New Gods #1 Review

• Written by: Ram V

• Art by: Evan Cagle, Jorge Fornés

• Colors by: Francesco Segala

• Letters by: Tom Napolitano

• Cover art by: Nimit Malavia, Evan Cagle, Pete Woods (cover A)

• Cover price: $3.99

• Release date: December 18, 2024

New Gods #1, by DC Comics on 12/18/24, regales readers with the tales of Gods and Monsters when Darkseid's death instigates a new prophecy from the Source, prompting Highfather to assign a deadly task.

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Is New Gods #1 Good?

First Impressions

When this title was announced, my gut reaction could best be summed up as "Oh, no." When you combine DC's most high-brow cast of characters and turn the property over to DC's most pretentious (unsuccessfully so) writer, all signs point in the wrong direction. That said, New Gods #1 has merit. You have to wade through some flowery nonsense to get to the heart of the story, but once you get there, the hook is solid. Let's see if it holds up.

Plot Synopsis

New Gods #1 begins with overwritten narration about Amaxzu, the creation of the universe, the creation of Darkseid, and a brief impression of the Source and the Source Wall. Now, we learn that Darkseid's death, depicted in the All-In Special #1, has created an imbalance of power throughout the universe. Alien races, parademons, and more have either retreated or gone on the offensive now that Darkseid is no longer around to maintain balance.

On this day, Metron delivers a prophecy to the Highfather about a special child born on Earth. We never learn the details of the prophecy, but Highfather is obliged to take action, so he summons his adopted son, Orion, for a special mission.

Later, we catch up with Scott Free, aka Mister Miracle, and Big Barda as they enjoy domestic life on Earth with their infant child, Olivia. Orion pays Scott a visit while Olivia and Barda are sleeping to tell him the mission Highfather assigned him is to find and kill this special child. Orion contacts Scott because he must obey, but he doesn't want to succeed, so he begs Scott to find and escape with the child before Orion returns in seven days.

The issue ends with a trip to India where a young child, Kamal, is hunted by Maxwell Lord's mercenaries.

What’s great about New Gods #1?

At the heart of the issue is an intriguing hook. Scott is tasked with saving a child from death before his ally is forced to kill it on behalf of Highfather, presumably to stave off some great disaster. Ram V gives you a focal character, a goal, conflict, and a vague but tangible sense of stakes. If you're going to tackle DC's most enigmatic cast of characters, that's as good a start as you could hope for.

What’s not great about New Gods #1?

The flowery, pretentious, overwritten narration is terrible. Ram V just can't help himself, so it's to be expected. Thankfully, the narration only takes up a couple of pages, but when it shows up, the issue comes to a screeching halt. In retrospect, you could remove the noble narration, and nothing about the plot changes, which tells you how completely useless it is.

How’s the Art?

Evan Cagle and Jorge Fornés bring the story to life with interesting updates to familiar characters, particularly Orion, cinematic action in the last scene, and cool flourishes with the use of New Gods tech. On the whole, New Gods #1 is one of the best-looking #1s from DC in quite a while.

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About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Final Thoughts

New Gods #1 is an interesting start to a new tale when Orion is forced to carry out an extreme order, and only Mister Miracle can get him out of it. The heart of Ram V's story is intriguing and ripe with potential, even if his penchant for overwritten narration rears its ugly head, and the art team's visuals make this issue one of the best-looking #1s DC put out this year.

7.8/10

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