Hey, you there, writer so-called! Quit it!

Y’see, I has a problem. I’m writing a superhero novel, and for the moment (just for the moment), I’m calling it New Gods. It’s catchy, it rolls off the tongue, it’s a really cool title.

Thing is, some dude called Jack Kirby happened to have come up with that title back in 1971, when he moved from Marvel to DC. Having created practically the entire Marvel universe with Stan Lee, he set about constructing Jack Kirby’s Fourth World. Yep, his name is in the title. That’s how he rolled.

So with the Fourth World, he created the New Gods, and gave us the twin planets of New Genesis and Apokolips, and the characters of Highfather, Orion, and the ulimate DC Comics villain, Darkseid. Darkseid is such a bad-ass that he even killed Batman.

And Jack Kirby’s Fourth World rocks the damn boat.

When I was looking for a title for my superhero novel, I ran through a variety of unbearable options – ‘Power’ (meh) and ‘The Angle of Power’ (what?) being two of the less awful (but awful) alternatives. Then New Gods came to mind, not just because of the Kirby connection, but because it’s a perfect title.

My novel (let’s call it New Gods, just for now) is about a good guy (Tony) who is sick of the bad guy (The Cowl) and the fact that the so-called protectors of the West Coast – the New Gods – let said bad guy get away with it in the otherwise pleasant California city of San Ventura.

The New Gods in question are a seven-member superhero league/society – three men, three women, one robot – and while the novel doesn’t entirely focus on them (and it’s told from Tony’s PoV anyway), the title ‘New Gods’ sums the whole story up very well indeed. Needless to say, New Gods doesn’t refer just to the New Gods, but I don’t want to spoil anything.

But that’s why it fits.

So back to Jack Kirby. Kirby is a legend, and I would not dream of having my mediocre, mostly crappy writing associated with his greatness. A working title is one thing, but a proper title (and name of a superhero league) is another entirely.

New Gods has got to go.

Which brings me to: competition time!

Here’s the deal: come up with a title for the novel, which is not only damn cool, but sums up the whole premise of a superhero league, the fact that maybe there are other forces in the universe that we don’t know about, and that maybe, if you’re lucky/unlucky (take your pick), you can become part of it all yourself.

The criteria: It needs to be short – two words is best. The Something Something of Something is too long and too dull. Be imaginative – remember, this needs to be a short, sharp, memorable hook, because it’s the title of the novel.

The prize: Full credit for the title and name with dedication in the finished product. Plus, a character in the novel will be named after you, and will suffer a truely gruesome and bizzare death at the gloved hands of The Cowl.

So get those thinking caps on, and tell your friends!