This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero blog post will look at DC’s variation on the original Planet of the Apes. The Kamandi series was a post-apocalypse tale with animals mutated into quasi-human forms and with human intelligence.
KAMANDI Vol 1 #1 (November 1972)
Title: The Last Boy on Earth
Villains: Wolf-Men, Tiger-Men and Leopard-Men
Synopsis: Years after an event remembered only as The Great Disaster, a teenage male named Kamandi lives with his grandfather in the remains of a military post called Command D. (Yes, the post name inspired our hero’s name Kamandi.)
Kamandi is rowing around flooded Manhattan and vicinity in his daily recon. When he returns to the command post he sees that anthropomorphic wolf-men have killed his grandfather.
Kamandi slays the wolf-men in turn and abandons his former home, driving off in the late wolf-men’s wagon. (Oddly, horses did not gain human form and intelligence and are still used to ride and as beasts of burden.)
After some time, the young man gets caught in the middle of a large-scale battle between an army of tiger-men and an army of leopard-men, all wearing the clothing and wielding the weapons of the humans who used to rule the world.
Kamandi winds up taken prisoner by the tiger-men and their general, Great Caesar. Continue reading
ANOTHER WORLD (1873) – This highly detailed account of life in Montalluyah (“God’s own city”), the capitol city of Mars, was written by British author Benjamin Lumley under the pen name Hermes. The book is presented as excerpts from historical accounts, including a biography of the Great Martian Reformer Tootmanyoso. 
NOVA Vol 1 #1 (September 1976) 
OF ANTICHRIST AND HIS RUIN (1692) – Last week Balladeer’s Blog reviewed John Bunyan’s often neglected work 
ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #51 (February 1950) 
After that, the government briefs the team about a top secret project which has been drilling deep down into the Earth. A scientist named Charles Crillion advised against doing this because he theorized the existence of a race of diamond-hard beings who would view the drilling as a hostile act. 
A VOYAGE TO THE MOON (1657) – Written by Cyrano de Bergerac. Yes, the one and only Cyrano de Bergerac, noted for his prominent proboscis and for Rostand’s play depicting his romance with Roxanne, at first acting on behalf of his friend. Some people still mistakenly believe Cyrano was a fictional character. 
Cyrano’s fictional space traveler was named Dyrcona and was the first to use multi-stage rockets to reach his destination. Dyrcona’s rocket design was based on firecrackers of the time period. The lunar inhabitants wore no clothing, had four legs and spoke in song. Their technology included transparent globes that captured solar rays for illumination, talking book-machines (early radio) and ray-guns that not only killed game but simultaneously cooked it. 
THE HOLY WAR (1682) – The work that John Bunyan is most well-known for is The Pilgrim’s Progress, but given the theme of Balladeer’s Blog, rather than write the 2 billionth review of that book I decided to take a general look at one of Bunyan’s often overlooked writings on mythology/ allegory. 
(Hey, it’s John Bunyan. If you’re looking for subtlety, let me introduce you to Mr. You-Won’t-Find-It-Here. Still, his works can be entertaining and thought provoking in a quaint, fairy-tale way.)
X-MEN Vol 1 #52 (January 1969) 
Synopsis: The recently arrived evil mutant called Erik the Red says he has come to Magneto’s subterranean lair out west to join his forces. Erik demonstrates his powers against the Demi-Men, Magneto’s latest team of mutants intent on conquering humanity. 
LIFE IN A THOUSAND WORLDS (1905) – Written by William Shuler Harris. This is yet another work of “ancient” science fiction that deals with life on other planets. Each celestial body that is visited gets its own chapter. 
ALL STAR COMICS Vol 1 #45 (February 1949) 
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