By: Jack Kirby Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 200 Publication Date: June 10, 2008 Release Date: June 10, 2008
Product Description: In one of his last major works, Jack Kirby, co-creator of Captain America, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, and many others, envisions a 1984-inspired dystopia.
The protagonist is corporate nobody Buddy Blank, who is changed by a satellite called Brother Eye into the super-powered OMAC (One Man Army Corps). Enlisted by the Global Peace Agency, who police the world using pacifist means, OMAC battles the forces of conformity in this short-lived but legendary series that serves as a companion to the JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS series.
OMAC Part of the Second DC Wave This book contains the first run of Jack Kirby's OMAC series which ran eight issues in the early 1970's. OMAC along with Kamandi and the Demon were part of the second wave of Kirby titles after his ambitious Fourth World Series of titles was cancelled.
OMAC is set in the "World that's coming." and deals with a time where armies are too risky. The Global Peace Agency creates OMAC from a character named (of all things) Buddy Blank. Buddy is transformed into the mohawked superhuman OMAC through electronic surgery performed by his (shades of HAL) satellite partner Brother Eye.
OMAC goes on to fight the mega rich who can rent a city for murder; a dictator who can by living bio weapons; a group that wants to assassinate through the use of pseudo-people; body transplant snatchers; and a man who wants to steal the world's water.
These stories show Kirby strutting his science fiction stuff with a shade of Superman (OMAC even receives foster partents).
The series is cut short in issue 8 with a panel thrown in to explain what happened off camera. Kirby left for his return to Marvel shortly thereafter. OMAC would go on as a back up character in an excellent series of shorts; and was revealed to be related to the character Kamandi.
Extras include some original pencils; a forward by Mark Evanier; Kirby friend and creator in his own right.
Like the Charles Dickens book the Mystery of Edwin Drood (which was only half completed) enjoy the stories that are there and imagine how it might have ended. Still a fun read.
A really fun look at the "World That's Coming" I'm not a Jack Kirby fan, but I do enjoy most of his DC work. OMAC has been my favorite so far. This book contains eight short stories that explore the "World That's Coming" as Kirby described it. Basically, it's his view of the future assuming the current corruption of the 70s had continued including the rich buying up the world, doing whatever they wanted, and weapons becoming so powerful, we couldn't afford to have large armies fight each other. His version wasn't so far off.
What I really liked was how fun the stories were. They're like the Saturday Morning cartoons I remember in the 80s. Each one is a complete story (except for a two-parter in the middle) where OMAC takes on a different social problem in the form of a villain. The art has a lot of energy. The stories are simple, but deal with social issues and make their point. I also enjoy a superhero who's actually a hero (has good moral character) and can use his powers to stop the bad guy (instead of losing the powers every issue or facing some kryptonite that forces him to solve the problem some other way).
If you like comics with real heroes, or 80's style cartoons, I think you'll enjoy OMAC.
Future Warrior War is a constant theme of Kirby. In this work, the One-Man Army Corps is an agent for a worldwide peace organization. Living in a nightmarish near-future, he fights corporatism and science gone mad. This series may have been the precursor to both the punk hairstyle and the British SF comics magazine, 2000 AD. Late in his career, assisted by Mike Royer, Jack Kirby delivers his trademark pulse-pounding action and high-tech machinery at breakneck speed.
Not bad but hardly essential reading Jack Kirby is the creator of Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and countless other comic book heroes. His 70s work is famous for its energy and insane ideas, OMAC is no exception. A cyberpunk book from before cyberpunk existed, it does have some interesting predictions including virtual reality and cell phones as well as some off the wall crazy ones.
But Kirby left early and book ends with an unfulfilling cliffhanger. Conflicts set up early in the book are left unresolved. If you're looking for Kirby magic would be better off checking out the New Gods collections, this is really only for the compleatist.
Collection of Kirby's strange, short-lived series. Are you ready for the World That's Coming? Are you ready for the One Man Army Corps?
It's great that this series of Kirby's (along with several other Kirby series at DC and Marvel) are finally being collected and published.
I just wish it could have been done while Kirby was still alive!! (what other creators also deserve collections of their works before they kick off? Ditko?)
As I hate hardbacks, I really wish this was in paperback, but I guess this is the only way we could get it. I'm not too keen on the paper, either. Same style as the Fourth World Omnibuses, and I know others have complained. I expect the future Demon and Loser collections will follow the same style.
This was one of the first short-lived series that I worked to get a complete set when got seriously into comic book collecting in the early 80s. As DC in recent years have been reusing the concept, it's great they finally collected the original series. Now, I wish they'd collect Byrne's OMAC mini, as well as some of the scattered other OMAC appearanced (short-lived backup series in Kamandi and Warlord, etc)
I wish they had shown Kirby's original last panel from issue #8. And I wish someone had tried to find out from Kirby were he was originally planning on going with the series after the cliffhanger in #8. You see that Kirby is setting things up for future stories that never happened. Other after Kirby tried to tie the series into other stuff, such as tying it into Kamandi (by claiming that Kamandi's grandfather was the now de-powered Buddy Blank; and that the absense of OMAC allowed the Great Disaster to wipe out the World That's Coming).
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