1971’s New Gods by Jack Kirby might have been short-lived in its original run, but it and the other Fourth World books delivered an epic cosmic tale that had significant (though delayed) impacts on the DC Universe, and the characters have since become fixtures in that company’s line of comics.
What Is It?
When the gods of old fought in a final battle, their realm was split apart and two new worlds were created: New Genesis and Apokolips. The New Gods would arise and turn New Genesis into a paradise while the nightmarish Apokolips would eventually come under the control of the malicious Darkseid. These two worlds found themselves at war with each other, but an armistice was established after Highfather of New Genesis and Darkseid exchanged sons (Scott Free and Orion) and established a pact. But the ruler of Apokolips still had designs on total control and he sends agents to Earth (traveling through the interdimensional portal known as the “Boom Tube”) in search of those who have the “Anti-Life Equation” embedded in their subconscious so that he will have the power subvert all to his will. Members of New Genesis, led by Orion and Lightray, discover Darkseid’s meddling on Earth and they go to that planet to investigate. This results in a confrontation that could lead to a war that spreads through the cosmos.
Created by: Jack Kirby
Original Run: New Gods 1 – 11 (1971-72)
Legacy:
While Jack Kirby had already created many iconic comic book creations by this point in his career, with the New Gods (and the other Fourth World books) he moved to a new level of cosmic storytelling as he unleashed a plethora of characters and concepts that shook the comic industry at the time and still live on today.
A Closer Look:
Jack Kirby made his infamous split from Marvel in 1970 after having spent a decade at that company creating much of what would become the Marvel Universe with Stan Lee. He brought many ideas with him, but none larger than his Fourth World series. This one had its origins in a direction that he would have liked the Marvel Thor character to take. He chose to keep those ideas to himself, though, and eventually had the chance to explore many of those concepts once he arrived at DC. The first mention of Darkseid came in the Jimmy Olsen series which Kirby took over upon his arrival (delivering a bat-shit-crazy run that will deserve its own entry on this site). Then the New Gods would arrive with a cover date of February-March 1971 and the cosmic saga officially began. (The first issue of The Forever People also hit the stands about that time, and it is another one that will be getting its own post.)
Throughout the 1960s, Kirby had Stan Lee as his editor and also the one who provided the dialogue for the stories he created. (Allegedly Stan Lee was also involved in the plotting, but there is a debate over how much he did.) Over at DC, Kirby was editor, writer, and penciler, having almost complete control over the books he worked on. Some believe that Kirby was best when working together with someone who could rein in his vast imagination (Stan Lee at Marvel, and previously Joe Simon). Personally, I loved Kirby’s work in the 70s when he was in complete control. It was a roller-coaster ride delivering over-the-top tales with operatic dialogue and a firehose of ideas unleashed all at once, but it was also pure imagination and creativity. Much of that started with his Fourth World books and would carry over to his other solo works from the 70s.
New Gods focuses on the people of New Genesis as well as the tense political situation and stand-off with Apokolips. Orion is the primary character of the series, but plenty more of the New Gods are brought in and the series would focus on them from time to time. Some of these characters are pretty far off-the-wall (a paralyzed veteran turning into the flying, ski-riding Black Racer) while some actually delve into the social attitudes of New Genesis (Forager/Bug), showing that society was not as perfect as first indicated. But all of this opened up limitless story possibilities that could have carried the series well beyond the conflict with Apokolips. In addition, the book explored the mythology of the New Gods (particularly “The Pact” in Issue #7), and plenty more tales like that would have been welcome if the series was not cancelled (more on that below). It also showed the consequences of the conflict between the gods spilling over to Earth and impacting the lives of the humans living there.
Kirby’s Fourth World also included The Forever People, which followed young gods on Earth fighting against Darkseid’s forces, and Mr. Miracle, which had more of a superhero bent though it did offer some tales important to the overall arc. (Jimmy Olsen also ventured into the Fourth World at times, though it was considered mostly tangential to the series.) But New Gods was basically the tentpole series and carried much of the main storyline. If you are delving into Kirby’s original Fourth World books, that is the best place to start, though The Forever People and Mr. Miracle (particularly Issue# 9 “Himon!”) are important as well. All of these characters have since become well-established in the DC Universe, but the original stories by Kirby remain the best and are certainly worth seeking out.
Cancelled Too Soon?
Pulling Jack Kirby away from DC was considered a big win for DC in the early 70s and there were high hopes for what he would do at the company. Unfortunately, his new books were not well-received by the editorial staff, and audiences seemed to lose interest as sales slacked after about the first year (though that might have been in part due to price increases impacting the comics industry at the time). New Gods was sadly cut short after eleven issues and Kirby did not have the chance to provide a resolution for the series during its initial run. Ironically, Kirby actually planned these books as a limited series, but he was urged to keep them going by his bosses at DC. If he had followed his original plan, he might have been able to deliver a better wrap-up about the time that the company lost interest in keeping the Fourth World series on the stands.
The Story Continues:
It was only a few years after the Fourth World books had been cancelled when DC realized (under new editorial direction) that they had a series with real potential and decided to relaunch it. Sadly, Kirby had left back to Marvel at that point, so The Return of the New Gods had a different creative team. That revival took several of the New Gods characters and turned them into more of a superhero team, but it still followed up on some of the themes that Kirby had introduced, particularly the conflict with Apokolips. It did not last long, though, disappearing after nine issues (including 1st Issue Special #13 which kicked off the relaunch) as it got caught up in the DC Implosion of 1978. Mr. Miracle had also been revived, but it was cancelled after six issues.
Kirby returned to DC again in the 80s, and he was given a chance to deliver a proper conclusion for his Fourth World saga. New Gods was reprinted in a special edition on premium paper and new coloring which included two of the original issues in each installment. And then in the final issue, Kirby wrote and drew a new story which led into the graphic novel The Hunger Dogs. That provided the conclusion Kirby had been working towards with the final battle between Darkseid and Orion. Sadly though, it was disappointing as it felt rushed and Kirby’s artwork was not as strong as it had been in the 70s (he was suffering from arthritis at that time). It did at least offer a conclusion for the series, though DC would later change some of the events from that story as the New Gods characters became regulars in that company’s universe. Darkseid would go on to become a frequent villain, and there have since been multiple revivals of the Fourth World books. And while each of those have their merits, it is hard to deny that Kirby did it best during the initial run of the series in the early 1970s.
What Happened to the New Gods Movie?
There were plans for a New Gods movie with Ava Duvernay (A Wrinkle in Time) directing, but that was cancelled before it began. In an interview, she made the following comments about the film getting axed:
The studio decided that they did not want to pursue a certain part of that comic world based on some things that were going on with another film in that world, so before I even was able to complete my script with Tom King, they axed it.
The other film she is referring to is the Snyder cut of The Justice League which featured Darkseid as the main villain. There is still a chance that a New Gods movie could happen as James Gunn and Peter Safran reboot the DCEU franchise, but nothing is in the works at the movie.
Should the Comic Series Be Rebooted?
Well, it will be. Again and again and again as DC seems to be going through a reboot of its entire universe about once a year or so. But they are missing a heck of an opportunity with the characters created by Jack Kirby. They could do a Kirbyverse offshoot that combines the Fourth World, Jimmy Olson and the Newsboy Legion, the Demon, OMAC, Kamandi, and they could maybe even fold in Atlas, Manhunter, and the bonkers Dingbats of Danger Street (I loved that series). They could perhaps pick up where the Kirby books left off in the 70s and continue the story, keeping the other DC heroes from that time as part of the continuum. They could also spin this into a multi-generation tale that brings in the futures of OMAC and Kamandi (those two were linked after Kirby left and it was regularly theorized in the letters column of the latter series that the great disaster was caused by a final battle between Orion and Darkseid). Perhaps DC could even acquire Captain Victory and bring him into the fold (more on that character below). That Kirbyverse would offer limitless possibilities, and the right creative team (or teams) could build it into an entire line of its own. I don’t know that it would ever happen, but it’s nice to dream. Another possibility–and one that’s a bit more realistic–is an animated series that draws heavily from the Fourth World books. That could expound on the epic cosmic saga Kirby created and maybe deliver a better ending to the story.
Interesting Facts:
When Kirby returned to DC in the 80s, he was asked to draw the Super Powers books which had the Justice League fighting against Darkseid. Those did not count as part of the Fourth World continuity (nor were they part of the regular DC Universe) and they were mainly designed to promote the new line of DC action figures. The toys were put out by Kenner at a time that Star Wars figures (which that company also produced) were selling well and also right about the time that Transformers, the new G.I. Joe, and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe were hitting the shelves. The New Gods characters that were released across the three Super Powers lines included Darkseid, Desaad, Kalibak, Orion, and Mr. Miracle. Kirby assisted with the design of the toys, and it was one of the few times he received royalties from a comic book company he worked for.
Kirby’s cosmic series Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers–which was originally published by Pacific Comics from 1981 to 1984–implied that Victory was the son of Orion. The New Gods character was never actually mentioned, but his astro-harness was seen in the series and we also got a glimpse of the shadow of Blackmass who looks an awful lot like Darkseid. That series was cancelled before it had the chance to explore the Fourth World connection any further.
Where Can You Read It?
New Gods and the other Fourth World books have been reprinted multiple times including an omnibus edition that has each issue in the order it was released. That has since gone out of print, but there are individual books collecting the Kirby titles from the series. The New Gods trade paperback collects all eleven issues from the original series along with “Even Gods Must Die!” which was the bonus story from the reprint series and The Hunger Dogs which provides Kirby’s finale for the saga. That is also available in eBook format.
Further Reading:
Wikipedia
Old Gods & New: A Companion To Jack Kirby’s Fourth World
And also be sure to check out the wonderful Jack Kirby biography from Mark Evanier Kirby: King of Comics.
