Orion by Walter Simonson Book One

Orion by Walt Simonson #1

by Walter Simonson

Walt Simonson's stunning, unmistakable art and storytelling are on full display here in his groundbreaking work ORION. Expanding the beloved universe originally created by Jack Kirby, Simonson's sprawling storylines and dynamic artwork elevate his titular hero, as well as the rest of the Fourth World's indispensible characters, to incredible new heights.

Collected here for the first time are all twenty-five issues of Walter Simonson's ORION, as well as never-before reprinted short stories, pinups and sketch material.

Collects ORION #1-11, SHOWCASE '94 #1, DCU HOLIDAY BASH #1, JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD #9-11, 13, NEW GODS SECRET FILES AND ORIGINS #1, SECRET ORIGINS OF SUPER-VILLAINS 80-PAGE GIANT #1, LEGENDS OF THE DC UNIVERSE 80-PAGE GIANT #2, TALES OF THE NEW GODS, COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS #24, NEW GODS #12-15, MISTER MIRACLE #6, JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD #1-20, THE ART OF WALTER SIMONSON, WHO'S WHO IN THE DC UNIVERSE #16, JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD GALLERY, LEGENDS OF THE DC UNIVERSE 3-D GALLERY #1, SECRET FILES AND ORIGINS GUIDE TO THE DC UNIVERSE #1 and JLA-Z #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Superheroes

368 pages, Paperback

First published July 17, 2018

About the author

Walt Simonson is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' Thor from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned work Star Slammers, which he inaugurated in 1972 as a Rhode Island School of Design thesis. He has also worked on other Marvel titles such as X-Factor and Fantastic Four, on DC Comics books including Detective Comics, Manhunter, Metal Men and Orion, and on licensed properties such as Star Wars, Alien, Battlestar Galactica and Robocop vs. Terminator.

He is married to comics writer Louise Simonson, with whom he collaborated as penciller on X-Factor from 1988 to 1989, and with whom he made a cameo appearance in the 2011 Thor feature film.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Orion by Walter Simonson Book One collects Orion #1-11 plus bonus materials from various places.

I recently read the Fourth World by John Byrne Omnibus but that was mostly so I could read Orion by Walter Simonson. Simonson's Thor run is legendary and I recently got caught up on Ragnarok so this was the next step.

Walter Simonson writes and draws the bulk of this with background stories drawn by other artists. You can tell this is a labor of love and not just a paycheck. Simonson goes all out.

At the end of the Byrne Fourth World run, the stage was set for Orion vs. Darkseid and that's what Simonson gives us. Orion and Darkseid battle, there is a decisive victor, and the rest of the issues deal with the consequences.

While I thought John Byrne did a good job with the Fourth World, I thought his approach was too conservative. For the most part, he left Jack Kirby's toys as he found them. Simonson's approach does a better job of capturing the bombastic Jack Kirby spirit. Orion is balls to the wall, no sitting around talking, no philosophizing. There are big battles with big repercussions. Plus Jimmy Olsen and the Newsboy Legion.

Simonson's art has seasoned a bit since his Thor run but he has taken no steps back. I don't think it's quite as good as Ragnarok but this stuff is 20+ years before Ragnarok. If you're a fan of Simonson's art, this is the best of the time period.

Was Orion by Walter Simonson one of the best comics of the time it was published? Yes. Five out of five stars.

[Sud666 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a comic that has high ratings overall. I am not in agreement with the consensus. While the overall story has some merit, it fails in the execution. Walter Simonson's art is tragically overrated.

The overall story of the ongoing conflict between Darkseid and Orion had potential. But, it ended up being a silly fight and one, considering the art, that did not look very good. While some of the later chapters of the book were illustrated by different artists who did a better job than Simonson, the story isn't at all deep. Orion battles different characters from the rogues gallery of Darkseid. The parts about orion becoming corrupted by being ruler of Apokolips should have been far more important, but they fail.

A "meh" volume if there ever is one. Poor art and a mediocre story combine into one, overly large, and highly overated GN. I have no intention of looking up book 2.

[Todd Glaeser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simonson seems to be the one to take over Kirby's "Gods" characters. First, Thor. and now the Fourth World/ New Gods. Shakespearean in the best way. Majestic and epic as the source material suggests.

I remember John Byrne's "Jack Kirby Fourth World" series fondly. That series predated the Orion series and doesn't seem to be collected yet, even though the lesser New Gods by Gerry Conway (The New Gods has been released.

Edit:

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

It gives me no pleasure to write a negative review for this collection because I consider Walter Simonson one of the great artists of comic books and one of the exceptional writers for his classic run on Thor in the 80's. But this 300+ page collection was a slog to get through. It contains issues 1-11 of Orion - one of the New Gods created by Jack Kirby and a handful of short stories after that. TO be honest - the short stories were very entertaining - especially the one that looked at history of Darkseid's personal assassin Kanto. But the Orion story? OMG was that difficult to plow through. There were glimpses of Simonson's amazing art but far too many pages looked rushed and lacked the polish I remember from when Simonson's talents were at their height. I think the art could have still been overlooked if the story was compelling enough but it wasn't. It was battle after battle with none of the character development or drama that was in evidence during his run of Thor.

I think the biggest obstacle to overcome was the fact that Jack Kirby's New Gods - for all the praise that is lavished Kirby for how creative these creations are - are impossible to write for. None of the characters have personalities beyond 2 dimensions so it makes it hard to care for them. A short story here or there is fine but a long story arc like this falls apart because we don't really care about Orion or the supporting characters. Simonson even tries to shoehorn in the Newsboy Legion and I do mean shoehorn. Wow - they had no place in this story, other than to try to pad it out a bit.

Really - other than the short stories drawn by other artists and the collection of New Gods stories at the end it was an impossibly boring read. A true shame because Simonson is one of the greats.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The finale of my grand Fourth World rereading is here!

I LOVE Jack's original comics. Unbeatable. Yet somehow, they're surpassed here.

Simonson understands something John Byrne failed to grasp - Jack Kirby had four books to unfold his grand tapestry, and there's just TOO MUCH to fit into one book. Simonson tightens the scope to bring Orion directly into focus. This first book is pretty epic - a four-parter on Earth that puts Orion into conflict with the anti-life equation and sets up Orion's epic (and almost entirely dialogue-free) brawl with Darkseid. Orion spends the rest of the book attempting to put Apokolips in order, with unexpected and frankly disastrous results. BOOK TWO is even better. Can't wait to start it tonight!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It's going to be hard to explain to my kids why I look so terrifying now, after Orion by Walt Simonson has melted my face off.

[Seth Cordle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been going through the entire main Fourth World story. I started with Kirby, then went through Byrne, finally reaching Simonson. And the most impressive thing I’ve noticed is that I keep forgetting the writers have changed. They’ve done such a great job of keeping the voices of the characters consistent that I can barely even see a shift.

This series may be called Orion, but it has done a phenomenal job at giving most of the characters their moment. I have appreciated the story & the characterization. Simonson has a beautiful way of telling massive stories on a human level.

I won’t get into spoilers, but the highlight of this volume is definitely the issue that showed Orion & Darkseid’s fight with no dialogue. That fight had been teased since Jack Kirby’s first issue & it definitely did not disappoint!

[Alex Sarll]

Walt Simonson will always be associated first and foremost with his definitive run on Thor. So it makes sense that, at DC, he'd work on another character previously most associated with Jack Kirby, another belligerent son of a pantheon's patriarch. Of course, the problem is that for all Kirby's work with Lee was generally very hokey, his work by himself was plain terrible, and has generally proved significantly harder for his successors to wrangle. Darkseid had real heft for a time, true, even if he's since been superseded for most people by his Marvel knock-off, but the rest of them? Only Grant Morrison, who never met a mad cosmic idea he didn't like, ever really pulled it off, and even he tended to do it in the context of team books, rather than going all-in on the New Gods. Nor does the outlook brighten when the second issue brings back the Newsboy sodding Legion – particularly since I'd just read a couple of issues of Paper Girls, so they weren't even the best young newspaper people in a science fiction comic of that commute. Nor does their mercifully brief attempt to get with the times by rebranding as the Newsgroup Legion improve matters, and they mainly seem to be part of a gentrification subplot which, at least within this volume, peters out to no great effect. But somehow, Simonson's own superhuman power kicks in, his ability to battle even the most unpromising material into submission and build it back up as something which has mythic heft without sacrificing humour and lightness of touch. Yes, Orion's inevitable corruption once he seizes control of Apokolips perhaps moves a little quickly, but it still feels an awful lot closer to Shakespearean tragedy than most comics would even think to attempt, let alone mostly get away with. And it doesn't hurt that, in the back-up strips, artists of the calibre of Frank Miller (back when he was good), Howard Chaykin and Dave Gibbons lend a hand. Not that Simonson solo can't do just as well, mind: perhaps the most remarkable issue is the one taken up entirely by a fight between Orion and Darkseid, in which – one line aside – the only words are sound effects. And did anyone in comics ever do better sound effects than Simonson?

The collection also includes various Fourth World miscellanea, amongst them covers and short stories Simonson contributed to various related titles. The highlight of which is a story where Highfather teaches Orion, you guessed it, the true meaning of Christmas. Even read on a packed train in July, it still brought a tear to my eye.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always been a fan of innovation and change in superhero comics over tradition (I.e. Grendel over Batman). As such, this book perfectly encapsulates the arrested development corporate comics are in.

Orion is basically a masterclass of homage. Its a genuine epic with an insane amount of talent through its run. It's a jam band celebrating a high watermark from 25 years prior. But it never does anything particularly new--just continues the cyclical story (which may be a point) without ever piecing the veil.

I just wish it went somewhere like the Fifth World. DC has been skittish to ever fully engage with this notion (but there is a glimmer of promise with 5G). It's something that's been "promised" for almost 50 years now.

[Alan Duran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who better to pick up where John Byrne left off but Walt Simonson. His artwork fits the Kirby spirit very well. He benefits well from his own inking, just like Byrne. There is lots of Apokolptian action. The final showdown between Darkseid and Orion is a highlight. Make sure you also follow all the action all along the borders for all the spectator action including the Newsboy Legion. several backup stories are also included featuring the work of Frank Miller, Dave Gibbons, Howard Chaykin, Art Adams, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Klaus Janson.

[Greg Trosclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed all of Walt Simonson's long runs on books whether it is Thor, Fantastic Four, Manhunter, Star Slammers or Batman. Orion is a great run for a really solid character. He comes about as close to Kirby as you are going to get. I also really enjoyed the back up stories from the books too and how they fit into the larger puzzle. If you are a fan of Kirby's Fourth World books then this is a great follow up to that.

[Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following the great universe that Kirby has created in the 'Fourth World', 'Orion' gives us a more in-depth look at the character of Orion and how his destiny unfolds.

If you have completed Kirby's Fourth World and you like the lore of the New Gods, I recommend to proceed with this book.

Aside from Orion's story, the collected edition also features some backstory on some of the Apokalyptian New Gods at the end. And I enjoyed these too.

[The_J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected more. Simonson is special, and even burdened by Kirby's creation, this seems ordinary as a tired plot line, with if not half-hearted perhaps 3/4 hearted art (starting from an impressive base of talent though.

[Ferenc · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 - Graphic Novels
3/5 - Science Fiction
2/5 - Story
1/5 - Characters

2/5 - Rating