I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority on liking the Conway/Newton run better than Kirby's original creation. I thought Jezebel was a cool character design and while the superherization of Orion was soundly rejected by fans I still prefer that over the original. I'm not a Kirby hater and enjoyed his Kamandi and Eternals so not sure what is different with New Gods. Just so surprised and happy that DC is doing a collection of this. Agree about "the Great Darkness" story. Levitz at his best with Kirby's characters.
It will probably be much more impressive by itself with offset printing in a nicer format.
What I like most about Kirby's New Gods seems to be what you didn't: the quiet nobility and pathos, and its commentary on the universal tragegy of war. And the dichotomy of good and evil gods, fighting either directly or metaphorically a spiritual war for Earth.
Simonson initially expanded on the spiritual warfare/anti-life aspect of the Fourth World in the first issue of ORION,
perfectly in that first issue.
But then went lighter because, as he put it himself in an answer to me on the DC boards, changed gears and said he "didn't want to work that hard". He even thinned his page-load in the monthly book by farming out a third of the book to backups by a revolving assortment of artists.
Too bad.
THOR remains Simonson's writer/artist masterwork.
ORION could have been just as good. And there is no other artist I can think of more able to continue on, or even improve on, Kirby's Fourth World and other storylines.
A Simonson version of THE DEMON, KAMANDI or OMAC, if Simonson were fully committed, would be a dream come true.
