Kamandi : Last Boy on Earth
Kamandi is a young teenage boy living in a post -apocalyptic future North America. An extinction event sized calamity called “The Great Disaster,” has most reduced humans to little more than beasts in a savage world ruled by intelligent, highly evolved animals.
If this sounds a little like the original Planet of the Apes movie, you are correct. DC editor Carmine Infantino tried to acquire the license to publish a Planet of the Apes comic series but Marvel won the licenses. Infantino asked Jack Kirby [who had recently jumped ship from Marvel] to create a series with a similar concept. Kirby had not seen the films, but he knew the plot and he had also created a similar story, “The Last Enemy!” in Harvey Comics, Alarming Tales that predated [1967] the original Planet of the Apes novel [1963]. He also had an unused comic strip he created in 1956, titled Kamandi of the Caves. Kirby combined all those elements together to create Kamandi: Last Boy on Earth.
Warner Brothers has a potential blockbuster franchise with Kamandi. A science fiction story set in a futuristic world gone mad, world draw the sci fi fan base. A teen hunk as the main character, who spends most of his time wearing little more than cut offs and boots, appeals to the tween girls to adult female target groups. Huge action set pieces of armies of intelligent humanoid tigers, apes, wolves and more battling each other and pursuing Kamandi across this fantastic landscape of tomorrow would appeal to action fans. Throw in social commentary, a little humor, some teen romance to go along with the action and adventure and you have boffo box office.
