History ComicBook / Kamandi

[[caption-width-right:300:You know there's been an apocalypse because Art/LadyLiberty is [[MonumentalDamage sinking.]]]]
''Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth'' was a science-fiction comic book series published by Creator/DCComics. The series was first published throughout the [[TheSeventies 1970s]] and its characters have appeared in various other comics since.

* CanonWelding: Kamandi is at the center of a rather intricate web of this. His apocalyptic future is the same as the one the Atomic Knights come from! His grandfather was actually Buddy Blank, the host for ComicBook/{{OMAC}}! In an alternate universe where the world wasn't destroyed he became Tommy Tomorrow! And he's also Jed Walker from Sandman! (No, not [[ComicBook/{{TheSandman}} that one]]. Or [[ComicBook/{{JusticeSocietyOfAmerica}} that one]]).

* MultipleChoicePast: Exactly ''who'' Kamandi is supposed to have been is a mystery in itself. Kirby hinted that Kamandi was the grown-up version of the boy who starred in his version of ComicBook/TheSandman; later this was changed to making him ComicBook/{{OMAC}}'s grandson. And later still, he was made to be an AlternateUniverse version of DC's [[SpacePolice Space Policeman]], Tommy Tomorrow.

[[caption-width-right:300:You know there's been an apocalypse because [[MonumentalDamage Lady Liberty is sinking.]]]]

* In 1993, the character saw a DarkerAndEdgier reboot in a six-issue {{Elseworlds}} miniseries entitled ''Kamandi: At Earth's End'', which was in turn followed by the arguably more well-known and infamous ''ComicBook/SupermanAtEarthsEnd'' (i.e., that story with [[YouClonedHitler the twin clones of Hitler]]).

* 2017's ''Kamandi Challenge'', a twelve-issue RoundRobin series that served as a sequel to the 1980s ''ComicBook/DCChallenge''. Among the writers was ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' co-creator Kevin Eastman, a big Kirby fan who said ''Kamandi'' is the favorite title the writer had done.

After the success of ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968'', DC Comics editor Carmine Infantino asked artist/writer Creator/JackKirby to create a series with a similar premise, after failing to secure the rights to that series (Creator/MarvelComics got it instead). Kirby had never actually seen the film, but took what little he did know and combined it with some of his previous sci-fi one-shots (namely ''[[https://cartoonsnap.blogspot.com/2007/10/more-alarming-1950s-kirby-sci-fi-comics.html The Last Enemy]]'') and a few unused ideas. Thus ''Kamandi'' was born, a title which -- unlike most other comics Kirby created for DC -- lasted for many years, though Kirby would leave the book about two-thirds into its run.

In the original series, [[UnspecifiedApocalypse a mysterious incident]] known only as "The Great Disaster" caused the collapse of human civilization. Fast-forward a few centuries and a human boy is living with his grandfather in a bunker called "Command-D" somewhere near UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. When he dies, the young man — named after the place — sets outs to find more people. What he discovers is that most humans are now primitive and unable to speak, while many animals became humanoid in form and gained human-level intelligence; the latter the result of an experiment that was being carried out shortly before the Disaster). Naturally, this means humans are now treated as animals, and the animals have developed their own civilizations that were suspiciously similar to ancient human ones (e.g., the tigers had a culture like the Roman Empire).

All animal races are also at war with each other, scavenging and fighting for resources among the RuinsOfTheModernAge, with the main conflict being between the Tigers and the Apes. The plot followed Kamandi's attempts to restore humanity's sentience in this new era of Earth A.D. while avoiding the various animal armies. Over the course of his journey, he is able to befriend individuals such as the science-minded hound Doctor Canus, as well as encounter some mutated humans who are still capable of human reasoning and speech.

''Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth'' was a science-fiction comic book series published by Creator/DCComics. It was first published in the [[TheSeventies 1970s]]; its characters have appeared in various other comics since.

Shortly after the movie ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' became a hit, DC editor Carmine Infantino asked artist/writer Creator/JackKirby to create a series with a similar premise, after failing to secure the rights to that series; Kamandi was the result. Kirby had never seen the film, but used the concept to revisit some old ideas of his own. Unlike most other comics Kirby created for DC, the title lasted for many years, though Kirby left before its conclusion.

In the original series, a mysterious incident known only as "The Great Disaster" caused the collapse of human civilization. A human boy survived with his grandfather in a bunker called "Command-D". When he dies, the young man — named after the place — sets outs to find more people. What he discovers is that most humans are now primitive and unable to speak, while some animals became humanoid in form and gained human-level intelligence (apparently from the effects of an experiment being carried out shortly before the Disaster). All races were now in a conflict to survive while scavenging among the ruins. Humans were treated as animals, and the animals developed their own civilizations that were suspiciously similar to ancient human ones; e.g., the tigers had a culture like the Roman Empire.

The main conflict was between the Tigers and the Apes. Kamandi tried to help the humans while avoiding the animal armies. He made friends with some of them, though, such as Doctor Canus, a science-minded hound. He also did find some humans who could speak, but they were actually genetically-engineered mutants.

During the miniseries ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'', a present-day version of Kamandi and his grandfather, after becoming involved with a sentient satellite he created and a trip to [[ComicBook/NewGods Apokolips]] are transported to an AlternateUniverse where a plague from the future has re-created the setting of the original series.

In 1993, the character saw a DarkerAndEdgier reboot in an {{Elseworlds}} miniseries, ''Kamandi: At Earth's End'', which was in turn followed by the infamous ''ComicBook/SupermanAtEarthsEnd''.

''Kamandi'' was one of the series featured in ''ComicBook/WednesdayComics'', and in 2017 was the star of the resurrected ''DC Challenge'', a twelve-issue RoundRobin series (featuring among others ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' co-creator Kevin Eastman, a big Kirby fan who said ''Kamandi'' is the favorite title the writer had done).

''Kamandi'' was one of the series featured in ''ComicBook/WednesdayComics'', and in 2017 was the star of the resurrected ''DC Challenge'', a twelve-issue RoundRobin series.

* AnimalIsTheNewMan: A great disaster has killed off nearly all humans, with the few survivors lacking intelligence, and in the meantime, races of humanoid animals have risen up to take the humans' place on the food chain.

* LastOfHisKind: There are humans who've lost their intelligence (though as noted some are still capable of HulkSpeak), and some mutants (like Ben Boxer, Misfit, and the human gophers), but Kamandi is the last human being as we know humanity.

In the 1993, the character saw a DarkerAndEdgier reboot in an {{Elseworlds}} miniseries, ''Kamandi: At Earth's End'', which was in turn followed by the infamous ''ComicBook/SupermanAtEarthsEnd''.

* AlternateReality: Kamandi's world was just one of many possible futures for [[Franchise/TheDCU the DC Universe]] (and is now a Parallel Earth). A time travel story had Kamandi begging Franchise/{{Superman}} to prevent the Cataclysm, but Supes has enough experience with time travel to realize Kamandi isn't from ''his'' world's future, so there's nothing he can do.

* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: There are plenty of similarities between this series and the animated series ''ThundarrTheBarbarian''. (Note that Kirby worked on that show.)

* AfterTheEnd

* AnimalStereotypes: The different animal races acted pretty stereotypically. Apes are cruel, big cats are imperious but noble, etc. Kamandi manages to deduce that one villain is a snake before setting eyes on him.

* LastOfHisKind: There are humans who've lost their intelligence (though some are still capable of HulkSpeak), and some mutants (like Ben Boxer, Misfit, and the human gophers), but Kamandi is the last human being as we know humanity.

* MadeOfIron: Kamandi's mutant friends, Ben Boxer, Steve, and Renzi, who could turn their bodies into living steel, like the later Colossus of the Comicbook/XMen.

* LineOfSightNaming: Kamandi's name comes from Command D, the bunker he lived in before venturing into the surface world.

* CanonWelding: Kamandi is at the center of a rather intricate web of this. His apocalyptic future is the same as the ones the Atomic Knights come from! His grandfather was actually Buddy Blank, the host for ComicBook/{{OMAC}}! In an alternate universe where the world wasn't destroyed he became Tommy Tomorrow! And he's also Jed Walker from Sandman! (No, not [[ComicBook/{{TheSandman}} that one]]. Or [[ComicBook/{{JusticeSocietyOfAmerica}} that one]]).

* LastOfHisKind: There are humans who've lost their intelligence (though some are still capable of HulkSpeak), and some mutants (like Ben Boxer and the human gophers), but Kamandi is the last human being as we know humanity.

* WhatAboutTheAstronauts: Actually, some astronauts did survive the Great Disaster, like Kamandi's buddy Ben Boxer. They wound up mutated so their "cyclo-hearts" would turn them into solid steel in response to radiation.

''Kamandi'' was one of the series featured in ''ComicBook/WednesdayComics''.

'''''Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth''''' was a science-fiction comic book series published by Creator/DCComics. It was first published in the [[TheSeventies 1970s]]; its characters have appeared in various other comics since.

'''''Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth''''' was a science-fiction comic book series published by DCComics. It was first published in the [[TheSeventies 1970s]]; its characters have appeared in various other comics since.

''Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth'' was a science-fiction comic book series published by DCComics. It was first published in the [[TheSeventies 1970s]]; its characters have appeared in various other comics since.

* ShinyNewAustralia: according to a map appearing in one issue, Australia was ruled by the "Kanga Rat Murder Society".

Shortly after the movie ''Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes'' became a hit, a DC editor asked artist/writer Creator/JackKirby to create a series with a similar premise; Kamandi was the result (but note Kirby had not seen the movie, and in fact he used the chance to revisit some older ideas of his.) Unlike most other comics Kirby created for DC, the title lasted for many years, though Kirby left before its conclusion.