New Gods by Jack Kirby

New Gods by Jack Kirby by Jack Kirby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Orion of New Genesis battles the forces of Darkseid at every turn! But what is their connection? Can Orion stop Darkseid before he seizes the Anti-Life Equation?

I've been wanting to read this saga for decades. My first encounter with the New Gods was when Darkseid became a regular villain on The Superfriends. A little later, I picked up Who's Who in the DC Universe and became enthralled with the saga of the New Gods and Orion vs. Darkseid. Now, probably thirty years later, I've finally read it.

The New Gods is a sprawling epic, the comics of cosmic scope that Jack Kirby was known for. Orion goes to war to save his adopted home against the father that sent him there in the first place, a war that will take him from New Genesis to Earth to Apokalips.

Without giving away too many nuts and bolts, this is the Kirbiest of Kirby books, combining the things I love about Thor, the Silver Surfer, and the Fantastic Four into one epic adventure. Kirby was at his peak during New Gods 1-11 and he pulled out all the stops. There is one epic battle after another, cosmic vistas, creatures of all description, philosophy, cheesy silver age dialogue, the whole magilla.

The New Gods was a foundational work much like the Fantastic Four, laying the groundwork for stories that DC would do decades later, most without Jack Kirby. So many big ideas and interesting characters are thrown around, many of which an entire series could be built around.

My highlights would be Orion, Lightray, and Forager teaming up against Mantis and the Bugs and the Death Wish of Terrible Turpin, when an earth cop takes a Daredevil-level beating trying to arrest Kalibak. If a New Gods movie gets made, it should be a buddy movie featuring Orion and Lightray.

My major gribe is that Jack Kirby wasn't allowed to wrap things up before New Gods was cancelled. Even Gods Must Die and the Hunger Dogs were followups over a decade later but both the art and stores aren't up to snuff. Shit, Kirby was probably around 80 at the time so he can't really be faulted. Still, I have to dream about what might have been. Lastly, I found it interesting that the New Gods were referred to as Eternals or Celestials on several occasions since Kirby would create The Eternals with a lot of the same inspiration when he returned to Marvel not long after the New Gods wrapped.

The New Gods was the Kirbiest of Jack Kirby books. Four out of five stars.


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