Kamandi at Earth's End #1 - Atop the Fourth Wall

Welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn. In this episode, Linkara looks at the first comic in a mini-series that would eventually lead to Superman at Earth's End!
atopthefourthwa...
Originally uploaded August 29th, 2011.
ORIGINAL INFO: Behold the story that gave birth to Superman at Earth’s End!
RUMINATIONS: I decided to finally look at Kamandi at Earth’s End pretty much because of what I said in the episode - that people continually looked to the Superman at Earth’s End episode as one of my best and most memorable. Maybe that’s because of the “I AM A MAN!” meme, but even rewatching it for the 300th episode celebration livestream I realized it actually turned out pretty decently. It was also one of my longest at the time at 24 minutes, which has become more and more common these days as I become more of a windbag. I am actually rather glad I decided to do the series since it ultimately gave me a loooot of material. I actually think the Kamandi episodes are pretty damn funny for just how stupid and unnecessary they are, with awful plot points, a lack of characterization, and our titular Kamandi being something of an utter moron.
The tale I tell in the video is true, as well - I hadn’t actually burned a copy when I first got it just because I was trying to get things done in a certain time frame, I was still working at Barnes and Noble, and my copy of it hadn’t arrived yet. I cut down the length of the actual burning in this one and had to alter the music due to a contentID claim, but you get the idea, anyway. It’s paper. It burns. Or rather it doesn’t very easily when it comes to EVERY SINGLE TIME I’VE TRIED TO BURN A COMIC ON THE SHOW. Seriously, it’s a recurring problem - maybe I just don’t select the right comics, but every time I’ve tried to do it, I’ve had to put a more newspaper-esque material inside of it due to the higher-quality paper that doesn’t so much burn as singe unless it’s got proper tinder to get things going.

[@egyptspivey777]

When you really think about how long Linkara's been working on Atop the Fourth Wall it makes you realize how dedicated he is to it. It's very inspiring.

[@girlfan]

I don't know why but the "IT WILL BURN NOW" with the Superman: At Earth's End had me laughing so hard.

[@Jygerthe2nd]

Same. I always laugh like an idiot at the whole schtick. XD

[@Tahkaullus01]

"Ah genocide, the goal of every great scientist!" "Of course! Don't you know anything about science?!"

[@skull-chan7703]

Fixer is such a gentle soul.

[@TheLowBrassDude]

Rimshot

[@ohitsthatguy8079]

You know it’s sad when a better sequel to Kamandi was when he crossed over into Batman: the brave and the bold. IN THE COLD OPEN! He wasn’t even the focus in that episode!

[@mikethegrunty5968]

With a character called "fixer", I keep thinking of holy terror.

[@gideon5386]

What a gentle soul.

[@Tareltonlives]

Nah, not racist enough

[@DGilVids]

Sad thing is, there's a Marvel villain named Fixer who I find extremely fascinating.

[@yourfavoritegames4971]

DGilVids Frank Miller kills all that he touches. Even Marvel knows that and won’t let him write Captain America. Knowing Miller he would have Cap go and kill Kamala Khan and crossover with Dc just to kill Simon Baz.

[@grantmoore8228]

Us Canadians are laying in silence before the American/Canadian war. Every Tim Hortons in Canada is actually a nuclear missle silo in disguise. That's right, every over block is a missle silo!

[@zmeyagosho]

I agree that this comic is stupid, however I have one critique on Linkara's critique :) Linkara complained, like 10 times "who is Kamandi talking to, when there is no one around?", but if you are the last human on earth, I think it is quite normal to talk to yourself ... actually not-talking to yourself would be abnormal.

[@fermintenava5911]

"... but if you are the last human on earth, I think it is quite normal to talk to yourself ..." But wouldn't it still be kinda awkward telling yourself your own life's story if you never had to introduce yourself to any foreigner?

[@ilopominecrafter]

@@fermintenava5911 even more awkward is that after he leaves the bunker, his title (and possibly the comic name but idk) is a lie. After he runs into sleeper zom, he is officially no longer the last boy on earth if there is another person on the planet! In fact he runs into more as it goes on making it even more meaningless

[@praxicoide]

I saw this, thought I would get Kirby, clicked and instead discovered this oh-so-90s edgy gun-toting version of Kamandi. My heart cracked just like glass.

[@AT4W]

As well it should given the material.

[@Nintendon85]

I'd never heard of the original Kamandi before this, but Linkara made it sound pretty fun. How was it?

[@Tareltonlives]

They did this crap to Turok, too, not to mention a bunch of other comic heroes.....dear god, the 90s were why I don't like comics anymore.

[@rcct44444]

Mario Morales hey its better than how Marvel is treating Kirby's characters right now Seriously look it up Its an atrocity

[@shadowspider9]

And then Man of Steel and New 52 happened. And now Superman is pretty much all about him winning about being an alien on earth, and being cocky and full of himself because of how much power he has.

[@TheLowBrassDude]

+shadowspider9 Don't forget Young Justice when he all but completely ignores a teenage clone of him and doesn't even make an effort to connect with him.

[@anthonyrodriguez1119]

+Lee Anderson later on in season 2 superman and Superboy are on good terms with one another and even fight as if they worked together for years

[@TheLowBrassDude]

Yeah after a five year time skip. We didn't see much development other than "at least you have a father" and "he's your responsibility"

[@anthonyrodriguez1119]

+Lee Anderson yeah but i felt the need to point it out (i would also like to point out that superman had every write to have his reservations of the clone superweapon developed with his dna made by a ailens enslaved by supervillians)

[@TheLowBrassDude]

Yes, but does that justify alienating (quite literally) a newborn clone who has anger issues, control issues who was developed without his supervision and with mind control. I wouldn't even mind if Superman was uncomfortable around Superboy as long as he put effort into making their relationship work and put on some form of an even keel, yet the only time they talk in the that whole first season Superman outwardly avoids and belittles him even when Superboy asks him to train him. Because Superman, no matter how awkward or uncomfortable it makes him, will help somebody who needs it, he wants to solve all problems both big and small.

[@MrPokefan404]

This would have had so many more Holy Terror jokes if it was made more recently.

[@nezumi6554]

11:53 Oh come on Linkara! That was your perfect opportunity to say something like "Kamandi's mom was Shanna from the Tandy Computer Whiz Kids?"

[@Canadamus_Prime]

"Ben Boxer's Log. Sept 26th 2101 A.D. War was beginning..."

[@pokejoseph]

What happen? Somebody set up us the bomb.

[@battlion507]

...And it never changes...

[@jojoreztorc0396]

We get signal!! What!!

[@Salixa456]

I would have saved the twin Hitler "science" panel. It deserves to be on my mirror so I can giggle at it everyday.

[@iankopeski2831]

Of course, don't you know about decorating?

[@nathanthompson4613]

Ian Kopeski know ANYTHING about

[@JaelinBezel]

When he opened it to show us that it's really the comic this time, I was like "Ooooooh shiny pages, dey pretty. Please no burn :)"

[@JaelinBezel]

This is probably because I've never owned a real comic book myself so I'm not used to such glossy, colorful pages.

[@SilentHillOwn]

superman is kind always, except when he killed Bizarro when he revived and actually went and do good deeds, helping superman save the world, and then superman killed him because "I'm not truly convinced by all the good deeds he has done, so just to be safe".... OUR HERO LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

[@Tareltonlives]

I think comic writers can't resist making an emblem of justice and mercy into as big an asshole as they are

[@nathanthompson4613]

Tareltonlives Especially when Frank Miller is writing BATMAN. Seriously, he always screws up every character who isn’t Batman so that Crazy Steve can feel like a badass

[@davidspring4003]

@@nathanthompson4613 he also screws up Batman

[@isaacbailey3681]

The "Casino Night Zone" joke was my personal favorite joke you have ever done at the time of this writing. I kid you not.

[@silversoulbrony]

Holy crap... is this what happened to The Fixer after Holy Terror!? O_O

[@Kaltagstar96]

+Silver Soul But wouldn't he be ranting about Muslims and not Canadian's?

[@AussieDragoon]

So this is how the Fixer died?

[@rojaws1183]

That cursed comic fought the cleansing fire with all it's huge unholy power! The horror!

[@psychonaut1502]

This is Kamandi in Name Only. This is nothing like the comics which had walking, talking animals; bloodhounds dressed like Sherlock Holmes, energy beings, and a woman who looks like Lady Godiva. Kirby really went all out.

[@edwardramos4591]

9:03 Seems like one of those Master Scientists was Jill from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.

[@nezumi6554]

10:30 I wish that Linkara had reviewed this after Holy Terror. Also, I didn't notice how many times comics use the name "fixer" until I started watching this show, but it shows up fairly often. Strange.

[@choninja21]

This is one of the videos I’ve watched so much that I pay more attention to the outside world when he’s burning the comic. Hope that barking dog lived a happy life.

[@jamesadamsfl]

Super AJ's angst can be pretty good. SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE pulled that off. It's a great story about a guy who feels alone, struggling to find his place in the world. And part of that IS about dealing with how others view him and questions of how best to use his powers and the depressing fact that he can't save everyone. Oh, yeah and how, despite being a superhuman alien, there are STILL people who love and accept him.

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

The problem is that a lot of authors don't seem to know Superman as much more than that perfect superpowered freak from Metropolis.

[@phoenixfritzinger9185]

wait fixer as in THAT fixer?

[@SorowFame]

I bet fixers the fixer from holy terror

[@Cartoonicus]

I must have watched at least 50 Linkara videos at this point and this is the first time I have actually watched a bad comic burn.

[@jessewilley531]

I'll tell you why it exists... it was created in 1972 with a last issue in 1978 and small cameo in Crisis on Intinite Earths. So by 1992, DC had to do something to keep their trademark active.

[@paulieswalnut]

9:28 Anyone else watching this while stuck at home, hiding from CORONAVIRUS?! 😕

[@darylchurch2115]

Yeah, I'm just rewatching a bunch of Linkara videos while I draw~

[@fermintenava5911]

You, too?

[@dominicmishler836]

Yeah. And when he said the line about "how unlucky to have two apocalypses" I felt sad and amused at the same time.

[@Dynaman21]

“Shut up Phelous, I have a bit to make work!”

[@GeorgeLuisGoN]

I got this book as a small child on a trip to Pismo Beach and read it like crazy over and over again. It was the first comic I can remember buying. Not sure why I read it so much (no Game Boy in the car probably) but all I knew is that it was weird. As an adult now I understand that that weird feeling was my undeveloped brain telling me it was terrible. Soviet Super Soldiers #1 was another book I clearly remember buying. I had weird taste as a kid to be sure.

[@Viccatrix]

Thank you Linkara for ending that comic rightly :3

[@jaraket]

I can't help thinking that the twin clones of Hitler would have really loved seeing that book burn. Good times.

[@MrDman21]

When Linkara says he's gonna burn a bad comic he does it dammit!

[@tannerprice2018]

The TRUE moral of AT4W: Use horrible comics as great substitutes for grill wood and campfires.

[@williamhowe1]

And again Jack Kirby is turning in his grave over and over and over just to make sure he is still sane!!!

[@noahvance6160]

Based on some of Kamandi's dialogue in the issue, I'm surprised Lewis never thought to give him the Superboy Prime voice. 😆

[@LizardOfOz69]

"I've already won the game" "can you see me?"

[@Writer10389]

Burn, baby. Burn. (It was immensely satisfying to see that comic burn for real.)

[@Ko700el]

you know..this first issue reminds me of fallout...growing up in a secluded place you have to upkeep .. with motherbank aka overseer .. then emerging from the vault for the first time seeing nothing but destruction and then wondering around wanting to loot everything it having value or not

[@averagegamecritic]

I said that recently. The grabbers are like raiders mixed with ferals and fixing a pump as well as a few others.

[@Bauglir100]

Interplay did twice as much lore rape with Brotherhood of Steel.

[@Bauglir100]

The Fallout series has evolved, for better or worse. If every game in the series did the same thing, it would get stale and repetitive. Why do you think people hate CoD so much (besides the obnoxious kids in Multiplayer, that is)?

[@danielgreen2788]

not human, humanitarian, hes the best

[@noahmagana137]

Ten years of kamandi at earths end

[@AwesomeAutismHC]

7:23 You know. Kamandi, they say if your hand is as big as your face, you have cancer. "Really?" [smack] "OW!"

[@KarmicBead]

That dog is really excited for the burning.

[@iKillerZombie]

Your Youngblood 7 review has been uploaded on my birthday

[@KidSnivy69]

Happy Birthday iKillerZombie!!!!!! 🎊🎉🎁🎂🍰

[@capmar-vell9243]

That image of Naked Troll still haunts my nightmares.

[@battlion507]

Cap Mar-Vell92​ I guess you can say that Troll was... in his BIRTHDAY SUIT! (insert stock laugh track)

[@capmar-vell9243]

'' I guess you can SAY that Troll was..in his BIRTHDAY SUIT!''

[@battlion507]

Cap Mar-Vell92 Ah, I ruined the joke. I'm sorry...

[@andreworders7305]

“It will burn now...hopefully”

[@averagegamecritic]

Great. It's like Fallout 2 and 3 meets dumb. Underground bunkers, leather jackets, apocalyptic wasteland, a human being one of the few survivors, the chicken machines act like the Enclave, fixing a pump, Grabbers that are a verb made humanoid like raiders, mutant cannibals. Hey, him grabbing the weapons makes sense if he is in a video game.

[@Trevin_Taylor]

Brandon Foley why 2 and 3 and not 1 or tactics or 4?

[@KevlarNinja]

I have this book on Superman DC made for his 75th anniversary, and the part talking about the Elseworld stories mentions "At Earth's End" as one of the first. Talk about putting your worst foot forward.

[@JaelinBezel]

I have the Wonder Woman book.

[@TheGollddMAN]

I liked that big ass gun though. Would like to use it on stuff...

[@EmeraldApe]

"We seem to be moving a lot of copies of Superman: At Earths End"

[@AbyssalRook]

Did anyone else think the burning cars were a reference to Superman's first comic cover, where he's smashing the car into the rock? The closest one we can see all of has the hood popped and is at the right angle, and though we can only see the one in the foreground's back wheel, it *does* look like the general design of that car.

[@xgray2012]

No.

[@ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Yeah, most copies of comics anymore are printed on gloss photo-type paper so that they better resist damage from water, sweat, and skin oils (plus drying out).

[@josephcage7955]

Now I have an image of Kamandi sitting at Superman's funeral* just writing poetry and listening to Nickelback out loud (Wonder Woman): Kamandi! Can you shut off the damn music! (Kamandi): LOOK AT THIS PHOTOGRAAAAAPH!!! (Batman): - picks up Kamandi - what are you, retarded or stupid? I'M THE GODDAMN BATMAN! *the death of Superman comic

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

Batman's dead in that Elseworld.

[@VicEntity]

Kamandi exists in the Earth where the great desaster happened. This story sucks. Then Superman at the Earth's end is set in a universe where he is only of the few survivors in a apocalyptic Earth. This story also sucks. THEN they put Kamandi in the same universe as Superman at the Earths end. I am starting to see a pattern here....

[@DinosaurFan88]

It does make me wonder who would copyright the most famous musical piece from the Norwegian play 'Peer Gynt'...

[@davidspring4003]

Probably the person who wrote it. Not that it matters as KZbin will flag music that was written specifically for the person or music thst has no royalties associated with it because it has a couple of notes near the end thst sound kinda similar to a different song

[@wannabehistorian371]

KAMANDI IS 17?!

[@MultiBeerme]

I ran into a couple who were walking from coast to coast, meaning New York to San Fransisco, for charity. I ran into them in Tahoe on the California side of things. When I asked how long it has taken them thus far they said about six months.

[@mask_vids9834]

What about... Superman Alienated from other khryptonians?

[@supersmashbro596]

say linkara. question. what is your opinion of injustice the regime's superman? aka a superman that had a bad day (which he was drugged by the joker, killed his wife thinking she was doomsday, and in doing so set off a nuke that destroyed metropolis) and became a dictator over earths population.

[@ripleyjlawman.3162]

supersmashbro596 What do you think?

[@spiderboy43]

If Kamandi at Earth's End had a crossover with the Fallout universe, would it have made this better? ...Doubt it, unless it showed Kamandi getting mowed down by the Brotherhood of Steel. Mmm... I could envision that all day.

[@Bauglir100]

In the Fallout graphic novel "All Roads", there's a blond guy that looks exactly like Kamandi in this comic.

[@Merit2397]

While I mean no disrespect, I find it interesting that for a tagline for a show that says "Where Bad Comics Burn" only 4 such comics, at the time of this comment, where actually set ablaze. THIS, The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Spider-man One More Day (Thank God) and Holy Terror. Makes me wonder why he hasn't burned any other comics going forward that truly made his rage quit like Heroes in Crisis or the like.

[@WraithTDK]

The funny thing about how "Kamandi has barely interacted with the DCU" is that I'll do you one better: at the point this story was written? Kamandi didn't exist. At all. Not in the future he came from, not in the present, not at all. In the merged timeline caused by Crisis On Infinite Earths, great catastrophe never happened, and the boy who would have been Kamandi is instead adopted by Horatius Tomorrow and named Tommy. In other words, he was merged with the Tommy Tomorrow.

[@juliomontoya8824]

You know, sometimes it almost pains me how Lewis almost always says what Im thinking. Im sick of angsty Superman, Im sick of pissy Batman, Im sick of hipocrite Wonder Woman (Yeah, I still think her being the most willing to kill makes her an hipocrite. Part of why I disliked the movie). And now, it seems like "Its okay to kill" is slowly becoming more accepted. Im actually starting to miss the earlier days, were heroes were seen as actually heroic heroes instead of "Too perfect to relate." God is that stupid. Sorry for the rant. Got a lot of things to say.

[@a2lan123]

Why didn't you keep the "I AM A MAN" panel ?

[@ecliptorcalrissian5014]

Man, I wish this had come after Holy Terror.

[@reaperproductions7058]

Actually when that one guy said that Kamandi was white, he meant that he looked like he has ever experienced sunlight

[@brandonlyon730]

So wait how does Kamandi fit when the likes of Booster gold and other time traveling heroes are from the future and clearly show a completely different future from Kamandi?

[@Samm815]

Goddammit Linkara. You kicked me in my librarian bone. Also I don't see what the problem was with superman at earth's end. It was stupid don't get me wrong, but it was so campy i couldn't help but laugh. It helped that when you were doing the funny voices that made me smile. I also agree that's it's a bad representation of superman. I wouldn't go as far as to *HATE* something that I find stupid. I hate things that make me mad and I am a hundred present sure that i hate (Anders, Jormungand, Fundamentalists).

[@evanbao93]

Seems like you unknowingly punched the Entity at the end.

[@user-zm4ro7yh4e]

Oh God this video is old... but still, HUNT DOWN THE SUPERMAN

[@mimkyodar]

After watching this video, I can't help but wonder.... Why Lynx?

[@jeremyneill227]

I feel like it would have been cheaper, and less effort if Veitch just found Jack Kirby's grave and peed on it.

[@ignacionadeo3521]

So, you say that Superman couldn't be everywhere at once and solve every crime, but... isn't that kind of exactly something he CAN actually do? Like in... I think it was Red Son, where he becomes a benevolent dictator that stomped out all crime forever?

[@CthulhuianBunny]

If the grabbers aren't human anymore, can you really call them cannibals for eating humans? Nobody calls the feral ghouls and supermutants in the Fallout series cannibals for eating humans.

[@Mysticist]

Wait, so this comic takes place after a second apocalypse? Things took an even weirder turn than I thought after End of Evangelion...

[@nicholasbodo4327]

For the Superman fanboys who say Man of Steel turned their favorite superhero, tie them to a chair, put a headset on them Clockwork Orange style and force them to read Superman At Earth's End.

[@Tareltonlives]

It's the same Supes, really

[@supernintendochalmers3385]

So... they'll have two things to call terrible?

[@kadindarklord]

wow, two of the same Spaceballs reference in 2 days...

[@KitAkira1989]

Does this comic (or Superman at Earth's End) remind anyone else of that one Calvin and Hobbes Sunday strip that made fun of "gritty" comics from the 1990s? Or is it just me?

[@AndrewBullXandrew]

So are you done with the "Inked Reality" logo at the end your videos or something?

[@AT4W]

Yep. With each week over the last few years, it seems less and less likely Inked Reality will be a thing and if people come across my videos and want to search for me, I'd rather they search for something that actually currently exists... like my own site and brand name. XD

[@AndrewBullXandrew]

Oh okay, I'll miss it, but I like the New one!

[@deadpoolgroupie5497]

Linkara-AtopTheFourthWall Little random but with your history of RPM coming up will you upload your previous history of power rangers videos to the channel.

[@AT4W]

Deadpool groupie They WERE uploaded at one point. They got taken down by Toei.

[@kamenridernephilim]

Linkara-AtopTheFourthWall Copyright is a real chore these days when it comes to reviewing. Then again Toei is a real jerk in particular when it comes to reviews or using their material for comedic or critical or education purposes. I mean you, the Nerd, Spoony, the Critic, ect. your stuff gets purged by some anonymous bureaucrat or poorly designed bot filter system. Also thanks for putting the older reviews and episodes.

[@3fatkid]

For anyone who has seen Kaijudo, am I the only one that thinks Kamandi looks like the Choten here?

[@billwhite515]

I wish I knew where that was filmed

[@Bismuth83X]

Canada and the US are/were at war?MY WAIFU COULD BE AN ENEMY?!#etrianodysseyuntoldplottwist#raqunasheldon=onetruefetish

[@mirandazollman7809]

but he is a god he cant be killed look at all the crap super has done can do and lived through and at earths end is a superman fan fic to me dont really count as superman all they had to do was let the robo chickens take him to the sun light and he would of lived hell with all he lived through i cant see him just walking into the fire and burning up like iv said look how bad hes been hurt beaten and still lived. he is on a god level.

[@BronyDanProductions]

It's a shame most comics you review lately don't warrant a 'I AM A MAN!' punch.

[@misterfallouty926]

did anyone catch that spelling error at 3:52 "I hates these stupid guns" it should be "I hate these stupid guns" instead. Or was it intentional?

[@Nintendon85]

Likely intentional as part of a "Noo Yawk" accent.

[@andrewgwilliam4831]

Made me think of Popeye!

[@FaceUnreality]

Why does DC keep coming up with what sounds like good Apocalypse stories until you actually find out what happens in them?

[@roys.1889]

"Can you see me?"

[@SpeedyEric1]

24:11- I sure can.

[@codystewart8654]

24:10 yes, yes i can.

[@georgebaynard4096]

Hey Linkara-AtopTheFourthWall have you read punisher kills the marvel universe and its parody deadpool kills the marvel universe

[@EHH246]

I rather see the anthropomorphic animals of the original than this 90s mess. And no, the chicken robots do not count. :P

[@Anonomous518]

How much does it cost you to burn so many bad comics?

[@juhaniaho6698]

11:54 Tandy computers?

[@gagaplex]

You bought it twice to destroy it? I mean... I like your dedication, but I kind of think the creators would be quite happy to know you bought _two_ copies of their crappy comic.

[@lilspritah]

OF COURSE, DON'T YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SCIENCE!?

[@CodecrafterArtemis]

CAN YOU SEE ME?

[@alexhorbacz1547]

Also are you going to dan Atop the Forth Wall where you review Lightbringer.

[@scrabblehandforaname]

You expect him to tear apart his OWN comic despite the fact that he's moved on? Cyberman, say your line.

[@carterheer8278]

How dare you make fun of Nickelback!? They are musical GODS!!

[@mitchfletcher2386]

I'm a simple man: I see Robot Chicken, I click it.

[@daelen.cclark]

So... the new 52 caused an apocalypse... yeah, I believe that. 8:56-9:03

[@Rgoid]

Wrong. It was Lex2000

[@spookyrosev6467]

Ugh this just makes me wanna play Fallout instead