Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth #1
Published and © by DC, October-November 1972
Title: “The Last Boy on Earth!”
Synopsis: Kamandi leaves his grandfather to explore the surface world – a world where humans are now beasts and intelligent animals rule!
Writer: Jack Kirby
Penciler: Kirby
Inker: Mike Royer
Review: While Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth would eventually display Jack Kirby’s trademark inventiveness, this first issue is far too derivative of the “Planet of the Apes” movies. Sentient animals who worship a nuclear warhead? Check. A kind, animal scientist who takes pity on a strangely intelligent human? Yup. And, of course, a partially submerged Statue of Liberty as a clue to the world that was? Got that, too. But the King is in his element here, and a one-page map of “Kamandi’s Continent” hints of more creative adventures to come. In the meantime, strong Kirby art carries the day.
Grade: B
Second opinion: Cover is included in Nick Jones’s “DC Comics Cover Art: 350 of the Greatest Covers in DC’s History,” 2020. … Recommended by The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide (second edition), 2003.
Cool factor: While derivative, Kirby set loose in a “Planet-of-the-Apes”-like future is not a bad thing! The map of “Kamandi’s Continent” promises future adventures in the “Dominion of the Devils,” the “Undersea New York Rat Network,” and the “Wild Human Preserve.” This reviewer is so there!
Notable: First appearance of Kamandi, though a prototype did appear in 1957’s Alarming Tales #1 from Harvey Comics.
Character quotable: “This is not the New York I saw in the micro-film library!” – Kamandi, last boy on Earth
A word from the assistant: “According to Jack, (Carmine) Infantino thought the time might be right for something like ‘Planet of the Apes’ and asked Jack if he could come up with an idea similar enough to attract the ‘Ape’ fans but not so similar as to attract lawyers. Jack, of course, said yes.” – Mark Evanier, former Kirby assistant, in The Jack Kirby Collector #40, Summer 2004
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on Oct. 4, 2010.
