The Forever People #3

History

Forever People #3 went on sale April 1, 1971, with a cover date of June–July 1971. It was written, penciled, and edited entirely by Jack Kirby — part of the extraordinary creative arrangement DC granted him upon his 1970 defection from Marvel, which gave Kirby full writer-artist-editor control over four simultaneous Fourth World titles. Vince Colletta, Kirby's regular inker on the series, handled the interior inks, as he did for most of the run. The issue's letters column — titled 'Buzzing in the Boom Tube' — became a minor piece of comics history in its own right, as it published a letter from science fiction author Harlan Ellison (already a vocal Kirby champion) alongside one from a young Martin Pasko, who would go on to write for DC himself.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Glorious Godfrey, Darkseid's psionic demagogue and propagandist, created by Jack Kirby; the character was modeled in part on evangelist Billy Graham, according to Kirby biographer Mark Evanier.
• First appearance of the Justifiers — Godfrey's army of mind-controlled human recruits equipped with Apokoliptian helmets — who serve as Darkseid's ground-level enforcers on Earth.
• The Infinity Man (whose secret identity is Drax, elder brother of the being who became Darkseid) is banished by Darkseid's Omega Beams in this issue; he does not reappear until Forever People #11.
• Story title: 'Life vs. Anti-Life!'; written, penciled, and edited by Jack Kirby; inked by Vince Colletta; on-sale date April 1, 1971, cover-dated June–July 1971.
• Darkseid delivers the captured Forever People (Beautiful Dreamer, Big Bear, Mark Moonrider, Serifan, and Vykin the Black) into DeSaad's custody at the end of the issue, directly launching the 'Happyland' captivity arc of issues #4–5.
• The letters column 'Buzzing in the Boom Tube' features correspondence from science fiction author Harlan Ellison and future DC writer Martin Pasko, among others.
• The issue has been reprinted in the Jack Kirby's Forever People trade paperback (1999), Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 1 (DC, 2007, hardcover; paperback reprint 2011), and the single-volume Fourth World by Jack Kirby Omnibus (DC, 2017).
• The story opens with a quote from Adolf Hitler, framing Godfrey's rally as an explicit analogy to fascist mass psychology — one of the most direct political statements Kirby made in the Fourth World saga.

Cast · 9 characters

Full credits

Key issues in The Forever People

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#1 1st appearance — Big Bear

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#5 1st appearance — Lonar