The New Gods #1 (February-March 1971) featuring Orion. Cover art by Jack Kirby and Don Heck.

The Fourth World is the popular name given to a metaseries of interconnecting comic book titles written and drawn by Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics from 1970 to 1973. Originally intended to form a finite epic story, the books were cancelled for unknown reasons. The characters and concepts were later integrated into the DC Universe. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x606, 90 KB)Cover to New Gods #1, February-March, 1971. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x606, 90 KB)Cover to New Gods #1, February-March, 1971. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar, known as the year of cyclohexanol. ... Don Heck (January 2, 1929-1995) was a comic book artist best known for co-creating the character Iron Man, and for his long run penciling The Avengers in the 1960s. ... A metaseries includes series of stories which include references to each other and some overall similar chronological or cast backdrop, but are not similar enough to be considered direct sequels. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) 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... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Cover to the History of the DC Universe trade paperback. ...

The original comics

Published as the newsstand distribution system for comics began to break down, Kirby foresaw a day when comics would need to find alternate, more legitimate venues for sale.^[1] Toward this end, Kirby envisioned a finite series that would be serialized and collected in one tome after the series had concluded.^[1]

The three original titles comprising the Fourth World were The Forever People, Mister Miracle and New Gods. The pre-existing title Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen was used by Kirby to introduce the Fourth World concept and characters. The Forever People is a comic book property created by Jack Kirby as part of the Fourth World set of DC Comics titles. ... Mister Miracle is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. ... The New Gods are a fictional race published by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comics about those characters. ... The cover of Supermans Pal Jimmy Olsen #1 Supermans Pal, Jimmy Olsen is the title of a comic book series published by DC Comics was published from October of 1954 until March of 1974, spanning a total of 163 issues featuring the adventures of Superman with a special...

Unhappy with Marvel Comics at the time, as he had created or co-created a plethora of characters without ever having copyright or creative custody of them, he turned to rival publisher DC Comics, with his sketches and designed for a new group of heroes and villains.^[1] This article is about the comic book company. ...

Cover to Mister Miracle #1 (1971).

As described by Ronin Ro in Tales to Astonish: Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x601, 79 KB) Summary Cover to Mister Miracle #1, April, 1971. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (400x601, 79 KB) Summary Cover to Mister Miracle #1, April, 1971. ...

The Fourth World dealt with the battle between good and evil as represented by the worlds of "New Genesis" and "Apokolips." Darkseid, the evil lord of Apokolips, seeks the Anti-Life Equation which will allow him to control the thoughts of all living beings. Opposing him is Orion, his son raised by Highfather and his enemies on New Genesis. Other characters caught in the deadly battle included the Forever People, an extension of the kid gang concept from the 1940s with a group of adolescents adventuring without an adult supervisor; Mister Miracle, a native of New Genesis raised on Apokolips who triumphed over a torturous childhood to become the world's greatest escape artist; and Lightray, the gaily flamboyant warrior of New Genesis. Their adventures would take them to Earth where the war continued. The New Gods are a fictional race published by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comics about those characters. ... // [edit] Marvel Comics Main article: Thor (Marvel Comics) Thor (often called The Mighty Thor) is a Marvel Comics superhero, based on the thunder god of Norse mythology. ... Look up Ragnarok in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics Universe, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. ... The New Gods are a fictional race published by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comics about those characters. ... In comic books, New Genesis was the home-planet of the New Gods from Jack Kirbys Fourth World metaseries. ... In the DC Comics fictional shared Universe, Apokolips was the planet ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirbys Fourth World series. ... Darkseid is a fictional comic book supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. ... The Anti-Life Equation is the equation that the DC Comics villain Darkseid is lusting for in the Jack Kirbys Fourth World setting. ... Orion is a fictional deity published by DC Comics. ... Highfather is a fictional comic book character. ... The Forever People is a comic book property created by Jack Kirby as part of the Fourth World set of DC Comics titles. ... Mister Miracle is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. ... Lightray (Sollis) is a DC Comics superhero. ...

Kirby was writer and editor on each of the series, enabling him to use more complex themes, storylines and brutal violence than was usually the case in comic books at the time, although less graphic than what would become allowed in the comic book industry years later.

After learning that the books were going to be cancelled, Kirby attempted to tie up the storylines in the final issues of each series, but the overall story of the Apokolips-New Genesis war was never truly finished. A few years later, Kirby went back to Marvel Comics where he worked on a number of titles including Captain America, but most importantly, once again created a vast new mythology in the new title The Eternals. Eventually other existing Marvel myths, most especially Kirby's Thor were incorporated into the storyline. This article is about the original comic book character named Captain America. ... The Eternals is a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics universe. ... For other uses, see Thor (disambiguation). ...

Very shortly after The Fourth World series wound down, comic artist Jim Starlin wove together a number of established Marvel Comics characters (mostly Captain Marvel, but also Iron Man, The Thing and Avengers) into a new, but similar cosmic storyline revolving around a powerful Darkseid type character of his own invention, named Thanos. Jim Starlin, 2006 James P. Jim Starlin (b. ... This article is about the comic book company. ... Captain Marvel may refer to: Captain Marvel (DC Comics), a young boy who transforms into a superhero by saying the word Shazam!; originally published by Fawcett Comics and currently published by DC Comics. ... This article is about the superhero. ... John Carpenters The Thing is a 1982 science fiction film directed by John Carpenter. ... The Avengers is a superhero team that appear in the fictional Marvel Universe. ... Darkseid is a fictional comic book supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. ... Thanos is a fictional character that appears in the Marvel Universe. ...

The Fourth World characters later reappeared in various titles and were fully integrated into the DC Universe. The Legion of Super-Heroes storyline "The Great Darkness Saga" in 1982 merged Darkseid into the DC Universe and recast him as a major villain. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... LSH redirects here. ...

1984 Baxter reprint series

In 1984, DC Comics reprinted Jack Kirby's original eleven issues of New Gods in a six issue limited series. The first five issues each reprinted two consecutive issues of the original series. Originally, issue six was to have included the eleventh final issue of New Gods and an all-new twenty-four page conclusion to the saga titled "On the Road to Armagetto", which concluded with the deaths of both Orion and Darkseid. However, the story was rejected by DC editors.^[3]

Instead, "On the Road to Armagetto" was replaced with a forty-eight page conclusion titled "Even Gods Must Die", which lead into the 1985 The Hunger Dogs, part of the DC Graphic Novel series. The Hunger Dogs, written and drawn by Kirby, incorporated the unused pages from "On the Road to Armagetto" and concluded the entire Fourth World saga.^[4] This article is about the year. ...

The Fourth World characters and concepts were still used by DC even after the release of The Hunger Dogs graphic novel.

Later revivals

Concurrent with DC's New Gods reprint series in 1984, Jack Kirby drew two Super Powers comic book limited series for DC Comics in which he continued the Fourth World characters and mythology. The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Toys in the 1980s. ...

The Fourth World characters continued to be revived at various times. The Forever People had a miniseries in 1988, the Mister Miracle and Jack Kirby's Fourth World series (the latter by John Byrne) were launched in the 1990s, and Orion had a solo series with art and story by Walt Simonson from 2000 to 2003. Mister Miracle was featured in the Giffen-DeMatteis incarnation of the Justice League. For other uses of John Byrne, see John Byrne (disambiguation). ... Orion is a fictional deity published by DC Comics. ... Star Slammers graphic novel (1983) Walter or, usually, Walt Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is a comic book writer and artist. ... Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952) is an American artist, writer, and penciller of comic books. ... John Marc DeMatteis is an American writer of comic books. ... Built in the 1987 company-wide crossover limited series, Legends, this new Justice League was given a less America-centric mandate than before, and was dubbed the Justice League International (or JLI for short). ...

Grant Morrison also used some of the Fourth World mythology in various titles he worked on, including his run on JLA, with Orion and Big Barda becoming members and more recently in the Seven Soldiers of Victory metaseries, in which the New Gods played a major role. Grant Morrison (born January 31, 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer and artist. ... The Seven Soldiers of Victory (also known as Laws Legionaires) is a fictional team of comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe. ...

From October 2007 to April 2008, the Death of the New Gods limited series, written and drawn by Jim Starlin, was published, which brought the Fourth World characters and mythology to an end. Death of the New Gods is an eight-issue comic book limited series published in 2007 by DC Comics. ... Jim Starlin, 2006 James P. Jim Starlin (b. ...

Trade paperbacks

The Kirby-produced Fourth World titles were reprinted by DC in trade paperback format in the early 2000s in black and white rather than in color, although the Jimmy Olsen preludes were reprinted in color. A trade paperback can refer to any book that is bound with a heavy paper cover that is generally cheaper than the hardcover but more expensive than the regular paperback version. ... James Bartholomew Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character, a photojournalist that appears in DC Comics’ Superman stories. ...

Omnibus

On September 11, 2006, DC announced that it would reprint the entire Fourth World saga in publishing order in a four book hardcover collection entitled Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus.^[5][6] The first volume was released on July 12, 2007, the second was released on September 5, 2007, the third was released on November 21, 2007, and the fourth was released on March 26, 2008. The fourth Omnibus included the remaining issues of Mister Miracle, Forever People, and New Gods, the Fourth World character entries written for Who's Who, the forty-eight page "Even Gods Must Die!" story published in the 1984 New Gods Baxter reprint series, and The Hunger Dogs graphic novel. The unpublished twenty-four page cut of The Hunger Dogs, titled "On the Road to Armagetto!", was included as well.^[7][8] is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

In other media

• Characters from the Fourth World have appeared in the animated series Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

• Toys of several Fourth World characters have been made over the years, with the first being part of the Super Powers toyline.

Superman: The Animated Series is the unofficial title given to Warner Bros. ... Batman Beyond (known as Batman of the Future in Europe, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand and India) is an American animated television series created by The WB Television Network in collaboration with DC Comics as a continuation of the Batman legacy. ... Justice League is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 2001 to 2004 on Cartoon Network. ... Justice League Unlimited (or JLU) was the name of an American animated television series that was produced by and aired on Cartoon Network. ... The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Toys in the 1980s. ...

See also

• Apokolips
• Darkseid's Elite
• Deep Six
• Female Furies
• Forever People
• List of New Gods
• New Genesis
• New Gods
• Masters of the Universe film: Comparison with Jack Kirby's Fourth World

In the DC Comics fictional shared Universe, Apokolips was the planet ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirbys Fourth World series. ... History The Elite are the top chosen to Darkseid, heir of Apokolips. ... The Deep Six are a team of half-humanoid comic book villains created by Jack Kirby as part of the Fourth World set of DC Comics titles. ... The Female Furies are a group of fictional women warriors appearing in comic published by DC Comics. ... The Forever People is a comic book property created by Jack Kirby as part of the Fourth World set of DC Comics titles. ... This list covers the New Gods of New Genesis and Apokalips, as well as related sundry. ... In comic books, New Genesis was the home-planet of the New Gods from Jack Kirbys Fourth World metaseries. ... The New Gods are a fictional race published by DC Comics, as well as the title for four series of comics about those characters. ... Masters of the Universe is a 1987 science fiction/fantasy film based on the toy line by the same name. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1; Afterword by Mark Evanier.
2. ^ Ro, Ronin. Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and the American Comic Book Revolution, p. 148 (Bloomsbury, 2004)
3. ^ Captain Comics: Jack Kirby's Fourth World
4. ^ Exhibits: Cartoonsisiada
5. ^ Newsarama: DC ANNOUNCES NEW COLLECTIONS; BLACK DOSSIER DELAY (11 September, 2006)
6. ^ Newsarama: KING-SIZED KING: GEORG BREWER ON THE FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUSES (6 May, 2007)
7. ^ Newsarama.com: DC RESTORES HUNGER DOGS ART FOR KIRBY OMNIBUS v4
8. ^ DC Comics' solicitation for Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus (Vol. 4)