#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.

[otomehonyaku]

Diabolik Lovers Lost Eden Drama CD Translation ☽ Vol. 4 Mukami Saga ☽ Track 1・Feelings Towards Eden

Original title of this track: エデンへの想い Voiced by Sakurai Takahiro (Ruki), Suzuki Tatsuhisa (Yuma), Kishio Daisuke (Azusa), Kimura Ryōhei (Kou) English translation by @otomehonyaku Click here for the audio (as always, BIG thank you to @karleksmumskladdkaka!)

TRACK 1 ・TRACK 2 ・TRACK 3・TRACK 4・TRACK 5・AFTER STORY

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

This is the fourth volume of the Lost Eden drama CDs! I'll make separate posts for each track and update the links above as I go. I absolutely loved this first one—especially the narration by Ruki at the start of the track (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄) It was a blast to translate, so I wish you happy listening and reading along!

Please do not reuse or post my translations elsewhere or translate my work into other languages without my permission.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

00:00 Ruki: Banmaden—the Founders’ castle in the Demon World. A single woman was left behind there—Eve—who holds the most exceptional and highly sought-after blood in all of the Demon World. By orders of the First Bloods, she is waiting devotedly for someone to come and get her. Oh, she is forlorn. Hopelessly so. The biting cold of the stone castle will soon freeze over not only her body, but also her spirit. She waits and waits, endlessly, so long a time that it feels like forever. One day, out of the blue, the sounds of countless flapping wings reach her ears. Right away, she understands that her salvation is near. The flapping wings persuade her to follow them, and so she leaves the stone castle behind and follows the sounds deep into the Demon World forest. With nobody else to depend on, she lets the wings aid her on her quest to find her saviour.

01:31  Ruki: I had steeled myself for this, but when I took in the scenery with my own eyes, it still hit home. The ever-blooming flowers of Eden wilted, having lost their master and the nourishment he supplied them with. Eden’s rich waters were close to drying up. The water that had glistened with life before, sparkling like sand crystals when you cupped it with your hands, was dead. Filthy. I remembered once again, in vivid detail, that His powers had given life to this castle. Karl Heinz—the man I considered my father, the man I revered—is no longer in this world. And now we are losing Eden, too. 

02:25 Azusa: I feel a… tightness in my chest… Because of him, everything is changing… Yes… That day, we were called to Eden… We thought this was the place… that was considered paradise (1). It was the place where the seven-coloured birds would sing… Where the golden butterflies fluttered about… The place whose sweet, pleasant scent… calmed us… This place… will be gone soon… This place has been reduced to nothing…

03:52 Kou: I felt myself becoming hopeless. I probably wasn’t the only one. Because this place was our home. A place we could always return to. The place where He was always waiting for us. The man who showed us both kindness and a certain cold-hearted severity. Eden was a place we cherished unlike anything else. It was irreplaceable. But now, it looked nothing like we remembered it. It was said to be a sanctuary for the immortal, but…

04:40 Yuma: I used to think ‘home’ wasn’t a physical place, but I was reminded once again that it was quite nice to have a physical place to come home to. No matter where I looked, I saw nothing but death and decay. It made His death feel all the more real. For the first time, I realised that Eden was more important to me than I had ever thought.

05:16 Ruki: Eden has been reduced to rubble.

Kou: Stop it. Don’t say stuff like that.

Ruki: It’s the truth, isn’t it?

Yuma: It is, but you could’ve said it another way.

Ruki: Yeah.

Azusa: Ruki, doesn’t it make you sad?

Ruki: How so?

Kou: What do you mean, ‘how so’? This place was like home to us. A place where we made memories. How could you flat-out say it’s as good as ruined?

Azusa: Yeah.

Ruki: Let me turn that question around. Do you truly think this does not affect me in any way?

Kou: Of course not.

Ruki: Then you are correct. Of course I think it’s very unfortunate. Other than that, all I feel is resentment. How did it come to this? Eden must have a master. Why did He abandon his duty?

[Ruki punches a wall.]

Kou: Ruki…

Azusa: I’m sorry, Ruki… I never realised…

Yuma: We were a bit thoughtless…

Ruki: No, it’s alright. Either way, wallowing in sadness and anger will not improve this situation. We must do whatever we…

[A bat flies towards them.]

06:52 Kou: Huh? Is that a bat? It might be someone’s familiar.

Ruki: Be careful.  They might be the same species as we are, but do not let your guard down.

Azusa: It looks like it’s… holding a letter.

Yuma: Ah. I’ll take it, then. There we go.

[Yuma takes the letter from the familiar. The familiar takes off again.]

Yuma: Here.

Ruki: Thanks.

[Ruki takes the letter from Yuma.]

Ruki: Oh—this is…

Kou: Who’s it from?

Ruki: This is the Tsukinami family seal.

Azusa: It’s from… Carla?

Ruki: What on Earth could he want?

[Ruki opens the letter.]

Ruki: Ah…

Yuma: A letter from that Tsukinami bastard? That’s a surprise.

Kou: Yeah. It’s someone you would least expect a letter from.

Azusa: Ruki… What does it say?

Ruki: Hey, you three. You have to go to Banmaden. Now.

Yuma: What? Banmaden? The fuck’s goin’ on there?

Ruki: That woman—Eve—is waiting for us.

Kou: What’s Kitten doing in Banmaden? 

Ruki: I don’t know the details. Hurry. You have to go and get her right away.

Azusa: Yes… If she’s all by herself… she must be very lonely…

Yuma: I don’t know what the hell’s goin’ on, but… It can’t be helped. Let’s go.

Ruki: I’m counting on you. I will send out a familiar ahead of you to announce your arrival.

Kou: Alright!

Azusa: Wait here.

[The three brothers walk off.]

08:49 [Kou, Yuma and Azusa are flying to Banmaden. The translator is a little confused as to why they added airplane noises but thinks it’s funny to imagine that vampires sound like airplanes when they fly/levitate.]

Azusa: Still… It’s a little surprising, isn’t it?

Yuma: You mean that Tsukinami asshole?

Azusa: Yeah.

Kou: Why would that arrogant Carla want to leave Kitten in our care? Something must be wrong.

Yuma: Like what?

Kou: I’m not sure… I think it must have been an emergency. He probably had no other choice.

Azusa: I hope Eve… is alright, though…

Yuma: Ugh. Of course she is! Otherwise the guy wouldn’t have asked us to come get her, right?

Kou: Hmm…

Azusa: Oh—that’s Eve!

Yuma: See! I told you. Y’all are worrywarts. 

[Yuma dives towards Yui ahead of his brothers.]

Azusa: Yuma…! That’s not fair…

Kou: He’s calling us worrywarts, but he was clearly the most worried out of all of us.

Yuma: Huh? D’ya say something?

Kou: Nothing at all!

[Kou and Azusa follow Yuma.]

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

楽園（らくえん）: Lit. ‘paradise,’ i.e. the Japanese word for Eden.