Kamandi Challenge #1

   Have you ever played that game in which you start a story and then the person on your right adds to it and then it keeps getting passed around the group? Your story might start off as a romance and evolves into a horror, comedy, or Bollywood blockbuster. It's all up to the storyteller. Well, that's what Dan Didio and the good folks at DC Comics is doing with the Kamandi Challenge.
    2017 marks what would be the 100th birthday of comic book legend Jack 'King' Kirby. While Kirby is more noted for his work with Marvel, there have been periods where the King worked with DC. Most notably is his time in the early 70s where her created a slew of fan favorite characters including OMAC, The Demon, Darkseid, and the star of this project, Kamandi.

Dale Eaglesham variant cover.
It's sick! I love it!

    Kamandi is the last human boy on earth. A great disaster caused mankind to either die out or de-evolve into uncivilized cavemen. In turn all sorts of animals evolved, become intelligent and bi-pedal. It's Kamandi's mission to restore humanity to it's rightful place as the rulers of the earth.
     In this opening chapter Kamandi is a normal boy, living a seemingly normal life. That is until invaders arrive to kidnap him. It turns out that Kamandi's parents created a world with androids to look over the lad in their absence. However, the weaponry of the attackers is too much for the robots and the boy is swept away into a deep dark void. Now on his own, Kamandi must escape his animal jailers and be reunited with his parents.
    This origin is slightly different from Kirby's version from 1972. But I'm going roll with it for a couple of reasons. For one, I'm a big Kamandi fan. Secondly, I am told that somehow through this series, the last two unpublished (except in the extremely rare Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2) issues are going to be finally released to the masses. Since I am trying to collect the entire original Kamandi run, I need those issues!
     The first chapter of the Kamandi Challenge was very entertaining. I'm not sure where this book is going to go but that's part of the fun. So far the assortment of writers and artists such as Didio, Keith Griffin, and Dale Eaglesham have been impressive. I can't wait to see what happens next.
     On that note, since this is the 100th birthday of Jack Kirby, I have a feeling that both DC and Marvel have some more surprises in store for the rest of 2017. I'm excited at the prospects- I just hope they get Stan Lee involved somehow.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.