THE SOURCE

by Richard Kolkman

[Editor’s note: The following essay served as a big part of the research that went in to producing TJKC #80’s “Old Gods & New” epic. I’m pleased to finally be able to present Richard Kolkman’s full work here, which does an amazing job of connecting and comparing Kirby inspirations and concepts throughout his career, and how they culminated in the Fourth World.]

T“The sky grew dark and the sun dropped to the horizon! From behind me, came the sound of a rifle shot!” his is how Spirit World #1 begins—with a breathless warning. For Jack Kirby’s entire career, he had the inscrutable knack for combining two diverse inspiration points and creating something timeless and uncanny. The Eternals is a perfect example: Kirby combined Greek mythology and Erich von Däniken’s book Chariots of the Gods (1968) into an epic of cosmic confrontation.

While researching the Jack Kirby Checklist for 25 years, it slowly dawned on me: Many aspects of Kirby’s Fourth World at DC Comics appeared to be steeped in ancient Egyptian history (The Hebrews) and the legacy of John F. Kennedy—in the aftermath of his untimely assassination.

The death of hope of the “New Frontier” was a cataclysmic shock to the American psyche—it affected everyone. Kirby admitted to Mark Evanier that the death of JFK had a profound impact upon his work. Instead of manifesting itself in the short-term, I believe it was a major thematic inspiration for Kirby’s Fourth World epic of the New Gods, and their battle to free themselves from oppression. The struggle of the ancient Hebrews to free themselves from Egyptian tyranny permeates the thematic ebbs and flows of the Hunger Dogs and New Genesis.

This deep dive into the headwaters of the Fourth World began when I read Robert Guffey’s essay “We All Live in Happyland” in Jack Kirby

Collector #57 in 2011. Mr. Guffey sensed that a JFK connection exists within Kirby’s Fourth World. I have come to second that notion. “The place to look for Kirby’s reaction to the JFK assassination lay not in his Marvel work of the 1960s, but in his most important work for DC Comics in the early 1970s.”—Robert Guffey

What I present here is all circumstantial evidence, but in its totality, becomes compelling. It begins firmly in the bedrock of the faithful... “There came a time when the old gods died.” (New Gods #1, March 1971).

In Spirit World #1 (Fall 1971), Dr. E. Leopold Maas’ premonition story is the nexus between spirits of ancient Egypt and the events in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

The Mountain Of Judgment

Ramses’ words ring out in righteous indignation: “It would take more than a man to free the slaves; it would take a god!” Indeed, Moses delivered the Jews from the tyranny of the Egyptian Pharaoh. With a staff like Highfather’s, Moses parted the Red Sea—an avenue of escape from Egyptian slavery. The mythos of the Hunger Dogs is grounded firmly in the Old Testament chapter of Exodus.

Slavery is an evil affront to life: “You’re dead as an individual. You have no choice. You can’t object and you have no stature as a person. You’re dead. A slave is a dead man. That’s what Darkseid wants. Darkseid wants complete subjugation of everything at a word—his word. He wants every thinking thing under his control.” —Jack Kirby (Train of Thought #5, Feb. 1971).

Cecil B. DeMille’s epic film The Ten Commandments (1956) was screened for movie fans in a visually stunning new format: “Cinemascope has more dimension to it, more depth... the more lifelike it is, the more impressed you are with the image.”—Jack Kirby (1969). For years, The Ten Commandments was broadcast on ABC-TV every Easter. Watch it and listen carefully—it sounds and feels every bit like New Gods

The twin stone tablets brought down from Mt. Sinai by Moses were “commandments,” but they were always subject to man’s free will. The Source always represented the “Life Equation.” The hand of fire only guides us—it does not possess us. (Kirby’s character Dubbilex reminds me of the double-X: the two tablets that contain the Ten Commandments, X+X).

Ramses was Kirby’s original villain in his developing “New Gods” idea in 1966. Alternately known as the “Black Pharaoh” or the “Black Sphinx,” the concept art was ably inked by Don Heck. Kirby’s lineage of Pharaoh antagonists from the past can be laid out thusly:

• Challengers of the Unknown #4 (Nov. 1958). “The Wizard Of Time” features Pharaoh’s astrologer, Rhamis, his time machine, and a telescope he calls the “Cosmic Eye.”

• Tales of Suspense #44 (Aug. 1963)

“The Mad Pharaoh.” King Hatap comes out of suspended animation with his black arts knowledge to menace Iron Man. With a cover by Kirby and Ayers, the story art is by Don Heck, which gives him some rights to a Pharaoh villain in 1969’s X-Men.

• Fantastic Four #19 (Oct. 1963) “Prisoners Of The Pharaoh.” RamaTut descends in his time machine (The Sphinx) and rules ancient Egypt. His “Chariot of Time” also ties in with Dr. Doom’s time platform in issue #5 (July 1962).

• Ramses (concept art, 1966, above), Kirby’s original Fourth World villain (inked by Heck); Ramses wields an unidentified “Eye Weapon.” When Heck utilized the Pharaoh concept in X-Men #54–55 (March–April 1969) as the “Living Pharaoh”, he is diminished somewhat when Arnold Drake’s Iceman refers to Pharaoh as “Pyramid Poppa”! Perhaps this is why Kirby developed Darkseid as a serious replacement in 1969.

• And finally, Prester John [left] wields an “Evil Eye” after emerging from a centuries-long sleep in Fantastic Four #54 (Sept. 1966).

“I Am the Alpha and Omega” (Revelation 1:8 and 22:13). The beginning and the end of all things—Kirby played with this idea, first in Fantastic Four #82–83 (Jan.–Feb. 1969) when Dr. Doom’s “Alpha-Primitives” overwhelm the FF, and later as Highfather’s “Alpha Bullets” reclaim the Forever People in their issue #7 (March 1972).

The “Omega Effect” first occurs in Amazing Adventures #4 (Jan. 1971, right) when the Mandarin consigns his co-hort to oblivion—in exactly the same manner

Darkseid dispatches most of the Forever People in their issue #6 (Jan. 1972) and DeSaad in New Gods #11 (Nov. 1972). The leaping-off point to the juncture to everywhere was never more apparent.

When former Simon & Kirby Studio artist Carmine Infantino (who was then editorial director of National/ DC Comics) visited the Kirbys during Passover weekend in April 1969, he proffered a deal: Join us at National— all is forgiven (it’s a long story). Apparently, Infantino’s tastes didn’t align with his New York roots. According to Rosalind Kirby, “He came to the house on Passover, and I gave him matzo ball soup, and he hated it.”

Thematic parallels between Moses and Highfather are apparent (a parent). They are the fathers and the deliverers of their people—as both tap into The Source.

The Old Gods

The rise of the Norse gods began with the Aesir! Buri, Borr, Odin, Thor, and Loki arose in the old world of Asgardian wonder.“Tales of Asgard” chronicled the rise and fall of Asgardian fortunes in Journey into Mystery #97–125 (Oct. 1963–Feb. 1966) and Thor #126–145 (March 1966–Oct. 1967).

From the beginning of his comic book career, Jack Kirby featured gods in his timeless tales: Mercury (later “Mokkari” in Jimmy Olsen), Hurricane (Son of Thor), Pluto, Apollo, and Diana the Huntress. Who can forget when Mercury addressed Jupiter (in street parlance), “It’s in the bag, all-wisest” in Red Raven Comics #1 (Aug. 1940)?

With the growing success of Marvel Comics in the 1960s, Kirby grew restless—he was never one to rest upon his laurels. In an endless cycle of re-invention, Kirby wanted to end and renew Thor. At Marvel, Stan Lee held to his editorial policy of “apparent” change—without actual change. Thor was one of the lucrative toy and product generators for the nascent Marvel, so Thor’s demise was out of the question.

Readers caught brief hints of Ragnarok in Journey into Mystery #119 (Aug. 1965) and #123 (Dec. 1965). When the end (and new beginning) finally unfolded in Thor #127–128 (April–May 1966), it was a speculative adventure. In “Aftermath,” we get a glimpse into New Genesis. A new golden age, a new rebirth is presented in Thor #128: “A life soon shared by the young, new race of gods which joyously takes domain over all it beholds... ”. The threat of Ragnarok again rears its deadly head in the legendary Thor #154–157 (July–Oct. 1968). When Kirby created concept art in 1966 for his re-imagined Asgard, he crafted Honir, Balduur, Heimdall, and Sigurd (Thor). [Enchantra] may have been part of this, also.

In 1966, Kirby stated, “... the characters of what I call the groovy Sixties... their trappings are different, they must be more showy.” Kirby was clearly ready to shake up the 1960s, and swing into a new decade. Since Kirby featured Ramses (Pharaoh) in his pantheon, how far behind were the other Egyptian gods? Ra—the Sun God, the God of Light—with a lineage to Balduur, and Lightray (of New Genesis)... was he a contender? Could Ra be the provisionally titled [Black of New Genesis]? (See TJKC #52’s cover.)

legacy as a creator and storyteller is now assured—he now receives credit for his work. His family was compensated. There are no more funky roadblocks depriving Kirby of the credit that is his due. In his lifetime, he gained a large measure of respect from fan adulation, and the return of a portion of his original art from Marvel in 1987.

Captain Victory’s credo “Victory is Sacrifice,” I believe, is encoded in New Gods. Another of the archetypes from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s ESP division, is Victor Lanza. Victor is the befuddled, but brave insurance salesman who joins the others in “O’Ryan’s Gang.” Victor means victory. Lanza is German for Lancer. Lancer was the Secret Service’s code name for President Kennedy. Lancer was [a] sacrifice.

“Lincoln, Lanza, and company are not pawns of the gods. Instead, they are man’s sense of awareness of awesome and volatile forces around him.” —Jack Kirby (1974)

Finally—who is Harvey Lockman? A “lock” is the mechanism on a firearm that explodes the charge. He is Harvey Gunman. When the Warren Commission released their findings in September 1964 (at the same time “Millennium People” and New Gods were percolating), Kirby dove in: “I was given The Warren Report, which I read fully.” —Jack Kirby (Nov. 9, 1969). At 888 pages, it’s a lot to read. Perhaps there was an inspiration for “Harvey Gun(lock)man” somewhere in those pages?

Scott Fresina explained the members of O’Ryan’s Gang to Jerry Boyd: “... Jack’s group of humans that aided Orion—Dave Lincoln, Claudia Shane, Victor Lanza, and Harvey Lockman—were the types of enraged citizens that pay attention to events around them.” (TJKC #46)

I’m confident Kirby would also have read Death of a President by Manchester in 1967. Something fueled the sudden three-page saga of Jack Ruby in Esquire #402 (May 1967) by Berent/Kirby/Stone. (See TJKC #61)

(Do take this with a grain of salt: President Kennedy’s Lincoln Continental, in 1963, was given the designation “SS 100 - X” by the Secret Service; it’s in Manchester’s book. Ask yourself: why did Kirby’s first story for National/DC in 1970 [Forever People #1, March 1971] have the job number “X-100”? “In Search Of A Dream”—the Fourth World begs speculative interpretation.)

The Fall Of Camelot

In Kennedy’s New Frontier, men seemed more efficient and brilliant, and the women more incredible and capable. It was a new beginn—er, Genesis. In relation to old Cold War thinking, the loss of President Kennedy was the loss of the country: “For a time, we felt the country was ours. Now its theirs again.” —Norman Mailer (1963)

“Don’t let it be forgot—that once there was a spot, for one brief, shining moment—that was know as ‘Camelot.’ —Alan Jay Lerner

Young heroes, against old odds. When the hope is pulled out from under you, you re-group and reformulate the narrative to fit the times ahead. “... .to shape or reshape [his] creations while their format is fluid.” —Jack Kirby (1972)

The loss of Kennedy weighed heavily on Kirby—it drove his major creation, as he explained to Mark Evanier. Spirit World #1 (Fall 1971) captures this unease (and again, it intersects with ancient Egypt on page five). How much stock do we put in our origins? The name “Kirby” comes from northern England. It’s two old Norse words “Kirkja” and “Byr”—meaning: “Church and Settlement.”

In the southwest of England, lies the county of Cornwall. It is here, that scholars have “chosen” as the site of the Castle Tintagel (the Roundtable) base of the legendary King Arthur. (Arthur was first mentioned in 800 AD by a historian named Nennius.) Arthur has never been exhumed—but what about his consort, Merlin?

According to Demon #1–2 (Sept.–Oct. 1972), Merlin’s Castle Branek is located in Moldavia (Moldova) in eastern Europe. Of course, it’s silly to treat this as an authentic, historic locale; but in the margins of history, lies the truth of authorship. If Kirby equated “Camelot” with the story of his Fourth World, its cancellation must have been disconcerting. When Carmine Infantino called Kirby to cancel his most personal of books, it closed the book on a legendary mythology. In Demon #1’s text page “A Time To Build”, Kirby talks about his Fourth World characters coming back, after a period of stasis—in the future. This turned out to be true—Darkseid and the New Gods are a large part of DC’s current universe.

Check this out: If “Camelot” (Kennedy) is equated with (Orion) and the cancellation of the Fourth World, then its violent end in Demon #1 is especially noteworthy: “At a final sweep of Merlin’s hand, wondrous Camelot thundered, trembled, and departed from the pages of history.” Merlin’s “Eternity Book” is thusly sealed—until an opportune time in the future that it may be re-opened.

“Like the war between New Genesis and Apokolips, the character’s potential becomes locked in the tapestry, sinking and emerging and kept in static balance...” —Jack Kirby (Demon #1, Sept. 1972). Kirby understood that Darkseid and company would, one day, take center stage in the DC universe.

If Merlin’s body is ever exhumed—imagine he’s clutching the “Eternity Book,” and we know a fragment has been torn from that book: “Yarva Etrigan Daemonicus.”

“In the final analysis, the Fourth World could be about a nation coming to grips with its own Jungian shadow, a shadow that first reared its insubstantial visage for many Americans the day the old gods died on November 22, 1963.” —Robert Guffey (2011)

Sacrifice Is Continuity

The margins of history are written in by the few. We know Kirby wrote story notes in the margins of his Marvel stories, but what about the story notes Kirby wrote on the backs of his pages?

“I would write out the whole story on the back of every page. I would write the dialogue on the back; a description of what was going on.” —Jack Kirby (1989)

Margin notes could always be erased by the inkers, but what about the backs of the early Marvel original art pages? How much was created by Kirby? There are very few of these early pages in existence, so it’s hard to verify. Why was Atlas [Marvel] so close to shutting its doors until it exploded with success in the 1960s after Kirby and Ditko began “illustrating” stories? Often, in interviews, Kirby would make a verbal slip and refer to “my readers” when referring to the groovy Marvel comics loved by 1960s fandom.

At Kirby’s end at Marvel (with no hope of a contract with new owner Cadence), he was “conned and cajoled” into creating (and scripting) the Inhumans (Amazing Adventures #1–4, Aug. 1970–Jan. 1971). Ask yourself—when was Jack Kirby ever reticent to create comic book stories? Creating amazing stories was not the problem— receiving credit and major compensation for them, that was the problem.

When Kirby moved to DC, he had a voice. For the first time, the breadth of creation was his. It wasn’t until the ignominious cancellation of his Fourth World titles that his muse was interrupted. Kirby sacrificed his ego and his pride. America sacrificed its youthful leader—at the beginning of Winter, 1963.

Merlin takes center-stage on this Demon #5 splash page (Jan. 1973).

After the “Dog Days of Summer,” the Dog Star Sirius would rise in the night sky in ancient