You know how you just expect to wait on some things for a very long time? Maybe even to the point that, while you will wait, realistically they may never happen? Yeah, I can tick one of those things off of my list as of right now. Kamandi has arrived. Think about that for just a second – KAMANDI HAS ARRIVED. And he did so before the Great Disaster! For the first time ever in the history of action figures we have a figure of the Last Boy on Earth and one of my favorite creations by my all-time favorite comic creator (Jack Kirby, natch), and even though we have had some months to celebrate and contemplate what it would be like to have a Kamandi figure on our shelves, trust me, the realization of glee will hit hard when you look at him standing on your shelf for the first time.
I could just write a big love letter here. Seriously, like Ted Kord Blue Beetle style. I could say how thrilled I am to finally have this figure, how the Four Horsemen delivered an extremely faithful sculpt and how Mattel got him into an assortment and got him all the way through production with out a flaw (at least on this one), but I think most of that is implied by now. Sure, Kamandi was before my time so I never got to read the original run as it was coming out, but by strange chance I was introduced to that run by a friend’s older brother or cousin or something (I remember the IMPORTANT part here) when I was about 8 years old. I feel luck for that as that run by Kirby inspires so much imagination and wonderment it is unfortunate for any comic fan NOT to discover Kamandi at a young age. Sure, I still appreciate what I did back then and have added many other layers of things that I find amazing in those books now that I am older, but I am so glad I did not miss out on Kamandi when I was a kid.
Which leads me to address the idea of whether you like Kamandi or not. I honestly cannot see how most comic fans can read (just about any of) his runs and not have a fantastic time. The concept of Earth in a Post-Apocalypse where humans and scarce and intelligent anthropomorphic animal races and tribes are fighting for control of the Earth. Now, I know that there was some Planet of the Apes that helped originally develop Kamandi’s concept and world, but PotA only scratches the surface. It is just amazing fun. So, if you don’t like Kamandi, I am going to initially assume it is due to ignorance, in which case, I would implore you do so some reading. If you ARE familiar with Kamandi and don’t like him, well, I am just going to have to think less of you.
As far as the figure itself goes, like I said before, he is very well made. In fact, from and engineering and manufacturing standpoint, the four series 14 figures that I have might just be some of the best made DCUC figures to date. They are solid, made of good plastic with tight joints and great paint. I am very hopeful that this will hold through with all of the production figures but, as you know, in a mass market line there will never be 100% quality control. Your chances look good though. Kamandi also employs a brand new sculpt that is not 100% like anything that we have gotten before as you can see in the comparison. It is very appropriate for him as he is shorter than most and certainly thinner.
The Command D here (get it? Command D was the bunker where he was raised by his grandfather, hence, Kamandi. Clever!) also comes with three weapons, a revolver, a sort of pistol and rifle. He also has his requisite collector button and monkey torso of the Ultra-Humanite. Overall, he is going to be a good value figure.
So, I am on cloud nine about FINALLY having this figure, and I know I have not been waiting as long as some who read the original issues as they were published. So, if you actually don’t like Kamandi – neener-neener! We have a Kamandi figure!!! If you don’t know about him – do some reading! And if you still aren’t convinced, you have to get him to build your Humanite.
*Now, Mattel. Horsemen. Toy Guru. Bill Benecke. Matty. Fangirl 2.0. All of you. You got Kamandi into this line, and I am very thankful. But you didn’t think I would be satisfied did you? Forever People. Make it HAPPEN. Hell, while you are at it, Tuftan and Dr. Canus too. Bill, don’t think I forgot you mentioned Ben Boxer at SDCC! I want them ALL. I am glad Kamandi Grampy OMAC is due up in series 15, so I am not ALL demands here.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned – we have a few more DCUC 14 First Looks in the hopper.
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