Secret City Saga
Encyclopedia
Secret City Saga is a concept and collection of various comic book titles created by influential writer-artist Jack Kirby
, and published by the short-lived Topps Comics
, an off-shoot of the popular Topps
Trading Card company. Beginning in April 1993, the Secret City Saga books consisted of 3 four issue mini-series (Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga, Satan's Six, TeenAgents) and 3 one-shot specials (Captain Glory, Nightglider, and Bombast), which were all preceded by the one-shot promotional giveaway, Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga #0.
The concept itself saw Topps lease Kirby's name alongside the characters, and saw the line referred to as "The Kirbyverse". All the characters resided in the same shared universe, and the deal also presented the final time that Kirby had complete creative control over any of the many properties that he had created in his career. It was initially seen as a creative and financial failure. The line consisted of leftover concepts Kirby had developed years prior, and generated low sales and minimal reader interest, finding a niche only with hard-core Kirby fans.
books published by DC Comics
in the early 1970s.
The Ninth Men populated Gazra, a society which advanced to the point in which it was harvesting the full potential of an integrated community, with its technological advancements having been made with an organic theme, instead of machine based. Yet, their environment itself seemed to turn against them, huge nearly planet-wide storms destroying all in their path. As a contingency, the scientific and military leaders of Gazra placed three of their citizens into hibernation, with hopes that these three would survive "The Great Catastrophe" (a term used for these planet-wide storms) to spread the ideals of the society of the Ninth Men onto the next age of Man....which is revealed to be us, present-day humankind.
The three citizens were:
Keltan, a captain in Gazra's Science Team security forces, who upon awakening would assume the name Captain Glory.
An unnamed female, who upon release from hibernation would assume the name Nightglider. As indicated in Secret City Saga #0, this may have been an "official" term for her and/or her kin during her days in Gazra, for she possesses bodily modification that would foster the abilities of flight, such as a hollow bone structure.
Bombast, who seems to have been a member of Gazra's military, possibly of some sort of demolitions or heavy ordinance team, whose official term seems to have been "hurlers". Skilled at ballistics and explosives.
.
The TeenAgents were a group of four teenaged denizens of the Inner City populated by descendants of humans who fled the surface world from persecution as witches and warlocks and discovered and salvaged remnants of the Ninth Men's world that somehow survived "The Great Catastrophe". Their job was to intervene should any of the wild (and most times, monstrous) creatures that populate the bowels of the Earth try and attack the surface world (or as they referred to it, "Upworld"). After speculation, it might be safe to say that these subterraean creatures might possibly have been some of the "ordinary" wildlife that populated the Ninth Men's prehistoric times. Members of the TeenAgents included: Aurik, who possessed the power to control his own mass and density, Dijit, who possessed gloves that each individual finger was endowed with the ability to project a different form of force bolt (fire, electricity, etc., etc.,), Seera, a female who could transform herself into a vaporous state, allowing her the abilities of flight (and seemed to have slight empathic abilities), and The Kreech, a young female shape-shifter.
Silver Star, a previous Kirby creation, who was a government agent appointed the task of fighting super-human enemies. A genetic mutant, classified as "homo geneticus", Morgan Miller was the result of genetic experimentation of his father, Dr. Bradford Miller. Possessing of incredible superhuman strength, Miller's abilities are also a curse, for each time he uses his powers it physically drains his life-force. Miller is quoted to have said, "What's up with this super secret shanigans?"
Captain Victory, another of Kirby's previous independent comic book endeavours. Victory is the leader of an extraterrestrial intergalactic police force, which visits then-present day (1982) Earth. With the publication of Victory #1, though, it seems that Victory's Pacific Comics' exploits are, continuity-wise, difficult to reconcile with the Kirbyverse's "present" (supposedly circa early 1990s).
and Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers
(originally published under the banner of one of the first so-called "independent publishers" of the early 1980s, the now-defunct Pacific Comics
) retconned to become Kirbyverse canon, there are a few other odd quirks that one must consider.
The Liberty Project: In Jack Kirby's TeenAgents #3, the children of Inner City meet members of The Liberty Project
, a super-hero team originally created by writer Kurt Busiek and penciler James W. Fry, that starred in their own series published by Eclipse Comics
in the mid-1980s.
One of the oddest Kirbyverse continuity quirks is that the supernatural serial killer Jason Voorhees
and his exploits in the Friday the 13th film series could quite possibly be considered Kirbyverse canon as well, for he guest starred in Satan's Six #4 (1993), in a story that seemingly took place sometime after the events of the New Line Pictures film, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
, in which the Six battle Voorhees in Hell. At the time, Topps Comics held a licence on the character, having published a comic book adaptation of the aforementioned Jason theatrical vehicle.
who was also the author of the never published Silver Star issues.
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
, and published by the short-lived Topps Comics
Topps Comics
Topps Comics is a division of the American trading card publisher and gum/candy distributor the Topps Company, Inc. that published comic books from 1993–1998, beginning its existence during a short comics-industry boom that attracted many investors and new companies...
, an off-shoot of the popular Topps
Topps
The Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, candy and collectibles. Based in New York, New York, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.-Company history:Topps itself was...
Trading Card company. Beginning in April 1993, the Secret City Saga books consisted of 3 four issue mini-series (Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga, Satan's Six, TeenAgents) and 3 one-shot specials (Captain Glory, Nightglider, and Bombast), which were all preceded by the one-shot promotional giveaway, Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga #0.
The concept itself saw Topps lease Kirby's name alongside the characters, and saw the line referred to as "The Kirbyverse". All the characters resided in the same shared universe, and the deal also presented the final time that Kirby had complete creative control over any of the many properties that he had created in his career. It was initially seen as a creative and financial failure. The line consisted of leftover concepts Kirby had developed years prior, and generated low sales and minimal reader interest, finding a niche only with hard-core Kirby fans.
The Secret City
The Secret City Saga chronicled the adventures of three heroes, Captain Glory, Nightglider, and Bombast. As revealed in Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga #0 (April 1993), at some point in pre-recorded history "fifteen millennia before our own", there existed a race of beings known as "the Ninth Men". Apparently, "Ninth Men" is a term used to denote that, as part of Kirby's fictional concept, civilized human society tends to repeat itself in cycles, starting off in a primitive state and later evolving and advancing in intelligence and technology until factors such as greed and arrogance then lead to said society's collapse and destruction...only to be replaced later by another race of humanoids, who tend to repeat the mistakes (unknowingly) of the prior society. This is also a theme that Kirby touched upon briefly in his more popular Fourth WorldJack Kirby's Fourth World
"The Fourth World" is the popular name given to a metaseries of interconnecting comic book titles written and drawn by Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics from 1970 to 1973. The characters and concepts were later integrated into the DC Universe....
books published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
in the early 1970s.
The Ninth Men populated Gazra, a society which advanced to the point in which it was harvesting the full potential of an integrated community, with its technological advancements having been made with an organic theme, instead of machine based. Yet, their environment itself seemed to turn against them, huge nearly planet-wide storms destroying all in their path. As a contingency, the scientific and military leaders of Gazra placed three of their citizens into hibernation, with hopes that these three would survive "The Great Catastrophe" (a term used for these planet-wide storms) to spread the ideals of the society of the Ninth Men onto the next age of Man....which is revealed to be us, present-day humankind.
The three citizens were:
Keltan, a captain in Gazra's Science Team security forces, who upon awakening would assume the name Captain Glory.
An unnamed female, who upon release from hibernation would assume the name Nightglider. As indicated in Secret City Saga #0, this may have been an "official" term for her and/or her kin during her days in Gazra, for she possesses bodily modification that would foster the abilities of flight, such as a hollow bone structure.
Bombast, who seems to have been a member of Gazra's military, possibly of some sort of demolitions or heavy ordinance team, whose official term seems to have been "hurlers". Skilled at ballistics and explosives.
The Kirbyverse
The 4 issue Secret City Saga mini-series told the story of the 3 Ninth Men's first adventure in the present day. After release from hibernation, they discover and attempt to foil a plot whose origin lay in the last days of Gazra, involving an evil duplicate of (then) President Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
Other Residents of the Kirbyverse
Satan's Six were a team of agents of the Kirbyverse's interpretation of Satan himself, created for the sole purpose of causing chaos in the mortal plane. But the continued incompetence of the members always seemed to be their downfall (and humanity's benefit). Members included: Brian Bluedragon, a doltish knight of Arthur's court, Hard Luck Harrigan, a petty gambler and bookie who worked in the 1930s criminal underworld, Dr. Mordius, a Henry Jeckyll wannabe, Kuga, the Lion-Killer, a warrior of African origin, Dezira, of ancient Babylon, and Frightful, a demon in Satan's employ whose job it was to keep the members in line....a "drill instructor from Hell", so to speak....The TeenAgents were a group of four teenaged denizens of the Inner City populated by descendants of humans who fled the surface world from persecution as witches and warlocks and discovered and salvaged remnants of the Ninth Men's world that somehow survived "The Great Catastrophe". Their job was to intervene should any of the wild (and most times, monstrous) creatures that populate the bowels of the Earth try and attack the surface world (or as they referred to it, "Upworld"). After speculation, it might be safe to say that these subterraean creatures might possibly have been some of the "ordinary" wildlife that populated the Ninth Men's prehistoric times. Members of the TeenAgents included: Aurik, who possessed the power to control his own mass and density, Dijit, who possessed gloves that each individual finger was endowed with the ability to project a different form of force bolt (fire, electricity, etc., etc.,), Seera, a female who could transform herself into a vaporous state, allowing her the abilities of flight (and seemed to have slight empathic abilities), and The Kreech, a young female shape-shifter.
Silver Star, a previous Kirby creation, who was a government agent appointed the task of fighting super-human enemies. A genetic mutant, classified as "homo geneticus", Morgan Miller was the result of genetic experimentation of his father, Dr. Bradford Miller. Possessing of incredible superhuman strength, Miller's abilities are also a curse, for each time he uses his powers it physically drains his life-force. Miller is quoted to have said, "What's up with this super secret shanigans?"
Captain Victory, another of Kirby's previous independent comic book endeavours. Victory is the leader of an extraterrestrial intergalactic police force, which visits then-present day (1982) Earth. With the publication of Victory #1, though, it seems that Victory's Pacific Comics' exploits are, continuity-wise, difficult to reconcile with the Kirbyverse's "present" (supposedly circa early 1990s).
The Kirbyverse's Odd Continuity
In addition to previous Kirby independent comic book creations, Silver StarSilver Star (comics)
Silver Star is a comic book created, written, and drawn by Jack Kirby, originally published by Pacific Comics in 1983.-Publication History:The concept for Silver Star began in the mid-1970s as a movie screenplay by Jack Kirby and Steve Sherman...
and Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers
Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers
Captain Victory was a comic book created, written and drawn by Jack Kirby. It was first published by Pacific Comics in 1981.-Publication history:One of Pacific Comics first titles, it lasted thirteen issues, plus a special, through January, 1984....
(originally published under the banner of one of the first so-called "independent publishers" of the early 1980s, the now-defunct Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics was an independent comic book publisher that flourished from 1981-1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began out of a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes...
) retconned to become Kirbyverse canon, there are a few other odd quirks that one must consider.
The Liberty Project: In Jack Kirby's TeenAgents #3, the children of Inner City meet members of The Liberty Project
The Liberty Project
The Liberty Project is an American comic book series created by writer Kurt Busiek, creator of Astro City and Thunderbolts, and artist James W. Fry.-Publication history:...
, a super-hero team originally created by writer Kurt Busiek and penciler James W. Fry, that starred in their own series published by Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
in the mid-1980s.
One of the oddest Kirbyverse continuity quirks is that the supernatural serial killer Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees
Jason Voorhees is a fictional character from the Friday the 13th series of slasher films. He first appeared in Friday the 13th , as the son of camp cook-turned-murderer, Mrs. Voorhees, in which he was portrayed by Ari Lehman. Created by Victor Miller, with contributions by Ron Kurz, Sean S...
and his exploits in the Friday the 13th film series could quite possibly be considered Kirbyverse canon as well, for he guest starred in Satan's Six #4 (1993), in a story that seemingly took place sometime after the events of the New Line Pictures film, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday is a 1993 slasher film, the ninth—and, as the title suggests, intended final—installment in the Friday the 13th film series and the first sequel to be distributed by New Line Cinema....
, in which the Six battle Voorhees in Hell. At the time, Topps Comics held a licence on the character, having published a comic book adaptation of the aforementioned Jason theatrical vehicle.
Loose Ends
What would have become the final two installments of the Secret City Saga, a new Silver Star mini-series, and a new Capt. Victory book, Victory, which were billed as 4 issue mini-series, only saw the publication of the first issues before the plug was pulled on the books. The final three issues of each have yet to be published. Both Silver Star, the Secret City heroes and Captain Victory resurfaced in 2011 in Kirby Genesis, written by Kurt BusiekKurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.-Early life:...
who was also the author of the never published Silver Star issues.