OMAC: One Man Army Corps by Jack Kirby
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- Author：Jack Kirby
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Summary
En el mundo que se avecina， necesitaremos a。。。 O。M。A。C。 El ejército de un solo hombre。
En los años 70， el legendario creador de cómics Jack Kirby （X-Men， Los 4 Fantásticos， Hulk） causó conmoción en la industria cuando abandonó Marvel Comics para irse a la competencia。 Kirby llegó a DC Comics con personajes nuevos y estimulantes， y mundos originales y rompedores。 Por primera vez guionizó， ilustró y editó sus nuevas creaciones。
Tras el éxito de la colección El Cuarto Mundo y de Kamandi: El último chico de la Tierra， Kirby presentó a los lectores una innovadora historia de ciencia-ficción: O。M。A。C。， el ejército de un solo hombre。 Buddy Blank， un oficinista cualquiera， se transforma por medio de una inteligencia artificial llamada “Hermano Ojo” en un agente superpoderoso de la Agencia por la Paz Mundial。 Desde entonces se enfrenta a amenazas insólitas en un futuro cercano e inquietante。
Este volumen recoge por primera vez la miniserie completa de ocho números del O。M。A。C。 de Jack Kirby。 Cuenta con una introducción a cargo de Mark Evanier， guionista y antiguo ayudante de Kirby。
En los años 70， el legendario creador de cómics Jack Kirby （X-Men， Los 4 Fantásticos， Hulk） causó conmoción en la industria cuando abandonó Marvel Comics para irse a la competencia。 Kirby llegó a DC Comics con personajes nuevos y estimulantes， y mundos originales y rompedores。 Por primera vez guionizó， ilustró y editó sus nuevas creaciones。
Tras el éxito de la colección El Cuarto Mundo y de Kamandi: El último chico de la Tierra， Kirby presentó a los lectores una innovadora historia de ciencia-ficción: O。M。A。C。， el ejército de un solo hombre。 Buddy Blank， un oficinista cualquiera， se transforma por medio de una inteligencia artificial llamada “Hermano Ojo” en un agente superpoderoso de la Agencia por la Paz Mundial。 Desde entonces se enfrenta a amenazas insólitas en un futuro cercano e inquietante。
Este volumen recoge por primera vez la miniserie completa de ocho números del O。M。A。C。 de Jack Kirby。 Cuenta con una introducción a cargo de Mark Evanier， guionista y antiguo ayudante de Kirby。
Reviews
Miguel Arsénio
，
Great art from the king and some cool stories as well。
Robert Bottos
，
Have always loved the artwork of Jack Kirby and OMAC won't disappoint。 For me the only downside was Kirby's dialogue。 It would have been nice to see the follow on stories of OMAC by Jim Starlin that were printed in Kamandi and The Warlord if only to complete the cliffhanger ending of issue #8。 Have always loved the artwork of Jack Kirby and OMAC won't disappoint。 For me the only downside was Kirby's dialogue。 It would have been nice to see the follow on stories of OMAC by Jim Starlin that were printed in Kamandi and The Warlord if only to complete the cliffhanger ending of issue #8。 。。。more
Shannon Appelcline
，
OMAC。 Another wonderful bit of creativity from Kirby。 These futuristic stories offer up all kinds of dystopias， with criminals buying cities and young bodies and stealing up lakes and other waters。 And OMAC is a dynamic and heroic force。 （The only thing that really lets down his story are the faceless Peace Agents， who one constantly hopes will turn out to be evil， creating a real moral dilemma。）One wonders how much this was all influenced by Shazam！， since OMAC is similarly empowered by bolts f OMAC。 Another wonderful bit of creativity from Kirby。 These futuristic stories offer up all kinds of dystopias， with criminals buying cities and young bodies and stealing up lakes and other waters。 And OMAC is a dynamic and heroic force。 （The only thing that really lets down his story are the faceless Peace Agents， who one constantly hopes will turn out to be evil， creating a real moral dilemma。）One wonders how much this was all influenced by Shazam！， since OMAC is similarly empowered by bolts from the sky and even gets a Sivana family-like villain in the last few few issues。And， oh！， we get an abrupt ending！ [4/5]。 。。。more
Sunil
，
I received a hardcover collection of Jack Kirby's OMAC from my pusher， a Kirby superfan （like most hardcore comics nerds）， and， honestly， I did not expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I did， which was A LOT。 From the ashes of Kirby's conception of a future Captain America and the spark of a contractual obligation to produce 15 pages a week came OMAC， the One Man Army Corps， an archetypal superhero with no discernible personality because he was created from an ordinary man named Buddy Blank via I received a hardcover collection of Jack Kirby's OMAC from my pusher， a Kirby superfan （like most hardcore comics nerds）， and， honestly， I did not expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I did， which was A LOT。 From the ashes of Kirby's conception of a future Captain America and the spark of a contractual obligation to produce 15 pages a week came OMAC， the One Man Army Corps， an archetypal superhero with no discernible personality because he was created from an ordinary man named Buddy Blank via remote-controlled hormone surgery from space performed by an artificially intelligent satellite named Brother Eye。 Are you still with me here？ This thing is fucking ridiculous in all the best comics ways。 Taking place in The World That's Coming， it's an excuse for Kirby to play around with all kinds of sci-fi ideas like virtual reality， body swapping， and a fiendish plan to steal and horde the planet's water supply decades before Immortan Joe。 There's a lot in here that's eerily prescient， and I just loved Kirby's whole conception of a world where Peace Agents spray painted their faces orange because they represented all nations and thus should not be judged by their own nationalities。 Every issue is action-packed as hell， bursting with creativity， and Kirby's art is incredibly dynamic and easy to follow; even when there are like fifteen bodies flying around， you can look at the panel and understand exactly how and where OMAC punched them。 This is just delicious pulp of the sort that would later be satirized pretty heavily， but Kirby pulls it off with utter sincerity here， which is truly impressive。 He totally sells the bombastic nature of everything and it doesn't come off as a joke。 Sadly， the series was cancelled， so the final issue ends so abruptly （and TERRIBLY） I suddenly want to travel to some alternate universe just so I can read OMAC #9。 This comic was fun as hell， and it's totally worth seeking out。 。。。more
Dan Schwent
，
Empowered by the Brother Eye satellite， weakling Buddy Blank becomes。。。 OMAC！OMAC is the latest stop on my tour of Jack Kirby's 1970s DC output。 This hardcover contains all eight issues， written and drawn by the King。Based in part on a "Future Captain America" concept that never saw print， OMAC works for the Global Peace Agency， an organization of faceless men protecting the world in a dystopian future。 OMAC goes up against monsters， body thieves， and mad scientists in a world that is quickly go Empowered by the Brother Eye satellite， weakling Buddy Blank becomes。。。 OMAC！OMAC is the latest stop on my tour of Jack Kirby's 1970s DC output。 This hardcover contains all eight issues， written and drawn by the King。Based in part on a "Future Captain America" concept that never saw print， OMAC works for the Global Peace Agency， an organization of faceless men protecting the world in a dystopian future。 OMAC goes up against monsters， body thieves， and mad scientists in a world that is quickly going to hell in a handbasket。Apart from lettering and inking by Mike Royer and D。 Bruce Berry， OMAC is all Kirby， all the time。 While the writing， the dialogue in particular， isn't fantastic， the art and characters crackle with bombastic Kirby energy。 OMAC kicks a lot of ass and busts up a lot of criminal schemes。 Once the Captain America comparison was made in the foreword， it was hard to ignore。When the series is cancelled after the eighth issue， a lot of threads are left dangling。 The volume ends abruptly with Buddy Blank powerless and Doctor Skuba having him and Brother Eye over a barrel。 Not literally， of course。 The threads were later resolved by other creative teams but I have to wonder what Kirby had in mind。While not his best work， Jack Kirby's OMAC crackles with bombastic Kirby energy。 3。5 out of 5 stars。 。。。more
ISMOTU
，
More unrestrained Kirby classics！ OMAC is a mohawk rocking hero of the future powered by the satellite Brother Eye。 He protects the world from all manner of weird threats in this short lived series。 The concept just barely has time to get off the ground before it ends rather abruptly but still worth a read for fans of the King of Comics。
Adriano Barone
，
4 stelle solo perchè le chine di Bruce Berry non rendevano assolutamente giustizia al lavoro del Re。 Meno male che il primo e l'ultimo numero vedono la presenza del grande Mike Royer。Forse una stella in meno del massimo （che è lo standard per Kirby） anche per come la storia si interrompe all'improvviso。 Nonostante il progetto （come ogni cosa realizzata da Kirby， intendiamoci） abbia continuato a produrre storie sia attraverso il seguito di John Byrne e l'integrazione degli elementi della miniseri 4 stelle solo perchè le chine di Bruce Berry non rendevano assolutamente giustizia al lavoro del Re。 Meno male che il primo e l'ultimo numero vedono la presenza del grande Mike Royer。Forse una stella in meno del massimo （che è lo standard per Kirby） anche per come la storia si interrompe all'improvviso。 Nonostante il progetto （come ogni cosa realizzata da Kirby， intendiamoci） abbia continuato a produrre storie sia attraverso il seguito di John Byrne e l'integrazione degli elementi della miniserie nella continuity DC， la curiosità e il dispiacere restano forti。 。。。more
Bryan
，
Pure Kirby craziness， shot straight into the vein。
Adam
，
3。5 stars。 Jack Kirby has some pretty great ideas in OMAC but the writing isn't quite there in my opinion， even though I've taken into account that it's from an earlier （non-modern） time of comics。 Jack's art is as dynamic as ever and that's a wonderful thing。 3。5 stars。 Jack Kirby has some pretty great ideas in OMAC but the writing isn't quite there in my opinion， even though I've taken into account that it's from an earlier （non-modern） time of comics。 Jack's art is as dynamic as ever and that's a wonderful thing。 。。。more
Andrew
，
I don't know if Jack Kirby read Philip K。 Dick， but he creates a very PKD-like future here。 The supervillains are rich capitalists with schemes that involve privatizing the planet's water supply and renting entire cities to turn them into assassination theme parks。 Our hero works for a benevolent-but-also-undeniably-creepy entity known as the World Peace Agency， which monitors the world through a super-powered satellite known as "Brother Eye。" In terms of both artwork and pure， energetic imagina I don't know if Jack Kirby read Philip K。 Dick， but he creates a very PKD-like future here。 The supervillains are rich capitalists with schemes that involve privatizing the planet's water supply and renting entire cities to turn them into assassination theme parks。 Our hero works for a benevolent-but-also-undeniably-creepy entity known as the World Peace Agency， which monitors the world through a super-powered satellite known as "Brother Eye。" In terms of both artwork and pure， energetic imagination， this is one of my favorite Kirby comics。 It only lasted 8 issues （Kirby then returned to Marvel）， so there isn't much in the way of character development， but the world is fully formed and utterly fascinating from the very first issue。 。。。more
Mgcgio
，
Teoricamente， questa serie di Kirby， è puro intrattenimento fantascientifico privo di particolari velleità: ci sono i buoni contro i cattivi， c'è tanta azione， il tipico ritmo sfrenato delle storie kirbyane。Ed invece， è una serie inquietante， e decisamente strana， e per questo molto affascinante。Inquietante perché lo sono i cattivi e le loro minacce， tra donne-robot vendute a pezzi da montare， vecchi che rubano i corpi ai giovani， mascalzoni di mezza tacca che svendono la propria compagna， un gu Teoricamente， questa serie di Kirby， è puro intrattenimento fantascientifico privo di particolari velleità: ci sono i buoni contro i cattivi， c'è tanta azione， il tipico ritmo sfrenato delle storie kirbyane。Ed invece， è una serie inquietante， e decisamente strana， e per questo molto affascinante。Inquietante perché lo sono i cattivi e le loro minacce， tra donne-robot vendute a pezzi da montare， vecchi che rubano i corpi ai giovani， mascalzoni di mezza tacca che svendono la propria compagna， un guerrafondaio che si chiama Kafka， ed una specie di dottor Moreau。Ma sono inquietanti anche i buoni: è inquietante il modo in cui il protagonista diventa un supereroe， è decisamente inquietante la sua "spalla" （il cui nome e funzione allude a 1984）， sono inquietanti gli agenti della pace globale， e sono inquietanti gli， ehm。。。 "genitori" del protagonista。Tuttavia， non è certo inusuale nella fantascienza， che i "buoni" in realtà abbiano ambiguità， che la società futura abbia dei difetti。Quello che rende strane queste storie， è che manca completamente， all'interno delle stesse， qualche elemento di "critica" a questa società ed a questi "eroi": non ci sono soggetti terzi che riflettono sulle sue criticità， non ci sono dubbi morali da parte dei protagonisti， non ci sono motivazioni "sociali" da parte dei cattivi （che sono solo dei stronzi violenti e folli， assetati di potere）。Si potrebbe pensare che l'autore apprezzi una società così "fredda" e disumana， seppur teoricamente migliore， se non fosse che l'autore è Jack Kirby， l'ipercreativo Jack Kirby: lo stesso Jack Kirby che proprio in quegli anni， alla DC， scriveva e disegnava la meravigliosa saga del Quarto Mondo， dove omaggiava la controcultura hippy， criticava l'omologazione ed il conformismo， esaltava la fantasia e la vita contro il "fascismo" e la "morte"。Dubito che quel Kirby potesse apprezzare la società creata nel suo Omac， sembra piuttosto il tipo di futuro che non dispiacerebbe ad un Darkseid。In questo quindi sta la sua stranezza: nel proporre un "buoni contro cattivi"， dove la distinzione è netta ed inconfondibile， in una società migliore dell'attuale， ed allo stesso tempo però rendere disturbanti e tutt'altro che piacevoli i buoni e la loro società。 Ma senza essere pedante e didascalico， senza sottolineare ambiguità e criticità。Di sicuro il suo fumetto più cupo， tra quelli che ho letto; fu interrotto all'ottavo numero （con i nostri protagonisti in grossi guai）， per le scarse vendite （in generale， a livello di vendite， il suo periodo alla DC fu un insuccesso， nonostante sia in realtà il suo periodo migliore， dal punto di vista artistico）。Non me ne stupisco: per l'epoca （primi anni 70） era decisamente avanti; a dire il vero， lo è anche adesso。 。。。more
Michael
，
OMAC's a fun little series。 It's short enough that it never starts to feel repetitive， and it's hilarious that with Kirby leaving DC， the final issue's cliffhanger inadvertently suggests that Buddy Blank and Brother Eye both die！ Each of the storylines are imaginative， and Kirby's "world that's coming" is chillingly prescient。 It doesn't have the mythological underpinnings of the Fourth World， but OMAC's a fun ride。 Kirby's art is excellent， as always， though I prefer Mike Royer's inking on issu OMAC's a fun little series。 It's short enough that it never starts to feel repetitive， and it's hilarious that with Kirby leaving DC， the final issue's cliffhanger inadvertently suggests that Buddy Blank and Brother Eye both die！ Each of the storylines are imaginative， and Kirby's "world that's coming" is chillingly prescient。 It doesn't have the mythological underpinnings of the Fourth World， but OMAC's a fun ride。 Kirby's art is excellent， as always， though I prefer Mike Royer's inking on issues 1 and 8 to D。 Bruce Berry's 2-7。 The characters look more powerful， more intense， ready to explode。 。。。more
Mark
，
Big， bold Jack Kirby's take on the brave new future he envisioned back in the "Silver Age"。 Prescient in several scary ways。 Big， bold Jack Kirby's take on the brave new future he envisioned back in the "Silver Age"。 Prescient in several scary ways。 。。。more
Barry
，
1970s Jack Kirby weirdness。
K。T。 Katzmann
，
Even geniuses have to eat。 Even Kirby's grocery work has a few bits of genius。OMAC （"One Man Army Corp，" as bad guys keep explaining loudly） is the fruit of Kirby's obligation to produce a crazy amount of pages to DC each week。 He retasked an old pitch about a future Captain America and got OMAC， possibly the most boring hero of all time。Buddy Blank is a boring， picked on schmuck who is chosen to become the most powerful man in the world。 All the drama and pathos this could be mined for is flush Even geniuses have to eat。 Even Kirby's grocery work has a few bits of genius。OMAC （"One Man Army Corp，" as bad guys keep explaining loudly） is the fruit of Kirby's obligation to produce a crazy amount of pages to DC each week。 He retasked an old pitch about a future Captain America and got OMAC， possibly the most boring hero of all time。Buddy Blank is a boring， picked on schmuck who is chosen to become the most powerful man in the world。 All the drama and pathos this could be mined for is flushed down the bin as his personal memories are total erased。 He fights crime full-time， without a supporting cast to speak of， with Brother Eye， a satellite who beams him exactly the power he needs at any time。Yes， he has a literal Deus Ex Machina hanging in the sky overhead。There's some interesting bits here。 I love the faceless Global Peace Agency， who are cosmetically altered to appear as no race or ethnicity in the interest of objectivity。 Some modern writer could chuck OMAC in the bin and really reinvent them interestingly。There's future dystopia， monsters， and mad science， with fights in the dynamic Kirby style。But the parts never come together。OMAC is as interesting as Captain Planet。 The situations may be cool， but it's entirely too easy for him and that statement comes from a Superman fan。 Yes， it's a silver age ccomic。 I know the good guy's gonna win。 I want it to look harder。The book ends incredibly abruptly， but that's because Kirby's contract ended and no one wanted to pick the book up。 Still， I liked some of the little bits。For one thing， I love the future gangsters who talk like 40's stock Hollywood crooks and commit supertech crime。 There's a few little sci-fi threads， like OMAC's parents-on-order， that never get proper attention。 OMAC gets some good one liners， too。All in all， this is an average read， not Kirby's best， with a few nuggets of inspiration in a sea of 。 。 。 meh。 。。。more
Reyel2107
，
its not enough ， it needed more ， but its fantastic ！！！！
Variaciones Enrojo
，
Edición española integral en blanco y negro。
Timothy Boyd
，
Great post apocalyptic story by Jack Kirby， a comic artist master。 Very recommended
Mike
，
Great 70s Kirby art， but OMAC is not developed all that well。Even Homer nods。
Eliran
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 My first exposure to OMAC was from the Batman miniseries The OMAC Project， which I read earlier this year。 The trade volume I read had some commentary and sketches showing the original Kirby sketches of Brother Eye and OMAC。 I was curious and intrigued even。 I've been meaning for a long time to delve into Kirby's other works（I have A LOT of reading though！） But wow！ This。。。 I really enjoyed this book。 So quirky， odd and weird。 I can see how at it's time it would be rejected--even nowadays the id My first exposure to OMAC was from the Batman miniseries The OMAC Project， which I read earlier this year。 The trade volume I read had some commentary and sketches showing the original Kirby sketches of Brother Eye and OMAC。 I was curious and intrigued even。 I've been meaning for a long time to delve into Kirby's other works（I have A LOT of reading though！） But wow！ This。。。 I really enjoyed this book。 So quirky， odd and weird。 I can see how at it's time it would be rejected--even nowadays the idea is pretty outlandish。 A super advanced satellite named Brother Eye gives the unsuspecting Buddy Blank tremendous power， erasing his timid nature and replacing it with incredible power and allows Buddy to become OMAC， the One Man Army Corps！ From here on out the comic is a wild ride with OMAC facing an onslaught on insane villains。 For only 8 issues there was pretty diverse roster--from common street thugs， mutants（ok， they're not called that but it's PRETTY obvious that's what they are）， big time crime bosses and mad scientists， we see that the world that is coming（get used to that phrase as it's used a lot in this book） is a pretty scary place。 And honestly？ "The world that's coming"， our time now， isn't too far from what Kirby predicted here when he wrote this in the 70s。 Maybe everything is not nuclear powered like this retro-future book lists it but a lot of ideas present seemed strangely prophetic。 "Big money means big crime！" was mentioned in issue 2。 There was a ring of "body-snatchers" who harvest young bodies in order for the ultra-rich to pay to swap brains and live to be young again（mimicking the the real life organ blackmarket？）。 The first issue basically deals with OMAC destroying a "build-a-friend" factory（hauntingly similar to blow-up sex dolls， however these ones were "alive"， basically robots）。 The villain in the last issue was stealing the world's water to then re-sell it at exorbitant prices！（just look into how Nestle has been profiteering off California's drought。。。）Like Mark Evanier， Kirby's former assistant， wrote in the intro， "I am still astounded at the number of accurate predictions Jack made about how things would be。。。that was Kirby。 Man of the future"The copy I read was borrowed from the library but I hope to buy and own a copy of this book。 Such a shame it was cancelled， leaving it on a permanent cliffhanger！ 。。。more
Jaq
，
This is old school graphic novel/comics。 I loved it though， there's this delicious subversive element too it - read it and contemplate how relevant it is - does the future society Kirby envisioned sound at times like ours？I loved OMAC - he's a hoot。 This is old school graphic novel/comics。 I loved it though， there's this delicious subversive element too it - read it and contemplate how relevant it is - does the future society Kirby envisioned sound at times like ours？I loved OMAC - he's a hoot。 。。。more
Patrick Augustine
，
Ahead of its time。 Maybe even ahead of its time today。 It has the bold art and crazy ideas Kirby was known for， and the weirdness that makes it both wonderful and inaccessible at first glance。 A series cut too short。
Irene
，
there was no real ending
dedSteph （ded）
，
"I'm OMAC！" -OMAC"This dude is a one man army！！" -man watching his friends being punched very hard by OMAC "I'm OMAC！" -OMAC"This dude is a one man army！！" -man watching his friends being punched very hard by OMAC 。。。more
Millguy
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I didn't particularly expect to like OMAC， based on what I know of Kirby's work from reading New Gods， but I gave it a shot。Some thoughts:Issue 1: The book starts off pretty strong， promising a very Phillip K Dick sort of tale of robots blurring the lines between what’s human and not human。 Unfortunately by the end the robots just turn out to be sex bot assassins along the lines of those comedic fembots in Austin Powers。 If you had the infrastructure to build robots like this， wouldn’t you sell I didn't particularly expect to like OMAC， based on what I know of Kirby's work from reading New Gods， but I gave it a shot。Some thoughts:Issue 1: The book starts off pretty strong， promising a very Phillip K Dick sort of tale of robots blurring the lines between what’s human and not human。 Unfortunately by the end the robots just turn out to be sex bot assassins along the lines of those comedic fembots in Austin Powers。 If you had the infrastructure to build robots like this， wouldn’t you sell them as companion bots instead of stringing bombs to them？ Kirby's villainous corporation is kind of like if Apple computers built up their company and infrastructure as part of a long， long criminal scheme to strap bombs to IPADs and assassinate Jimmy Carter。 Completely implausible。OMAC works for the Global Peace Agency。 The Global Peace Agency is dedicated to fighting crime。 What is crime in this Brave New World？ I have no idea。 But I’ll tell you what crime isn’t。 Crime is not kidnapping a guy， performing surgery on him without his consent， and erasing memories in order to brainwash him into becoming your perfect soldier。 The fascist imagery is strong in OMAC， the Global Peace Agency’s anonymous unaccountable army resembles a terror army along the lines of the KKK， but Kirby seems unaware of the implications of his own material。Or is he？ This article argues Kirby is intentionally subverting his material: http://toobusythinkingboutcomics。blog。。。I think it's possible at times that he is， but Kirby is just too dedicated to the more childish BANG POW superhero tropes， so the Global Police consist of soldiers who only use non lethal weapons and have a code of non-killing， the bad guys are cackling villains， and the end result is that's it's hard to get anything more than a glimmer of subversion here and there。 There's also the fact the protagonist is named Buddy Blank， suggesting somehow， that he's meant to be a brainwashed non person， which arguably legitimizes The Peace Agency's actions。Issue 2: The city being rented for a day is an interesting hook。 But it turns out the story is just about assassins slipping among partyers， so the story could be set at Marti Gras and it would be the same exact thing， points for the hook but negative points for the execution。Brother Eye is maybe an Orwellian reference to "Big Brother"， but his only narrative function tends to be providing powers ups and force fields as needed， kind of like a robot in a Mega Man game that just exists to deliver power pellets。Issue 3 and 4: Some sort of wannabee Hitler is doing Hitler type things and must be stopped， so OMAC is deployed to smash his army。 There’s no sense of scope or politics nor do we see victims， just soldiers on parade who must be stopped。 This could be set among deranged Epcot performers reenacting WWII at Disney World for all the events seem to matter- and actually that would be a far more interesting premise。You could argue there's nothing here that couldn't be done in an issue of Iron-Man。Issue 5 and 6: Villains are swapping bodies with kidnap victims。 Rather than feeling like an extrapolation of technological trends it's treated as just another way for some hoods to make money， you could set this in Metropolis and call your villains "intergang" and call your hero “Superman” and it would be the same story。At first I figured the body swapping would be done with robot bodies， which would make sense to avoid the “heat” of the police， but nope， actual kidnap victims， looks like a job for Superman， or OMAC or whomever。 I think brain swaps are a very golden age of science fiction concept （Wikipedia cites two stories from the 1930s） ， probably not cutting edge even when written。Issue 7: This issue is actually kind of fun， because it's basically a Superman or Captain Marvel story， which plays much more to Kirby's strengths。 The villain is basically a stock mad scientist criminal like Lex Luther or Doctor Sivana。 （I seem to recall a similar plot about stealing water in an episode or two of Inspector Gadget）。We're told of the villain， Dr。 Skuba that "What Hitler couldn't do with great armies。。。 Skuba can do with his devilish bars！" Oh， Jack Kirby characters， you think everybody is Hitler！ （The villain steals water so his name is SCUBA， get it？）Omac gets a Buck Rogers type space ship to hunt for the bad guy， which is cool。 I like how the bad guy has a daughter and son in law。 Makes for some fun whimsy like the Dr。 Sivana family in the old Captain Marvel comics。At the end of the issue， there's a plot twist and cliffhanger that actually wouldn't work in a Superman or Iron man comic， as OMAC is turned back into Buddy Blank。 It's taken 7 issues， but something actually character based and interesting has happened。 Cool！Issue 8- The Doctor Scuba family seems to be the first set of villains capable of actually challenging our protagonist。 And in retrospect， now that we've come to the end， isn't the real protagonist Brother Eye， not OMAC？ OMAC is a non-character， a blank slate without traits other than a square jawed willingness to fight villains。 Brother Eye barely gets any lines before this issue， but he's highlighted a bit here and is far more interesting。In the beginning of the issue， Skuba seems more sympathetic than the "hero" he's a family man， and he freed Buddy Blank from his slavery- but unfortunately Kirby gives him cheesy lines like "Arrogant "do-gooder" presumably because Kirby has a very hard time thinking beyond his one dimensional stock characters。Later in the issue， there's some mad scientist schtick about Scuba making monsters- making him less sympathetic。Then suddenly， Brother Eye- servant of the peaceful， nonviolent Global Peace Agency， goes postal on Doctor Skuba and starts shooting beams of energy at him to try and kill him。It appears Kirby is unaware of the implications of the material， or too unskilled a writer to address it， since he continues to pound out shlock dialogue from Skuba's mouth like:"So That's what you are-- a super satellite--！ --"Well I've got just the fixings to make a "hero sandwich" out of you！"just like every generic villain who every fought Superman or any other super-dude。 It really doesn't fit a story with any moral ambiguity。And then the book is cancelled， so everyone dies， the end！In conclusion， In OMAC， I think Kirby is trying to reappropriate science fiction ideas in his superhero book， and throwing in as many as he can think of （non of which are original to him）。 Unfortunately， Kirby has seemingly no idea how to think of characters who resemble human beings， and has no idea how to go beyond rewriting the same pulp fight scenes and premises the superhero comic reader has seen again and again and again。 So you get a book with occasional glimmers of something interesting， and occasional suggestions that Kirby is transcending his own material， but it's like looking for the divine in a heap of trash。 There might be something transcendental there， but mostly it's just garbage。Looking at reviews online， there's many positive reviews of the book out there， it seems， but I agree with the Goodreads reviewer who wrote "There is no emotional attachment to anyone and OMAC seems so powerful that no one really poses too much of a threat to him。"Incidentally， there's a fan made issue 9 that was completed in 2002: http://professorhswa。。。/11/omac-9。htmlI read it， and they've retconned the material to suggest that Buddy's memory was accidentally wiped， and the Peace Agency is much less sinister and more unambiguously good。 After reading it， I went back to the Kirby version， and yep， that's not how the original story went， it's a retcon。 Issue 9 is far more like a warm heated "Cap in the future" sort of take。 It's actually more thematically consistent than the Kirby issues， where it's really not clear if Kirby has decided who you should be rooting for， and it's not clear if Kirby has much of an idea what he's trying to say。 。。。more
Jean-Pierre Vidrine
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Disposable people， wealthy privilege， and deification of youth are just some of the topics covered by Jack Kirby's "Captain America of the future。" From that first disturbing image of the "Build-A-Friend" to the abrupt ending， this dystopian vision of a brightly colored world struggling to maintain peace is full of strange twists and thrills。 Like so many dreams of the future， the stories here are actually taking a close look at the present。 Some of Kirby's speculations are actually more relevan Disposable people， wealthy privilege， and deification of youth are just some of the topics covered by Jack Kirby's "Captain America of the future。" From that first disturbing image of the "Build-A-Friend" to the abrupt ending， this dystopian vision of a brightly colored world struggling to maintain peace is full of strange twists and thrills。 Like so many dreams of the future， the stories here are actually taking a close look at the present。 Some of Kirby's speculations are actually more relevant today than they were when these issues were first published。The hastily added ending to this volume has proven useful to other DC creators after Kirby's departure。 Indeed， some of my surprises at reading this volume were due to having encountered other takes on the concept before reading the original。 Whether you read this as "Volume 1，" a prototype， or a self-contained epic it is simply a great comic book brimming with unbridled imagination。 It is easily one of Kirby's best。 。。。more
Kenny Porter
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This series is delightful and all sorts of strange。 It really shows off the imagination that Kirby put into every page of every comic he worked on。
Dominick
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Interesting more in the concept than the execution。 Kirby imagines a dystopian future world massively transformed by technology， and in which those advances have threatened the continued existence of the species: hence the creation of a World Peace police force， a massively powerful satellite eye （rather ominously--though this point is never explicitly made in the book--named "Brother Eye": lovely to have a Big Brother Eye in the Sky！）， and a single human atomically modified to make him a One Ma Interesting more in the concept than the execution。 Kirby imagines a dystopian future world massively transformed by technology， and in which those advances have threatened the continued existence of the species: hence the creation of a World Peace police force， a massively powerful satellite eye （rather ominously--though this point is never explicitly made in the book--named "Brother Eye": lovely to have a Big Brother Eye in the Sky！）， and a single human atomically modified to make him a One Man Army Corps （hence OMAC） to enforce the law。 Each issue deals with some variation on a hi-tech threat to the law， and most with some variation on a Hitleresque despot trying to use technology to dominate the world。 This games the system in favour of the "law and order" OMAC， of course， and discourages readers to consider the implications of how the （apparently globally unitary） government runs things。 The Eye in the Sky is just one unsettling feature。 Another is that all the peace agents （except OMAC） have concealed identities， ostensibly to showcase how they represent all nationalities （obscuring their identities means their races remain concealed）， with no consideration of how this smacks of secret police forces。 Even worse， OMAC himself is the transformed version of one Buddy Blank， who seems to have been selected without being consulted and to have had his identity and even memories overwritten by OMAC。 Kirby seems not to be interested in the inherent ironies in this sort of model of the law imposing its will on one individual， in contrast to the ways his criminal forces use technology to try to impose their will on people。 Even when the stories （and a few do） focus on the idea of artificial people--and the first issue features a particularly disconcerting image of a synthetic woman in a box--how their situation parallels OMAC's is not addressed at all until the final two issues， and even there it lies largely fallow Had Kirby explored the tensions more fully， this would have been a lot more worthwhile。 Mind you， the book was abruptly cancelled after eight issues and given a pretty pessimistic ending， involving the apparent descruction of both Brother Eye and OMAC。 The introduction reports that this ending was editorially imposed to bring the book to an end， rather than representing Kirby's plans， so perhaps had he been allowed to keep going， the book would have ended up exploring some of its more troubling subtexts。 I doubt it， though。 Typical dynamic Kirby art， though it lacks the full power and complexity of his best work。 。。。more
L。R。 Diaz
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I find a lot of the story ideas original and interesting。 Unfortunately the stories are edited by Jack Kirby as well which shows a lot of issues in the structure of sentences， punctuations and possible misspellings。 I can't say they are misspelled words because I didn't go back to check， but because some of the structure of the sentences sound goofy or just not correct I can guess some words are also misspelled。 This makes these "children's" stories less desirable as "literature。" I wish Kirby h I find a lot of the story ideas original and interesting。 Unfortunately the stories are edited by Jack Kirby as well which shows a lot of issues in the structure of sentences， punctuations and possible misspellings。 I can't say they are misspelled words because I didn't go back to check， but because some of the structure of the sentences sound goofy or just not correct I can guess some words are also misspelled。 This makes these "children's" stories less desirable as "literature。" I wish Kirby had a good editor in this series。 I think some things should have changed。 The anonymous Peace Agents that use a cosmetic spray to hide their racial identity is a bit strange and almost insulting as a human being because their faces should be shown。 If they had the peace agents would all be from different races amounting to a splendid and positive message。 In this case it feels like a shortcut to drawing different faces and making the group a secret society of sorts。 Women in this group have their hairs somehow come outside the seemingly "cosmetic" mask。 The world seems set in the future， but the technology seem a bit outdated from a golden age period that never happened。 Of course this book was done many years ago。 I think in the 70's and Omac has sideburns to prove it！ Kirby does great faces， action sequences and dynamic compositions， but this series is hard to read because of the childish stuff。 I guess the repeated descriptions was used to get kids who may not have read the first few issues get up to speed。 A technique that was common in those days and very annoying now。 For the shear novelty and Jack Kirby love this is a fun book to read or glance at。 Nothing special other than cool fight scenes and a bad ass Super-dude with a mohawk for some reason that is never explained。 。。。more
Andy
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