The New Gods #6 from DC Comics is a bold issue that asks us what our relationship with death is, as well as our relationship with life. Writer Ram V, artists Filipe Andrade and Evan Cagle, colorist Francesco Segala, and letterer Tom Napolitano tell a visually stunning story of a soul’s journey from our world to the next. They tell a story of hope, and how that can manifest even when all seems lost for your own life and the world around you.
The issue begins with the death of Lightray which carries over last issue’s cliffhanger. From Lightray’s sacrifice, Highfather is now able to take the fleeing New Gods to Earth. From there, the rest of the issue primarily features the Black Racer taking Lightray’s soul from the land of the living back to the Source.
WRITING
This issue may come off as slightly confusing and potentially even esoteric. It deals heavily with concepts of the afterlife, as well as the journey of a soul from one point to the next. Ram V cleverly doesn’t spell out for you what’s happening, and this issue thrives for that. The ability to interpret what you read in your own way is so precious and useful here. You yourself are able to put together what exactly the Black Racer’s journey means to you. This issue is a big step back from the action and political drama that this series typically provides, now giving us a look into the mind of Death. Ram V gives Death a solemn personality, but also an incredibly emotional one. He holds on to memories and his prior relationships. It only makes sense that Death would also mourn his fellow gods. V shows us how fragile life can be, and how regardless of what has transpired there is always hope. He does his job, but he gives chances to those he believes in as well. It makes us all feel small in the grand scheme of things, but also gives us a deeper meaning. If the Gods also go through this, then where do the similarities end?
ART
Cagle and Andrade both work on this issue. While Cagle handles a beautifully drawn prologue and epilogue featuring a plethora of characters, Andrade covers the entire middle portion of the issue. Cagle’s work is always beautiful. He recaps the death of Lightray, and creates such a haunting silhouette of it that’s just heartbreaking. The panels are circular, each cut off by the next. They almost look like planets colliding, a result of the death of a god.
Andrade’s work will live you speechless. There’s so much fluidity to every single character and environment they find themselves in. We’re all servants to the excellent landscapes shown here. The Black Racer finds himself at the mercy of a cloudy world. It throws him around and consumes him, his body following the path its sent in almost as though it’s being stretched. Andrade draws his engulfment and later rebirth beautifully, with these gorgeous areas Death zooms through bending to his will later on. The two forces interact with each other beautifully. No one thing is more important than another in this issue.
COLORS
Segala colors the chunks of the issue drawn by Cagle, while Andrade colors his own portion. The two different styles work together spectacularly. While one style from Andrade takes us on this spiritual journey, Segala takes us back to reality with softer and more realistic colors showcasing life’s beauty. Andrade’s colors are dreamlike and intoxicating. Once you see them, you can’t get enough. Different shades of blue and red clash to show the Racer’s journey. The background is primarily red, but when the Racer touches it it’s almost infected with this blue that become the clouds, capturing and trapping the Racer. When he’s freed from this later, there’s a shine of red in his visor that symbolizes his willingness to hope in a very beautiful way. When the Racer emerges completely, his suit becomes a full and complete black that clashes against both the red and blue later on. It’s stunning.
LETTERS
The thought boxes in this issue all look completely random and distinct from one another. The Racer’s thoughts are not set in stone, but abstract and freed. He is not confined to any one manner of thinking, and Napolitano’s boxes reflect that. Another thing that really solidifies the presence of the gods here is when Napolitano shows them using their own language. It’s amazing for showing that while there is much we can comprehend, there is still such an incredible power to these characters that we cannot even fathom the scale of. Napolitano showcases that by having the bubbles where they are spoken be calm, like it’s second nature for these characters, while also making the text itself seem so foreign. It gives these characters some real weight.
CONCLUSION
DC’s The New Gods #6 is a very creative and risky look at what death has in store for us, as well as what that journey looks like for these gods we follow. It’s a completely different kind of issue than what this series is used to giving us, but it works extremely well. It doesn’t shy away from asking the reader to interpret and believe, and that is its biggest strength.
