Ka-Zar Annual (1997 series) #1

on-sale: Sep 24, 1997
Brian K. Vaughan | Walter McDaniel

Ka-Zar Annual (1997 series) #1 cover

Story Name:

Foreshadows


Synopsis

Ka-Zar Annual (1997 series) #1 synopsis by Rob Johnson
Rating: 4 stars
In the Antarctic Savage Land wise man Jagatar tells his acolyte Miesho that a shooting star heralds a prophesied danger (written on a rock) that can only be prevented by Ka-Zar. Ka-Zar himself is chilling out with Zabu his sabretooth tiger and admiring his new Swiss Army Knife, when they see a stampede of woolly rhinos fleeing from a forest fire and heading for a village.

In New York Parnival Plunder accompanied by armed 'soldiers' invade a business skyscraper and demand to see Dr Joseph Heller (which is surprising because Plunder is known to never leave his own building). They force their way into his office and Plunder's right-hand man Mr Hughes hands Heller an envelope which contains photos of a secret affair. Plunder tells him he's already sent copies to Joe's wife but not yet to his mother, and forces Heller to sign over his company. Joe tries to attack him but Plunder turns out to be a hologram (so he *hasn't* left his building). In his own office Plunder, whose face is adorned with prosthetic attachments, sees the shooting star which suddenly changes direction to head towards him.

In the Savage Land KZ finds the village deserted except for Jagatar and Miesho. But he still wants to save the buildings so he grabs a red cloth from a washing line and tries to play matador with the rhinos.

In NY the meteor hovers outside Plunder's window and explodes. Armed guards rush in and see that the meteor has transformed into a 6-armed hovering reptilian calling itself Consumption. Plunder runs through his building pursued by the creature which slaughters his military. Outside he runs to a nearby building which he also owns but the doorman won't believe he is who he says he is. So he's forced to flee into the subway where he's appalled by and frightened of the grime. In his panic he falls in front of an oncoming train.

In the SL Ka-Zar's tactic may have saved the village but at his own risk. However his wife Shanna swings down to carry him away to safety, as he claims he was expecting. She tells Kevin Plunder that there's trouble all over the Land. But for the moment she'll organise help fighting the fire and asks her husband to check on their child Matthew. When she leaves KZ asks Zabu to follow her to make sure she's safe.

He goes home and finds Matthew being looked after by his young nanny Zira who warns him that this is the Night Of Terror that a Death Cult has been waiting for. They are an extreme sect of the Sun People who worship Garokk, and they believe that if the Land is destroyed then their god will replace it with an eternal paradise. Kevin remembers 2 earlier conflicts with Garokk, both involving the X-Men. After their #115-116 KZ thought him dead but he returned in their Annual #12 to turn into energy to restore the Land. Zira reminds him that Garokk can be reborn by a ceremony into the body of an outsider. And Kevin immediately thinks of Shanna.

In NY Parnival Plunder is saved from the train by Consumption who then englobes him in a force field and they disappear.

In Ka-Zar's home Jagatar and Miesho arrive. Kevin Plunder asks them to look after Matthew while Zira leads him to the Cult. Jagatar doesn't want him to risk his life this way because the Savage Land will need him, but of course Kevin's got to go.

The Death Cult do indeed have Shanna tied to a slab of rock which they are carrying to a cave. They have Zabu too and their priestess wants it saved for a sacrifice to the Sun God once he's possessed Shanna's body. Then Ka-Zar and Zira arrive riding  the herd of rhinos.

Consumption takes Parnival to the top of his skyscraper to view the city. Plunder assumes he'll be killed but the alien says he's 'not yet worthy of death'. Instead he has been chosen to assist in the alien's master's mission. And he shows PP what he will gain in return. He sees a vision of a sanitary world devoid of any other life (including germs) but himself, running on purely scientific terms. Plunder accepts the deal and Consumption commits suicide by opening its body to form a portal to its master which PP passes through.

But we return to KZ and Zira in battle with the Death Cult. But eventually they are overwhelmed and wind up tied to a post in the temple of the Sun God, where Garokk inhabits a giant statue of his head. Zabu is in a cage but there's no sign of Shanna. Garokk says that the Night Of Terror presages a great threat to come. But the promised paradise can only arise if he and the Death Cult destroy the Savage Land themselves before the outside threat does. The slab with Shanna attached rises up from the ground beside Zabu's cage, with her facing her husband. The priestess starts to anoint her with Garokk's ashes. Zira apologises because the vines holding them are too strong ...

... but then Ka-Zar whips out his Swiss Army Knife and with 1 bound he is free. Zira is free too and she restrains the priestess while Kevin frees Zabu and Shanna. Because the sacrifice wasn't completed before the sun rises (as it is now) the cave starts to collapse. The priestess says she and the cult welcome death in the scared cave. But KZ KO's her and carries her out with them as laughing Garokk and his cultists are buried in rubble.

Meanwhile Parnival finds himself floating in space before an overly-large image of Thanos (although he's not named here). He asks why a being of his obvious power needs him. Thanos replies that he is currently 'sequestered' in another realm. And he needs someone who is not a known associate to act for him so as not to alert his enemies. Plunder agrees to the deal. He returns back through the portal to his wrecked office. He tells Mr Hughes to get everything repaired, and then kill anybody who knows anything about this night. He also asks him to hire Kraven The Hunter (or somebody similar when he's informed that Kraven is dead). Then he ominously predicts that the brothers Plunder are due for a reunion.

Ka-Zar leaves the priestess with more of the Death Cult and they agree to go quietly for now. Our heroes return to baby Matthew and the village whose people are back. They learn that things are returning to normal all over the Savage Land. But Jagatar still has a dire prediction for the future.


Characters
Good (or All)
KAZAR
Plus: Matthew Plunder, Shanna (Shanna Plunder), Zira.

Enemies
PLUNDERER
THANOS
Plus: Garokk.

> Ka-Zar Annual (1997 series) comic book info and issue index



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Main/1st Story Full Credits

Walter McDaniel
?
Chris Sotomayor
Walter McDaniel (Cover Penciler)
Additional Credits
Letterer: Richard Starkings.
Editor: Matt Idelson. Editor-in-chief: Bob Harras.



Review / Commentaries


Ka-Zar Annual (1997 series) #1 Review by (March 8, 2025)
Emerson Miranda helped with the lettering.
A whole slew of inkers are credited:- Jon Holdredge, Allen Martinez, Nathan Massengill, Whitney McFarland, Rob Stull.

I believe this is Ka-Zar's only Annual. It was published between #7 and #8 of his 1997 series but was a complete flashback to before its 1st issue. Thanos has appeared as a shadowy outline in #4,6&7 but this issue makes it more obvious who he is. However this is all a build-up to his naming in #8. (Actually he was shown pretty clearly as Thanos in #6 but I think this may have been an error by the guest penciller.) Thanos claims here to be stuck in another realm. #8 will make it clear that the place Plunder visits *is* where he's trapped.

Parnival Plunder is a recurring villain in the 1st 10 issues of the series. Ka-Zar, Lord Of The Savage Land, is PP's brother Kevin. PP and their sibling rivalry were introduced in KZ's 2nd app Daredevil #12-14 (after X-Men #10).

KZ believed PP died in Antarctic waters in KZ The Savage #33.
KZ (1997) #4 explains that he didn't die but frostbite has required him to have cybernetic prosthetics. This Annual and that series are the 1st mentions of his agoraphobia and germaphobia.

Shanna O'Hara (sometimes known as the She-Devil) debuted in her own 1972 mini-series. She met Ka-Zar in his 1974 series. They eventually got married and she was pregnant by the end of the 1981 Ka-Zar The Savage series. We 1st saw their baby son Matthew in X-Men Annual #12.

Ka-Zar's most recent apps were Sensational Spider-Man #13-15 and Hulk #454 when the title chars visited the Savage Land (Hulk was in the Spidey story too). Shanna was present in SSM. But Matthew's last actual app was with them in XM#250.

Zira was introduced in the 1997 series but this is chronologically her 1st app.

Garokk was introduced in the Ka-Zar stories in Astonishing Tales #2-5. But Kevin (or the writer) seem to have forgotten that in this tale. They list his other apps, missing out XM#149 which didn't involve KZ.
He'll return in #20 of the 1997 series.

When Jim Starlin returns for his 3rd stint at Marvel and his creations in 2002's Infinity Abyss mini-series he'll consider that many of the Thanos apps after his protege Ron Marz stopped writing them are beneath the char's dignity. So he'll declare them as clones called Thanosi who the main guy sent to do menial tasks. The Thanos in the Ka-Zar series is referred to later as the low-level Thanosi. It is this Thanos that has got trapped in a pocket dimension and needs help to get out.
The real Thanos was last seen in Captain Marvel (1995) #5 and it's continuation flashback in CM(1999)#14.

Kraven (Sergei Kravinoff) committed suicide in 1987's Amazing Spider-Man #294 at the end of the Kraven's Last Hunt crossover. So in the Ka-Zar (1997) series Parnival Plunder employs Sergei's adopted son Gregor. (Who has also trained Sergei's real son Vladimir to be the Grim Hunter - see Spider-Man (1990) #48.)

The stampeding woolly rhinos seem to have glowing eyes and the leader has something techy slung round its neck, but this isn't commented on in the story.

I think the use of the name Joseph Heller (author of Catch-22) is purely gratuitous.





Thor

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