Newer Gods 8. The quest for Anti-Life begins again!
Newer Gods is a monthly feature where I take a look back at the history of DC Comics’ New Gods from the era after original creator Jack Kirby. It’s a study of creators as they take a look back at work of the King of Comics and re-create it.
Cover by Al Milgrom. Art and comic contents owned by DC.
Return of the New Gods 12
Over a year after their "return" in the last 1st Issue Special DC debuted the first issue of Return of the New Gods. It seems clear that former Secret Society writer Gerry Conway was clearly more interested in these characters than the other villains, as he's back as writer here. Mike Vosburg has been replaced by the late, great Don Newton. So you know the art is great on this one.
Don Newton was an immensely talented artist from the Neal Adams school of illustrators, now remembered most for his work on Batman over the years. This book was released in 1977, right in the heart of the best period for his work. By 1984, he would be gone, killed by an unexpected massive heart attack. He left behind an amazing catalog of work, including this one, but sadly it's rarely talked about by modern comics fans. I suspect this comes from the timing of his death, as comics were just coming out of a low point in the early 80s thanks to the success of books like Uncanny X-Men, New Teen Titans and Swamp Thing. But he poured his heart into every page with the same skill as a Neal Adams or a Jim Aparo. His loss was a great one for comics.
Newton's art is a thing of beauty!
We open with a brief synopsis of the origin of New Genesis and Apokolips, beautifully rendered as a double page spread by Newton. The New Gods are soaring over New Genesis as we kick off, not just the usual suspects of Orion, Metron and Lightray, but also Forager, Lonar and Jezebelle of the Fiery Eyes, a late addition by Kirby.
They are on a course towards Apokolips for an epic confrontation. They battle off a squadron of Parademons followed by a group of dog soldiers. Lonar takes on the Parademons while Forager and Jezebelle hold back the dog soldiers. Lightray and Orion continue towards the throne of Darkseid. Palace guards assault them, and Lightray stops to deal with them. Orion moves on alone.
Orion recalls the events from his previous return, but swears that his hand won't be stayed again. He crashes into the throne room of Darkseid, only to find it empty. Atop the Mobius Chair, Metron joins him and reveals that Darkseid has fled. He also reveals Darkseid's new base of operation: on the dark side of the Earth's moon!
The heroes boom across the universe to look down at an entire city built below them. This base also appears deserted, but inside they find a list of names: Earth people who each hold part of the secret of the Anti-Life Equation inside them!
We finally get our title "Prelude to a Holocaust" as we flash forward to Orion on Earth. He's flying towards the U.S. Strategic Air Command, where he must find General Maxwell Torch, one of the aforementioned names on the list. He's attacked by fighter jets but makes short work of it. This makes him not particularly popular as he arrives on land. He's confronted by General Torch, but the good general immediately places him under arrest!
Forager is after Donald Bradford, another name on the list, deep within the Earth at a secret science facility called "The Project." (Apparently the Cadmus part had been forgotten.) He sneaks through layers of defenses, only to land among the armed guards of the facility. They arrest him and take him to Bradford. He reveals why Darkseid wants the Anti-Life Equation: to wipe all free will from the universe.
Forager lays out the stakes... and reminds us he's a handsome fellow under that mask.
In Alaska, Lonar makes contact with another human, the Inuit called Nomak. In Metropolis, P.I. Dave Lincoln (who readers might remember from Kirby's run) is on the run. But as soon as he reaches his destination, he runs headlong into Jezebelle. Metron interrupts musician Lorraine Hamption in New Orleans.
Lightray arrives in San Francisco to find Richard Roe. He already knows Roe's backstory: a Viet Nam vet hooked on drugs. He transmutes his clothes into a human attire and arrives at the home of Richard and his girl Debbie Drake just in time to stop a domestic incident. Roe's line just before arrival makes this clear: "Now are you gonna give me the money - or do I have to kick you around?"
Back with Orion, the good general believes not a word of the New Gods' story. He thinks this is all a trap by members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to show he's mentally unfit. He orders his men to open fire on Orion. Orion melts his way out of the base and flies away, realizing it was a poor idea to confront General Torch. But he swears his battle with Darkseid is far from over. "I will drag you into the light of day, and I will destroy you for the battle has begun anew, and only death will stop me now!"
Somewhere in his base, Darkseid hears the threat and agrees. The coming conflagaration will end in one of their deaths, but not his. "When the holocaust ends, only Darkseid will survive!"
The issue closes with that ominous moment with the promise of "The Deathsong Machine" in the next issue.
This was leaps and bounds above Conway's last attempt at a return for the New Gods. While the story is a rather basic set-up of the New Gods once again finding human allies, Don Newton's art makes even the tamest moments shine.
This is a great kick-off to a unique run of books. If you’re interested in reading it for yourself, it’s now available in a hardcover collection.
