OMAC - Yes, that's what the cover looks like...

JACK "THE KING" KIRBY's OMAC
(One Man Army Corps)

Shortened Series: Currently reading.

Comments

  1. Considered, for a long time, one of Kirby's lesser creations. Ideally, we'd be reviewing a large graphic novel that didn't need to have an ending or cliffhanger every 20 pages, nor a recap immediately after. The two-month wait between issues is obvious; there's not enough time to build character in more than glimpses - and five issues supply few glimpses.

    We might also be reviewing the better cover which DC reimaged. The published cover is indeed dynamic, and definitely makes you want to find out just what in blazes is going on. Yet it is oddly less dynamic and shocking than the original cover, which seemed a different Kirby than before.

    But those are not what we have. What we have, though diluted, is one of the more insightful look into the (then future) 21st century. We have a one-world government which, with fully angelic intentions, taking and using full control of life, in a never-ending battle against crime and terrorism. Individuality is sacrificed for the greater good, and the mild-mannered everyman finds himself the newest most powerful man alive.. and has lost himself in the process.

    It's Simon and Kirby's Captain America origin, ratcheted up to the highest stakes: Do we give up individual freedom for ultimate security? Is it necessary in a world that has become cosmically dangerous?

    "Let me become Scott Free - and find myself!"

    Kirby needed more than five issues of a bi-monthly comic book for this unbegun story. What we have is crazyexciting - and leaves us with a frustrating cliffhanger that can only be be completed by the King. We still miss you, Jack.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Another One Bites the Dust: A heroic allegory of a compassionless hero
    Jack Kirby's rhetoric in OMAC, after reading the 8 issues, felt like an episodic journey whereas the letters column from the readers was influencing the direction of the book. I'm not saying this was a bad thing as the editor made it known some negative letters were posted to show they do get complaints. Poor inker D. Bruce Berry... not able to fill Royer's shoes and took it a few times in the post-read. I went through the 8 books thoroughly, and found a lot to digest, in a very short amount of time.

    The storytelling: It was imaginative and I never felt like I was reading a formula I've read before. There were plenty of creative creatures and futuristic gadgets that surprised me (that are in use today albeit none took after Kirby's designs.) I was along for the ride and OMAC carried me there. The villains were eerie and designed well, but to be honest, some had silly names. From Doctor Skuba to Kafka, you could see through the storytelling at this point where it felt Kirby was becoming topical and pulling from the news. "Kafka" felt like "Castro" etc. . . Post Nazi war was still on the lips of the characters which made me think "when were these written again?" The 70s! So we go period piece, to Kirby's heyday. The stories overall were great. Personal favorite was issue 7 of the 8.

    Character of OMAC:
    Disregard any character arc. This Wall-E plant was used for the reader to push through the exotic landscapes Kirby invited us to play in. The character doesn't do too much for me other than behave as a visual shuttle. He has no memory of his former self. He relies heavily on Brother Eye and becomes dependent to the point everything is possible. Dead? Nano-technology to the rescue to simulate death! Trapped under something heavy? More strength please! I know we didn't get to hear Kirby's thoughts on Brother Eye which is why I enjoyed issue 7 so much. It was the first time it would be set i[ to fail. TWICE. I just started to invest more interest, but then like Ken Meyer Jr, from Hill AFB Utah wrote in issue 6:

    "OMAC is growing. He'll keep on growing till he's discarded like the other Kirby blockbuster greats. This, I hope, will never happen.... Please don't discontinue the series right in the middle of an interesting development. It's happened too many times in the past."

    The character was vanilla in a sea of rainbow options. Probably the most formula I could see at this point from the series.

    Overall:
    They did get Royer to finally kick in on issue 8, but then they splash a Joe Kubert cover on it and wrap the whole story before the last panel. Again to the letter's column predicting the character's chagrin, most got what they asked for. Even the cancellation. It's Kirby, but experimental Kirby. It's not his best work that I've read, but in the end, I'm glad I read it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I addressed Royer and Berry in my post below, but forgot to mention that the forward explained that Kirby had already left DC by the time they needed cover art for issue 8, hence having Kubert do it.

      Delete
  3. Howdy again, Ian. You might enjoy this serial more - and even find a different appreciation - by reading a couple of novels by Franz Kafka, from whom Kirby took much inspiration. (Not Cuba at all.) Especially "the Castle," which sort of inspired "the Fugitive" (1963) and definitely inspired "the Prisoner" (1966). Kirby's so-called "Prisoner serial" in Fantastic Four 84-87 was more based on "the Castle," but Stan was only familiar with the Prisoner TV show. Thus the dialogue - and the readers - attributed Kirby's influence to a 2nd generation carbon copy. He used Kafka's themes (and use of absurdity) throughout his career. Jack read everything - not only pulps and comics

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very insightful and as naive to the knowledge I am, I appreciate filling in the gaps! :)

      Delete
  4. ? Is it possible for a person named Ian to be naive to knowledge? This flies in the face of everything I've ever learned.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Naive is universal. It depends on the breadth of the knowledge more-so than the awareness. :)

      Delete
  5. Ok Club! For all those reading you have until Friday to finish the 8 issue series before we announce the next book! Already have it in the chamber. Here's a hint: A family of synthezoids. In the immortal words that be 'nuf said!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Could we perhaps vote on upcoming choices from a list? Perhaps we could try to work in a pattern, like one Marvel, one DC, one other, one retro?

      Delete
    2. I like it. I'll see if there is a radio button option. Once 3 - 4 suggestions come through, I can build it for the vote. :)

      Delete
  6. For fun, Lynn mentions an OMAC appearance from the series Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Was interesting to hear the voices they chose for Buddy Blank and OMAC. Verrrrry interesting... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsrZOJ_Uw14

    ReplyDelete
  7. Okay, I'm trying to post my comments for the second time after my first attempt last night mysteriously vanished. I just received this error message:


    Your HTML cannot be accepted: Must be at most 4,096 characters

    ReplyDelete
  8. Maybe if I break it up into parts.

    Most of my first attempt at comments got sucked into some black hole of the internet, including a fairly lengthy discussion of "I'll be your friend" Lila. Here's what I came up with for round 2:

    I read most of the stories out of the OMAC reprint hardcover, which is really a nicely done book. It has a nice forward by serial Kirby forward writer Mark Evanier and some copies of uninked pencils scattered throughout the book. Evanier explains that Royer was overworked, underpaid and required to ink (and letter!) all or none of Jack's books. Eventually, he needed some time off. Berry, for his part, didn't do that bad a job when you consider the workload but received nothing but complaints about his performance. He left comics bitter and with no desire to work in them again.

    I read the first issue out of the new IDW collection Jack Kirby Pencils and Inks Artisan Edition. It prints copies of the pencils next to scans of the original art of the first issues of Demon, Kamandi, and OMAC. All the inks are by Mike Royer. For Kirby fans, I can't recommend this book enough.

    According to Mark Evanier, OMAC began in Kirby's mind as a future version of Captain America; not Steve Rogers, but someone else taking up the mantle. The "someone else," Buddy Blank, in personality, is about as different from Steve Rogers as it would be possible to get. Steve was like Kirby himself and most of his heroes: courageous, moral and proactive. It could perhaps be argued that Kirby was passive-aggressive in some of his business dealings, but in situations of actual physical threats, he was a fighter. Buddy Blank on the other hand was bland, weak and a whiner. Buddy is blank with his lack of personality, blank as a template ready to be transformed into something else.

    Individualism doesn't seem to be particularly valued in this dystopian future, anyway. Without warning or consent, Buddy Blank was transformed by the Global Peace Agency (GPA) into OMAC, a super-soldier with no physical or mental remnant of Buddy Blank. Nobody seems to notice, not less mind. The GPA agents themselves hide their natural appearance to make sure they aren't perceived as giving preference to a race or nationality. Other than effectively killing Buddy Blank, the GPA seems to be legitimately fighting for justice, but I've never trusted them. I wouldn't have been surprised had the series lasted longer had it been revealed that their true goal was to take over the world with their New World Order. A recent reading of an examination of OMAC in issue 62 of The Jack Kirby Collector by Robert Guffey leads me to the more pessimistic conclusion that GPA already has taken over the world and use OMAC to eliminate the few remaining pockets of resistance. Why else would they have chosen someone as oblivious as Buddy Blank to be their instrument? OMAC has certainly been bought and paid for giving him an all-seeing brother, replacement parents and VR movies to watch during his free time.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The last issue, as originally written, ended on a cliffhanger. It originally read:

    Don’t miss the climax of the ‘Skuba Incident!’ It’s a classic!! IT’S THE WALKING DEAD! Unforgettable!”

    Jack was leaving DC and the last panel was redone to try to wrap things up, as DC decided not to continue the series without Kirby. A few years later, Jim Starlin did an OMAC backup feature in Warlord, and a few years after that, John Byrne did a four issue series, but neither of these are really worth discussing in connection to Kirby's work. I suspect that had Kirby written issue 9 that OMAC’s Big Brother (Eye) would have used reserve power (or something) to free himself and transform Buddy Blank into OMAC once again, who would then go on to defeat Dr. Skuba. Being a comics fan means having to deal with loose ends, abandoned storylines and a world of what-ifs. Perhaps the explosion at the end of the printed issue actually does wrap up Kirby’s themes. If this is the world to come, then it really doesn’t matter if everybody dies. The things worth living for have already been taken from us.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Well put! I know the character sits in infamy, but it's only a matter of time before someone tries to kickstart this character again. In a world of recyclable inventions, OMAC will breathe again in the next 10 years. I have a feeling...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for posting! Let's see what others reply!

Popular posts from this blog

Re: CROM and other ways to use profanity...

Len Wein: SNIKT! You'll be missed.