Upcoming Kirby – OMNIBUS v2 from DC in 2013

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This is currently scheduled for March 2013 from DC:

Jack Kirby Omnibus Vol. 2 HC
Writers: Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Dennis O’Neil, Michael Fleischer, Steve Sherman, Martin Pasko, Bob Rozakis, Joey Cavalieri and Paul Kupperberg
Artists: Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Bruno Premiani, George Roussos, Mort Meskin, John Prentice, Bill Draut, Bob McCarty, Leonard Starr, Wally Wood, Mike Royer, D. Bruce Berry, Pablo Marcos, Alex Toth, Greg Theakston, Adrian Gonzales, Alan Kupperberg and Bill Wray
Collects: BLACK MAGIC #1-9, 1ST ISSUE SPECIAL #1, 5 and 6, RICHARD DRAGON: KUNG FU FIGHTER #3, THE SANDMAN #1-6, KOBRA #1, DC COMICS PRESENTS #84, SUPER POWERS #1-5 and SUPER POWERS VOL. 2 #1-6
$39.99 US, 624 pg

Contents subject to change, naturally. Catches many of the strays not already accounted for among other already released or scheduled books from Kirby’s post Golden Age work published by DC (still need a Manhunter and a lot more Boy Commandos and some Newsboy Legion there). I’ll update with a list of what’s missing in a bit.  IN THE DAYS OF THE MOB, obviously, but that’ll probably get its own oversized book like SPIRIT WORLD.  JUSTICE, INC. is probably out as it’s a licensed character. Lots of non-Kirby stuff in the BLACK MAGIC book, and it’s all 1950s reprints which would be better served in Titan’s S&K Library series, which would free up some pages in here to make sure stuff like the unpublished Dingbats stories, the story intended for SANDMAN #7 (printed in the digest THE BEST OF DC #22 [1982]) and all of Kirby’s non-Fourth World WHO’S WHO pages get included.

6 thoughts on “Upcoming Kirby – OMNIBUS v2 from DC in 2013

  1. patrick ford

    Wow, the announced content sounds awful. Very little there which would tempt me, and loads of stuff which isn’t even by Kirby. All of the unpublished Dingbats and a restored KOBRA might get me on board, but as it stands this is one I’ll pass on.

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  2. Bob Post author

    Yeah, that is way too much non-Kirby for a book called JACK KIRBY OMNIBUS. I really hope they drop the apparent intention to include all of BLACK MAGIC (the DC versions of those stories also had some touch-ups, and generally inferior reproduction which I assume will be reflected in whatever material they have on file). Not sure if they plan on including the non-Kirby issues of SANDMAN or just his covers from those two issues. Ernie Chan isn’t in the credits, so maybe they’re skipping them. I’ll have to look closer at the page counts.

    A restoration of KOBRA #1 and as many pages of unpublished Dingbats as can be found would be great. Plus it would be great to get all the magazine stuff (SPIRIT WORLD, IN THE DAYS OF THE MOB, TRUE DIVORCE, SOUL LOVE) in this format, in addition to any larger deluxe reprinting they might do.

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  3. patrick ford

    My thought for years has been DC should collect all the magazine stuff (SPIRIT WORLD, IN THE DAYS OF THE MOB, TRUE DIVORCE, SOUL LOVE) under one cover.
    I hope everyone will go out and buy SPIRIT WORLD so at least we can finally get a collection of IN THE DAYS OF THE MOB.

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  4. Jaime Burgess

    I am in total agreement that DC should have published all his black and white magazine work as a singular volume. However, we live in the day and age of pay more and get less. If DC is going to publish non Kirby work, they should publish them as a “DC Seventies” line or something, with a parade of various artists of that era. I.E. Kirby books, with his covers, with a different artists doing interiors. DC already reprinted the seventies Sandman, first issue only, in the Sandman Omnibus, even though I thought they should have featured all of his Sandman work together from that period. That is all I have to say for now.

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  5. Mike

    Here is some unofficial page counting I did for the contents of this volume. I only counted pages that Kirby actually drew. I am still sifting through the pages of Black Magic for page counts on those and will update if I get a rough figure.
    -79 pages of Sandman content (5 covers issues 1-5 and stories in issues 1, 4-6)
    -60 pages of 1st Issue Special content (3 covers and stories in issues 1, 5, 6)
    -18 page story in Richard Dragon issue 3
    -18 page story in Kobra Issue 1
    -28 pages of content in Super Powers vol 1 (5 covers and 23 page story in issue 5)
    -143 pages of content in Super Powers vol 2 (6 covers and 137 story pages)
    -18 pages of content in DC Comics Presents 84 (1 cover and 17 page story)

    I think it’s fairly safe to guess that the 18 page story intended for Sandman 7 but published in Cancelled Comics Cavalcade will be included since the Steve Ditko Omnibus vol 1 and Creeper Omnibus included stories from the same CCC.

    I hope they publish the Kirby pin-up for Superman 400 (they included Ditko’s pin up from the same issue in Steve Ditko omnibus vol 2).

    I also hope they include the Super Powers house ad by Kirby (they did include other house ads in Fourth World volume 4)

    I’m not sure what to make of the 2 pages Kirby drew for Heroes Against Hunger. I know the Steve Ditko omnibuses did not include pages Ditko drew as part of larger stories so an argument could be made along those same line for these 2 pages exclusion.

    I’m also unclear what to make of the 12 non-Fourth World Who’s Who pages Kirby drew. They obviously included all Kirby’s Fourth World Who’s Who in Fourth World Omnibus volume 4, but they didn’t include the 4 Ditko Who’s Who pages in his Omnibus series despite the pages featuring characters included in the omnibus.

    Finally, although I hope for the unpublished Dinbats stories intended for issues 2 and 3 I have no idea what access DC has to those pages. Does anyone have clarity over whether or not te pages were officially “turned in” to DC? Does anyone know how many pages those stories were in their final form?

    Also does anyone have page counts of the non-Kirby stories in Sandman 2 and 3 and Super Powers vol 1 issues 1-4?

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  6. Ian

    Mike, not sure if you still want this but
    Sandman #2 is 21 pages including cover
    Sandman #3 is 20 pages including cover

    The Super Powers 1-4 that Jack Kirby scripted but did not draw total (including covers)is 97 pages but as Jack drew the covers that means 93 pages in total

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