Random Happenstance

We mentioned 1994's aborted Kirbyverse book Victory years and years ago, and that post mentions an upcoming possible revival for those characters. Some of whom appear here, but I don't think this is the same project, even with some of the same creators! From 2012, Kirby: Genesis #7, story and script by Kurt Busiek; story, layouts and paint by Alex Ross; pencils and inks by Jack Herbert.

This was the second-to-last issue, but I like the cover, and things are more than rolling by this point: in this world, instead of the boring old plaque that went out on the Pioneer 10, they sent the Kirby plaque. Almost forty years later, after Pioneer 10 had left the solar system, an alien force finds it, and comes to earth in the forms of the "Pioneer Two." Their arrival seems to blow open the doors, and dozens of super-powered heroes, villains, and creatures seem to appear; although the viewpoint character Kirby (not that one!) wonders if the Pioneer Two didn't somehow retroactively create them...? (I thought this was a bit relating to other superhero-universe launches like the White Event or the Jumpstart, where their universe was pretty much just ours until some momentous spark sets it off; except for all the stuff that had been there already and we just hadn't noticed, like the lost continent, so many aliens, several ancient civilizations, a friendly Yeti...) A couple of the more cosmic ones take a bit of offense at that, but also aren't a lot of help in Kirby's quest to get his girl back, after she had been taken over by Valkyrie-type Midnight Swan and forced to work for the bad guys. Who, as in Victory, seem to be working together because that's how it's done in these crossovers, nevermind the fact that none of them seem to have the same goals, and are all shifty as hell. (There's a space pirate/Han Solo type, pressganged into the job, that lets Kirby go at a crucial point: "...what? He's looking for his girl, it's relatable. 'Sides, maybe we can bail while they're murdering him.")

Silver Star and Captain Victory appear, but more to the sidelines, since they would take over the narrative overwise; and they both had their own mini-series to go with this. I don't think this was entirely repurposed from Victory, though: that book was using some other characters that I didn't see here, like Bombast or Nightglider. But, like most Kurt Busiek books, this reads like butter: it's very Astro City, with just a bit more Kirby love. Note to self: I don't think I grabbed Dragonsbane, maybe keep an eye out. Also, I know it wasn't intentional, but in the last issue they might have stolen a bit from the Jesus and Mary Chain's "Snakedriver."