Book excerpt: Jack Kirby reinvented the superhero genre with his sprawling saga of the Fourth World--a bold storytelling vision that was decades ahead of its time. In honor of this extraordinary talent's centennial, DC Comics is proud to re-present the groundbreaking work of the King of Comics in a brand-new series of trade paperback editions collecting his classic DC titles in all their four-color glory! At the heart of the Fourth World is The New Gods, a series whose scale and grandeur have astonished readers for generations. And at the center of Kirby's startlingly original pantheon of larger-than-life characters are two of comics' greatest adversaries: Orion of New Genesis and Darkseid of Apokolips! Ranging across space and time, these implacable foes are locked in a ceaseless struggle to control the fundamental forces of the universe. But this pair are more than mortal enemies--they are also father and son! Raised in exile as a living instrument of peace between Apokolips and New Genesis, Orion swore to uphold the life-affirming values of his adopted world. But the bottomless rage and thirst for combat that course through his veins cannot be extinguished. In the end, will he defeat Darkseid and thwart his quest for the Anti-Life Equation--or will he forsake his vow and seize the ultimate power for himself? See cosmic fury unleashed--and thrill to the imaginative power of one of the medium's greatest masters--in New Gods by Jack Kirby, collecting issues #1-11 of the legendary series together with the King's two concluding tales, "Even Gods Must Die!" and "The Hunger Dogs!"