Issue Special as a whole briefly, it was a failure of a title as only Warlord really became popular from it, but it is a title full of ideas from so much talent that to me, even when its bad, it can be good in a strange sort of way.
Stories: 6.5/10
Art: 8.5/10
Next Week: The Dark Knight Returns (The Dark Knight Returns 1-4). Written and pencilled by Frank Miller with inks by Klaus Janson. Expected by 30/08/2020.
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