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| Images copyright DC COMICS |
No matter how many times DC COMICS have tried to revive JACK KIRBY's NEW GODS characters, none of their attempts at following in the King's footsteps ever lasted for long. True, there have now been far more issues of non-Kirby Fourth World mags than produced by their eminent creator, but the only ones I found even remotely interesting were JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD by JOHN BYRNE, and ORION by WALTER SIMONSON.
It was ambitious of them to try, because, to be frank, if Jack himself couldn't keep the magazines going, the odds were stacked against anyone else doing it. I never found either the characters or concepts of the original series particularly inspired, though there was the occasional gem amongst the 40 issues (55 if you include JIMMY OLSEN) that DC published in the '70s.
The recent 9-issue series of INFINITY MAN And The FOREVER PEOPLE was immensely underwhelming (surely a contradiction-in-terms, but you know what I mean), not helped by the fact that certain liberties were taken with the players. DC have messed around with their continuity too many times for readers to know (or care) precisely who's who or what's what anymore, and it's well-past time DC realized that the characters work better as supporting figures than major heroes who can carry their own titles. (Feel entirely free to disagree.)
It's likely that the nostalgic affection for Kirby comicbooks read in their youth will ensure that some writers will continue in their attempts to revive the Fourth World heroes in mags of their own in the future, but I can't help but think that it's nostalgia for a vanished age which compels them, rather than any obvious inherent merit in the characters, as a whole, themselves.
However, John Byrne and Walter Simonson have carried the torch higher, longer, and brighter than anyone else thus far, so let's take a look at the first 7 covers of the latter's 25 issue series from around 15 years ago. Another 3 parts to follow, so don't dare miss 'em or DARKSEID will bite you on the bum!
