Fourth World (comics)

Fourth World is a storyline told through a metaseries of interconnecting comic book titles written and drawn by Jack Kirby, and published by DC Comics from 1970 to 1973. Although not marketed under this title until the August–September, 1971 issues of New Gods and Forever People, the term Fourth World or Jack Kirby's Fourth World has gained usage in the years since.

Publication history

Initial 1970s comics

Published as the newsstand distribution system for comics began to break down, Jack Kirby foresaw a day when comics would need to find alternate, more legitimate venues for sale. Toward this end, Kirby envisioned a finite series that would be serialized and collected in one tome after the series had concluded. He began the "Fourth World" in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133 (Oct. 1970). DC Comics had planned to introduce the "Fourth World" titles in the November, 1970, issue of their preview omnibus title, Showcase. Jack Kirby reportedly objected to this, and Showcase was cancelled. This delayed the introduction of the "Fourth World" titles until the following year. The three original titles comprising the "Fourth World" were The Forever People,Mister Miracle, and The New Gods.

Fourth World

The Fourth World is an extension of the Three-World Model, used variably to refer to

  • Sub-populations socially excluded from global society;
  • Hunter-gatherer, nomadic, pastoral, and some subsistence farming peoples living beyond the modern industrial norm.
  • Sub-populations existing in a First World country, but with the living standards of those of a Third World, or developing country.
  • Etymology

    Fourth World follows the First World, Second World, and Third World classification of nation-state status; however, unlike the former categories, Fourth World is not spatially bounded, and is usually used to refer to size and shape which does not map onto citizenship in a specific nation-state. It can denote nations without a sovereign state, emphasising the non-recognition and exclusion of ethnically- and religiously-defined peoples from the politico-economic world system, e.g. the Romani people worldwide, the Sami, pre-First World War Ashkenazi Jews in the Pale of Settlement, the Assyrians, and the Kurds in the Middle East, Pashtun throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan, the indigenous peoples of the Americas and First Nations groups throughout North, Central and South America, indigenous Africans and Asians, as well as Aboriginal Australians, the Papuans of New Guinea and other islands of Melanesia, the Native Hawaiians, and the Māori people of New Zealand. Spanish sociologist Manuel Castells of the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication has made extensive use of the term fourth world.

    Fourth World (disambiguation)

    Fourth World refers to a sub-population subjected to social exclusion in global society, or stateless and notably impoverished or marginalized nations.

    Fourth World may also refer to:

  • Fourth World, the current world according to the Hopi belief system and Maya mythology; the coming age is the Fifth World
  • Fourth World (comics), a mythologically-oriented group of comic books created by Jack Kirby at DC Comics in the early 1970s
  • The Fourth World (album), the debut album of the band Maroon 5 (then known as Kara's Flowers).
  • Fourth World, the feudal fantasy land shared by the teenage protagonists of Peter Jackson's film Heavenly Creatures
  • Fourth World, a term used by trumpeter Jon Hassell to describe a style of music employing modern technological treatments and influenced by various cultures and eras. It may also refer to either of two Jon Hassell albums named for the concept:
  • Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics
  • Flora Purim

    Flora Purim (born March 6, 1942) is a Brazilian jazz singer known primarily for her work in the jazz fusion style. She became prominent for her part in Return to Forever with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. She has recorded and performed with numerous artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Gil Evans, Opa, Stan Getz, Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, Santana, Jaco Pastorius, and her husband Airto Moreira.

    In 2002, Purim was the recipient of one of Brazil's highest awards, the 2002 Ordem do Rio Branco for Lifetime Achievement. She has been called "The Queen of Brazilian Jazz".

    Biography

    Purim was born in Rio de Janeiro to Jewish parents who were both classical musicians: her father Naum Purim played violin and her mother Rachel Vaisberg was a pianist. Flora discovered American jazz, when her mother played it while her husband was out of the house.

    She would bring home those 78 vinyl RPMs and when my father was at work, she would play them. That was how I got exposed to jazz music... basically listening to Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, and Frank Sinatra. But also a lot of piano players, such as Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner, those were my mother's favorites.

    Podcasts:

    PLAYLIST TIME:

    Latest News for: fourth world (comics)

    Movie Review: Captain America: Brave New World

    Catholic Standard 18 Feb 2025
    Brave New World" (Disney), the fourth film in the current series about the Marvel Comics character, drains it of any suspense ... Sterns and his plot to control the world, if he doesn’t destroy it first.

    ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ review: Anti-fascist superhero makes thrilling cinematic debut

    People's World 13 Feb 2025
    Brave New World is a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Sam Wilson/Captain America ... Nazi terrorist organization that seeks to establish a fascist world order—in Marvel comics.
    • 1
    ×