One of the most fascinating pieces of my Kirby collection is Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers - Graphite Edition. This jewel published by Twomorrows Publishing way back in 2003 captures the original story by Jack Kirby which was to form the basis for his own comic book company in the late 70's. That didn't come to pass and later the project was put forth as a screenplay. That didn't happen either.
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I loved the series, which took vintage sci-fi melodrama and bonded onto that a cosmic scale and echoes of then popular flicks like Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It is generally held that Captain Victory is a sequel of unofficial sorts to the grand Fourth World saga. When we learn Victory's backstory we discover (unofficially and between the lines) that Victory is supposedly Orion's son and Darkseid's grandson. He was mentored by a man who in likelihood was Scott Free, Mister Miracle, who wears an eyepatch but looks strikingly like Highfather.
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Here's the cover gallery for the original run.
Even with at least three revivals that I know about, this original run has never been collected and made available to a larger audience. Almost everything else from this era of the early Indy market has been reprinted, but this one just goes neglected. It's a shame.
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At the risk of appearing unrelentingly negative, this series did nothing for me at all, though I only read the first three issues and the 'Special'. I've got the Graphite Edition, and it shows how far Kirby's pencils had declined - take a look at CV's extended and out-of-proportion left shoulder on the splash page to see what I mean. The characters were the by-then usual Kirby stereotypes, none of which spoke English as it should be spoken. Tired, cliched, uninspired, it seems that Jack was just churning out any old nonsense to earn his paycheque. A sad end to what had once been a stellar creative career. (Other opinions are available.)
ReplyDeleteI actually agree with you (to a very small degree) that the edge on Kirby's pencils is a wee bit blunted by this time. Not so much on the first two issues but for sure afterwards. But anatomy is among the least of Kirby's concerns, so that rarely bothers me. And for the record, Kirby was cajoled into doing this book. He was hardly getting any money for it, though owning the characters was a huge draw for him. He was in this period actually making decent money in animation and didn't need the comics work for once.
DeleteI wasn't suggesting that he needed the paycheque, RJ, only that he was doing just enough in his drawing (and writing) to justify it. But that shoulder really bugs me - surely he must've been able to see just how 'wrong' it was? Glad he had a more secure setup in animation though, after all his years at the comics grindstone.
DeleteThis is, for me, a hint of how restrained Kirby had been by mainstream comics. It has some of the most frightening, hallucinogenic images and some of the most emotional violence he ever visualized. The insect hordes are so intense and nightmarish in variety and design, and it seems to me that this may have been the first time Kirby was not doing comics primarily for children, but for himself. It's closer to underground comics than to Marvel. It was flawed, in my view, by the outdated title and the erratic printing and color design, which changed several times, but it shakes with unfiltered Kirby energy in all of its eccentric glory.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on all points. I'd never thought of it having roots in the Undeground tradition, but it's an intriguing notion.
DeleteI would love for there to be a collected edition of this series. You'd think that someone would have seen to it by now, don't you? (I've never had the chance to read it, so of course I'm biased in that direction.)
ReplyDeleteWhy it hasn't is bewildering. Image announced a collection once upon time, but it never happened. I'd love to see all this material under one cover with consistent paper quality and coloring.
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