Most fans may not realize that Jack Kirby, on what might be the King’s definitive creations in the worlds of New Genesis and Apokolips.
By the time he moved from Marvel to DC in the early seventies, Jack Kirby had already co-created nearly an entire universe with Stan Lee. While at DC, Kirby would create a series of titles that would later come to be known as the Fourth World saga. Never getting the chance to truly finish the story of New Genesis and Apokolips, other creators would come in throughout the years to provide their own spin on Kirby’s indelible creations. In the year 2000, writer/artist Walt Simonson began an all-new ongoing series featuring Darkseid’s son, Orion. Starting with issue #3, the Orion series began featuring backup stories entitled “Tales of the New Gods.” The first of these, “Nativity,” was written by Simonson and drawn by Frank Miller, and told the story of Orion’s birth.
One of the key points of Simonson’s run was the question of Orion’s true father, so it makes sense that the first back-up story would focus on his literal birth. Orion’s mother Tigra meets with a secret cabal in the bowels of Apokolips to give birth to her son, claiming that he will one day usurp his father. Darkseid then arrives on the scene and has everyone murdered. He takes the infant Orion away, leaving Tigra alive. Tigra doesn’t lament her son being taken from her, however, instead claiming she knows his true father and will one day use that information to wield as a weapon against Darkseid.
The story is drawn in a style similar to Miller’s most recent work at the time, 300. The complete opposite of Kirby’s funky future tech vision of the gods, “Nativity” instead feels like a story set in some mythic past. The comparisons to 300 may not entirely be a coincidence, according to an essay announcing the backup stories by Simonson in Orion #2. Says Simonson: “I thought a tale about the actual birth of Orion would be appropriate. There was a certain Spartan quality in the story, its location, and characters, and after reading his wonderful 300 series about Leonidas and his 300 Spartans (published by Dark Horse), Frank Miller was a natural choice.”
Miller certainly captures the epic quality of the story, with his ominous compositions in torch-lit shadow capturing the feeling of inescapable doom. Although his jagged and raw illustrations differ from Kirby’s approach to his gods, the overall effect is the same: bringing ancient myths into modern times to create an entirely new mythology. As long as creators like 300’s Frank Miller lend their talents to Jack Kirby’s creations, then DC’s New Gods will never die.
Source: “A Few Words About Backup Stories” by Walt Simonson, Orion #2
