20 best superhero comics to read after Infinity War

10. The New Gods

Yes, we all know that Jack Kirby’s New Gods series is a DC Comics property. But are we really going to get bogged down in all of that Marvel vs. DC nonsense? Honestly, good comics are just good comics. And if you’re looking for a space-themed comic with vast subjects and some truly weird characters, you can’t go too wrong with the New Gods.

The New Gods were created and designed by Jack Kirby in a setting often referred to as the “Fourth World.” In it, two civilizations face off over the course of many issues and different titles. The so-called “New Gods” are actually people living on two different but deeply interconnected planets.

There is New Genesis, a quasi-paradise full of lush greenery, ruled over by the Highfather. Apokolips, meanwhile, is a hellish trash planet overseen by the despotic Darkseid. The two planetary bodies were actually a single globe at one point, though a catastrophic event split it into two. The precipitating event was actually called Ragnarok, in case you’re sensing a theme here.

Kirby’s inspiration

Clearly, the Highfather is also based off of Odin, though at least Kirby maintained plausible deniability regarding whether that inspiration was the mythological Odin or the comics one. It’s worth noting that Kirby had just left Marvel in the 1970s over credit disputes, after working with Stan Lee for over a decade.

However, it quickly becomes clear that Kirby wanted to create something very unique. The superheroes of the New Gods come from a strange, strange land. Think of Big Barda, the former member of Darkseid’s Female Furies, a vicious security force. She eventually breaks free and joins the good side, but not without some weird galactic events and a tool known as a “boomstick.” The New Gods is beautifully strange, enough that it’s worth exploring on your own.