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| Copyright DC COMICS |
NEW GODS was arguably JACK KIRBY's greatest achievement at DC COMICS - and also his biggest failure. How so? Achievement in that it brought a whole new dimension to the DC universe which still survives in some form-or-other to this very day; failure in that it never really caught on with the comics-buying public and was cancelled after 11 issues.
Being inextricably connected to Kirby's 'FOURTH WORLD' concept, perhaps it was sadly inevitable that The FOREVER PEOPLE, MISTER MIRACLE, and JIMMY OLSEN would sadly suffer from a 'knock-on' effect as a result of readers' seeming lack of interest in the whole NEW GENESIS/APOKOLIPS scenario. On SUPERMAN'S PAL, the 'King' lasted 15 issues, MARK MOONRIDER and his team shared the same fate as ORION & Co (cancellation after 11 issues), and SCOTT FREE changed direction and managed to escape publishing oblivion - at least for another 7 issues.
I remember, one day during my school lunch hour, thumbing through New Gods #3 in the neighbourhood newsagent's and being singularly unimpressed by the contents. The dialogue seemed leaden, the colours (despite the gaudy apparel of The BLACK RACER) murky and unattractive and the other various characters unappealing. I didn't buy it at the time, but acquired it later when I finally entered Kirby's Fourth World through the pages of Jimmy Olsen.
Although it was a brave try by Kirby to reshape DC Comics in MARVEL's image, DC had miscalculated in assuming that Jack was the man mainly responsible for Marvel's success. Had they also lured STAN LEE away with Jack (an unlikely possibility - Stan was perfectly happy with his lot at Marvel), they might have been onto something. Unfortunately, 'free and unfettered', Kirby was not quite the force he had been with Lee, and he returned to Marvel five years later.
That said, however, New Gods is now a firmly-established and fondly-recalled part of my vanished boyhood, so let's celebrate that ol' JACK MAGIC with all 11 covers to the short-lived series. Kirby never really produced a 'bad' comicbook in his life - it's just that some were better than others. And even if New Gods wasn't one of the better ones - let's face it - it was still well-worth reading. (Though, if I'm being totally honest - give me THOR The MIGHTY anytime!)
