New Gods #9 (1972)
by Jack Kirby
Yet another attempt to give the cover to a character more interesting than Orion.
Which might even backfire.
That would be Forager, the Food-Seeker.
He’s involved in yet another double splash page.
He’s leading his people, the Bugs, into stealing enough food to survive…
…despite the danger of CHEMICAL WARFARE.
And I hope that was enough to understand WTF is going on, because we cut to a completely unrelated Orion scene.
Because I guess Orion doesn’t already have enough uninteresting human supporting characters around, they crash into the apartment of this random lady.
Okay THIS is closer to what I hoped Kirby would do with Orion’s face. At least it’s monstrous enough, but he also looks like he’s been in a fight.
But that’s a snoozefest. Let’s go back to Forager, who apparently shops by the Eternals years before they’re created.
That’s when he’s summoned by the leader of his people, Prime One.
If you were wondering why Forager wears a mask… trust me, you do NOT want to look at him.
Kirby is reeeeally fond of using the term Eternals.
If Kirby manages to make Forager THIS creepy, just imagine how his Joker would have been.
Then the colony is invaded.
But that could potentially be interesting, so let’s focus on this absolutely random lady helping Orion take a nap.
And then Orion throws a temper tantrum.
Why are we following this guy again?
Geez, who could have predicted that helping TWO ALIENS YOU KNOW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT could have been a bad idea?
Back to Forager, who ends up meeting Mantis. Who has barely showed in a cameo ONCE in this series; he originates in other Fourth Wall series that I’ll cover later.
Turns out that Prime One isn’t the real leader of the Bugs; that would be the awkwardly named All-Widow. But at least we finally understand who the “Eternals” are: it’s the name that includes both New Gods and the people of Apokolips.
Despite the fact that the New Gods are SUPPOSED to be the good guys, they evidently don’t give a crap about these people.
This warrants a full splash page to show All-Widow sacrificing Prime One.
Orion has conveniently resolved his inner turmoil, I guess? I’ll be honest, his entire plot makes no sense to me.
Also this woman SHOULD HAVE NO IDEA OF WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT.
And we finally end with Orion being arrested…
…and Forager catching a Boom Tube™ for Earth.
Historical significance: 3/10
Forager ends up becoming a tiny part of the Fourth World. That random woman, not as much: this is her last appearance in the Kirby run, but later series use her again.
At least they will have the decency to retcon her involvement being due to her having a fragment of the Anti-Life Equation in her head, instead of randomly meeting Orion on a rooftop.
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
No, seriously, that’s the entire reason she’s in this. She was just there and decided to stick around trying to become an actual character. 
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
What a mess. Kirby seems to be ALREADY bored with the world he created, if he’s already introducing completely new civilizations that are barely compatible with the established lore.
The Forager action scenes are a delight from a graphic storytelling perspective… it’s Kirby… but we don’t have enough context to truly root for anyone.
And the Orion scenes… once again I must ask myself could anyone POSSIBLY read this stuff and convince himself that Kirby is a good writer. That was some of the most over-the-top melodramatics I’ve ever seen, and we’re supposed to take Orion’s struggle’s seriously!? HOW!?
Splash pages: 4 out of 26 (15%)
Splash + double splash pages: 5 out of 26 (23%)
Most Kirby panel
Most WTF panel
WHY ARE YOU IN THIS COMIC???
Interesting letters: the reactions to New Gods #7 are understandably positive.
I look forward to seeing how the readers react to what followed.
Although some go a bit overboard. That issue was incredible but Kirby being the first man in history to write a “war is bad” story is the kind of overhype that makes me dislike superfans.
