That’s actually issue #3 above. Yes, I did buy issue #4. It should have been reviewed Saturday. Actually, it should have been reviewed Friday. But it wasn’t. The art is still good, but something about the story just kind of defied my will to review it.
Was it a bad story? Not necessarily. Was it a good story? Kind of. Eventually it hit me why I’m having trouble reviewing this. I don’t think I’m the target audience.
Cover of Silver Star (Jack Kirby's Silver Star)
For the few of you who aren’t informed, Dynamite’s Kirby: Genesis, now a line of comics with Captain Victory and Silver Star currently out, are based on the works of the late Jack Kirby. Mostly known for his Marvel & DC work, Kirby also worked in animation (including Thundarr The Barbarian) as well as his own, self-published works. (This would be before Diamond established a near monopoly on comic distribution and started squeezing out small and self-publishers.) He also had a number of concepts that never left the planning stage.
The team of Kurt Busiek (one of my favorite comic writers) and Alex Ross were able to convince the Kirby estate to let them and Dynamite take a shot at bringing these characters back to the comics page, and give the unpublished ideas a place to see the light. Kirby: Genesis is the flagship of this new “Kirbyverse”.
If you’ve read my reviews of the first three issues and the #0 preview, you know I’ve had trouble following the series. With this issue, and a bit of thought as I stared at my computer monitor searching for the words to describe my thoughts, it suddenly hit me what the problem is. I think this comic is a crossover designed for people already familiar with the Kirby characters. Think of something like Crisis on Infinite Earths or Secret Wars, or even some of the more recent events. They don’t really spend time telling you who Superman or Booster Gold are. There’s no backstory given for Spider-Man or Gravity. If you follow the DC or Marvel universes, you know who most if not all of the characters in the story are, especially Superman and Spider-Man, who are famous outside of comics. The focus then shifts to a new character or characters (say Access for the DC Vs. Marvel/Marvel Vs. DC miniseries).
For Kirby: Genesis, fans know who Captain Victory is. They’ve heard of Darius Drumm. Who they don’t know are Kirby, Bobbi, and Jake. These are the characters used to draw people back into the Kirby Universe. The problem is I didn’t know there were Kirby works outside of his work on Marvel, DC, and only a few of the many smaller publishers I just learned he worked for. I’m going into this flying blind.
Image via Wikipedia
While a #0 preview was released, Busiek and Ross understandably wanted to keep a few things mum. There weren’t a lot of information as to which Kirby characters and ideas (outside of a few in the solicits) were going to be part of the new Kirbyverse. Now there are individual tales with some of the Kirby characters, but I really have no drive to check into them. That’s where I think Genesis, as the Kirbyverse flagship title, dropped the ball. As a new reader, I’m not really drawn into these characters. Frankly, even with a few character moments in issue #4 and some minor backstory, I just don’t care about these characters outside of who created them. Kirby, Bobbi, and Jake I’m interested in. Will Kirby be reunited with Bobbi and be able to break her out of what ever spell the Swan and Drumm put her in? Will Jake get the three space hero factions and Silver Star to work together to stop whatever scheme the union of villains have planned?
The biggest question I want answered is actually the same as the characters: WHAT THE BLOODY HECK IS GOING ON!” Too much has happened too fast in this series to the point where I’ve suffered character overload. It wasn’t that bad this issue so maybe it means they’ve finally introduced everyone. However, I know one thing about one character whose name I can’t even really remember. Tiger-20, I think, but he’s not memorable to me. It would be like me dropping into a DC crossover completely unaware about it and trying to remember who Firestorm is. Firestorm, pre New 52 (dropping the current version) is my favorite DC hero after Superman, but that’s because I’ve been exposed to the DC Universe over the years. I haven’t been exposed to Kirby’s independent stuff.
I had hoped that Kirby: Genesis would draw us into this new comic universe, but it’s in fact done the opposite. The reason I can’t review this series is that I just have no interest in it. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad. If the goal is to bring fans of these Kirbyverse characters a return to the concepts, then I’m sure it wins. Remember, since post #1 I’ve tried to make it clear that because I don’t like something doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily bad. The art is good and I can tell there’s a good story in here if you care about anyone beyond the three new protagonists. I’ve ordered up to issue #7, but I don’t think I’ll be getting any beyond it unless they turn things around for us new to the Kirbyverse characters. While I want to see Kirby and Bobbi reunited because I do care about them and Jake, it’s not enough with my limited budget to keep following something I can’t get invested in. Thus I probably won’t review the remaining issues I will be getting. It may not be bad, but it’s just not right for me, and with the people involved it certainly surprises and disappoints me.
The previous issues I COULD review
- Today’s Comic> Kirby: Genesis #0
- Today’s Comic> Kirby: Genesis #1
- Today’s Comic> Kirby: Genesis #2
- Today’s Comic> Kirby: Genesis #3
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