Editing Jack Kirby (section)

===DC Comics and the Fourth World saga (1971–1975)===
[[File:New Gods 1971 1.jpg|right|thumb|''[[The New Gods]]'' #1 (March 1971)<!--officially "The New Gods", with the definite article, in postal indicia--> Cover art by Kirby and [[Don Heck]].<!--credits per GCD-->]]

Kirby spent nearly two years negotiating a deal to move to DC Comics,{{sfn|Ro|2004|page=139}} where in late 1970 he signed a three-year contract with an option for two additional years.{{sfn|Ro|2004|page=143}} He produced a series of interlinked titles under the blanket [[sobriquet]] "[[Fourth World (comics)|The Fourth World]]", which included a trilogy of new titles—''[[New Gods]],'' ''[[Mister Miracle]],'' and ''[[The Forever People]]''—as well as the extant ''[[Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen]].''<ref name=gcdjack />{{sfn|Van Lente|Dunlavey|2012|page=115}}<ref>McAvennie, Michael "1970s" in Dolan, p. 145 "As the writer, artist, and editor of the Fourth World family of interlocking titles, each of which possessed its own distinct tone and theme, Jack Kirby cemented his legacy as a pioneer of grand-scale storytelling."</ref> Kirby picked the latter book because the series was without a stable creative team and he did not want to cost anyone a job.<ref>Evanier, Mark. "Afterword." ''Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus;'' Volume 1, New York: DC Comics, 2007.</ref><ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 141 "Since no ongoing creative team had been slated to ''Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen'', "King of Comics" Jack Kirby made the title his DC launch point, and the writer/artist's indelible energy and ideas permeated every panel and word balloon of the comic."</ref>

The three books Kirby originated dealt with aspects of mythology he had previously touched upon in ''Thor''. ''The New Gods'' would establish this new mythos, while in ''The Forever People'' Kirby would attempt to mythologize the lives of the young people he observed around him. The third book, ''Mister Miracle'' was more of a personal myth. The title character was an escape artist, which Mark Evanier suggests Kirby channeled his feelings of constraint into. Mister Miracle's wife was based in character on Kirby's wife Roz, and he even caricatured Stan Lee within the pages of the book as [[Funky Flashman]], a depiction Lee found hurtful while Kirby tried to downplay the insult when confronted about it by Lee's protege, [[Roy Thomas]], who was similarly insulted with Flashman's sidekick, Houseroy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Raphael |first1=Jordan |last2=Spurgeon |first2=Tom |title=Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book |date=2004 |publisher=Chicago Review Press |isbn=978-1-61374-292-1 |page=218}}</ref>{{sfn|Evanier|2008|pages=172–177}}

The central villain of the Fourth World series, [[Darkseid]], and some of the Fourth World concepts, appeared in ''Jimmy Olsen'' before the launch of the other Fourth World books, giving the new titles greater exposure to potential buyers. The Superman figures and Jimmy Olsen faces drawn by Kirby were redrawn by [[Al Plastino]], and later by [[Murphy Anderson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsfromme.com/2003/08/22/jack-kirbys-superman/|title=Jack Kirby's Superman|first=Mark|last=Evanier|date=August 22, 2003|publisher=POV Online|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308170721/http://www.povonline.com/notes/Notes082203.htm|archive-date=March 8, 2012|url-status=live|access-date=April 22, 2012|quote=Plastino drew new Superman figures and Olsen heads in roughly the same poses and positions, and these were pasted into the artwork.}}</ref><ref name="DAK2"/> Les Daniels observed in 1995 that "Kirby's mix of slang and myth, science fiction and the Bible, made for a heady brew, but the scope of his vision has endured."<ref>{{cite book|last = Daniels|first = Les|author-link = Les Daniels|chapter= The Fourth World: New Gods on Newsprint|title = DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes|publisher = [[Little, Brown and Company|Bulfinch Press]]|year = 1995|location= New York, New York|page = 165|isbn = 0821220764}}</ref> In 2007, comics writer [[Grant Morrison]] commented that "Kirby's dramas were staged across Jungian vistas of raw symbol and storm ... The Fourth World saga crackles with the voltage of Jack Kirby's boundless imagination let loose onto paper."<ref>{{cite book|last= Morrison|first= Grant|chapter= Introduction|title= Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Volume One|publisher= DC Comics|year= 2007|location= New York, New York|pages= [https://archive.org/details/jackkirbysfourth0001kirb/page/7 7–8]|isbn= 978-1401213442|chapter-url= https://archive.org/details/jackkirbysfourth0001kirb/page/7}}</ref>

In addition to his artistic efforts, Kirby proposed a variety of new formats for comics such as planning to collect his published Fourth World stories into square-bound books, a format that would later be called the [[Trade paperback (comics)|trade paperback]], which would eventually become standard practice in the industry. However, Infantino and company were not receptive and Kirby's proposals only went as far as producing the one-shot black-and-white magazines ''Spirit World'' and ''In the Days of the Mob'' in 1971.<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 147: "Believing that new formats were necessary for the comics medium to continue evolving, Kirby oversaw the production of what was labeled his 'Speak-Out Series' of magazines: ''Spirit World'' and ''In the Days of the Mob'' ... Sadly, these unique magazines never found their desired audience."</ref>

Kirby later produced other DC series including ''[[OMAC (Buddy Blank)|OMAC]]'',<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 161 "In ''OMAC's'' first issue, editor/writer/artist Jack Kirby warned readers of "The World That's Coming!", a future world containing wild concepts that are almost frighteningly real today."</ref> ''[[Kamandi]]'',<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 153 "Kirby had already introduced a similar concept and characters in ''Alarming Tales'' #1 (1957) ... Coupling the premise with his unpublished "Kamandi of the Caves" newspaper strip, Kirby's Last Boy on Earth roamed a world that had been ravaged by the "Great Disaster" and taken over by talking animals."</ref> ''[[Etrigan the Demon|The Demon]]'',<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 152 "While his "Fourth World" opus was winding down, Jack Kirby was busy conjuring his next creation, which emerged not from the furthest reaches of the galaxy but from the deepest pits of Hell. Etrigan was hardly the usual Kirby protagonist."</ref> and ''[[Kobra (DC comics)|Kobra]]''<ref>{{cite journal| last= Kelly|first= Rob|date= August 2009|location= Raleigh, North Carolina|title= Kobra|journal= [[Back Issue!]]| issue= 35|page= 63|publisher = TwoMorrows Publishing|quote = Maybe that's because Kobra was the creation of the legendary Jack 'King' Kirby, who wrote and penciled the first issue's story, 'Fangs of the Kobra!'}}</ref> as well as working on such extant features as "[[Losers (comics)|The Losers]]" in ''[[Our Fighting Forces]]''.<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 161 "Jack Kirby also took on a group of established DC characters that had nothing to lose. The result was a year-long run of ''Our Fighting Forces'' tales that were action-packed, personal, and among the most beloved of World War II comics ever produced."</ref> Together with former partner Joe Simon for one last time, he worked on a new incarnation of the [[Sandman (DC Comics)|Sandman]].<ref name="gcdjack" /><ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 158 "The legendary tandem of writer Joe Simon and artist/editor Jack Kirby reunited for a one-shot starring the Sandman ... Despite the issue's popularity, it would be Simon and Kirby's last collaboration."</ref> Kirby produced three issues of the ''[[1st Issue Special]]'' anthology series and created [[Atlas (DC Comics)|Atlas the Great]],<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 162: "Debuting with Atlas the Great, writer and artist Jack Kirby didn't shrug at the chance to put his spin on the well-known hero."</ref> a new [[Manhunter (comics)|Manhunter]],<ref>McAvennie "1970s" in Dolan, p. 164: "Though ''1st Issue Special'' was primarily DC's forum to introduce new characters and storylines, editor Jack Kirby used the series as an opportunity to revamp the Manhunter, whom he and writer Joe Simon had made famous in the 1940s."</ref> and the [[Dingbats of Danger Street]].<ref>{{cite journal|last= Abramowitz|first= Jack|title= ''1st Issue Special'' It Was No ''Showcase'' (But It Was Never Meant To Be)|journal= Back Issue!|issue= 71|pages= 40–47|publisher= TwoMorrows Publishing|date= April 2014|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref>

Kirby's production assistant of the time, [[Mark Evanier]], recounted that DC's policies of the era were not in sync with Kirby's creative impulses. Also Evanier said that he was often forced to work on characters and projects which he did not like.<ref name="DAK2">{{cite news | author = Kraft, David Anthony | author2 = Slifer, Roger | author-link = David Anthony Kraft | author-link2 = Roger Slifer | date = April 1983 | title = Mark Evanier | work = [[Comics Interview]] | issue = 2 | pages = 23–34 | publisher = [[Fictioneer Books]]}}</ref> Meanwhile, some artists at DC did not want Kirby there, as he threatened their positions in the company; they also had bad blood from previous competition with Marvel and legal problems with him. Since he was working from California, they were able to undermine his work through redesigns in the New York office.<ref>Ro 2004, chapters 12–13</ref>