World Famous Comics: Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus, Vol. 2
Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus, Vol. 2
By: Jack Kirby Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 396 Publication Date: August 22, 2007 Release Date: August 08, 2007
Product Description: 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 write and illustrate his magnum opus: four interlocked adventure series that were known collectively as "The Fourth World."
Now, for the first time, DC collects these four series -- THE NEW GODS, THE FOREVER PEOPLE, MISTER MIRACLE and SUPERMAN'S PAL JIMMY OLSEN -- in chronological order as they originally appeared. These comics spanned galaxies, from the streets of Metropolis to the far-flung worlds of New Genesis and Apokolips, as cosmic-powered heroes and villains struggled for supremacy.
In this second volume, the evil Darkseid's schemes continue to unfold while the New Gods, the Forever People, Mr. Miracle and other heroes battle his many minions.
Present for a relative Received this in ample time as promised and the person who received this as a gift was very pleased.
Kirby unleashed!
In Volume II, Kirby starts hitting his targets, particularly with Mike Royer's inks actually bringing out Kirby's wonderful artwork, rather than shortchanging it as Colletta's did. Jimmy Olsen- This remains the problem book in the series as the inking remains Colletta and the stories lack Kirby's usual creativity. The rest of the Don Rickles story, Universal monster clones and the Loch ness monster (Who looks a great deal like Fin Fang Foom) are some of the storylines here. The Forever People- The book still seems to be an afterthought but things improve in this volume. Darkseid continues his search for the anti-life equation and The Forever People gain the assistance of Sunny Sumo, who despite his unfortunate name, adds some excitement to the book. This character adds an interesting element to the book where the other characters seem to be types not fully formed. There's also a nice section where Serifan, Kirby's cosmic cowboy, has to deal with the loss (not really) of his companions. Kirby shows his pain with grace and feeling. Mr.Miracle- The character continues his singular battles with some of Apokolips' minions, with the death traps gaining in complexity with Royer's inks now bringing all of Kirby's work to light. This volume also contains "Funky Flashman" Kirby's very broad interpretation of Stan Lee, who comes off very poorly in Kirby's very funny take on Lee's larger than life personality. New Gods- This book really takes off in volume II. Kirby's story "The Glory Boat," is probably worth the price of admission. Continuing Orion's battle with the aquatic "Deep Six," the story combines some of Kirby's most dynamic art with a story about the generational differences between a ultra-conservative father and a pacifist son confronted by the cosmic forces involved in the New Genesis/Apokolips War. The story touches on some very strong themes and remains one of Kirby's best. Volume II is where Kirby's ideas start to jell and his art starts to reach its zenith for the series. This is what the Fourth World could have been if enough time and support was forthcoming from DC and the fans.
FANTASTIC content. Less than stellar packaging. Of the four volumes of the Fourth World Omnibus series, this one is my favorite. The New Gods and Mr. Miracle series really get rolling here, and I found myself getting more engrossed in not only the story lines but with characters that, prior to reading this, I had not known.
Again, as many have mentioned, the newsprint like pages of the volumes really are substandard when it comes to comic collections. In fact I know of no other property that has been given a supposed marque reprint and then been printed on such cheap paper. My guess is, DC wasn't confident in the product and thus hedged their bet by going short on materials.
In any case, this series is WELL WORTH the discounted Amazon price of $32.50 per volume, so for that, these are a definite buy. If you see these somewhere else at their suggested retail price of $50, I would have to unfortunately say, pass.
Like I said above, the content is fantastic and wonderfully imaginative. It's just on shoddy paper.
Kirby At His Best This book is fantastic. A faithful reproduction of Jack Kirby's wonderful art and creative stories. I love it. My 11-year old son loves it.
best jack kirby, worse edition Jack Kirby is one or maybe the best comic artist ever and the Fourth World saga is his best work. I like Kirby's work on the "Fantastic Four" very much but compared with the outrageous action and the epic story of the "Fourth World" the adventures of the "Fantastic Four" are just family trips. With "Fourth World" DC Comic is holding a gem in its hands but what do they do? They are printing this masterpiece on the cheapest paper possible. It is the same paper they used at the paperbacks. Now it is in colour and a hardcover but the King deserves better. When finally treat DC Jack Kirby properly? Before he was working with Stan Lee he was working for DC until the forced him out of the office. When he returned to DC they did not support his work and let not finish his "Fourth World" saga. The sales figures were not so bad. And today they produced this horrible edition which is a shame. The "Fourth World" saga should be the first choice for an absolute edition. I am wagering, on the one hand I would say come and get this masterpiece but on the other hand this book is an offence.
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