2001: A Space Odyssey #1

by Jack Kirby

The issue starts in the distant past where the monolith instructs a hunter on how to craft a spear and then shifts to the future where two astronauts discover an alien ruin. One of the astronauts is killed by a creature, but the other, Woodrow Decker, is transported into a pastoral countryside by the monolith. Here he rapidly ages until he dies and is converted by the monolith into an embryo-type creature referred to as a 'new seed' to explore the galaxy.

Genres: Comics, Science Fiction

18 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 1976

About the author

Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching back to the earliest days of the medium. He was also a comic book writer and editor. His most common nickname is "The King."

Reviews

[Devero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dopo aver trasposto in fumetto 2001: A Space Odyssey, il Re si dedica a questa serie durata 10 numeri e basata su alcune idee apparse nel film.
Perchè Kirby abbia scelto di scrivere e disegnare queste storie rimarrà un mistero, a parte l'ovvia fascinazione del romanzo di Clarke e del film di Kubrik. Ma come mai 10 anni dopo l'uscita del film?

In questo primo numero vediamo Caccia-Da-Solo e la sua interazione con il Monolito nel paleolitico, quindi quando Homo Sapiens è già tale. Questo lo porta ad una superiorità rispetto agli altri cacciatori, ed il salto nel futuro ci mostra un astronauta ed il suo incontro col Monolito, fino al salto evolutivo verso il bambino celestiale del film, qui chiamato New Seed, nuovo seme.
Kirby lascia intendere alcune cose, tra cui il fatto che l'astronauta sia una reincarnazione se non del cacciatore paleolitico, quantomeno del suo atteggiamento di sfida verso la vita e l'universo. Anche sul Monolite il suggerimento che percepiamo è che sia sempre lo stesso, e non monoliti diversi come nel film di Kubrik.
L'effetto del fumetto è quello del sense of wonder che è uno degli obiettivi, raggiunti, del film di Kubrik.
5 stelle

[Super Saiyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool story, love the art work, that cool retro style(It's from 1976). Got a kick out of the old school ads in between

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best of the lost Marvel comics that will never be reprinted. I read somewhere another reader considered this was Kirby past his prime. I don’t agree. Those first few issues especially, are not just written well with an interesting theme and pulp elements. They are drawn really well too. We get some caveman stuff that looks a little nicer than Devil Dinosaur and some fantastic sci fi astronauts and spaceships.

Later issues keep the series from being better. They diverge from the cool metaphysical space themes and become a different story about a renegade robot. Don’t get me wrong, Machine Man has an awesome story and his look is great. But he has nothing to do with the monolith or the star seed. In the end, the Arthur C Clark elements are dropped and Mister Machine gets his own series and a new name. Kirby could have done more with Machine Man’s robot mind conflicting or changing with the monolith, but that never happens. Seems like a missed opportunity.

[Jeff Lorentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read through this whole series over the last while. The stories range from solid Kirby fun, to just mediocre. The ingredient that saves this whole series is of course, Kirby's dynamic art