Throughout DC's long and storied history there have been plenty of influential comics. Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams' Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen - all are highlights of one of the most compelling bibliographies of the 20th century.
There's something uniquely important about Jack Kirby's New Gods however. The writer/artist pioneered the superhero genre for Marvel during the House of Ideas' famous bullpen-era, but his tenure at DC coincided with his own creative resurgence. The sci-fi architecture, the universe and the heroes and villains of the Fourth World went on to engender the cosmic look and feel of the DC Universe, creating both the literal and thematic foundations of the publisher's sci-fi series.
Today, DC might be better known for its street-level characters, but it has at its core always been about gods and monsters. Both came out to play in Kirby's Fourth World, and while the series struggles to find the same mainstream popularity of DC's other books, there's a hope that DuVernay's film - whenever it comes - can change that quickly.
What do you think of New Gods? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
