Something New, Something Old: Reviewing ‘The New Gods’ #1

Darkseid is dead. The universe is in a state of flux, trying to fill the void of its greatest evil. Something new — whether good or ill — rises as deadly visions lead the Gods to action.

A new saga begins with The New Gods from Ram V, Evan Cagle, Jorge Fornés, Francesco Segala, and Tom Napolitano.

Disclaimer: I’ve never read the New Gods before.

This statement is one that I feel is important to put out here as this piece begins. Sure, I’m familiar with the characters because I’ve been reading comic books for a significant chunk of my life. They’re pretty high profile on the higher tiers of DC Comic characters, appearing in various books (chiefly Justice League ones) all the time. Hell, Big Barda is over in Birds Of Prey, a book that I love and also happen to review.

My familiarity with their particular lore is not as deep as other comic book knowledge that takes up so much of the limited gray matter. Just the basics of who they are, how they connect to Darkseid, and all that stuff. Mostly, they are the godly group with couple of folks who love kicking it with the heroes of Earth more often than not.

All that being said, I mostly enjoyed reading my first ever issue of a New Gods series.

Just like this book’s format, my feeling about the story comes in two parts.

Ram V is one of my favorite writers, so there was no doubt I’d be in this book in a heartbeat. As soon as it was announced, I jumped on reviewing it since his amazing run on Detective Comics was ending. The first few pages here made me really happy that I did.

A bunch of cosmic mythology stuff that just works so well. Building up lore and setting the stage is surely one of his strong suits, just as much as creating or fleshing out characters to an amazingly deep level.

Those pages are rendered by Fornés, who pulls out every single stop and tosses them to the side somewhere to be forgotten. Scale and depth are off the charts, really putting on full display what comic books are capable of doing. Look at that double-spread page featuring Metron at the Source Wall with the great being Amaxazu dying; the panel borders actually shatter away. Tell me that isn’t just epic in every single possible way.

Cagle picks up the baton with the rest of the issue, really going all out. Paneling skews to the epic, whether in wide or close-up style shots. Characters’ emotions are clear as day, their body language and movement are truly kinetic and energetic. It all feels familiar yet so truly alien and ready to burst off the page at any second.

Segala is a colorist that I’ve enjoyed seeing in various books over the years. Here, the color palette settles into a space that feels lush but also toned-down. Most of the colors are kept at a particular, lighter, level so that the spaces where things shoot to the vibrant feels appropriately bigger and important. A lot of very mellow yellows and grays fill some panels, creating lighting effects that feel fantastical even as they feel accurate.

In some respects, the colors and artwork feel almost like paintings of old, with such modern energy.

Just like Segala, I’ve followed a lot of books that Napolitano has worked on, especially prior DC work, and always like what I see.

Really driving every bit of energy and power into every single letter and word on the page. Hitting the visual milestones so that it resonates with the rest of the artwork, allowing things space to breathe and be their own thing. Love it when words break away from bubbles or boxes, finding a way to exist in the panel itself, whether as dialogue or thoughts.

Lettering is a grand visual work and those like Napolitano, who wield their tools best, are a delight to follow.

While visually everything is solid all the way through, it’s the second portion of the book that fell just a bit for my tastes.

I don’t have issues with this version of Barda and Mister Miracle, worn out parents dealing with a newborn child. They’ve always been very tied to Earth and lives away from the New Genesis/Apokalips dynamic for the most part. What led to my shrugging was the mission and moments with Orion.

Heroic characters who are too tied to their position and following orders, wrestling with and pursuing the murder of a baby “for the greater good,” is a plot point I’ve seen far too many times. I have little interest in such things, and it turns me off right away. Yet, even as I’m not too keen on it, Ram V has earned a major benefit of the doubt from me at this point. Very rarely do I ever decide to not follow through on a series just because of something in the first issue.

There are books I ended up greatly disliking that I gave plenty of issues to make sure that was the case. Perhaps there will be some turn that actually makes me move past the feelings on this particular plot point.

Either way, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.

The New Gods #1 is now available from DC Comics.