Classic Comic Compendium: THE HUNGER DOGS

In the ’70s, when Jack Kirby went to DC he sought to create a brand new mythology. An epic writ massive throughout the DCU, a Fourth World the place New Gods would combat for the destiny of the universe. Good and evil. New Genesis vs. Apokolips. With a throughline of a son being raised by the enemy destined to combat in opposition to his monstrous father. But it wasn’t initially accomplished. Rather, greater than a decade later, following reprints of the unique Kirby problems with the New Gods sequence got here new materials there and finally a conclusion in The Hunger Dogs from Kirby, D. Bruce Berry, Mike Royer, and Greg Theakston (with Bill Wray & Tony Dispoto).

The Hunger Dogs is probably Kirby at his most Shakespearean. Even greater than Etrigan’s dialogue in The Demon. Setting up Darkseid as form of an analogue to each King Lear and Macbeth. It very a lot works right here, with Darkseid’s monologues becoming the stakes of the dying of a world, developing with a brand new strategy to destroy his foes on New Genesis, desperately hanging on to energy over his personal world, and the turnabout of his son making an attempt to finish his machinations. There are some attention-grabbing concepts right here, seemingly pulling from the Cold War as inspiration, with a concern from stockpiling weapons and a altering proletariat. Along with a little bit of a love story thrown in with Orion determining whether or not or not anybody may presumably take care of him, regardless of his regular beastly look and standing as Darkseid’s son.

Now, this subsequent bit would possibly get me tarred and feathered, however I feel that the latter day Kirby artwork right here is a few of his ugliest. Yet additionally a few of his most achieved. His characters develop extra hideous faces, at instances changing into amorphous blobs, however his layouts, blocking, and sheer storytelling are that of a grasp. It’s not a case of declining ability, rushed artwork, or something like that, it looks like an intentional alternative. As if we’re meant to see the ugliness of Apokolips and Darkseid by way of their look as a lot as New Genesis is extra refined (although I’d nonetheless be reluctant to name any of them “pretty”, even Lonar and Lightray).

Some of the variations in artwork, like line weight and shadows that we see all through the story, can most likely be attributed to each two inkers engaged on it in D. Bruce Berry and Mike Royer, in addition to Greg Theakston and staff’s reconstruction to go together with his colors. It’s on no account distracting, however it’s attention-grabbing to see how completely different individuals approached Kirby’s traces. Especially contrasted with the early New Gods work that had Vince Colletta. Berry and Royer I really feel doubtless hold extra of Kirby’s authentic traces (as evidenced additionally by the pencils included within the collections). There’s additionally a pleasant hand-crafted high quality to the lettering from Berry and Royer and a form of rustic glow to Theakston’s colors.

You can undoubtedly learn The Hunger Dogs by Kirby, Berry, Royer, Theakston, Wray, and Dispoto by itself with none earlier information of the Fourth World saga. It stands there as an attention-grabbing story of a despot on the finish of his days struggling to carry on to energy. But it turns into a lot richer in context, even when simply studying the New Gods sequence, blossoming right into a capstone to an interesting interval in Kirby’s profession.

Classic Comic Compendium: The Hunger Dogs by Jack Kirby

The Hunger Dogs (DC Graphic Novel No. 4)
Story & Pencils: Jack Kirby
Inks & Letters: D. Bruce Berry & Mike Royer
Ink Reconstruction & Colouring: Greg Theakston with Bill Wray & Tony Dispoto
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: February 26, 1985
Also accessible collected within the Fourth World Omnibus and New Gods by Jack Kirby