Reviews of Comics for Wednesday 6/3

Airboy #1
Story: James Robinson
Art: Greg Hinkle

Meta-textual commentary has been a part of comics since Stan Lee wrote the Marvel Bullpen into Fantastic Four. Grant Morrison wrote himself into Animal Man, Warren Ellis popped up in Powers, and Brian Michael Bendis recently appeared in Nailbiter, to name a few. But James Robinson and Greg Hinkle's new series using the public domain flying ace Airboy, does something a little different, and absolutely fascinating: it pulls the hero into the real world, instead of inserting the creator into the comic book world. But we don't even get much of that this issue. No, this issue is the story of a writer in a tailspin. James Robinson has been offered the chance to write Airboy by Image Comics, and he's agreed to do it despite himself. He's unhappy with his work at DC (which he talks about frankly in the dialogue), and he's sick of being "the golden age guy" but he takes the offer, despite having no ideas. When he can't get anymore ideas, he gets his artist, Greg Hinkle, to fly to San Francisco, where Robinson lives, to try to get the juices flowing. What follows is not a night of comic creating, but one of alcohol, cocaine, and anonymous sex. It's only by issue's end that Airboy pops up, and only on the last page. Robinson doesn't pull any punches in how he portrays himself; he's a drunk, he's snorting cocaine at every chance, he's cheating on his wife, and he is wallowing in self-pity. From interviews, the general plot is semi-autobiographical, and it's interesting to see a writer most associated with superhero comics writing something so straightforwardly inner facing. I've been a fan of Robinson's since he wrote a couple phenomenal arcs of Batman: Legends the Dark Knight, and this is a very different Robinson. Greg Hinkle's art style is different and interesting (something talked about in the comic, actually), and works well with the material. The muted color palette also works with Robinson's mindset, and the flash of color when Airboy appears is an excellent visual trope.  Just to warn some of you more sensitive readers, there is some sexual material in the issue (although nothing hardcore), and some full frontal male nudity, but it's nothing worse than what you see on cable. This is a comic that takes the fourth wall and pretty much smashes it to pieces, so if that, along with stories about writing, creation, and self examination catch your interest, Airboy is something you want to check out.

Batman Beyond #1
Story: Dan Jurgens
Art: Bernard Chang

Since the reboot DC Comicsa post-Flashpoint, I've been hoping to see Tim Drake get his own series again. I started reading comic within a couple months of Tim's first appearance, and he has been my favorite Robin, and probably my favorite DC Conics's character aside from Batman himself. And while he's been in Teen Titans from the outset, I wanted a book that was all about Tim. And this past week, I got my monkey paw wish in the new Batman Beyond series spinning out of The New 52: Futures End, where a Tim Drake from five years in the future has been thrust thirty more years into the future. Yes, that's a pretty complicated, timey-wimey, wibbly-wobbly set up, but you don't really need to know it. What you need to know is Tim is a stranger in a strange land, on an Earth where Gotham is the last bastion standing against the reign of Brother Eye, an evil cybernetic being. This first issue establishes the status quo that Tim walks into, a mixture of what we'd expect from the current continuity and the classic animated Batman Beyond timeline. We see Terry McGinnis's little brother, Matt, who thinks he should have been made Batman when his brother died (Terry died pulling a Kyle Reese, going back to stop Brother Eye, and died in the process), and a gang of Jokerz. We meet a new character, Nora Boxer, a former Global Peace Agency agent who is Matt's guardian. And we get to see what the world outside of Gotham is like, as Tim goes to free Maxine Gibson, Terry's best friend, from a Brother Eye prison camp and runs afoul of a superhero converted into a Brother Eye drone. Who that is, I want to leave as a surprise, as well as the last page reveal of the other hero who is imprisoned in the camp. It's a lot to take in for a first issue, especially if you didn't read Futures End, but the banter between Tim and ALFRED, the Bat suit A.I. is fun, the action scenes are beautifully drawn by Bernard Chang, and it's an interesting set-up. While this isn't the Batman Beyond of old, it's an interesting take on the world, and one that has potential to honor those old stories while beating it's own path.

Bizarro #1
Story: Heath Corson
Art: Gustavo Duarte

All ages comics have been severely lacking in DC Comics main line since the reboot. This first week of the new line sees the debut of not one but two series. And while Bat-Mite is a fun book, it was Bizarro that totally knocked my socks off. Writer Heath Corson has been the screenwriter of many of the recent DC direct-to-DVD movies, but this is his first comic, and it's a strong showing. There's no continuity knowledge needed, just a basic understanding that Bizarro is Superman's awkward opposite number and Jimmy Olsen is Superman's pal. The comic itself is the first leg of a road trip that Jimmy and Bizarro are on together. You don't need to know why, they just are, and craziness ensues. After smashing up his car, thanks to an attack by Bizarro's pet chupacbra, Colin, Jimmy and Bizarro wind up in a tiny town. There, to get his car fixed, Jimmy meets Regis "King Tut" Tuttle, the Pharaoh of Used Cars, and his lovely daughter, Regina. Of course, King Tut winds up being empowered by Ancient Egyptian gods (sort of, anyway), and uses his new powers to exert his will on the town, and so it's Bizarro to the rescue. Bizarro is the lovable oaf here, similar to how he was presented in Superman: The Animated Series, and his backwards talk and misunderstanding of the way people interact makes for much of the humor. Jimmy is presented as put upon and completely frustrated by how to deal with Bizarro's antics, and the fact that Colin seems to want to eat him. It's a classic odd couple dynamic, only with one of the two being a chalky clone of a superhero, and it's hilarious. I'm looking forward to seeing what other kinds of trouble Bizarro can get into.

Nailbiter #13
Story: Joshua Williamson
Art: Mike Henderson

A little over a year into Nailbiter, this issue begins to give us details on the backstory of two of our leads, titular serial killer Edward Charles Warren and his ex-girlfriend, Sheriff Shannon Crane. A series of flashbacks show Warren as an odd, sort of creepy kid, not the bold and strutting killer he is today, and Sheriff Crane has softer edges then she does in the present; I somehow think being known as the ex of one of Buckaroo's serial killers has hardened her considerably. Still the chemistry between the two of them is great, and despite knowing their fates, I found myself sort of rooting for them. But in the present, there isn't any romance bubbling between the two. Instead, Crane, Warren, and our other lead Nicholas Finch, have to make it past a group of robe wearing townsfolk led by Reverend Fairgold, who are swearing to follow Warren around to make sure he never kills again. It's one of those darkly funny scenes this book does really well, as Warren confronts the mob, and we see exactly how ready they are to stand up against the Nailbiter. Once that's done, we reenter the tunnels beneath Buckaroo, where Warren has promised to show the origins of the Buckaroo Butchers. This is where the book shifts from darkly funny to just plain creepy, which is another thing this comic does well. Darkness, weird statuary and wall paintings, it all helps further the atmosphere of darkness that permeates Buckaroo. I don't think anyone is surprised that Warren slips away, and the issue ends with him confronting the reverend again, this time in the hospital room of Agent Carroll, the man who brought Finch to Buckaroo and set off the chain of events we're witnessing. Like any good horror story, the last page knocks your socks off with how disturbing it is, and I don't want to say any more to possibly spoil the surprise. Nailbiter continues to be one of the best mixes of horror, character, and comedy produced right now, and inheritor of the legacies of Hannibal Lecter books and Tales from the Crypt. Each issue brings us deeper into the mystery of Buckaroo, and every step only makes me more nervous for the characters. I just do my best not to start biting my nails...

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #6
Story: Ryan North
Art: Erica Henderson

While most of the Marvel Universe is being swept up in Secret Wars, the hilarious all-ages Unbeatable Squirrel Girl starts it's second arc with the introduction of not one, but two new heroes, as well as a new villain, and a new... something. The charm of Squirrel Girl's comic is just how real the characters are written. Despite being so cheery and chipper, Squirrel Girl feels real, as does her roommate, Nancy. And as they spend time outside the bank that Squirrel Girl needs to guard, we meet Hippo the Hippo. He's a Hippo who has been mutated into a man-hippo, sort of like High Evolutionary's Knights, only without the motivation, armor, or highfalutin speech patterns. When SG starts fighting him, she is quickly aided by two new heroes, Chipmunk Hunk and Koi Boi. After some brief fisticuffs, SG is able to stop the fight be once again reasoning with the bad guy. I love that, over the course of six issues, nearly every major confrontation in this series has been solved by words, not by violence. It's both charming and sets a good precedent; Hippo isn't a bad man-hippo, he's just not sure what to do now that he's self-aware.  With the battle done, Nancy quickly calls out one of the great tropes of superhero comics, immediately identifying both the new heroes as fellow students Tomas Lara-Perez and Ken Shiga, since all they're doing is wearing domino masks. After a becoming friends montage (something the little caption narrator guy at the bottom of the pages really likes, and I do too), SG takes Nancy to the zoo to see if she can talk to any animal, since it seems everyone else can. There, though, the encounter Girl Squirrel, a superpowered squirrel. But all is not what it seems, and the final scenes, which pretty much scare the narrator of the comic away, shows that the relationship between Squirrel Girl and Girl Squirrel is not going to be the sunny one that would seem logical. The stakes are high in those final pages, the highest in the title so far. Sure, Galactus might have eaten Earth, but this is a more serious threat. Some people might think serious threats aren't something for an all ages comic, but I think we underestimate kids if we don't let them think about things. So if you're a Marvel person trying to avoid Secret Wars, now's the time to try out The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl; it's a classic Marvel comic with character and heart.

Reviews of Comics from Wednesday 5/27

Batman '66 #23
Story: Jeff Parker
Art: Brent Schoonover and Giancarlo Caracuzzo

Nearly two years into its run as a print comic, it's nice to see Batman '66 take a few chances. While the early issues focused on established villains in the universe created by the TV show, since the publication of the lost episode that introduced Two-Face into the universe, we've begun to see other Batman villains from the comics who never appeared on the show, including Harley Quinn and Lord Death Man. This issue is two short stories, both written bu series regular writer Jeff Parker, with two of Batman's more monstrous foes. The first story, drawn by Brent Schoonover, introduces Solomon Grundy, whose origin is tied to that of Marsha, Queen of Diamonds, one of the series's original villains. It's weird to see this universe and actual magic tied together, as so much of the classic series was tied up in funky 60s, but it's hard to do the walking dead and use science. Still, it's a scientific solution Batman comes up with to stop Grundy, even if it's as pseudo-scientific as Bat shark repellent. A highlight of the story is that Schoonover works homages to classic covers and Batman images into panels, one especially cool one being to an old Aurora Batman model I remember assembling as a kid (a reproduction from the 80s, mind, not the original). The second story introduces Clayface, and does a very cool thing of tying him into False Face, a TV villain. It establishes that False Face was Basil Karlo, who was also the original Clayface, and he is given an origin that has echoes of the Clayface origin from Batman: The Animated Series. Artist Giancarlo Caracuzzo draws a monstrous Clayface who never could have existed on the budget of the TV show, or looked good in the effects of the era. And again, as was often the case, for all the biff bam pow action, Batman defeats Clayface using his brain more than his brawn. I'm looking forward to seeing some more Batman villains introduced (we've been teased with Killer Croc and Poison Ivy, so they're on  the horizon), as it adds some nice flavor to a book that's already a lot of fun.

Convergence: Booster Gold #2
Story: Dan Jurgens
Art: Alvaro Martinez

Convergence has ended, and sadly it was more a whimper than a bang. But there were some real high points to the tie-ins, love letters to older versions of characters and their fans. One of those love letters was the Booster Gold series, written by Booster's creator, Dan Jurgens.This issue not only features two Boosters, but his son, Rip Hunter, his sister, Goldstar, his robot buddy, Skeets, and his best buddy, Blue Beetle. While it's still serious, with the older, original Booster dying of an overdose of chronal energy, we still get some fun moments as the other Booster, Rip, and Goldtsra fight the Legion of Super-Heroes, and post-Flashpoint Booster is still as much a goof as classic Booster pretended to be to hide his more serious duties. But it's the scenes between a rapidly aging Booster and Blue Beetle that warmed my heart. We've seen Booster try to save Beetle using time travel, both in the comics and in an episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, but here it's a resigned Booster who's meeting his friend when Beetle was in his prime, and Booster treats it as a gift. The two get to talk, and joke, and even though Booster tries to warn Beetle a little about his oncoming fate, he doesn't spoil the time together with portent. In the end, Booster gets to say his goodbyes to those he loves before he goes through a startling metamorphosis that makes absolutely perfect sense if you're familiar with a couple of DC's previous events. It's a bittersweet farewell, but with hints that the new Booster has an important place in upcoming events and the old time travel crew still out there guarding time, there's a glimmer of hope, and hopefully a hearty Bwah-ha-ha to come.

Divinity #4
Story: Matt Kindt
Art: Trevor Hairsine

Divinity has been the most experimental series I've read from Valiant, and it's been a resounding success with me. Matt Kindt talks in the production notes in the back about creating an overpowered character and the importance of knowing how to defeat them, and this issue is about the fall of Abram Adams, the godlike being called Divinity by his followers. Interestingly (and smartly) there is very little combat between the titular character and Unity, Valiant's premier superhero team (although there is a gorgeous two page spread of them assaulting him). Mostly, Unity fights Divinity's followers, who are trying to stop them from interfering with their god while trying a hail Mary to contain Divinity. Meanwhile, with all his power, Divinity has resurrected his girlfriend and daughter, and is talking to them. But it's not the conversation he wants to have. It's a tragedy, as Eve, the woman he loves, tells him that she lived a full life and she wants to stay where she is. it's not a great energy weapon, or brilliant tactics that defeats Divinity. It's his remaining humanity. The series ends on a few different notes, leaving the fate of the character and the world in the air. Unity is unsure what to do with a contained super being who could defeat them with barely a thought, Divinity's followers are ready to declare a holy war to retrieve their savior, and Divinity himself? Divinity has realized exactly how much has changed, both in the world and in himself, but still has some hope in a very human form. This level of introspection is uncommon in superhero comics; so much of post-Watchmen superhero comics plays at seriousness, but doesn't really talk about anything beyond brooding. Divinity explores what it's like to become a being of power in a very thoughtful and human way, something that impressed me greatly, and I'm looking forward to the sequel to see where Abram Adams's journey takes him next.

Ivar, Timewalker #5
Story: Fred Van Lente
Art: Francis Portela

Fred Van Lente can cram more into a comic than pretty much anyone I can think of. In one issue of Ivar, Timewalker, you get a science fiction assault in a space station, a discussion of time travel physics, a fight on a post-apocalyptic world, a conversation at a bar, and all of it is done with humor and character development. The issue opens as a space fleet attacks Oblivi-1, the time/space station that is the headquarter of the villains Ivar has been dealing with in the first arc of the series, only to meet an unfortunate fate. While we do see Neela Sethi, the scientist who has been the... target? Goal? Of everything Ivar, our titular time traveler has done over the course of the series so far, and we see her talking to another version of herself about their scientific goal, the majority of the issue is set in the year 9999, with Ivar trying to recruit his youngest brother, Gilad the Eternal Warrior, to storm Oblivi-1 to rescue Neela. It's pretty standard infiltration and save humanity from monsters, in this case the Nergal Horde, but it's elevated by Van Lente's dialogue. It's not only very funny, but it's staggeringly real. I have two little brothers, and I know how brothers talk and bicker, and Van Lente has it down. Despite Ivar being the eldest brother, it's Gilad who has always been the serious one, the one who takes his responsibilities to heart, but here, at the end of Earth, Gilad is ready to lay his arms down, for once Earth is gone, his responsibility as its guardian is gone too and he can rest. But Ivar's interference lights a spark under Gilad one more time, and he agrees as long as Ivar promises that Aram, the middle brother, better known as Armstrong, isn't coming, something Ivar agrees to without a blink. Cut back to a bar in 2015, where Ivar is talking to Armstrong shortly before he left for 9999 to find Gilad, and we see a familiar scene with a familiar promise. The issue ends with a scene involving the former captives of the Nergal Horde that I don't want to spoil, but it's interesting how both this plot and Ivar's own operate in a circle in this issue. Saying anything more would spoil the fun, and with this title, that's the last thing I would want to do.

Sandman: Overture #5
Story: Neil Gaiman
Art: J.H. Williams III

What more can I say about Sandman: Overture? This is the comic that I most look forward to whenever it happens to come out. It's Neil Gaiman and J.H. Williams working together seamlessly, producing a vision of beauty and a story that is enchanting in the literal sense of the word; I find myself unable to look away from the pages as I read the issue, quietly mouthing the words along with the comic. After being trapped in the previous issue, Dream finds himself in the court of his mother, Night, brought to her by a servant named Dusk. Dusk's "d" name makes me curious is she is another relative of the "d" named Endless, but that is not addressed here. Instead, we see Dream having a family squabble with his mother. Night makes some very valid points about Dream and his relationship with his siblings, but we also see where Dream and Desire get their tempers from. While within the blackhole, Dream deals with family issues, outside it, the Dream of Cats wanders the battlefields of the universe, the ones growing worse due to the machinations of the mad star, and begins to save people, as well as retrieving the lost girl Hope from the afterlife. What exactly the Dream of Cats's plan is remains mysterious, but he's still a cat, so that's pretty much par for the course. Dream escapes the blackhole, naturally, saved by Destiny, his elder brother. The reasoning for this particular rescue us cleverly presented, as it not only works with already established Sandman mythos in a way that it didn't occur to me it could, but gives some personality to Destiny, who has always been the dustiest member of the Endless; he's like Marvel's Uatu the Watcher, bound only to observe, only he actually does only observe. It kind of shows why Uatu was always doing stuff, since it makes him much more interesting. The final scene of the issue takes place on a boat, and here's where I want to call out Williams for his astounding work. Any page is a masterwork, but there's a great moment as Dream boards the boat and his clothes change from the usual flowing regalia he wears into a sailor's outfit that is done with such grace. It's a tiny detail, but those are what makes Williams amazing, he doesn't miss a beat. The designs of the boat and it's crew are similarly astounding. There's only one issue left now, one issue for Dream to bring about the downfall of the mad star that he inadvertently created, and to receive answers to as many of the questions as Gaiman is willing to answer. Because really, this comic is as ethereal as a dream, and whoever gets all the answers they want out of a dream?

The Skies are Red: A History of the Crossover Event in DC Comics Part 1

Convergence is coming. DC Comics new event starts in two weeks, a story that blends worlds from all across DC history into one massive story. And the beginning of that story has me thinking about all the crossovers that have come before. So today begins a multi-part article tracing the history of event comics at DC Comics. I'll be touching on the tent-pole events in parts one and two, and the events and themes of Annuals in the third. This is meant as an overview, but going back for a quick look at these made me want to do a deeper dive into some of them again, so there might be an upcoming longer piece or two spinning out of this.

In 1985, continuity for DC Comics had become muddled, with an infinite number of Earths and multiple versions of each hero interacting with each other through different stories. And so it was decided a stream-lining needed to occur. And Marv Wolfman and George Perez, creators of DC's biggest hit of the time, New Teen Titans, were the guys to do it. And so the stage was set for DC's first mega-crossover: Crisis on Infinite Earths. This is the crossover that all DC crossovers have been measured against since. Worlds lived, worlds died, and the DCU was quite literally never the same.

The Anti-Monitor, a godlike being from the anti-matter universe, decided that it was time to bring the curtain down on the positive matter universe, and the only thing standing between him and his goal was his opposite number, The Monitor, and the collective heroes of the DC Universe, gathered by the Monitor's herald, Harbinger. Groups of mismatched heroes were sent to stop different realities from collapsing... and they failed.

Yeah, the good guys basically lose in Crisis. Sure, they save the one remaining Earth, but their goal to save the Multiverse was a miserable failure. Along the way, countless heroes and villains die, most notably the Flash (Barry Allen) and the Silver Age Supergirl. The heroes do eventually stop the Anti-Monitor, and no one except D-lister Psycho-Pirate winds up remembering the history of the Multiverse, as the final heroes, Superman of Earth-2, Superboy-Prime, and Alexander Luthor of Earth-3, go off to their eternal reward. But more on them later.

Crisis works on a lot of the levels a crossover should. It's exciting, and brings in characters from across DC history. It presents unusual matches, and spotlights various heroes. It has a threat that logically would be something that would require all these heroes to team up. It even has legions of villains teaming up to stop Anti-Monitor. It's sweeping and epic. It also served the important purpose of unifying the continuity of DC Comics history into one Earth. There might be multiple Flashes, but they are three different guys from three different walks of life. There's only one Batman, one Superman, one Wonder Woman. There's one Hawkman. Or maybe two. No more than three! OK, so not everything was perfect. But the birth pains spawned a new universe with new potential. And the different generations of heroes set up the concept of legacy that was a key aspect of the DC Universe from Crisis up through Flashpoint.

The one real problem that Crisis has rests in its crossovers into other titles. I feel like a good crossover allows the universe to feel cohesive, to allow other books to tie into it without impeding their progress, but adding an important story element to their progress that shows a wider world. With Crisis, the element that tied most books into it were the Red Skies. As the Anti-Monitor's antimatter waves approached a world, the skies would turn red. Many Crisis crossovers were simply a mention of the Red Skies, and then business as usual. While it didn't impede the progress of the books, it certainly didn't do anything to explore the event as it effected a series lead. And since then, a "Red Skies Crossover" has been a book that ties into something in only the most tangential way.

Legends, written by Len Wein and John Ostrander with art by John Byrne, released in 1986, was the first crossover and test of the new DC Universe. It seemed to have two purposes. Purpose one was to set up various new and revised concepts that would springboard out of it and define this new DC Universe. The second purpose was to set-up Darkseid as the preeminent villain of not just a corner of the DC Universe, but of the Universe as a whole. And it succeeded on both fronts.

The main plot of the series had Glorious Godfrey, one of Darkseid's Elite, posing as a news pundit on Earth, to stir up anti-hero sentiment, allowing Earth to be an easy target for Darkseid's eventual conquest. But Dr. Fate gathers a new Justice League (including Captain Marvel, now a part of the main DCU), Amanda Waller secretly debuts the Suicide Squad to destroy Darkseid's monster, Brimstone, and a new heroine (new to this universe anyway) Wonder Woman, appears, all allowing the heroes to prevail.

Legends succeeds not only as a good story, but as the crossover springboard for three of the most successful DC titles of the late 80s/early 90s: Wally West's series as The Flash, the "Bwah-ha-ha" Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League, and John Ostrander's Suicide Squad, all have their seeds planted right in the midst of this event. If for not any other reason than that, Legends is a winner.

1988 saw Millennium debut, written by Steve Englehart and with art by Joe Staton. The Guardians of the Universe, the alien race that created the Green Lantern Corps, have decided to leave this plain of existence, and before leaving arrive on Earth, saying a new generation of Guardians will be come this world, and asking its heroes to gather these new Guardians. What should be an easy task is complicated by the Manhunters, the robots who served as the Guardians' first intergalactic police force, who have learned of this and wish to stop the creation. As part of this plan, the Manhunters revealed they knew the identities of Earth's heroes and had spent years planting sleeper agents, some robots, some mind-controlled humans, and some willing collaborators, in the personal lives of all the heroes. Even with this, the heroes bested the Manhunters and saved the New Guardians.

Millennium's structure was much more strict than previous crossovers. The series ran eight weekly issues, and each book was flagged with Week 1, Week 2, etc. The accompanying week's crossovers were flagged with the similar weeks, and the story depended on the reader buying many of the accompanying crossover. The main mini-series was littered with footnotes to that week's crossover, making reading just the event mini-series frustrating.

And while this couldn't be known at the time, it had no discernible long term effects on the DC Universe. The New Guardians series folded after twelve issues, and most of the characters faded into obscurity, and those who had established pasts returned to them. Many of the Manhunters puppets who were important characters (Lana Lang, Jim Gordon) never really mentioned it again, and while Wally West was broken up by his father being one of their willing agents, it was eventually ignored as well.

Invasion!, written by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen and with art from Todd McFarlane and Bart Sears, was a different form than any of DC's previous crossovers. Instead of longer monthly stories, six to twelve issues, or weekly stories, 1989's Invasion! was three months in three massive, 80-page issues with no ads. The plot of the series is pretty self-explanatory from the title. A coalition of alien races invades Earth. The reasoning is that humans have the metagene, allowing them to develop powers and possibly become a dominant species in the galaxy. One of the cool aspects of the story is that it takes many of the alien races that were prominent in the Legion of Super-Heroes lore of the 30th century, like the Khunds and the Dominators (who instigated the invasion as a pretense to examine metahumans so they could breed them as soldiers for galactic domination), and introduces them into the modern DCU.

While the well known heroes of the DC Universe do figure into this event, a lot of time is spent with minor characters and with establishing the new cosmic status quo of the DCU. We meet the characters who will form L.E.G.I.O.N., the cosmic police force for hire fronted by Vril Dox II, Brainiac's son, we get some time with Adam Strange, and we meet the Blasters, a team of metahumans captured by the Dominators, including Snapper Carr, former sidekick to the Justice League, DC's answer to Rick Jones.

One of the most important aspects of the series was the dropping of a Gene Bomb, a bomb meant to effect anyone with the metagene and eventually kill them. Alien and non-methuman heroes were able to find the Dominators cure, but not before the bomb effected many heroes. Animal Man and Fire both had their powers effected, and many new metahumans had their powers awakened, including Maxwell Lord, then the Justice League International's manager/leader/manipulator. This allowed for ramifications that spilled out of the series, and while many were the longest of term, did play a part in the canvas of the DC Universe.

Now, I have done my best to always keep to my creed about only writing about comics I like, and not bashing comics. But this is a historical piece, and I'm trying to not leave anything out. I already made it clear that I thought Millennium was lackluster, but it has nothing on War of the Gods. Published in 1991 as part of a celebration of Wonder Woman's 50th anniversary that never really materialized like Superman or Batman's, War of the Gods had a decent core concept: Circe instigates a war between the Greek and Roman gods, and encourages other pantheons to attack, so she can claim the powers of the gods and do something nebulous with it, partially kill the Earth goddess, Gaea, partially become the greatest goddess ever. It's not really clear. This is partially because of  arguments between editorial and series creator George Perez, and partially because of the format of the series.

War of the Gods actually was a more intense reading experience than Millennium because it wasn't just crossovers week by week, but all 20+ crossovers and the core mini were individually numbered, so you were supposed to read the whole crossover in specific order. Unfortunately, due to delays, the parts were often released out of order, and the mini-series stands poorly on its own, with no lasting ramifications at all, and remains only one of two of these events never collected in trade. Of course, it had one great crossover, Suicide Squad #58, where a Black Adam led Squad attacks Circe's fortress. Having recruited everyone who would join, the team includes The Writer, Grant Morrison's in comic avatar who became trapped in the comic world after writing himself in at the end of his Animal Man run, and who has a typewriter strapped to him that allows him to affect reality as he writes. Unfortunately, he suffers writers block during the invasion and is torn apart by Circe's beast men. It's pretty great.

DC took the first of its multi-year breaks in between crossovers after War of the Gods, and it wasn't for three years in 1994 until another happened. Zero Hour saw time collapsing, with nothingness moving from the beginning and end of time towards today. Dan Jurgens held the reigns as writer and artist, and put out some of the best art of his career in a sprawling tale that was designed to clean up some of the messes that were created by Crisis, problems like the Justice Society's age or the weird inconsistencies with Hawkman's background. It also established the new big bad of the DC Universe: Parallax, the corrupted and maddened version of Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Green Lantern, who had taken the powers of the Guardians after killing them and was trying to rewrite time to suit his will. He did wind up destroying everything (another big win for the heroes), but a new Big Bang was caused by the hero Damage and time restarted. This allowed streamlining of backstories again, and setting up a firm timeline that lasted for about as long as firm timelines in comics ever do.

Zero Hour was the first of these DC event minis I read as it came out, and I have some find recollections of it. It was a bit awkward at times, like any story involving time travel and similar things are, but it did flow. The crossovers featured heroes running into alternate timeline versions of themselves and versions from the past, and some of these crossovers were excellent. The issue of Batman had him meet a Batgirl never shot by the Joker, Kon-El Superboy met the pre-Crisis Clark Kent Superboy, and Tim Drake Robin met a young Dick Grayson Robin, for instance. The rewritten timeline did make some serious changes, including the first complete reboot of the Legion of Super-Heroes, which alienated some older Legion fans but streamlined some very very messy continuity involving multiple version of the Legion.

Spinning out of the end of Zero Hour was DC's first Zero Month, where all titles were numbered zero. Some of the books (Batman, Superman, Flash) retold origins with minor changes. Others (Hawkman, Green Lantern) established new status quos. Six new series launched with these zero issues, and while five didn't amount to much, the sixth, one with some of the most direct fallout from Zero Hour, was Starman, which I have written about at length, and was a resounding success. This also marks the first of three crossovers that form the spine of Hal Jordan's corruption and resurrection arc, and arc that would eventually lead to Geoff Johns's hit Green Lantern franchise.

Underworld Unleashed, from 1995 with writer Mark Waid and artist Howard Porter, was another story that was a great idea in theory. A new demonic character, Neron, appeared offering supervillains augmented and improved powers at the cost of their souls. Many took it, thus creating new versions of many B- and C-list villains. The heroes eventually travel to Hell to stop Neron, and it's only through the innocence and nobility of Captain Marvel, and the cleverness of the Trickster, James Jesse, who Neron had taken on as his adviser and who betrayed him, that Neron did not win,

Waid has said in interviews and the afterward to the trade of the series that he doesn't like Underworld. He thinks it was a hamfisted attempt to gussy up villains from an earlier time. Right or wrong, next to none of the augmented villains stayed augmented. With the exception of Blockbuster and Charaxes (who was once Killer Moth), all the Batman villains reverted shortly to classic forms. Neron, who seemed poised to become a major villain across the DCU, would pop up only occasionally, and never as more than a demonic footnote, never earning the cred of his Marvel counterpart, Mephisto. James Robinson did use the fallout of Underworld in Starman, not just the villain he revitalized in his crossover, Dr. Phosphorus,  but revealing a couple of deals undisclosed at the time that played a major part in the series' climax. But with that notable exception, Underworld remains one of the forgotten crossovers.

Final Night, from writer Karl Kesel and with art by Stuart Immonen in 1996, was the second of the crossovers featuring Hal Jordan.  The Sun Eater, this big traveling cloud of gas (picture any evil entity from the original Star Trek series and you’ll get the picture) comes along and, well, eats the sun.  With Earth dying, the heroes do their best to destroy the Sun Eater and reignite the sun.  In the end, it is Hal Jordan, in what was to be his last redemptive gesture, who sacrificed himself and brought the sun back.

The series would be worth it alone for Immonen's gorgeous art, and seeing him draw the entire DC Universe, along with the amazing climax, where Jordan ignites the sun while reciting the Green Lantern oath. The crossovers were mostly small, showing the heroes dealing with the effects of the missing sun. Some writers were able to even easily fit that aspect into their existing story, weaving the tapestry of the event into the series. An especially good one was Hitman #8, where hitman Tommy Monaghan and his fellow hitters gather at their local bar, Nonnan's, and reflect on their brushes with death. It's a very small story, and shows Garth Ennis's strength with those little character beats after a series of issues that were just tons of mindless, and fun, violence.

With the exception of Hal Jordan's death, the ramifications to the DCU were small on this one. A squad of Legionnaires, displaced in time, met the post-Zero Hour version of Ferro Lad, a longtime pre-Crisis member, who survived where his pre-Crisis counterpart died fighting a Sun Eater. The loss of the sun also caused the solar powered Superman to lose his powers, which led to a reconciliation with the currently estranged Lois Lane and their marriage, and the eventual debut of the electric blue Superman. So from that we see that not all crossover effects are good.

Back into confession mode: If War of the Gods was bad, it was at least not as bad as Genesis, the next year's (1997) crossover from writer John Byrne and artist Ron Wagner. In all truth, I have no idea what exactly was going on in Genesis.  I’ve read it twice now, and I still don’t quite get it.  The energy wave that created everything is collapsing back on itself and all the energy in the universe is stopping and everything is going to end.  And the New Gods are involved.  Maybe some of the issues it tied into made the totality of the story make more sense, but I guess I don’t have those, so it all seemed more than a bit of a muddle, and the less said about it, the better. By the end, Highfather died and was replaced by Takion as ruler of New Genesis, but he got better. Beside that, it had no ramifications and its crossovers effected no book aside from the New Gods related ones. genesis is the other of the event never released as a trade.

One Million, written by Grant Morrison and with art by Val Semeiks (1998),  is one of my favorites of all the crossovers. Heroes from the 853^rd century (when, if they still are being published, DC comics will hit issue one million) arrive to celebrate the return of  the original Superman and the heroes old and new get caught up in the machinations of Vandal Savage and the sentient artificial sun, Solaris. 

It’s one of those crazy ideas that only Grant Morrison could come up with and execute, and as he was involved in plotting nearly every issue the series tied into (with the exception of the particularly funny issue of Hitman), it created a great cohesion of you read every issue.  Beautifully, though, you don’t feel like you have to read everything either, as seems to be a concern when EVERYTHING is written by the same guy.  There are some excellent moments in both the core mini and the tie-ins, these wild, high concept ideas that Grant Morrison is the master of. It ties in with a lot of the concepts he was exploring in Justice League at the time.

The Justice Legion A of the 853rd Century are characters that have popped up occasionally since then, including in Morrison's seminal All Star Superman, along with Solaris, who is a purely Morrison character. There's a great amount of design work, creating all these new versions of classic heroes and concepts. But it's really a story about heroism and inspiration, themes that Morrison loves, and are at the heart of superhero comics. It's also nice that, while the ramifications aren't major, it's such a good story that it doesn't matter. That love letter to the self-contained tales of the Silver Age stands on its own, and works best that way.

And that's it for this first part. Next Friday starts with a mostly forgotten crossover written by a guy who would later become the man who defined the DCU of the 00s, and the crossovers of the 21st century. See you then.