After co-creating comic book heroes including The Fantastic Four and The Hulk, legendary writer/artist Jack Kirby came to DC Comics in 1970 to writ...
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Nov 10, 2007
Elijah
rated it: 
I am going to have to seriously marshal my thoughts before I can really review this well, because, frankly, it's a mad intense mindfuck of wonderment. That one of the most grand, ridiculous, beautiful, and heroic sagas of modern mythology would start in an issue of "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen" is mind-blowing in and of itself. Mere consciousness reels at what is contained within these pages, and it's only the beginning. Real review to come soon.
Mar 04, 2008
Josh
rated it:
I’m not quite sure when I first noticed the existence of the New Gods, it might have been the "DC Superpowers" figure of Darkseid that first captured my heart and started many battles between my friend and I on how to pronounce his name "Dark-Side" or "Dark-seed". I was on the losing side on that battle in the end I became a convert to how it is correctly pronounced. Either way im an easy sell on most things if the main man from Apokolips is hanging around so this
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Aug 22, 2008
Chuck
rated it: 
This was my first attempt to read Kirby's "Fourth World" stories straight through. Everything I had read about it turned out to be true. It's packed with ideas (too many, really), his art and layouts are wonderful, and his dialogue is awful. Of the four series collected, the New Gods issues are the strongest (mostly because of the time spent on Darkseid and the other villains). The Mr. Miracle issues are the most accessible (it almost starts out as a typical superhero series). The
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Feb 15, 2009
Jeremy
rated it: 
Jack Kirby is insane. I realized that the first time I saw Jimmy Olsen flying in a space car with the New Newsboy Legion in a pencilled/photograph collage in which they went into a previous unknown realm. The second thing brought to my attention through this first volume is that I like insane Kirby. I enjoy an Incredible Jimmy Hulk, hippy superkids, harbingers of death that sky ski, etc. Jack Kirby's DC creations are sometimes painfully cliche and made me cringe with some of the dialogue, but it
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Jan 09, 2009
Fizzgig76
rated it:
Reprints Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133-139, The Forever People #1-3, New Gods #1-3, and Mr. Miracle #1-3. Jack Kirby's Fourth World comes to Earth and Darkseid's war against the New Gods of New Genesis begins. I have never been a huge Kirby fan (at least his writing), but I understand their importance and influence. The story of Fourth World was a series that spread over different titles (something unheard of at that time) and the mythology of Fourth World is more interesting than the stori
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Mar 12, 2011
Alger
rated it:
Jack Kirby is a genius pure and simple. Reading these omnibuses you can see how Kirby was one of the preeminent masters of comic medium. Working with some of the greatest names in the industry, Stan Lee and Joe Simon to name a few, the Fourth World written and drawn by him prove that he is at the top of the list. His artwork defined the greatest titles of the Silver Age, but for the most part his writing credits were muddled with those he drew for. Helping create the Fantastic Four, Thor, Ca
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Apr 09, 2010
Mike
rated it:
Looking at this collection, I can't help but be amazed at the raw talent of Jack Kirby. Here we see him starting three new monthly comic titles from scratch, producing scripts and art for all of them, while taking over the writing and art for one of DC's poorest performing titles, "Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen," and coming with some of the most creative comic stories of their day.
Not all the stories collected here are great, and a lot of the dialogue is pretty corny by More...
Not all the stories collected here are great, and a lot of the dialogue is pretty corny by More...
Aug 09, 2011
Russ Otto
rated it:
Jack Kirby was easily the most influential figure in American superhero comics. He co-created the majority of the Marvel Universe during the Silver Age. Unhappy with his arrangements at Marvel, Kirby defected to DC in 1970. His first project at the "Distinguished Competition" Was an ambitious project called The Fourth World
Jack Kirby's mind was bursting at the seams, his imagination in overdrive. This volume sets up the stakes. A new god of evil, Darkseid, is in search of the More...
Jack Kirby's mind was bursting at the seams, his imagination in overdrive. This volume sets up the stakes. A new god of evil, Darkseid, is in search of the More...
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Dec 14, 2010
Young Han
rated it:
Jack Kirby's 4th World Saga is an under-publicized classic- a groovy mishmash of Superheroism, Space God mythology and counter-cultural experimentation. The series is colorful and weighty, smartly composed but almost completely without restraint. There's no dry coolness to be found here- reading Fourth World is like receiving a wet, open-mouth kiss on the lips from a Roman god wielding a raygun. Though some moments verge on the truly bizarre, there's something incredible to be said about a serie
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May 11, 2008
Michael
rated it:
Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus: Volume 1 collects "Jimmy Olsen" #133-139, "The Forever People" #1-3, "The New Gods" #1-3, and "Mister Miracle" #1-3. This is the beginning of Kirby's doomed Fourth World epic - the story of the struggle between the good New Gods and the evil New Gods. (All the Old Gods have killed each other.) These books were all originally published in 1970-71, just as the silver age of comics was ending, and in the heyday of the ide
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Dec 31, 2007
James
rated it:
The art is certainly wonderful, and I can't imagine a more stately treatment for a comic than this current edition. The *physical* act of reading the Fourth World Omnibus was pleasant, but the mental act was a little tedious.
While reviews that praise Kirby's overflowing imagination are certainly on-target, they don't deal with the fact that it's the overflowing of an imagination targeted squarely at 12-year-old boys.
I very nearly enjoyed reading this edition, and will More...
While reviews that praise Kirby's overflowing imagination are certainly on-target, they don't deal with the fact that it's the overflowing of an imagination targeted squarely at 12-year-old boys.
I very nearly enjoyed reading this edition, and will More...
Jan 07, 2009
Randy
rated it:
Space hippies, secret underground organizations, barely-averted nuclear apocalypse, alien gods, super escape artists, kid gangs, evil media tycoons and tons of great Kirby art.
This stuff is great, and while it has it's goofy old-school melodrama at times, it's also pretty ahead of its time in a lot of ways.
This stuff is great, and while it has it's goofy old-school melodrama at times, it's also pretty ahead of its time in a lot of ways.
Feb 22, 2012
Russell
rated it:
Mere words can't describe how amazed I was by this one. Kirby is firing on all cylinders and introducing more characters and concepts in these 300 pages then most creators do in a life time. Can't wait to get the remaining volumes.
Feb 14, 2010
Craig
rated it:
The New Gods and The Forever People are pretty good. Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olson is really weird, stuffed with far too much for one comic. And Mister Miracle needs something more--maybe just need some time for it to grow on me?
Jan 08, 2012
Keith
rated it:
The editors at DC Comics made an odd choice by mixing the four Fourth World titles together in these four volumes rather than publishing one volume each of New Gods, Mister Miracle, Forever People, and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen. They probably assumed Jimmy Olsen would not sell half as well on its on as it would included with New Gods, and they were correct. Only a Jack Kirby completest would seek out his Jimmy Olsen work, although some of it is quite good. The Jimmy Olsen material is not typ
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May 29, 2009
Bryan
rated it:
Though its style might be hard to adjust to, Kirby's Fourth World series is a lot of fun for a modern-day reinventing of gods and their penchant to meddle in the affairs of men.
Jun 26, 2008
Peter
rated it: 
So much drug induced nonsense... so little time.
O.K. So I'm finally done with this. And I will be reading the second volume. Obviously Kirby's design, and panel layouts are beyond compare. Even after twenty some years of comics he was still the great innovator. But many of these characters come off as flat... that is to say without memorable personalities (save for villains like Darksaid, and Granny Goodness). His embrace of the counter culture and his rage at an increasingly More...
O.K. So I'm finally done with this. And I will be reading the second volume. Obviously Kirby's design, and panel layouts are beyond compare. Even after twenty some years of comics he was still the great innovator. But many of these characters come off as flat... that is to say without memorable personalities (save for villains like Darksaid, and Granny Goodness). His embrace of the counter culture and his rage at an increasingly More...
Dec 17, 2011
Kenny
rated it:
What a ridiculous embarrassment of riches. They could have wrapped this sucker up after "Mountain of Judgement", charged double and I still would have gotten my money's worth.
Feb 28, 2009
Sammy
rated it:
There are no periods in this book. 99% of the lines end with an exclamation point, the rest end with -- or a ?
Dec 27, 2008
David
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This was Jack Kirby's most wild, most epic masterwork of his long and illustrious career.
Apr 07, 2008
Andrew
rated it:
FINALLY in color, Jack Kirby's classic Fourth World stories are available. A direct influence on "Star Wars" as well as most comics that came after it, this is like finally having "Ulysses" in print for the comic book world. Unfortunately, D.C. decided to go with "newsprint"-quality pages instead of a more archival format, in spite of the $50 a pop cover price. While reading these stories in that manner is a better recreation of the original 1970's experience, it a
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Jun 17, 2011
Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #133-139
The Forever People #1-3
The New Gods #1-3
Mister Miracle #1-3
1970-71
In color
The Forever People #1-3
The New Gods #1-3
Mister Miracle #1-3
1970-71
In color
Jun 05, 2010
Clay
rated it:
I've learned Kirby is still King!
So there's a lot of set up for New Gods, and includes Superman, Newsboy Legion and proto-hippies Forever People!
Some stories (like Newsboy Legion) are fun but not action packed, I skipped a few pages.
Gimme Gimme more Darkseid, Orion, Oberon, and Mister Miracle!
Looking to learn about the Fourth World origins here, and then grab the trades for the major DC events up until now.
Written, Drawn, and Edited by Jack Kirby. More...
So there's a lot of set up for New Gods, and includes Superman, Newsboy Legion and proto-hippies Forever People!
Some stories (like Newsboy Legion) are fun but not action packed, I skipped a few pages.
Gimme Gimme more Darkseid, Orion, Oberon, and Mister Miracle!
Looking to learn about the Fourth World origins here, and then grab the trades for the major DC events up until now.
Written, Drawn, and Edited by Jack Kirby. More...
Apr 26, 2009
Jesse
rated it:
This first volume of Kirby's Fourth World epic was so illuminating as regards the King's potential that I was forced to go back and dock a point from Silver Star.
Apr 22, 2008
Jason
rated it:
Pure imagination from the King of Comics.
I would hate to live in a worlde where Jack Kirby never existed. I shudder to think of where comics would be without him. He is that important. And this is, perhaps, his most important works.
It's Kirby unfiltered, and without remorse. It's Kirby at his highest levels and every page, every panel cackles with energy, excitement, and wonder.
I would hate to live in a worlde where Jack Kirby never existed. I shudder to think of where comics would be without him. He is that important. And this is, perhaps, his most important works.
It's Kirby unfiltered, and without remorse. It's Kirby at his highest levels and every page, every panel cackles with energy, excitement, and wonder.
Jan 13, 2008
Elle
rated it:
Jack Kirby created a mindbending mythology for the Age of Aquarius. There are writers and artists it's tempting to compare Kirby to- Homer, Shakespeare, Aldous Huxley, Carl Sagan, Jim Morrison, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst- but the truth is that Kirby isn't like anyone else. His work is like all those guys got really high together, and then passed out and had the same dream.
