The Kamandi Challenge: Breaking Down The Cliffhangers (SPOILERS!) With Dan Jurgens

This week, DC released the seventh issue of The Kamandi Challenge, by Marguerite Bennett and Dan [...]

By Russ Burlingame

This week, DC released the seventh issue of The Kamandi Challenge, by Marguerite Bennett and Dan Jurgens, which picked up on the cliffhanger left behind by last month's creative team, Steve Orlando and Philip Tan.

The concept of The Kamandi Challenge is that each incoming writer/artist team will leave a cliffhanger to be picked up by the previous team, "challenging" them to get the characters out of the mess they've put them in.

At the end of the sixth issue, Kamandi was thrown into the open mouth of a distant crater, with fire, energy, and Kirby krackle bubbling up beneath him.

The series was conceived not only as a fun event series and a way to make the Kamandi property something that DC can use again, but as a celebration of the hundredth birthday of Jack Kirby, which will come later this year.

Jurgens joined us to discuss three quick questions that we've been asking each successive creative team. You can see them below.

You can also check out both of the cliffhangers in question, in the attached image gallery.

What was your reaction to the cliffhanger you received?

Given the treacherous circumstances Kamandi was left in, I was more than happy to lean back and let Marguerite wrestle with that one. There are times when artists find it very convenient to say, "Isn't that what writers are for?"

What did you pay forward to the next creative team?

From an artistic standpoint, I think it's always a matter of doing your absolute best, which, in turn, inspires the next team to up their game. That's really part of the fun with a project called "The Kamandi Challenge". It's all about challenging the next team—in a very fun way, of course!

How have you been inspired by Kirby?

Jack Kirby inspired me in any number of ways. The sense of imagination and wonder he brought to his work is still the industry's gold standard. Beyond that, he was a gentle, dignified and kind human being. He really let his work do his talking for him and that was more than enough.

MORE The Kamandi Challenge:

The first six issues of The Kamandi Challenge are availble in comic book stores and online at ComiXology today.

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