FOURTH WORLD INTERLUDE - THE APOCRYPHA UPDATE

A few days ago, I mentioned that I was compiling a list of stories from the non-Kirby titles that link, albeit sometimes very loosely, into the Fourth World saga during the tetralogy's original run. In the end, I came up with a shorter than I expected list of seven stories, five from the pages of Lois Lane, and two from the post-Kirby issues of Jimmy Olsen. All seven stories were published prior to DC cancelling New Gods and Forever People at the end of 1972. As I said, some of the connections are tenuous at best, but I will include them as extra entries in Fourth World Thursday/Friday when I reach the appropriate point. The seven stories are...

An apocryphal Desaad appearance in Lois Lane #116

LOIS LANE #111 (7/71) - Dark Side Of The Justice League (DNA Project, Intergang appear, Evil Factory BTS)
LOIS LANE #115 (10/71) - My Death, By Lois Lane (Black Racer, Intergang, Morgan Edge)
LOIS LANE #116 (11/71) - Hall Of 1,000 Mirrors (Darkseid, Edge, Desaad, Happyland)
LOIS LANE #118 (1/72) - Edge Of Darkness (Evil Factory, Edge, Darkseid)
LOIS LANE #119 (2/72) - Inside The Outsiders (Edge, The Outsiders (subplot only))
JIMMY OLSEN #150 (6/72) - Where's Charlie Now? (back-up story - Newsboy Legion, Angry Charlie)
JIMMY OLSEN #152 (8-9/72) - The Double Edged Sword (Darkseid, Edge, The Outsiders)

There's also a reference to Darkseid in the story "The Hero Superman Doomed To Die!" in Action Comics #408 (January 1972). I haven't yet had a chance to check out that story, but I believe it to be no more than a mention and thus not worthy of inclusion.

These apocryphal stories won't take the place of the regular Fourth World Thursday updates, I plan to do an extra update that week.
If anyone knows of any other non-Kirby Fourth World stories from the 1970-74 period, please let me know and I'll add them to the list.
I'll be back tomorrow with the first edition of Muck Monster Monday, then Thursday with Fourth World Thursday.
See you soon,
Steve


 

FOURTH WORLD THURSDAY - "MY MISSION IS TO DEFEND -- TO PROTECT! YOU FACE DISASTER! LET ME OUT!"

SPJO #135 cover by Neal Adams. This does not happen!

Okay, if you've read the first two installments of Fourth World Thursday/Friday and found Kirby's new universe so far a bit strange, then to coin a phrase, you ain't seen nothing yet! As this issue begins, Jimmy Olsen and the Newsboy Legion, still looking for adventure, are chilling with the Hairies at the Mountain Of Judgement.
Elsewhere, however, we find two strange masked figures wandering around a mysterious complex, full of typical Kirbyesque machines, giant vats containing bizarre grotesque lifeforms, and finally stopping in front of a tank containing the figure of a masked giant. Our two figures take three pages to get to this point and they spend the whole time telling each other the purpose of their mission. Yes folks, it's another lengthy exposition scene! Turns out they have stolen cell samples from "the Earthmen" and have been cloning Superman, Olsen and the Newsboys. And the giant clone has been made to destroy Superman! As one of our villainous strangers says "His exploits shall brighten our leader's cause!" Hmm! I wonder just WHO that mysterious leader could be? At the end of the scene they remove their masks and stand revealed. We have a short Neandrathal figure who goes by the name of Simyan(!) and a taller yellow skinned chap called Mokkari.

Fantastic background but awkward exposition!

Meanwhile, back at the Mountain Of Judgement, Jude, the leader of the Hairies, tells Superman there's trouble at t'mill... sorry I mean The Project. What is "The Project"? Well, whatever it is, it produced Jude and his kind - and Superman was one of the first to participate in it. Hold on! Last issue he went from not knowing about the Hairies, to having seen their file, and now he's had some involvement in the mysterious project that created them! Make your mind up Supes!
So Superman shoots off to The Project with Jimmy and the Legion in tow. The Project turns out to be a gigantic underground military base where, we are informed, trouble has broken out in the "Cell Duplication And Replica Refining Section".  So, let's get this straight, the military has been experimenting with genetic engineering. Okay, makes sense to some degree. IF they're trying to create some form of perfect soldier. What they have created instead is a race of hippies. Who are now working side-by-side with the military on more genetic manipulation. Only Jack Kirby could a) come up that idea and b) make it actually work!

Jimmy and the Newsboys are in for a shock, though. In fact, a few shocks. First we find out that the original Newsboy Legion, including Flippa Dippa's father (Flippa Dippa Sr.?) all work at The Project, much to their offspring's surprise. Now, given the nature of The Project, and the fact that there is absolutely no mention of the boys mothers, could it be the youngsters are really actually clones of the originals?  Kirby's not saying, but it certainly looks like a possibility.

So while the Newsboys catch up with their "fathers", Superman takes Jimmy on a tour of The Project and explains that "the genetic code has been broken" and that "human beings like yourself can now be produced from a single cell". Jimmy is mind-blown by all this, as you'd expect, especially when he encounters one of the soldiers, who turns out to be - - an Olsen clone! One of many in fact. And just how did they get hold of the DNA needed to create a Jimmy Olsen clone? Superman helpfully tells him (and us) that it came "From a tissue sample taken from your last medical examination at "The Daily Planet" dispensary. It was a simple, painless procedure -- carried out on you and me and the Newsboy Legion!" Er, Superman? I think you just told Jimmy that you work at The Daily Planet. You're supposed to keep quiet about your other life, remember? That's why it's called a SECRET identity! And how DID they get a sample from Clark Kent/Superman anyway? Being invulnerable and all? And then of course there's the questionable legality and morality of using cells taken from a person without their knowledge.
While we're on the subject, shouldn't there also be clones of other Planet employees? Lois Lane perhaps? Perry White? Morgan Edge? Not to mention numerous Clark Kent and Superman clones which really MUST compromise that ol' secret identity! 

Darkseid makes his second appearance and Simyan speaks too soon...

Anyway, back at The Project's dark mirror image, which we will come to know as "The Evil Factory", Simyan and Mokkari have decided to give their masked giant a green paint job. Of course, it's not your common or garden green paint. Oh no, it's actually synthetic Kryptonite that'll give him one hell of an edge when he comes face to face with The Man Of Steel. Mokkari and Simyan report to their leader, who turns out to be... Darkseid, first seen having a stern word or two with Morgan Edge in a single panel last issue. He fares slightly better this issue, his stony visage being seen on screen for a whole TWO panels, with his dialogue spilling over to a third. Darkseid obviously has his doubts about Simyan and Mokkari's giant "uncontrollable organic murder machine".
"But we CAN control him mighty Darkseid!" protests Simyan.
Open mouth, insert foot!
Said giant promptly bursts out of his tank and starts rampaging around The Evil Factory. Simyan quickly grasps a "penetrator beam" and teleports the giant to The Project, where he locks horns with Superman straight away. In the heat of the battle his mask is displaced and his face is revealed. Superman is in fact battling a giant green Jimmy Olsen clone! This seems to be Kirby's version of a standard Jimmy Olsen trope. Numerous times in the pre-Kirby Olsen comics Jimmy would be transformed into some bizarre creature - werewolf, human porcupine, and perhaps most famously, Giant Turtle Boy (see cover image somewhere on this page).

A classic J.O. transformation from SPJO #53. Art by Curt Swan.

So it doesn't take long for Superman to be taken out by the not-so-jolly Green Giant Olsen. Fortunately The Project have a back-up plan. You know, just in case a Giant Green Kryptonite Enhanced Clone is transported into the heart of your project by an alien rival complex. The Newsboys (the originals, not the sons) rush to a top secret experiment they've had running within The Project. In a tank they've been growing a very special clone. "I am strong! Strong!" cries the mysterious clone from within his tank. "Let me out! My mission is to defend -- to protect! You face disaster! Let me out!" At which point he picks up a shield.
Yes, the Newsboys have cloned Captain America!
Ha! No they haven't! Remember the original Newsboys had a guardian called Jim Harper who was also a costumed hero called, er, The Guardian? Well, that's who they've cloned. The Guardian lives again and is ready for battle! As they say on TV, "To Be Continued..."
Kirby's story barrels along throwing out ideas left, right and centre. It rushes by, leaping effortlessly over a few plot holes such as the Superman clone thing. The art, inked by Vince Colletta is prime Kirby, although Al Plastino (and possibly Murphy Anderson) was still making some alterations to bring Superman and Jimmy closer to DC's house style. More threads of the great epic tapestry to come are woven into place. We know now this tale is cosmic in scale with the revelation that the Evil Factory and it's master Darkseid are from another planet called Apokalips. And there are hints of much greater things to come...
Next time on Fourth World Thursday - - things are still decidedly weird as we move away from Jimmy Olsen to encounter - The Forever People!
And coming soon... Muck Monster Monday!
See you soon,
Steve

FOURTH WORLD INTERLUDE - THE APOCRYPHA

Definately NOT Kirby! The Black Racer by Werner Roth.

As I work my way through the Fourth World, I find myself wondering how to treat what I call the "Fourth World Apocrypha". Those are the stories that fall outside what I regard as the Kirby Canon, which are the 69 stories that Kirby produced in the pages of the four original Fourth World titles, "The New Gods", "The Forever People", "Mister Miracle" and "Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen". Anything Kirby produced after that, even the graphic novel "The Hunger Gods" and it's precursors "Even Gods Must Die" and "On The Road To Armagetto", are not necessarily part of his original master-plan. In addition, there are other stories, produced during Kirby's original run, in other titles by other writers and artists that utilize the Fourth World concepts. Stories such as "My Death... By Lois Lane" and "Edge Of Darkness" from the pages of "Superman's Girl-Friend, Lois Lane" are prime examples, along with a couple of stories from the post-Kirby issues of Jimmy Olsen. 

So, my intention is not to include the apocryphal stories in the main Fourth World Thursday updates, but instead to do a separate update as I get to them. I'm still compiling a list of the apocryphal stories, so if anyone has any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them.

See you soon,

Steve

LONDON GOES TO POPEYE

When I started Strip Search, the earliest updates tended towards collections of newspaper strips rather than comic books. Recently the emphasis seems to have shifted the other way, but today I'm going back to the strip reprints for  a quick note about a book that has somehow slipped under my radar.
In 1986, cartoonist Bobby London took over the Popeye newspaper strip. Up to then London was known for his work for National Lampoon and Playboy, and most notoriously the underground comic "Air Pirate Funnies" which led to a lawsuit by the Walt Disney corporation over a Mickey Mouse satire.
London was the perfect choice for the strip, both updating the strip but staying true to the spirit of the strip's original creator E.C. Segar. He lasted 6 years before a controversial storyline allegedly about abortion found him removed from the strip.
IDW have now published a hardcover book collecting the first three years of London's run, with a second volume due, I believe, in November.
I haven't yet seen the book, but IDW's track record in strip reprints is exemplary, and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. When I do, I'll give it a more detailed review.
I'll be back with more later in the week, including the next Fourth World Thursday.
Be seeing you,
Steve

A VERY QUICK DITKOMANIA UPDATE!

Further to my recent review of the latest issue of Rob Imes fanzine Ditkomania, Rob informs me that he has made some copies available via Ebay. He also has a few earlier issues available as well as a trio of old Atlas era comics.
Check out http://www.ebay.com/sch/merchant/rimes12 for more information.
I'll be back Thursday or Friday with the next installment of Fourth World Thursday/Friday.

FOURTH WORLD THURSDAY - "BEWARE! PREPARE FOR EVENTS NEW TO ALL YOUR PAST EXPERIENCES!"

And we're back...

The second (published) chapter of the Fourth World saga picks up where the first left off, with Olsen and his new biker gang getting ready to head out on the highway to find the mysterious Mountain Of Judgement.

But first a word from our sponsor.  "Beware! Prepare for events new to all your past experiences! This is the strange assignment upon which Jimmy Olsen and his young friends of the Newsboy Legion have embarked! Come to the wild area -- the sub-world of bizarre sub-cultures. Like the Outsiders -- who live with a secret -- the awesome deadly secret Jimmy Olsen hopes to ferret out -- Jimmy Olsen must come to grips with The Mountain Of Judgement!"

So runs the first caption on the opening page of this story. As I've said before, Kirby had a real way with words. Sometimes it's just not the right words. "Prepare for events new to all your past experiences!" Huh? What does that even mean?

Oh well, back to the story...

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 cover by Neal Adams

Olsen, The Newsboy Legion and the Outsiders are ready to set off to find the Mountain Of Judgement when Super-Drag... I mean Superman butts in and starts to try to talk them out of it, suggesting it would be certain death or them. Looks like Supes knows more than he's letting on...

He doesn't get very far before one of the Outsiders decides enough is enough and tries to run the Kryptonian down with his motorcycle. A rocket powered motorcycle to be sure, but this is Superman we're talking about. Still, it gives another Outsider a chance to grab a convenient bazooka and fire a shell at him. A shell full of Kryponite gas! Hold on just a moment, here! Last issue a Kryponite ray-gun, now shells of K-gas? Did they just stockpile Kryptonite weapons in case of an invasion of Kryptonians? But wait! Our bazooka firing Outsider claims the weapons actually belong to the "Hairies". "And what are the Hairies?" asks Superman.

Time for another session of "Tell It To Auntie"...  
Yes, it's one of those awkward exposition scenes. Yango (remember him from last issue? The one that suddenly decided that Jimmy Olsen was his new leader?) explains to Supes that the "Hairies" were the original creators of Habitat, The Wild Area and the Kryptonite weapons. Then one day they just vanished, abandoning everything. He keeps on explaining all of this while beating on Superman, even after the Kryptonian loses consciousness and is being carried off. Who are you REALLY telling, Yango? Superman or the reader? Is this a case of the Fourth World breaking the Fourth Wall?

Anyway, with the Big Blue Boy Scout (and the exposition) out of the way, Olsen, the Newsboys and the Outsiders take to the road in search of the Zoomway, a mysterious road that supposedly leads to The  Mountain Of Judgement.  The road they're taking appears to be a dead end ending in a rock wall, but acting on his gut instinct, Jimmy guns the Whiz Wagon's motor, aims straight at the cliff face...

A nightmare of kaleidoscopic form and..er black & white

...and tears through a fake wall onto a futuristic looking highway.  Not any old highway, this is the Zoomway. And it's full of dangerous traps which gradually whittle down the contingent. Loose rocks come flying at them. A giant gap in the road. A water filled tunnel (well, they need something for Flippa Dippa to do). And then, they activate a bizarre psychedelic light show, making it impossible to see the road ahead. Kirby informs us that "Jimmy Olsen and The Newsboy Legion and their Whiz Wagon careening madly through a nightmare of kaleidoscopic form and color!" Quite apart from that caption not quite making sense ("careen" would have better than "careening"), the freaky light show is portrayed by one of Kirby's patented cosmic photo-collages - in black and white(!). Fortunately the Whiz Wagon is equipped with radar, enabling them to stay on the road. By the time they pass through the cosmic mind-trip the Outsiders have all fallen by the wayside leaving just Jimmy and the Newsboys.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I mean Habitat, Superman has recovered from his beating earlier in the issue and sets off in hot pursuit of the youngsters. Just in time too, because they have found the Mountain Of Judgement and it's heading straight towards them! Turns out the MOJ is a gigantic (and I do mean gigantic) missile carrier that been disguised as a oriental dragon to terrify intruders.

The Mountain Of Judgement revealed!

Supes dives down and pulls the Whiz Wagon out of the path of the MOJ but both are pulled into the maw of the "dragon" by a powerful magnetic force. No sooner are they inside, then a group of hippies, the mysterious "Hairies", reveal themselves and start searching the Whiz Wagon for... a bomb! Which they finally find hidden inside the vehicle's TV camera. Aha! So that was Morgan Edge's ulterior motive all along. Use Olsen and Co. to find the "Hairies" and blow them up! Good job Superman's tagged along, as he takes the brunt of the explosion, leaving everybody unharmed! Jude, the elected leader of the "Hairies" thanks the superhero, saying "You know our story! We seek only to be left alone - to use our talents to develop fully!"
To which Superman tellingly replies "Yes I've been let in on your top secret file!"
Uh, Superman? Just a few pages back you DIDN'T know about them! You had to ask the Outsiders about them, remember? Or was that just to goad Yango into giving the readers a bit of exposition?

Darkseid's 1st appearance. In one panel of an issue of Jimmy Olsen.

And who are the mysterious unseen enemies of the "Hairies"? Morgan Edge and his cronies in Intergang, obviously. But wait! There's a last minute reveal. Old Morgan has a boss, and he is NOT happy. He's also not human! He is in fact, as we'll soon find out, a god. And not a good god, either! His name is Darkseid and he is destined to become one of the major villains of the DC universe. And his first appearance? ONE minor panel in an issue of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. How ignoble a beginning!
Still, more hints of Kirby's great cosmic epic to come and another of the major players is now on the board. Maybe we won't find out much about Darkseid for a while, but when we do...
Oh, and  it's pronounced Dark-SIDE, not Dark-SEED in case you were wondering.
Next time on Fourth World Thursday - things get even weirder!
See you soon!

 

FOURTH WORLD THURSDAY - "GO! GO! GO! VUDU! DEATH IS FAST! DEATH IS LOUD! DEATH IS FINAL!"

"KIRBY IS HERE!" announced the cover of "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" #133, or as the logo proclaimed "Superman's Ex-Pal the New Jimmy Olsen". And so it begins...

Jack Kirby made his DC debut in August 1970. The story goes that Kirby had boasted that he could take the worst selling title of the DC line and make it a best-seller. Well, why let the truth get in the way of a good story? What actually happened was that Kirby asked to be assigned to a title that had no regular creative team so not to put anybody out of a job. The title he got? “Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen”.

Kirby's cover to Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133

Probably not the title he was hoping for, but “The King” took over the Superman spin-off title with issue #133 and immediately started to weave together the threads of his great cosmic tapestry. There are very few hints of the great epic to come in this first episode, although it does introduce the Daily Planet's new owner Morgan Edge and the crime syndicate known as "Intergang", both of whom we'll find have connections to the cosmic opera about to unfold.

Incidentally, although this was Kirby's first published work since his return to DC, it wasn't the first written or drawn. That honour belongs to the first issue of "The Forever People", which we'll come to in due course.  Anyway, back to Jimmy Olsen.
Morgan Edge sends our favourite cub reporter to meet up with the sons of the 1940s kid-gang-come-crimefighters “The Newsboy Legion”.

Who? Well, the original Newsboy Legion had had their own feature (initially written and illustrated by Kirby and his partner Joe Simon) in the pages of “Star-Spangled Comics” in the 1940s. The foursome, Scrapper (who liked a good fight), Gabby (who talked a LOT), Big Words (who used a lot of... well, you figure it out) and Tommy (who... er, was called Tommy) were orphans who lived in the aptly named Suicide Slum, scraping a living by selling newspapers (and occasionally acting as kid reporters). After one scrape too many with the law, the lads were threatened with reform school, until kindly local cop Jim Harper took them under his wing and became their legal guardian. Shortly afterwards Harper ran afoul of some hoodlums and was beaten to a pulp. When he recovered, Harper went after the thugs, in the guise of a costumed superhero called... The Guardian. With help from the Newsboys, The Guardian brought the criminals to justice. But although the Newsboys suspected that their guardian was in fact THE Guardian, they could never prove it.

Anyway, thirty years later, a new Newsboy Legion consisting of Scrapper Jr., Gabby Jr., Big Words Jr. and Tommy Jr. are the reason that Edge sends Olsen to Suicide Slum. Oh, and the Legion has also gained a fifth member. The original Legion were four white kids. Kirby obviously decided to mix it up a little by adding a lad of Afro-American origin, the scuba diving Flippa Dippa (or, occasionally, Flipper Dipper). Good job his dad wasn't around in the forties. Flippa Dippa Junior would have been a bit of a mouthful. Bizarrely, even his father calls him Flipper Dipper (or is it Flippa Dippa?). But I digress...

Turns out Big Words has designed an all-purpose vehicle he calls "The Whiz Wagon". The shifty Morgan Edge has financed the construction of this ugly amphibious, flying car in exchange for Olsen and the Newsboys undertaking an assignment for The Daily Planet. The mission is to find a bizarre hippy society (hey it was 1970, after all) in a strange land known only as "The Wild Area". And just where is this strange, lost land? Er... just outside Metropolis. Well, they couldn't have been looking TOO hard for it then, could they?
Now, the dodgy Edge has an ulterior motive for sending Olsen and the Newsboys to search for the Wild Area that becomes apparent an issue or two down the line. For now, we have to take him at his word that the reason he's sending the youngsters is because the Wild Area's inhabitants, the "Hairies", won't trust anybody over the age of thirty. As Edge says to Clark Kent "It's a generation gap type of scene, you know". Now Edge, in his infinite wisdom, decides that Kent and Superman are old friends, and doesn't want Supes involved, so contacts the mysterious crime syndicate "Intergang" to arrange an "accident" for Kent, who is promptly run down as he leaves the Daily Planet. Boy, that didn't take long to organise did it? And surely, knowing Kent is a friend of Superman, the last thing you'd want is the Kryptonian investigating Kent's supposed accident. I don't think you really thought that through Morgan, baby! Of course, Kent survives (being Superman and all) and promptly hides himself away in his apartment to "recuperate". Meaning, of course nobody's going to wonder where Kent is while Superman follows Jimmy to the Wild Area.

Iron Mask and Vudu - Dr. Doom is consulting his lawyers!

So the youngsters arrive in The Wild Area and bump into a couple of biker-types called Iron Mask (hang on, wasn't he an old villain from Kid Colt, Outlaw?) and Vudu. Our pair of Dr. Doom rejects (see left), seem to be impressed by the Whiz Wagon. "I like that set of wheels they're driving, Vudu", says Iron Mask. "When my hand drops - - plow in on them!"
"Your word is law, my commandant", replies Vudu. "The Outsiders take what they want!"
In they charge, with Iron Mask yelling "GO! GO! GO! Vudu! Death is fast! Death is loud! Death is Final!". Man, Kirby had a real way with words didn't he?
One short fight later, Olsen decks Iron Mask with a roundhouse right. Next thing you know, the rest of the Outsiders ride up, take one look at the situation and make Olsen their new chief. "That's our leader you just zonked, hero" says one biker.
"So," says another, who we'll later find out is called Yango, "According to our code - - that makes you our new leader!"
So Superman finally catches up with Jimmy. And Jimmy promptly orders the Outsiders to take him down! Which they do with a handy dandy (and very convenient!) Kryptonite powered ray-gun. Looks like old Morgan Edge was right about that generation gap!

HABITAT - Looks like a cool place to live!

When Supes comes round, Olsen apologises, but tells him that he'll not let anyone stop him get the story he's after. Turns out that The Wild Area, and the bizarre "Habitat" tree-city (a masterpiece of Kirby design that you can see over there on the right) are just minor mysteries. Olsen's real assignment is to find the Mountain Of Judgement (hereafter referred to as the MOJ). What exactly the MOJ is, is unexplained as yet. As Yango says, "Man, you don't grab it! The mountain-- I-it's not like a place! I-it's more like a thing! Like Moby Dick! You go out and meet it - and die!"
At which point the ground trembles. The MOJ is on the move. Jimmy orders the Outsiders to get their motors running. They're off to hunt down the MOJ. And as they're heading out, Olsen warns Superman not to stop them. And that's where this first chapter ends. The Fourth World saga has begun. Not with a bang, but certainly not a whimper either!
Kirby's art is at it's peak here, although DC executives decided that his versions of Superman and Olsen didn't quite meet the DC house style and had many of the figures touched up by Al Plastino. The plot is typical Kirby of the period. It thunders along, maybe not quite making sense at times, with some ideas disposed of in a couple of panels, that writers today would spend a four or six part mini series on. It's crazy, but great entertainment.
Next time on Fourth World Thursday or Friday  - things start to get weird!

GO, GO, GORGO! AND KONGA! IT'S A NEW DITKOMANIA!

With perfect timing, the latest issue of Rob Imes' Steve Ditko fanzine Ditkomania has just landed on my doormat. Perfect, because Jackie and I saw the new Godzilla movie a few days ago (and, much to my surprise, thoroughly enjoyed it) and this latest issue looks back on Ditko's work on Gorgo (a Godzilla clone) and Konga (a King Kong knock-off) for Charlton in the early 1960s. Behind the gloriously Ditkoesque cover lie reviews of Craig Yoe's recent collections of the two giant monster titles, a lengthy comparison of the Konga movie and the comic book based on it, a look back at the Stan Lee/Gene Colan story "Kunga" from Journey Into Mystery #81 (a knock-off of a knock-off!) and other Ditko-centric articles, including a letters section with readers reactions to the previous issue. A most entertaining read, and I suggest any Ditko fan worth his or her salt should check this issue out. Only 350 numbered copies were printed, so if you're interested I suggest contacting Rob ASAP to see if there are any left. There are contact details, and more about the fanzine at this website - www.unitedfanzineorganization.weebly.com/ditkomania.html

Rob funded this issue through a Kickstarter funding campaign, and the money raised enabled him to really push the boat out with this time. The covers by Jim McPherson and Javier Hernandez (front) and Darren Goodhart (back) are in full colour and very nice they are too. I love the idea of crowdfunding and I hope that Rob, and other fanzine editors, continue to go down this route. One thing I would suggest to anyone using the crowdfunding model though. Please think of your potential backers outside your home country. I could easily pledge towards Ditkomania because Rob had the foresight to realise that he had potential readers outside the US and had options for those people. Much as I would like to pledge towards the new Snyder/Ditko project #20, Kickstarter will not let me as there are no options available for non US backers. Oh well, rant over! 

I'll be back soon with more reviews, and another installment of Fourth World Friday.

See you soon,

Steve  

IT'S FOURTH WORLD FRIDAY!!! (A DAY EARLY!)

My favourite of all of the prodigious output by the late Jack "King" Kirby has always been his meisterwork, the so-called "Fourth World" trilogy (technically a tetralogy). I realised the other day that Kirby was 53 when it started publication for DC Comics, the same age I am now.

Jack's departure from Marvel Comics in 1970 to go to their biggest competitor DC shook the industry. It was if John Lennon had left the Beatles to join The Rolling Stones. Kirby had been one of the lynchpins of Marvel the Lennon to Stan Lee's McCartney (maybe with Steve Ditko in the George Harrison role). 

It was while at Marvel that Kirby came up with the idea of a major epic storyline detailing a great war between two races of gods, with Earth as the battleground.

It has been suggested that Kirby originally intended to set up his new concept in the pages of Thor. Asgard would fall in Ragnarok, and out of the chaos two worlds would form - one of light, one of darkness.

When he left Marvel, he took his new concepts with him. At DC, he planned to tell his story across three new titles, "The New Gods", "The Forever People" and "Mister Miracle" whilst also taking over the already existing title "Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen". 

As an aside, Kirby, as always ahead of his time, conceived the notion of serialising the storyline in the comics, later collecting them in book form. Although a familiar concept in European (but not British) comics, it was a whole new way of thinking for the American market. Sadly it never came to fruition. It was another 10-15 years before the idea of the Trade Paperback or Graphic Novel would develop in the US market. In addition, sales on the new titles didn't reach expectations and one by one the series were cancelled, leaving the grand saga unfinished.  Kirby continued at DC, creating Kamandi and the Demon along with other shorter lived series.  But back to The Fourth World...

 It could be said that each of the four books showed the great conflict from a different perspective. "New Gods" showed the seasoned warriors in action, primarily the god Orion. "The Forever People" showed the eager young recruits, not yet scarred by battle. "Mister Miracle" is the conscientious objector. And "Jimmy Olsen" (and also the non-Kirby "Lois Lane" to a lesser extent) tied the book to the rest of the DC Universe and showed some of the effects of the war on Earth. And it was there in the pages of "Superman's, Pal Jimmy Olsen" that we saw the first seeds of Kirby's magnum opus.

So that's where we will start our issue by issue look at "The Fourth World" next time, with "Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen" # 133.

IT'S BAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After a long gap (is it really three years since I last updated?) Strip Search is about to return. Why so long? It's hard to say, but there have been some contributing factors. Firstly a hard drive crash that took the rest of my Tomb Of Dracula article. Then my full time job left me little time to keep it going. But the main reason, I think, was a growing disillusionment with modern comics. And somehow that spread to comics as a whole. I'm not sure why, but for some reason I just wasn't reading any at all. Now, when this happened it was just after my father's death and everything else just seemed so trivial.  That was almost two-and-a-half years ago, and it's only just recently that I've suddenly felt the urge to return to the world of comics. So here I am, back from my exile. Will it last? I hope so. I have come to realise how much I've missed it. So soon, Strip Search will resurface. I will rewrite the rest of that Tomb Of Dracula article, but first up will be the first in a series of articles about Jack Kirby's Klassic "Fourth World" tetraology. Watch out for it Friday, or as it is now known "Fourth World Friday".
See you soon,
Steve