New Gods

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From Seeds of the Word, the encyclopedia of the influence of the Gospel on culture
New Gods
Artwork of the New Gods, Magnificent Seven.
Art by Alex Ross.
Species publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceThe New Gods #1 (February/March 1971)
Created byJack Kirby (writer and artist)
Characteristics
Place of originNew Genesis, Apokolips
Notable membersList of New Gods
The New Gods or New Gods
Cover to The New Gods #1 (February/March 1971)
Art by Jack Kirby
Series publication information
PublisherDC Comics
ScheduleVol. 1
Bimonthly
Vol. 2–4
Monthly
FormatVol. 1, 3, 4
Ongoing series
Vol. 2 and Death of the New Gods
Limited series
Genre
Publication date(Vol. 1)
February/March 1971 – October/November 1972
(Vol. 1 continued)
July 1977 – July/August 1978
(Vol. 2)
June 1979 – November 1984
(Vol. 3)
February 1979 – August 1991
(Vol. 4)
October 1995 – February 1997
(Death of the New Gods)
Early December 2007 – June 2008
Number of issuesVol. 1
19
Vol. 2
6
Vol. 3
28
Vol. 4
15
Death of the New Gods
8
Creative team
Writer(s)
Penciller(s)
Inker(s)
Collected editions
Jack Kirby's New GodsISBN 1-56389-385-1

The New Gods are a fictional race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in New Gods #1.

Despite the creative strength of Kirby's material, the book's sales slipped steadily after a strong start. Despite the sales failure of the book, Kirby's work has remained an inspiration for future comics creators. Comics historian Les Daniels observed in 1995:

"Kirby's mix of slang and myth, science fiction and the Bible, made for a heady brew, but the scope of his vision has endured."[1]

Story setting

The New Gods are natives of the twin planets of New Genesis and Apokolips. New Genesis is an idyllic planet filled with unspoiled forests, mountains, and rivers that is ruled by the benevolent Highfather, while Apokolips is a nightmarish, polluted, and ruined dystopia filled with machinery and fire pits that is ruled by the tyrannical Darkseid. The two planets were once part of the same world, a planet called Urgrund (German for "primeval ground"), but it was split apart millennia ago after the death of the Old Gods during Ragnarök.[2]

The characters associated with the New Gods are often collectively referred to as "Jack Kirby's Fourth World". Kirby began the "Fourth World" in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 (Oct. 1970).[3][4] The New Gods first appeared in New Gods #1 (Feb.-March 1971)[5][6] and Forever People #1 (Feb.-March 1971).[7][8] Another "Fourth World" title Mister Miracle was launched in April 1971.[9][10] Various New Gods, notably Darkseid, went on to interact with other denizens of the DC Universe.[citation needed]

Biblical references

The twin planets New Genesis and Apokolips are clear references to the first and last books of the Bible, Genesis and Apocalypse respectively.

The conflict between the two planets symbolizes the struggle of good and evil on a grand mythic scale. However, despiste unambiguously representing good, New Genesis and its inhabitants are not entirely perfect. Biographer Charles Hatfield writes, "The saga turns out to be not so simple, for Kirby — and this is revealing – blurs the seeming idealized perfection of New Genesis, adding complexity to his gods."[11] Similarly, John Morrow writes, "Kirby knew that his New Genesis was no heaven. Rather, it was more like the free West during the Cold War, which was threatened by forces from within as well as without."[12]

Likewise the rulers of the respective planets, Highfather and Darkseid (onomotopeic for "Dark Side"), refer to some extent to God the Father and to Satan.

Darkseid is the tyrannical ruler of the planet Apokolips whose ultimate goal is to enslave the universe by eliminating all hope and free will in sentient beings.[13]

Highfather, on the other hand, is a sage and a peacemaker. He was originally known as Izaya the Inheritor, a name which is a phonetic variant of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. While he was known as Izaya, he could be somewhat compared to the God of the Old Testament under the guise of the God of war. In fact, when Darkseid plotted to instigate an interplanetary war by manipulating his own uncle Steppenwolf into raiding New Genesis and killing Izaya's wife, Avia, he wounded Izaya but purposefully did not kill him, so that Izaya would try to revenge the death of his wife by going after Steppenwolf. Izaya did in fact recover, and became a general in the ensuing war, eventually slaying Steppenwolf on the battlefield. After avenging his wife, Izaya grew sick of the wanton carnage of war and forsook his warrior ways. While wandering the ravaged lands of New Genesis looking for meaning, Izaya came across a mysterious wall where fiery messages appeared; messages from the Source, the mysterious benevolent force overseeing the universe. Izaya was linked to the Source, becoming a peacemaker and planetary leader under the title of Highfather.[14][15]

In the Book of Genesis, God is sorrowed to see evil acts of hatred being committed among men, and regrets having created a being that chose to do evil, to the point of sending the Great Flood to destroy that humanity that had fallen to evil ways:

However, God was moved to compassion upon seeing the faith of Noah, who accepted to build the Ark upon which two pairs of each living creature were saved. And thus He made a convenant with Noah to never again destroy mankind:

The Prophets, such as Isaiah, speak of a God of compassion rather than a God of war and victory over enemies, as was depicted in older times, such as in the Psalms:

Highfather has a son, Scott Free (also known as Mister Miracle), whose character is in some ways a reference to Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who came to free us from the power of Satan:

Jesus, as Messiah, freed men and women who believed in Him from sickness and death, which are considered as the work of Satan who tries to hinder any form of true happiness for mankind. Jesus is thus considered, among other things, a miracle worker.

Jesus himself proclaimed this to be his mission as Messiah, when reading from the Prophet Isaiah in the synagogue of Nazareth:

In the Gospels Jesus makes a number of references to His power to set us free from the slavery of sin and spiritual death:

  1. ↑ Daniels, Les (1995). "The Fourth World: New Gods on Newsprint". DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes. New York, New York: Bulfinch Press. p. 165. ISBN 0821220764.
  2. ↑ "The Unofficial Old Gods Biography". DCU Guide. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
  3. ↑ Levitz, Paul (2010). "The Bronze Age 1970–1984". 75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking. Cologne, Germany: Taschen. p. 447. ISBN 9783836519816. Kirby began introducing new elements to the DC Universe, building toward the introduction of a trio of new titles based on a complex mythology he called the Fourth World.
  4. ↑ McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1970s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. As the writer, artist, and editor of the Fourth World family of interlocking titles, each of which possessed its own distinct tone and theme, Jack Kirby cemented his legacy as a pioneer of grand-scale storytelling. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
  5. ↑ New Gods at the Grand Comics Database
  6. ↑ Overstreet, Robert M. (2019). Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide (49th ed.). Timonium, Maryland: Gemstone Publishing. p. 901. ISBN 978-1603602334.
  7. ↑ Forever People at the Grand Comics Database
  8. ↑ Overstreet, p. 691
  9. ↑ Mister Miracle at the Grand Comics Database
  10. ↑ Overstreet, p. 879
  11. ↑ Hatfield, Charles (2011). Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby. University Press of Mississippi. p. 196. ISBN 978-1617031786.
  12. ↑ Morrow, John (Spring 2019). "Gallery". The Jack Kirby Collector. 26 (76): 34. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  13. ↑ Greenberger, Robert; Pasko, Martin (2010). The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. pp. 71–was 73. ISBN 978-0-345-50108-0.
  14. ↑ New Gods vol. 1, #7 (Mar. 1972)
  15. ↑ Who's Who in the DC Universe vol. 1, #12 (Sep. 1991)
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