In superhero comics， there’s the stuff you expect to see in them and then there’s the unexpected。 The expected is straightforward superhero storytelling following strictly superhero storytelling logic。 The epitome of this is Jack Kirby’s Fourth World。 And the epitome of of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World is John Byrne’s Jack Kirby’s Fourth World。Jack “King” Kirby was a giant of the golden and silver ages of superhero comics。 He co-created most of Marvel’s most famous characters。 And he kind of got sic In superhero comics， there’s the stuff you expect to see in them and then there’s the unexpected。 The expected is straightforward superhero storytelling following strictly superhero storytelling logic。 The epitome of this is Jack Kirby’s Fourth World。 And the epitome of of Jack Kirby’s Fourth World is John Byrne’s Jack Kirby’s Fourth World。Jack “King” Kirby was a giant of the golden and silver ages of superhero comics。 He co-created most of Marvel’s most famous characters。 And he kind of got sick over not receiving credit。 So he headed over to DC and created the New Gods， which were as pure a representation of superhero logic as has ever been conceived。 He had half these New Gods reside on New Genesis， and these were the good guys， and half on Apokolips， and these were the bad guys， and there was a prophecy that Darkseid， the worst of the bad guys， would one day clash in final combat with his son， Orion， who through a bargain with Highfather， the best of the good guys， was raised on New Genesis。So these New Gods came equipped with their own vivid mythology， the old school kind， the kind that has very little room for mere mortals， except as backdrop （and occasional costar）。Kirby had a whole epic vision he originally played out in an unprecedented series of interlocking titles， but the New Gods being as pure a superhero concept as could be， they always appealed more to creators than readers， so he didn’t （technically） get to finish it （I contend that The Hunger Dogs serves well in that capacity）。So ever since， his New Gods have fallen into other hands， always yearning for that closure。 The funny thing is， John Byrne seems not to have been at all interested in finding it。Byrne was a Marvel legend， too， when he came to DC。 At first he set about revitalizing Superman （who had always been Kirby’s unattainable dream）。 And then he took on the New Gods。 He plunged immediately into a saga of breathtaking speed， encompassing the whole scope of Kirby’s vision， including one of DC’s ‘90s crossover events， Genesis （you’ll find in it a number of characters who didn’t survive that decade， team books like Dan Jurgens’ Teen Titans， Young Heroes in Love， and the one Byrne himself seems to have loved [and me too！]， Superboy and the Ravers）， high drama that was as close to Shakespeare as you’ll ever find in this kind of material。And then editorial suggestions convinced Byrne to leave the title， and the New Gods once more entered into other hands。I read all this in the ‘90s。 It never occurred to me， at the time and in the more than twenty years that have passed since then， that this was a seminal run for me。 But it really was。 Byrne clearly loved these characters， and sought to put his own stamp on them。 He uses prominently the ‘90s New God creation Takion （since vanished into obscurity）， gives a leading role to Darkseid’s mom （！！！）， and even has Shilo Norman appear， before Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers reminded everyone he existed， before Future State did it all over again。I don’t know all the New Gods lore。 I can’t say everything that originates here， or just feel like it does。 （And there are missing pieces， too; Byrne never once has Darkseid lust after the Anti-Life Equation， except in his final issue， in which he is admittedly rewriting Kirby himself。） But if you’re a New Gods fan， it’s my opinion， all the same， that you read Kirby， and then you read Byrne。 And if you just want to see superhero comics in a perfectly unbridled state， you read Byrne anyway。 It’s the unexpected version of the expected。 。。。more