Writer/Artist: Walter Simonson Colourist: Sherilyn Van Valkenburgh
The plot: Tragedy spurs Orion to declare war on Darkseid, who has finally gained the secrets of the Anti-Life Equation.
When I was in high school, one of the best books on the stands was Simonson's Thor run. I'm happy to say Simonson is back in the game, with work as good or better than he was doing back then.
John Byrne's run on the title that preceded Orion, Jack Kirby's Fourth World, was so relentlessly dull that I swore off any further New Gods titles. Even the announcement that Simonson was handling this new title had me pretty ambivalent. But I picked up the first issue based on the strength of the cover alone, and I'm glad I did.
Three issues in, Simonson has managed to make this a story about real people, with real motivations, instead of a story about distant gods and their unknowable (read: boring) concerns, which was what we got throughout Byrne's JK4W run.
Orion is pissed; Darkseid has killed his mother. He doesn't even know if Darkseid is his father or not, but he has sworn vengeance. It may not be high art, but it's exciting comic books, and Simonson is drawing better than at any other point in his long, storied career.
At the recent All Time Classic New York Comics Convention, I met Simonson and had the opportunity to read through xeroxes he had of issues 3-6 of this title. I started to look at them, but decided to wait. This is one of the most fun books being published today, and I'd rather enjoy it as it's meant to be seen--monthly, in colour, as a fan. There's some great Darkseid stuff coming up, and once Simonson warned me all was revealed in those xeroxes, I put them down immediately.
Frank Miller makes a somewhat surprising appearance here as artist of a 6-page back-up tale depicting the birth of Orion. Miller illustrates it in a manner reminiscent of his 300 series for Dark Horse, and while the story (written by Simonson) holds no real surprises, it's a real treat for me, having cut my teeth on the glory days of Miller and Simonson's 1980s Marvel work. Simonson has other outstanding guest artists coming up as well, including Dave Gibbons next issue.
Anyone put off by the long history of Jack Kirby's Fourth World concepts might get a little lost here, but I think Simonson is explaining things well enough, and the action and drama more than make up for the nearly 30 years of missing backstory. In fact, I think this is absolutely the best work that's ever been done with these characters. I have all the respect in the world for the legacy of Jack Kirby, but Simonson manages to infuse even more life and excitement here than Kirby did in his original issues. If that comes off as blasphemy, well, sorry--I've read Kirby's stories and I've read these, and these are just more fun.
Some people go even further and say without Kirby to guide them, perhaps the Fourth World characters should be retired. I disagree. In the hands of a master like Simonson, Darkseid, Orion and the rest have tons of untapped potential. As long as we get this quality of storytelling, I'm more than happy to support the continuation of the Fourth World.
