In all the many times I've read and enjoyed Jack "King" Kirby's wacky spin on Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, I've never once realized the obvious. Jimmy Olsen is like Alice in Wonderland in these stories, a fair-haired innocent who goes under ground and then undergoes various physical transformations (or seems to) and who confronts an increasingly strange world always attempting to make sense of the bizarre events and sometimes threatening creatures which abound.
Kirby's
Jimmy Olsen seemed to be told in two-issue storylines. The first introduces us to not only the new Newsboy Legion and the Whiz Wagon but to Morgan Edge, the new boss of Clark Kent and an agent of Darkseid, a gang of super-science bikers called "The Outsiders", and the "Hairies" who operate the rolling citadel called the "Mountain of Judgment". We encounter new places like "Habitat", a communal experiment in living and the "Zoomway", an immense roadway on which both the Outsiders and the Hairies dwell. It's a lot to drink in at one time and if there's one criticism of Kirby's early "Fourth World" material is that it comes at you so quickly that the reader barely has time to process a new concept before a fresh bauble shines.
It's not Jimmy Olsen himself who changes exactly in the next story, but a clone made giant and infused with Kryptonite in order to knock off the Man of Steel. These are the stories that introduce properly "The DNA Project" and its vile counterpart the "Evil Factory" run by "Simyan" and "Mokkari". Kirby bombards the reader with a wave of info on the potential for genetic manipulation, for both the good of mankind and otherwise. DNA is a commonplace in the modern world, but it was the very stuff of science fiction in the early 70's. Little of the moral dilemma that such work suggests readily today was touched on by Kirby.
The next storyline might well be my favorite of the series when the Four-armed Terrors invades the Project and threatens it and Metropolis above it with atomic annihilation. Kirby is at the top of his game and Vinnie Colletta's inking is a delight. I know that Vinnie is controversial and I'm sensitive to those complaints, but the final result of his inks on Kirby is just something I like to looking at.
The Golden Guardian takes a big role in the next two-parter but plays second fiddle to Don Rickles of all people. I forget the story of how Kirby came to use Rickles in these stories, but it's a strange and odd addition to an already bizarre scheme. We meet a doppleganger for Rickles as well, a goofy gent named "Goody Rickels" (note the spelling change). I'm sure Goody was added so that Kirby could unleash torment on Rickles without it being him actually or officially. There are some good gags in this one and plotting is especially tight.
My second favorite story in Jimmy Olsen is the saga of Transilvane, a whole planet made in a lab by a mad scientist. The creatures of that world, microscopic in size are bombarded with Universal monster movies and adapt their forms. So we are treated to a zany story with vampires, werewolves, mummies, and even a Frankenstein monster. This is one of those it's not good to ponder too closely, but it's a fun fun ride.
The series is beginning its glide path to ending when we are treated to a trilogy of tales which close out the Evil Factory storyline. Jimmy and Newsboys go to Scotland at the behest of Morgan Edge and encounter monsters in lochs and in castles as well. The forces of Inter-Gang are never far from the pages of Jimmy Olsen and they pop up here as well. Jimmy undergoes a real transformation this time becoming a savage caveman type. In addition to giants of various types we've been treated to the likes of the Scrapper Trooper in these stories, a tiny soldier made in the likeness of the tough Newsboy. He often shows up to save the day, a Tinkerbell with with a gat.
By the time of issue #147 Kirby knows that Jimmy Olsen will be given over to other talents which are paind less than he is. His Fourth World is sadly coming apart by the command of Carmine Infantino and the other bean counters at DC. So Kirby follows up a Superman plot thread which takes him to New Genesis or as it's called here "Supertown". He'd has his first glimpse in The Forever People's debut issue and what he finds is a place where his abilities to help are really not needed all that much since superpowers abound. He realizes that Earth is the place for him.
The Jimmy Olsen series by Kirby wraps up with a villain not apparently tied to Darkseid, an incredibly old chap named Victor Volcanum who seems to jump right out of a Jules Verne novel. This lava-drinking madman captures the Newsboys along with their new buddy "Angry Charlie" a refugee from the defunct Evil Factory. Volcanum is a madman who is willing to destroy Metropolis but Superman saves the day along with Jimmy and Newsboys and as the story closes they fly off into the sun which is setting behind a Metropolis skyline. The fair-haired boy has returned home at last. And in more ways than one in that with Kirby moving on to other projects Jimmy Olsen returns to the somewhat more humdrum misadventures which marked his comic for decades.
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The two Transilvane issues are probably my two favorites of the run. I particularly like the reveal of the small planet at the end of the first issue.
ReplyDeleteI have a soft spot for Superman in Supertown. It’s not 100% successful, as Kirby’s characterization of Superman often seems a little off to me, but I love the quiet conversation between Highfather and Superman.
Kirby's attempts to "humanize" Superman are at times clunky, but I agree that simple conversation in which a hero learns without a gigantic struggle was a fresh way to go.
DeleteThe two Transilvane issues are probably my two favorites of the run. I particularly like the reveal of the small planet at the end of the first issue.
ReplyDeleteI have a soft spot for Superman in Supertown. It’s not 100% successful, as Kirby’s characterization of Superman often seems a little off to me, but I love the quiet conversation between Highfather and Superman.
The two Transilvane issues are probably my two favorites of the run. I particularly like the reveal of the small planet at the end of the first issue.
ReplyDeleteI have a soft spot for Superman in Supertown. It’s not 100% successful, as Kirby’s characterization of Superman often seems a little off to me, but I love the quiet conversation between Highfather and Superman.
Apparently, Jimmy's transformations were as a result of being told to make it similar to previous pre-Kirby tales, where Jimmy would become a giant turtle or something equally ridiculous. Don Rickles was, I believe, Mark Evanier and Steve Sherman's suggestion, but the Rickles camp were reportedly unimpressed by it. Don doesn't even get to interact with Superman, though that was meant to be the original idea. It was much later writers who came up with the idea of the 'now' Newsboy Legion being clones of the originals, not their sons, and there's no evidence to indicate that Kirby was building up to that revelation. Interesting that he should miss such an interesting idea in a series immersed in the theme of DNA and cloning.
ReplyDeleteI think there is internal evidence to show the "new" Newsboyos are clones, one being Scrapper's memories of Suicide Slum when there's no evidence he'd actually been there. So I don't think he missed it, I just think he didn't get around to making it a revelation.
DeleteScrapper makes only one reference to Suicide Slum ("- - - like any tenement building in Suicide Slum!!!") in a single issue, RJ, but remember, when Jimmy Olsen first meets the Legion, it's in a 'Slum garage'. It's fairly obvious that this is meant to be in Suicide Slum. Also, if Scrapper's parents still lived there when he was being brought up, he'd have memories of the place. Clones have the memories of their originals, but the Legion don't remember The Guardian, saying on their first meeting "He looks and fights just the way our dads described him!" Plus, the original Legion specifically refer to the boys as their sons. And when The Guardian gets passed to go to Metropolis, he's said to be the first person from the 'project' to be allowed to visit the outside world. If the 'now' Newsboy Legion were clones, then they were the first, not The Guardian. So I'd say that all the evidence points to the fact that JK didn't see the kids as clones of the originals. It might have occurred to him later of course, if he'd been on the mag for longer, but it clearly wasn't in his thinking at the time.
DeleteYou make a good point on the "first to visit the outside world", but I don't consider that definitive. Superman knew about the Project and had kept it secret, so secrets were the order of the day. And the use of "sons" means little as they would've been seen in that light regardless of their origins. The memories are shown to be fragmentary, the Guardian knows some things and not others. But you make a good case. The fact we never see Mothers is what makes me feel they were clones from the get-go.
DeleteYeah, but we never really see the dads away (or far) from the project and it's unlikely that the mums would've had knowledge or access to that, so I assume that Kirby simply considered the mums unnecessary to the plot. Also, The Guardian seems to be aware that he's a clone, whereas the kids show no such suspicion. Rather odd that, considering they were surrounded by reminders (Scrapper Trooper for one) that it could be a possibility. And the baddies had mini clones of Superman, Jimmy, and the Newsboy members. I also find it significant that it's said that the Trooper is cloned from DNA of Scrapper Junior, not Senior. As for fragmentary memories, the 'now' Newsboys exhibit no such difficulties. Like I said, if he'd worked on the mag for longer, the idea may have eventually occurred to him, but I don't think the evidence is there to suggest he was keeping it up his sleeve. If they were clones, would they even have been allowed to gad about outside in the way in which they did? Doubt it. They behaved exactly as normal sons would've done. I wonder if Mark Evanier has ever talked about it - assuming he knew anything of course.
DeleteYou as usual back up what you say with evidence which is much appreciated. And you almost convince save that I have always thought the young Newsboys were clones. I don't know why I thought that, but given the emphasis on cloning in the magazine it seemed a logical progression. I guess I always supposed that they were an experiment on the part of the Project in involving their subjects into life above.
DeleteFunnily enough, it never occurred to me back in the day that they might be clones, but looking at the series now, it seems an obvious theme to explore. I just don't think the evidence is there to support the idea though, and I'm sure Jack would've given stronger clues (as in any) if that was the direction in which he was headed. However, first impressions always inform our ideas of things, and who are you to be denied yours after all this time? I wouldn't try to change your mind, but I thought it was worth exploring all the angles from an interesting discussion point of view. Cheers.
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