Jack Kirby's Fourth World

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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.

1 The original comics
2 1984 Baxter reprint series
3 Later revivals
4 Trade paperbacks
5 Omnibus
6 In other media
7 See also
8 References

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. 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.^[1]

Cover to Mister Miracle #1 (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. 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 finished. A few years later, Kirby went back to Marvel Comics where he worked on Captain America, Black Panther and Eternals, a concept similar to the Fourth World mythology. The characters later reappeared in various titles and were fully integrated into the DC Universe completely. The Legion of Super-Heroes storyline "The Great Darkness Saga" in 1982 integrated Darkseid to the DC Universe and recast him as a major villain.

1984 Baxter reprint series

In 1984, DC Comics reprinted Jack Kirby's original eleven issues of New Gods in a six issue miniseries which recolored the original artwork. The first five issues each reprinted two consecutive issues of the original series. For the sixth issue, DC planned to reprint the final eleventh issue of New Gods and an all-new 48 page conclusion to the saga. Jack Kirby completed the final New Gods chapter, "On the Road to Armagetto," which concluded with the deaths of both Orion and Darkseid, but DC rejected it.^[2] Instead, the sixth issue reprinted the original issue 11 and a new double-sized forty-eight page conclusion which segued into The Hunger Dogs, Kirby's 1985 graphic novel, (which incorporated several pages from "On the Road to Armagetto"[1]), in which he attempted to create a complete conclusion to the entire Fourth World saga, set several years after the original three series. The Fourth World characters and concepts were still used by DC even after The Hunger Dogs was released.

Later revivals

Concurrent with DC's New Gods reprint series in 1984, Jack Kirby drew two Super Powers comic book mini-series for DC Comics in which he continued the Fourth World saga. 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 lauched 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. 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. In October 2007, the Death of the New Gods mini-series written by Jim Starlin began, which is intended to bring an end to the Fourth World characters and mythology.

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.

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.^[3]^[4] The first volume was released on July 12, 2007, the second was released on September 5, 2007, and the third was released on November 21, 2007. In addition to reprinting the original Fourth World saga, DC has stated that all or some of Kirby's later conclusion, The Hunger Dogs, will also be included. DC is currently considering using the "original trim" of the story, which may refer to the unpublished "On the Road to Armagetto."^[5] DC Comics announced on October 10, 2007 that the fourth Omnibus will include the original twenty-four page cut of the The Hunger Dogs graphic novel, with all pages recoloured from the original artwork, as well as the forty-eight page conclusion originally printed in issue 6 of the 1984 New Gods Baxter reprint series.^[6] The four omnibuses will collect- Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133-139, 141-148; The Forever People #1-11; The New Gods #1-11; Mister Miracle #1-18; The 48 page story "Even Gods Must Die" from issue six of the '84 reprint of the New Gods; The graphic novel finale-The Hunger Dogs; and the Who's Who bios of New Gods as drawn by Kirby.^[7]

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.