What is "fourth world"

"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.

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
  • Dream Theory in Malaya : Fourth World Volume Two
• The Fourth World trilogy of novels, also known as the Missing Link trilogy, by Kate Thompson
• The Fourth World (novel) by Dennis Danvers
• Another term for least developed countries

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

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