Review by Frank Plowright
Ever since their introduction the New Gods have been defined by their continuing war against Darkseid and attempting to contain the threat he poses to the universe. The Falling Sky picks up at a time when Darkseid appears to have been defeated, yet in a good twist we discover fear of him kept other threats at bay and they’re now massing around New Genesis with eyes on the wider galaxy. We also learn of a prophecy concerning a child to be born on Earth. Orion has been ordered to kill it, and his loyalty to the Highfather Izaya is such that he’ll follow through, but he recognises the appalling nature, so confides in Mister Miracle, begging him to escape with the child, while Maxwell Lord is also looking for them.
As the synopsis might disclose, readers who know the New Gods and their backgrounds will find the opening chapters easier going than readers new to the characters. However, new readers will pick up that Ram V is a thoughtful creator building toward something big, and along the way absorb the capabilities of the main cast.
They’ll also have the magnificent art of Evan Cagle to marvel at. Cagle designs places where technology operates at a level beyond human knowledge, and shows what people empowered by it can do. It’s theoretically what every superhero comic should do, yet Cagle’s individuality elevates that premise. Interestingly, his influences move away from the New Gods created by Jack Kirby, with more representational stylists channelled. The same comment applies to the ethereal scenes drawn by Filipe Andrade over the final chapter, but their pastel wispiness is altogether less satisfying. In order, Jorge Fornés, Jesse Lonergan, Bernard Chang and Andrew MacLean all supply chapter-opening pages in different styles, all more satisfactorily than Andrade.
It’s a rare writer who’s managed to capture both the energy and mythical scope the original New Gods possessed. Walter Simonson managed it with Orion, and V manages it here. It’s best exemplified in an ambitious chapter illustrated in montage fashion by Riccardo Federici. End of existence and rebirth scenarios from assorted real world myths are merged, and V borrows from Kirby’s Eternals in also presenting characters revered under different names in different legends and religions. It culminates in how a new god is born and why. It also, to a degree, explains what’s happening in the present.
A minor problem is some characters seen briefly before seemingly disappearing. Lord and Serifan to name two, although their roles expand in Edge of Darkness. Otherwise big issues about life, death and destiny sweep across the pages, with the use of scholar and advisor Metron standing out, seen at crossroads and above human concerns of virtue and evil.
There’s always been a hubris to the New Gods, and new threat the Nyctari exploit it by being merciless in sacrificing wave after wave of soldiers. The result is that by the halfway point in this thought-provoking two volume arc you’ll begin to wonder whether the title is referring to the familiar characters or not.
