Justice Inc. #2 is a great departure from the debut. Denny O'Neil is still scripting, apparently adapting a second Robeson story titled "The Sky Walker". The big shift though, that replacing the realistic if somewhat somber Al McWilliams is the legend Jack "King" Kirby. Suddenly the comic is possessed of an energy, but an energy derived at the cost of the noir mood of the debut.
The story begins with a train derailed through mysterious means. The Avenger comes across the wreck and some looters and takes action alongside Smitty. The looters don't seem to have been the cause of the crash, but soon The Avenger sees the culprit, a man seemingly walking in the air. Cut to the mansion of Robert Gant, an inventor and who is attacked and killed. His attackers are themselves attacked by his black servant Josh and his black maid Rosabel who drop their subserviant stereotypical speech patterns when not in the presence of white men. The Avenger appears to help and finds help in the college-trained Phi Beta Kappa man Josh and Rosabel who join Justice Incorporated. Soon this new team sees a skyscraper tumble to the ground and they stop to help. Benson goes onto the offices of Abel Darcy the man financing the deceased Gant, and quickly takes on his identity to gain access to his files. He is discovered soon after proving Darcy's guilt and the battle is on. The Avenger and Josh are captured but escape in time to confront Darcy, the Sky Walker who uses Gant's twin inventions an invisible airplane (hence the apparent sky walking) and a sonic cannon capable of the destruction seen so far in the story. The Avenger takes to the sky in a plane and shoots the villain down by causing the sonic ray to destroy the plane sending the mastermind plunging to his death. There is a text piece by Allen Asherman about a possible Justice Inc. movie and possible casting choices.
While not probably true to roots of the character the use of "King" Kirby on the title really gives it a boost it needed. The stories zing along with a typically robust Kirby vigor. Kirby was finishing out his contract with DC at this stage, after the disappointing Fourth World affair. But being a true pro, his work is always of interest, and highly desirable.
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I've always wondered why the Skywalker looks as though he's walking, when - if he was sitting in an invisible plane - he'd look as if he was sky-sitting. And think of the accident that could've been caused by his and Wonder Woman's invisible planes colliding.
ReplyDeleteInvsible equipment does have its drawbacks. I'm watching a serial now called The Vanishing Shadow and it features a gimmick which makes you vanish except for you shadow. It's a great visual, but as a practical device it leaves much to be desired.
DeleteI had never heard of the Avenger until I picked up issue 1 at the newsstands and I really didn’t like him that much . My initial view on Kirby’s art on issue 3 (the only Kirby issue I had on the 4 issue DC run) was that it was awful and the cover was really too busy and a bit of a mess. However, last week I was getting rid of some comics and this issue was in the pile bound for the local charity shop so I had another scan of the art and it wasn’t as bad as I first remembered it first time around. Saying that the comic still went in the charity shop pile and someone has already purchased it along with the other 25 comics I gave away, so the Kings work is still being read and appreciated.
ReplyDeleteWay to spread the gospel according to the "King" my friend.
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