#Fourth World Saga

[chernobog13]

Darkseid and sons by Walt Simonson.

[vertigoartgore]

Jack Kirby New Gods Concept Presentation Oversized Collage Art (circa 1969-1970).

[pat1dee]

The Golden Gaurdian

Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #135

January 1971

Art by Kack Kirby and Vince Colleta

[skelltan]

i don't think i like grant morrison canonizing darkseid as this 'ultimate evil'

so i preface with i haven't read final crisis/multiversity in forever and i never touched other fourth world dealings of grants but. i'm reading new gods and i love it. and granted i'm not the biggest fan of grant but. i don't think i like their characterization of darkseid as a multiversal agent of evil which has now gone further to constantly portray darkseid as some ultimate evil.

i can see why grant did this considering the high falutin stuff they write and there's arguably elements of it in the original fourth world saga what with the source wall but. doesn't it kind of undermine a lot of the fourth world saga?

what is the point of darkseid finding the anti-life equation if he's already a super powerful multiversal threat? why is orion so much considerably weaker despite being his spawn? (and don't get me started on ALL of the new gods being multiversal constants - i understand this doesn't automatically equate power but it still begs the question of why darkseid is so much more above and beyond the others)

kirby compares darkseid's forces to hitler and the nazis, and in these early stories, darkseid isn't some multi-omniversal god. he's definitely a force to be reckoned with, but he's not so unstoppable that it takes all of earth's heroes to find some macguffin to stop him. i think like hitler, a lot of his power is a mirage of his dictatorial rule. orion, especially with the help of the new gods, can fight darkseid, just like how the world's nations could end the predominant reign of what is commonly seen as the most evil movement in recent history. i think buying into the illusion of darkseid's power undermines the stakes and storytelling of the fourth world saga for these reasons. but maybe i'm crazy.

[myadventureswithmanofsteel]

Jack Kirby is the undisputed King of comic book art.

When Kirby went to DC Comics in 1970, he took over Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen.

There a numerous stories of why he took over the title. I believe that real reason he did will be forever lost to time (no, it wasn't because Jimmy Olsen didn't sell, or that it didn't have a regular art team. Thats just legend).

He used the book to introduce his Fourth World Saga. Unfortunately right out the gate, DC did not seem to have faith in Jack. They would have inkers erase his style on Superman's face to the DC house style.

With out his knowledge.

I truly think that was spiteful and a horrible way to treat a creator.

In the end it was comic fans that missed out on having a true Kirby Superman.

[rgf-settings]

Jack Kirby & Mike Royer, Mister Miracle #15, story page 5 (DC, 1973). Ink over graphite on Marvel Bristol board, 10" x 15" image area. Via Heritage Auctions.

[craigfernandez]

[havendance]

Mr. Miracle Is definitely the stand out title in my fourth world read so far. Now I’m thinking about Barda and Saga and the line of subversive literature that connects Barda and Alanna… the power of love…

[cantsayidont]

December 1988. Overall, the Jim Starlin/Mike Mignola COSMIC ODYSSEY miniseries is pretty awful — it has cool art, but, like most of Starlin's DC work during this period, it's gratuitously brutal and ugly, and both Starlin's offensive treatment of the Kirby Fourth World mythos and the senseless character assassination of John Stewart did lasting damage — but it does have its moments.

[inspectorspacetimerevisited]

The Fourth Inspector had strictly forbid W.I.T. from building, operating or owning a temporal projector.

So, naturally, Mary Shelburne-Grey had one installed in W.I.T. headquarters and has it up and running, just in time for the Fifteenth Inspector to have need of it. (For Emerald’s search for her birth mother.)

[cupcakegalaxia]

Yall would not believe how much of Yetenek took Wingfeather saga as a massive inspiration and just ran with it.

[chernobog13]

Metron of the New Gods by Steve Rude.

[vertigoartgore]

Darkseid and his sons Orion & Kalibak by artist Walt Simonson. Done in 1982, when he drew the Uncanny X-Men/New Teen Titans story and way before his excellent Orion series (from the early 2000's).

[krafty1]

"Super War!"

Image Credit: DC Comics The Forever People #2 Cover Artist: Jack Kirby Publisher: DC Comics Publication Date: May 1971 In recognition of the Kings’ birthday this week. If you haven’t read Kirby’s Fourth World Saga, what are you waiting for? The 57-issue run spans from the pages of Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen, The Forever People, New Gods, and Mister Miracle and culminates in the Hunger Dog’s…

[didalexiabreakupwitholgaisback]

This was probably on your old blog (sorry RIP!) but do you know the deal is between Alexia and Sam Kerr? Is there real beef there?

ah, the infamous "and this is competitive" tweet 😅 (no there is no real problem or rivalry between them, but it is a funny story - that alexia recounts below!)

so back in may 2019 on a day that so happens to have coincided with the champions league final between lyon and barça, sam kerr tweeted the following:

it also just happened when lyon had run up the score 4-0 against barça, and was viewed as a 'dig' on the level of competition in europe. (we all know sam kerr is menace on social media, but whatever 😅)

anyway, of course culers made a big deal of this and it made its way to the players too. fast forward to 2021 and chelsea plays barça and loses 4-0 in the champions league final, and everyone starts bringing up this tweet as karma. and alexia even made a side comment about it during her ballon d'or victory in 2021.

anyway, during an interview with visa, a reporter asked alexia about the whole saga and here is what she had to say:

source: visa españa (2021)

translation below the cut:

let's see, the story is that she was playing in the united states, if i'm not mistaken, and it was like questioning the level in europe, because just at that moment they (lyon) had just scored the fourth goal in a european final against olympique lyon. and she put it out publicly with irony of "and this is competitive...," as if implying that it's not.

and to begin with, i would say that sam kerr is a, i would say top 5, top 3 strikers in the world. i have nothing against her. i don't know her or anything, but it is true that for my taste that was not appropriate, it was unnecessary. in the end we are all colleagues in the profession, and well, it was a bit, i think it bordered on disrespect towards our team.

we have not thought about this tweet every day, much less have we worked hard only because sam kerr tweeted this one day. so fate had wanted us to face chelsea in our second european final, where she was the striker, and fate had also wanted the result to end like the first final but in our favour.

in the end, i always say that in football one day you are up, one day you are down and you never know. for me, she shouldn't have made that tweet, but well, in the end i don't know if she feels it was a mistake or not, but everyone has the right to make mistakes.

[oneknightstand-if]

If the ROs were IF readers what would be their favorite titles?

Man, have I played enough IF for this question? Okay, discarding visual novels and going with only text-based IF... Also, some of these are lies.

Merlin: A Kiss From Death - Avoid the fated apocalypse! Also horny.

Adrian: World's Apart - Yes, he's a hipster. Parser-based text adventure from the 1990s! It would've been Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy but he forgot to bring his towel and ragequit.

Arthur: Save the Date - Look, his mind is blown by any of these games, but perhaps try and let him splash around in the shallow end with a relatively easy one that doesn't depend too much on stats. Also, you did your best. Move on.

Percy: One Knight Stand

Merlin: (ভ_ ভ) ރ ／/ ┊ \＼ I swear no more desserts for you if you don't stop breaking the fourth wall, Percy! Percy: 👎

4̶0̸4̸ ̶E̴r̸r̶o̷r̷ ̷N̴o̴t̵ ̸F̵o̴u̷n̸d̵: Damn I said no visual novels, so no Doki Doki Literature Club I guess the new Restore, Reflect, Retry

Cassandra: Evertree Saga

Gwen: Wayhaven Chronicles

Vivian: Someone's phone/tablet/computer is getting short-circuited if she tries to play an IF. If you tried to play a paper Choose Your Own Adventure or other gamebook with her... you're gonna get a very creepy experience there! Otherwise, she'd obviously favor one of the all completely unfinished stories about the rusalka or something such floating around like Abysm's Veil.

Lorelei: Infinity Saga

Broderick: What the hell is an 'IF'?