New Gods

New Gods (1971) #1-11

by Jack Kirby, Vince Colletta (Illustrator), Mike Royer (Illustrator)

There came a time when the old gods died...

A long, deep silence closed upon what had happened and the cosmos was wrapped in massive darkness for an age.

Then...there was a new light...

...and the dawn of the NEW GODS!

Collected here is the entire New Godssaga, as written and drawn by comics legend Jack Kirby (co-creator of Captain America and the Fantastic Four), featuring some material reprinted here for the first time ever.

Considered by many to be his best work, Jack Kirby's New Gods is a powerful story of good vs. evil that has inspired many of today's top artists and writers, as well as entertained a devoted group of fans.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1972

About the author

Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching back to the earliest days of the medium. He was also a comic book writer and editor. His most common nickname is "The King."

Reviews

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finalmente consegui ler na íntegra aquela que consideram a obra-prima do Rei Jack Kirby, Os Novos Deuses. As onze edições foram publicadas em dois volumes da Coleção de Graphic Novels DC Comics da editora Eaglemoss. E eu percebo como eu sabia muito, mas muito pouco sobre os Novos Deuses. Não sabia, por exemplo, que a série era protagonizada por Órion e também não sabia que ele tinha o nome terrestre de O'Ryan. É interessante que Kirby usa deuses poderosos e com uma tecnologia ultra-avançada, mas não deixa o lado humano de lado. Ele sempre expõe coadjuvantes terrestres e os seus dramas e neuroses ao mesmo tempo em que os Novos Deuses usam a Terra como campo de batalha contra Apokolips. No começo eu não estava levando muita fé na HQ, mas lá pela metade dela eu já estava vibrando com as aventuras de Orion, Magtron e do misterioso Corredor Negro. A maior lástima dessa HQ é que ela foi cancelada precocemente por uma enorme junça de fatores inesperados e Kirby nunca terminou o que planejou para esses personagens. Assim, muitas coisas acabaram ficando sem resposta, mesmo que criadores como John Byrne e Walt Simonson tenham tentado dar continuidade décadas depois. Ano passado, o Rei Jack Kirby completaria 100 anos de idade. Mas fora a DC Comics, a Marvel e a Panini Brasil deixaram muito a desejar nessa comemoração. Kirby merecia mais. Não só desta editoras, mas de nós, fãs, que acabamos sempre dando a maior parte do crédito de suas grandes criações ao boquirroto Stan Lee. Excelsior!

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in faded color, individual issues online. Not sure I could do it on B&W, the main draw for me is the eye-popping art. It's Kirby! His shift from Marvel to DC in 1971, where he was given carte blanche. Kirby worked on creating a new mythology superhero story, so massive respect for a legend pushing himself to keep creating more original, deeper stories. Writing, editing, and penciling each issue: You can tell Kirby really challenged himself, put so much of himself in the book. He balances bubble-gum violence with heady philosophy and symbolism, and for the most part, it really works. However, it did have a couple drawbacks. Each issue has a pretty similar situation, but just with a different villain, and you never get that grand showdown you crave between the arch-nemeses (maybe in one of the later volumes, released in '76 & '84). The initial run ended prematurely at 11 issues, but still, that's more of a solid dose than a taste, and I found it to be an incredibly fun and significant read.

[Rod Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. (Collect them all!)

From the January 1999 edition with a theme of "Worst of '98 and a Gem for All Time":

INTRODUCTION

Howdy, and welcome to the second entry in a new annual tradition.

Since I tend to write about the comics I like and mostly give middling to positive reviews all year long, I use New Year's Day as an opportunity to reflect on the comics I didn't review -- the dregs of the comic book industry.

Yes, it's the LWYBM Worst of '98!

Huzzah!

Note: For balance, you'll find a glowing review of one of the best superhero books of the 'Nineties -- ASTRO CITY -- after all the dreck.

Disclaimer: Keep in mind, many more awful comics exist than you'll find listed here; these are only the ones I had the misfortune of reading this year.

THE WORST COMICS I READ IN '98

JACK KIRBY'S NEW GODS (DC Comics)

JACK KIRBY'S NEW GODS is the perfect reminder for why I am not a Jack Kirby fan.

1) The blocky art.
2) The overblown, stiff dialogue.
3) The one-dimensional characters.
4) The wholly unintended campiness.
5) The silly character and place names.
6) The goofy looking machinery

Sure, Kirby's intentions are good. The heroic and noble acts of Kirby's characters can be admirable at times. But then the Gods of New Genesis open their mouths . . . Or they gesture in some grandiose way with their big square hands and their rectangular fingers . . .

And I have to laugh or groan or cringe.

To many people Kirby is a god, the King of comics. I keep trying his stuff, hoping to see some incredibly wonderful aspect of his work that I have previously overlooked. Heck, I'm even ordering the MISTER MIRACLE trade paperback in hopes of finding that elusive streak of greatness. But I'm pretty sure Kirby is a classic case of "the emperor's new clothes."

On the plus side, I hope the inexpensive black-and-white Jack Kirby trade paperbacks sell well enough that DC starts reprinting some of the real treasures buried deep in its archives in the same format. I also am heartened by Marvel's "Essential" trade paperbacks, which package large chunks of back issues into inexpensive black-and-white comic phone books. Yes, I love reprints!

Well, unless they're Jack Kirby reprints . . .

Grade: D-

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd always kind of looked at Kirby as comics' version of, say, Bill Haley - an important player in the development of the artform, but not much else. His Thor, for example, I found atrocious. Reading New Gods, though, was a complete turn-around for me in regards to the man and his legacy.

The basic plot: Ragnarok has already happened, and the "old gods" have all died out. In their wake, however, the New Gods have formed on the twin planets of Apokolips and New Genesis. (Bonus points if you can guess which one is the 'good' planet and which one is the 'evil' one). The two planets are at war, and Earth has just become their latest battleground.

The series mainly focuses on Orion and Darkseid's battle for Earth, but throughout that, Kirby manages to throw out insane, cosmic ideas while still being able to muse on things like the nature/nurture debate and the impact that war has on a man's soul. Reading stuff like this makes me want to write big, goofy space opera stories; I suppose that providing inspiration like that is a bit of a testament to the strength of Kirby's work here, as well.

[Drew Canole · Rating 4 out of 5]

New Gods is the core of Jack Kirby's Fourth World. The main element of the overarching story is Darkseid trying to take over the world. Here we see the opening of the war between New Genesis and Apocalypse. The main character is Orion, a god of New Genesis. The series got cancelled but Kirby had a chance to quickly wrap up the book in The Hunger Dogs, which I'll say is the final chapter of this book.

Kirby creates a rich universe here.

It also works as a spiritual (and some would argue literal) continuation of his work from Thor. I've yet to read his full Thor run, so I'm excited to go back and do that.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to read from a modern perspective, but this is seminal superhero comics material all the same. This collection features only the New Gods issues from Kirby’s original Fourth World saga, which means it covers Orion’s perspective. This fertile soil has been explored by some of the best creators in the medium (John Byrne, Grant Morrison) in the years that’ve followed, and is still unrivaled as a complete vision. As I have suggested in the past, it would really be helpful to offer edits of material like this that remove most of the many, many exclamation points that population virtually all dialogue and narration. It tends to give the medium the childish feel long associated with it.

[roby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Kirby’s ‘New Gods’ is the holy grail of comic book science-fiction. Filled with Shakespearean-like dialogue and absolutely jaw-dropping art from the King himself, I find it incredibly difficult to find a flaw here. The ability Kirby possessed to create such a rich universe one splash page in, is simply masterful. From the opening lines of the book, “There came a time when the Old Gods died...” Kirby ropes you in and never lets you go.

This is a stunning, epic and heartwarming superhero adventure that belongs on the bookshelf of every comic book fan out there.

[Olivia Plasencia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was really not planning on finishing this book so fast, but I could not help it at all. Science fiction writing at its finest along with the amazing art of Jack "the King" Kirby. What a wonderful and rich world he created with the Forth world and this collection gives you the hardships of Orion and his buddy Lightray. The character development was of these two was great and the unfolding of how New Genisis and Apocalypse grew such hatred are worthy of that of the mythology of the Greek gods. Once again after reading this book I am annoyed at all the people that claim Jack was not much of a writer or good with dialogue. Kirby new his characters as well as he knew himself and they all spoke with unique voices. A must read if you are a Jack Kirby fan of a Science Fan. Also read it if you are slightly familiar with Darkseid because of his bouts with Superman.

It was 400 pages and I wish there could have been more! Also at the back of the book is conceptual artwork, cover art and small bios of the characters.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read these in the original comic format when they came out. Jack Kirby changed his style in the early 1970s and I fell out of being a fan of his art and stories. While I do like several of the characters he created for his 4th world stories, particularly Darkseid and Orion, overall I never could seem to get into the books. If you are a Kirby fan then these are the core of his creation. Recommended

[Chris W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Visually stunning, especially if you love Jack Kirby's larger than life art style. Beautifully creative visuals and concepts but sadly the dialogue and execution are not good. The dialogue is dated as can be and tends to be dull. It doesn't flow well, aspects of it genuinely don't make much sense. However, (spoiler alert) the ending is insanely bleak yet true to the characters.
Two stars: Mainly for the gorgeous visuals and the bleak ending (which I personally loved).

[Username · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black and white and gray does not really favor Kirby's art in this edition. Other than that, awesome stuff. A pity that DC didn't let him complete the story as he wanted. Also, DC was still re-doing the same plot points 30 years later. Come on! Darkseid killed Desaad in issue 11!

Update: Kirby himself had Darkseid revive Desaad. Poor Darkseid was feeling lonely and also he wanted to prove that he could do it without the aid of the machines. This appeared in a reprint 10 years later.

[Sami Naik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe that writing is the only capacity where humans become God and think beyond any limit or boundary because the writer is a thinker and a creator. He/she builds his/her own universe, creates characters and gives lives whatever he/she wishes for them, and constructs a story. The life and death of the characters are simply in the writer's hand.

My latest reading encourages my belief. Jack Kirby's The New Gods was an accomplishment in comic book history. More than thirty years had passed to DC Comics telling us stories about the world's finest superheroes. So it was about time to move on and introduce to all the generations of readers a new world that will stay in nexus with many important storylines for the coming decades.

DC Comics needed a force that shakes the worlds and the cities of mighty heroes and questions their capability to stop evil. Jack Kirby created a supervillain that challenged a magnitude of villainy, Darkseid. It was 1971 when Darkseid made his debut in one of Jimmy Olsen's comics. But this storyline gave the detailing of the worlds that collided and became a focal point in many important arcs.

'The New Gods' is like the tales of the legends one generation shares with the other. The story is about Orion, son of the supreme commander of Apokolips, Darkseid. He was raised by Highfather, leader of New Genesis. The planets of Apokolips and New Genesis were once the same planet but were split after the Old Gods died in Ragnarok.

Despite being Darkseid's son, Orion hates his father and after realizing that he searches for Anti-Life Equation on planet Earth, Orion prepares to confront him and his followers/disciples with the support of Highfather, Metron, Lightray, and Forager.

My favorite issue is 'The Pact' which details how Darkseid and Highfather became enemies. The Pact also deals with Darkseid's family. 'The New Gods' also confirms the significance of Orion and further confirms how essential he is for Justice League to fight against Darkseid.

By reading 'The New Gods', I really get the understanding of the Apokolips and further expect the detailing in Zack Snyder's Justice League sequels if ever happened. Because people need to understand the other side of the world that is so terrible, distressed, and believe in controlling the entire universe. 'The New Gods' is the answer.

Jack Kirby is the God who creates these utopian and dystopian places and shows the good and evil sides of ruling the world with thoughtful detailing. I like the character development of both Highfather and Orion, especially when Highfather seeks his real identity after realizing that the enmity with Darkseid was making him cruel and then he discovers a mysterious wall from the Source.

I am totally lost and mesmerized by spectacular drawings by Jack Kirby, especially his detailed work on the machines, monsters, and the destructions.

I feel bizarre to realize that after years of comic book reading of around 500 issues, this is my first experience of reading any of Jack Kirby's stories. And this work tells me what a creative genius he was. He wrote, drew, and edited this story. He created all these characters. This is one favor to the readers of all ages and time.

Those, who are willing to read this, may get confused about the publishing dates and volumes. The first volume was written in 1971 and has 11 issues and got canceled. The second volume was written in 1984 and has 6 issues. Both volumes are basically the same story because the second volume is actually the reprinting of the first volume in which two issues are reprinted as one.

For those, who have watched Superman and Justice League animated series, Zack Snyder's Justice League, and those who seek answers to their questions about Darkseid and Apokolips, 'The New Gods' is the authentic work that will guide you.

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find this hard to rate. On the one hand, Kirby was a wellspring of fertile creativity, and there is no shortage of visually arresting scenery and compelling character design on display here. On the other hand, Kirby did not always seem to be able to differentiate between the great (or at least awesome, or at least visually compelling) and the, to be frank, ridiculous. The Black Racer is one particularly egregious example. He seems to be a personification of Death who bops around the universe on skis (complete with ski poles). The Silver Surfer was silly enough as a concept, but the simplicity of the visual design in his case perhaps makes him plausible. The Black Racer just looks dumb. And his story, as far as we get it here, just doesn't seem to me to make any sense. Indeed, narrative incoherence is a real issue here. Admittedly, that may be because New Gods was only one of four interrelated titles, so sone stuff here might have been less WTF-ish is one had also happened to read the contemporaneous issue of, say, Forever People. OTOH, there are no editorial notes saying things like "see FF<?i> issue 3" to suggest that that is the case. Stuff here is just all over the place. The pacing is bad--seemingly important things get dropped for an issue of three, which back when this was first published would have been really a problem. And the fact that Kirby really can't write is not helpful. The dialogue especially is at times quite literally laughable, but always at best merely competent, and more often than not stilted. Even the art is, in my opinion, not up to the best of Kirby. By this point in his career, some of his characteristic go-tos are becoming too (in my opinion) exaggerated. Also, and I know I am an outlier here, but I think the visual quality goes down when Mike Royer takes over as inker. So, basically, lots of visual spectacle and dynamic page layout, some impressively-designed characters (visually), but a plot that doesn't seem to make much sense, and at best cardboard characterization.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

We'll begin with the negatives, Kirby's writing isn't great. His dialog is far too over the top, on point, and HE WRITES IN EXCLAMATION POINTS!!! Even when two lovers are sweetly exchanging lover thoughts THEY SPEAK IN EXCLAMATIONS! It's genuinely funny even though it's not supposed to be.

That being said, the plot and story are great in a Kirbyesque epic scale way. The characters are also a bit simple but their stories are engrossing and fit the grand cosmic scale of the work.

And then there's the art. It's fantastic. The destruction, the fights, the character designs, and facial expressions are some of Kirby's best work. And it gets better when Colletta stops doing the inking.

The finale, which was added a decade after the fact, is also weak and is clearly missing some of the story. And there is a noticeable difference in the art in these two issues which is not as good as the earlier issues. I especially don't like how Darkseid looks here.

But, this is required reading for Kirby fans.

[Alex Memus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read color scans of original Kirby's run. (Not a b&w version.)
I always wanted to read smth by Kirby after Morrison's book about comics. But I was hesitant as I find old comics mostly unreadable. This was the first vintage comic book I genuinely enjoyed.
Quick notes:
-Jack is a god of form and color. I felt intense energy from his panels. That was my main insight. It felt like this guy doesn't even need story to make his work enjoyable.
-The best parts visually are mechanisms and Apokolips/Genesis layouts. They look innovative even for 2017.
-Kirby loves action and fist fights (which I'm too used too as a comic book fan). However, they seem fresh done with such an energy.
-It's hard to take writing seriously. It's too loud and harsh. But it's still funny to observe compared to current standards.
-The ads in the book are too sexualised and copy comic book style which is soooo confusing.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

My experience with the New Gods has been limited to the Kenner action figures from the 80s and random guest spots in other things I'd been reading. They were never favorites, though I've always had a soft spot for Orion and I love that Kirby sheen.
Anyway, I finally picked up the tome that started it all and had a surprisingly good time. It's quirky and it's out there, but darn it if it doesn't look fantastic. Seeing the New Gods in the environment in which they are meant to be has changed my feelings on them. I'm glad I read and plan to taker further trips to the Fourth World.

We went deep on the New Gods in this episode of Comic Book Coffee Break: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj5wm...

[Markel Tumlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Companion to the Forever People volume I read last month. Another title in Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Saga, which he originally did after leaving Marvel Comics for DC. Drawings are decent (although presented here only in black & white) but dialogue written by Kirby often seems unnatural and stilted to me. This title, like the Forever People, lasted only 11 issues so it never really got off the ground. Kirby may have imagined it as one of his greatest works, but it was never fully realized and now seems a well-intentioned oddity in his catalogue. His work for DC was often interesting but will always languish in the shadow of his 1960s run at Marvel.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gotta say I expected something larger for this original New Gods series. Yes, the seeds are there with a lot of the Fourth World characters introduced. But it's mainly Orion fighting Darkseid's minions in Metropolis. I also think it's strange that it takes place in Metropolis and Superman never appears during those original 11 issues.

[Mike M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible piece of work from a legend. Vivid mind-bending imagery. Writing that is non-nonsensical, purple & dated in the best way possible.

Some section were boring. Some sections had me asking, "Is this racist?"

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was not what I expected at all. But I guess that is everyone's take on this stuff. Even after reading the Marvel rip off The Eternals, this stuff was really off the wall. I put off reading this for a while but this was good.
I'm a fan.

[Jared Rasic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every single word and each and every panel. Sucked all the way in.

[Shawn Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hell of a ride Jack. Thanks

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you feel like silver age comics were a little too grounded then this is the series for you

[Nathalia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
Só foi melhorando a partir da sétima edição e o abuso de diálogos me incomodou bastante, mesmo sendo o normal da época não consegui ignorar.

[Tim Rooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece of postmodern American art.

[Zac Caprous · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know what I would think of this but it’s just banger after banger. Great sci-fi and really fun

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another classic Jack Kirby series. This story is what introduced me to the Fourth World, and what really got me interested. Each issue kept me excited for the next issue, and overall I enjoyed it.

[G.Carman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason this is a 4 star is because of Vince Colletta's inking which was just not good with Kirby's pencil

[SamCrygin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good rushes and gets a little convoluted in the last quarter

[Matt Sautman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm torn between a 3 and 4 star rating on this. This volume marks my third attempt at trying to read the entirety of Jack Kirby's 4th World- not because I have not enjoyed the work, but because of the immense difficulty I have had at getting all of the volumes. Sadly, unlike my 4th World omnibus, which contains some of the same stories, but not all, New Gods is in greyscale here, and while the art still manages to be striking, there is a richness absent from Kirby's striking color scheme. Although this volume overlaps in story with Mr. Miracle, The Tomorrow People, and part of Jimmy Olsen, the majority of this serves as a central whole that reads as a unified narrative. The mythology is visionary, a new race of Gods grounded in Science instead of in Magic. The dialogue is less than exemplary, but is forgivable most of the time. The ending, however, feels hollow, anticlimactic. I'm hoping that as I make my way through the rest of the Fourth World, the flaws in the execution may be better remedied through the furthered universe building. I want to give it more stars than this, but the narrative, in comparison to other genre defining story arcs within comics, appears like it needed a stronger guidance from an editor's pen, and granted that this volume is relatively uncommon, like most of the Fourth World, it cost way more than to justify its price for anyone but a serious reader of comic history, especially in regards to Jack Kirby's legacy.