Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth #3
Published and © by DC, February 1973
Title: “The Thing that Grew on the Moon!”
Synopsis: Kamandi flees militant apes only to find himself at the mercy of a moon creature in a buried Las Vegas.
Writer: Jack Kirby
Penciler: Kirby
Inker: Mike Royer
Review: Thanks to the burst of creativity in Kamandi #2 (see review), this third issue’s introduction of militant gorillas doesn’t feel like just another “Planet of the Apes” knockoff. Of course, that’s partly because of writer/artist Jack Kirby’s spectacular two-page spreads – particularly the shot of Ape Town, U.S.A. The discovery of the Apollo Project ruins and the introduction of a moon creature offer a creative twist, and the ending battle scene between the creature and a wounded alpha gorilla is actually quite poignant. It’s not New Gods, but Kamandi is good fun.
Grade: A-
Second opinion: Recommended by The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide (second edition), 2003.
Cool factor: Love those Kirby trademark two-page spreads!
Not-so-cool factor: When Ben Boxer and friends discover remnants of the Apollo Project, there’s a placard for Apollo 20. Of course, in reality, the program never made it that far. How did we lose our way to the moon?
Character quotable: “Destroy the enemy!” – Chaaku the Mighty, master of the mission statement
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on Oct. 6, 2010.
