After trying a couple times over the years, I finally read New Gods #1-11 via a black & white TPB, Jack Kirby's New Gods. Unfortunately, I have not become a convert.

I see how the elevator pitch for the New Gods is interesting, but the more detailed levels of fleshing out the mythology and executing the stories don't work so well for me. It reminds of the Galactus Trilogy where the story sounds so epic in references in subsequent comics, but when I read Fantastic Four #48-50 it was underwhelming. Some of the Fourth World characters and mythos are interesting in subsequent appearances under different creative teams, but the original execution here doesn't excite me so much. The layers on the basic concept seem lacking, and that prevents me from caring that much about the characters. I always got the impression that I was supposed to discover grand themes at work, but I dont' really find them.

If there's a "Goldilocks zone" of a story's themes/message between too vague and too heavy-handed, I feel the New Gods rarely ends up there. Surprisingly, I think it misses by being too vague more than too heavy-handed. But sometimes it's both in sequence. Like in "The Glory Boat" a character introduces himself as conscientious objector. It's a weird heavy-handed non-sequitur to say out of nowhere. As the story unwurls this pro-peace character is brace, while his pro-war father is traumatized by the battle. But the thrust of the story seems to show that literally fighting gets things done. So I can't decipher whether the story is pro-war, anti-war, or just pretentiously throwing this issue out there with no particular viewpoint.

A central theme of Orion as a child of Darkseid adopted by Highfather has potential for its mythological echoes of Loki and thematic questions of nurture vs. nature, adoption, etc. I don't think it gets expanded upon as effectively as it could be. I think a top-notch scripter would be helpful there. Of course, the series was cancelled prematurely, so maybe Kirby was planning to explore this more, but 11 issues is a good span of time.

Corresponds largely to my own view of New Gods, other 4th World books and pretty much the entirety of Kirby's output in the 1970s (i.e., the same can be said of the Eternals in particular), esp. the part about later creative teams doing a better job with these characters and settings.

Boldface mine--by 1970, Kirby was looking to move beyond existing comic book formats and genres, but there wasn't anyplace to go to do that yet. Nothing that would provide the steady paycheck he needed, anyway.

Perhaps why people see Kamandi as his best DC book. There is no overarching operatic drama. Just the constantly inventive story as Kamandi makes his way through the strange earth.

I don't dislike Kirby's 70s work, but in an ideal world, they would've been much different.

I don't have the impression at all that everyone agrees with my view. In fact, I was a little nervous that people would be nasty toward me for posting, because I think the orthodox critical view is that it's pure genius. But I like to give my actual impressions on the "read lately" thread and try to get over my disproportionate anxiety about people disliking me on the internet. So I'm kind of relieved that anyone agrees with me on this.

Beyond New Gods, I haven't read that much of his work on the characters he created in 70s. I have read his 70s Captain America and Black Panther in their entirety. I think I actually like them more than his New Gods (which I'm guessing lots of people would disagree with too)

The Avengers and all the kooky bits INCLUDING the Wasp' dialogue could do no wrong with me. I love it all. But remember, the Wasp was always trying to get a rise out of Hank by making him jealous.