| Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the first issue | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Pacific Comics Topps Comics Icon Comics Dynamite Entertainment |
| Schedule | Pacific: Irregular Current: Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | Science fiction,superhero |
| Publication date | November 1981 – January 1984 |
| No. of issues | 13 + 1 special |
| Main character | Captain Victory |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Jack Kirby |
| Written by | Jack Kirby |
| Penciller | Jack Kirby |
| Inker | Mike Royer |
| Letterer | Mike Royer |
| Colorist | Steve Oliff |
| Editor | David Scroggy |
Captain Victory is acomic book originally created, written and drawn byJack Kirby. It was first published by American comic book publisherPacific Comics in 1981. Kirby agreed to create a comic for the fledgling publisher because Pacific promised him full creative control, and ownership of the characters.[1]
One of Pacific Comics' first titles, the original run ofCaptain Victory and the Galactic Rangers lasted thirteen issues, plus a special, through January 1984. All were written, illustrated, and edited by Jack Kirby.[2]
In the last issues of the Pacific series, Kirby crafted an origin story for Captain Victory which he tied into theNew Gods comic book that he had written and drawn forDC Comics in the 1970s. It was suggested that Victory was the son of the New GodOrion. Orion was not specifically named, but a number of clues were planted, including equipment said to belong to Victory's father that was identical to the Astro-Harness ridden by Orion. Additionally, Victory's grandfather, Blackmaas, was illustrated only as a cast shadow, but a shadow that to many readers bore a resemblance to Orion's fatherDarkseid.[3]
After the end of Pacific, no more was seen of Captain Victory untilTopps Comics attempted to revive the character as part of a planned five-issue mini-series. It only lasted one issue (Victory #1, June 1994) before Topps cancelled all of the 'Kirbyverse' books in 1994. This issue was a part of a more complex project namedSecret City Saga.
TwoMorrows Publishing created a 'graphite edition' reprint of the firstCaptain Victory issue. The edition, in TwoMorrow's words, "presented [Captain Victory #1] as it was created (before it was broken up for the later Pacific Comics series), reproduced from copies of Jack's uninked pencils!"
In 2000, Jack Kirby's grandson Jeremy Kirby launchedJack Kirby Comics, the fledgling company's only offering being a three-issue retelling ofCaptain Victory, reordered and rescripted by Jeremy.
In 2006, a new series was published, based on rejected character sketches for the Wonder Warriors.[4]Jack Kirby's Galactic Bounty Hunters was co-written by Kirby's daughter Lisa and is creator-owned by her under Marvel'sIcon imprint. Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers guest-starred in issue #3 of the six-issuelimited series.
In late 2011,Dynamite Entertainment started a new series under theKirby: Genesis title, which used many of Kirby's created and owned characters (many unpublished), including Captain Victory. This led, in November 2011, to a new Captain Victory title which lasted six issues. It was later collected into atrade paperback.
A new continuing series,Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers, written byJoe Casey and published by Dynamite Entertainment, began in August 2014.[5] It ran for 6 issues and was collected into a trade paperback in 2016.
In 2007,Image Comics planned to publish a completely recolored one volumecollection of Jack Kirby's 14 issues of Captain Victory,[6] including an all-new Captain Victory comic book featuring many of Jack Kirby's never-before-seen creations.[7] The hardcover collection was scheduled to be released in November 2007 (ISBN 1582408149), but production issues delayed the hardcover, so that better source material could be located.[8]
