Kingdom Come | Mark Waid | Best Graphic Novel Ever

Kingdom Come | Mark Waid | Above and beyond expectations.

books:

Kingdom Come

	Kingdom Come Mark Waid DC Comics, 1997 - 232 pages average customer review:based on 178 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Writer Mark Waid, coming from his popular work on Flash and Impulse, and artist Alex Ross, who broke new ground with the beautifully painted Marvels, join together for this explosive book that takes place in a dark alternate future of the DC Superhero Universe. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and almost every other character from DC Comics must choose sides in what could be the final battle of them all.

Best Graphic Novel Ever

Okay, I got carried away. It's technically a trade paperback.
Still, it is one of the greatest superhero stories ever told. Superman hasn't simply retired; he gave up on the world when they found Magog not guilty for straight-up murdering the Joker. The new heroes aren't just a little amoral; they battle villains AND each other, with no regard for civilian lives. Wonder Woman convinces Superman to return and create a new Justice League, Lex Luthor and other villains (along with Captain Marvel) opperate under the guise of keeping the world safe for normal humans, and Batman recruits old and new heroes who really disagree with both sides.
Most everyone makes some poor choices that culminate in an allout superhuman battle. The entire story is a reflection of Revelation, with a spiritually faltering reverend being guided through the story by the Spectre.
Every single DC fan and every curious Marvel fan should read this book.

for more information click here

Above and beyond expectations.

I was always told this was an excellent comic to get for DC fans. I was new to enjoying DC comics when I was told to pick this book up by a friend and when I did I was blown away. I have never seen artwork of this caliber and magnitude in a graphic novel before, and the story is as gripping as any traditional novel. Whether you just appreciate art or are a true fan of DC comics this is a must have.

For once a JLA that doesn't rehash a previous storyline

Kingdom Come is one of those graphic novels that are just amazing to read and at the same time look at. Alex Ross is a skillful artist that has captured the essence of the DC superheroes perfectly. From the aging Batman's neck brace to the minute details and expressions of the people. This is just truly well done. The story by Mark Waid is also another testament to the greatness of the series. His ability to draw the reader into the story makes the art leap from the page.

This story is A JLA story worth telling. Not like your saturday morning cartoons, no this is a masterpiece. With a mature storyline that doesn't dumb itself down or does it underestimate the reader. This is an intelligent tale that deserves to be read by all Comic book fans Marvel and DC alike...

and it makes Civil War look like a joke!!!

makes you wish Alex Ross and Mark Waid not go through their "falling out" before The Kingdom was complete

for more information click here

Possibly the Best In-Universe Comics Story Ever

DC's recently-released "new edition" of Kingdom Come carries very little new content, but you should go read it anyway. Essentially a reprint of the original Dynamic Forces incentive hardcover that came out shortly after the book's release, it features a decade-old introduction by Elliot S! Maggin (the legendary Superman scribe who penned the novelization of Kingdom Come) and a sketchbook and gallery in the back, featuring some of Alex Ross's conceptual artwork and some of the promotional materials used to sell the original, four-issue miniseries. A nice package? Quite. New? Hardly.
Still, this new edition provides an excuse to re-read Kingdom Come (as if you needed one) and the new cover by Alex Ross is a prize. While I've never been a fan of gatefold covers (I always think of the reproduction problems presented by Dan Jurgens' terrific gatefold finale to The Death of Superman), the new Ross cover is a beautiful piece of art, and well worth the silliness of a gatefold to see it presented in as close to its original size as possible. Even in an age where Ross does far too many covers, and his artwork has started to lose the originality and punch that made Marvels, Kingdom Come and Astro City stand out on the shelves, a new image of such quality, tied to a fairly ageless property like Kingdom Come, is a treat.
It's a little surprising, given DC's recent tendency to--ahem--self-edit, that Superman's long hair remains intact in the flashback sequences. Famously, Ross was unhappy with having to make that change and did so only at the insistence of DC Editorial, who reportedly didn't want the post-Reign of the Supermen hairstyle to seem like "something that will go away soon" when Kingdom Come was published. Clearly it's an element of DC's publishing history that has drawn a lot of fan derision and, in spite of being one of the best-selling storylines of all time, hasn't been given a lot of visual representations in flashbacks such as the History of the DC Universe/History of the Multiverse backups that Jurgens himself drew for 52 and Countdown to Final Crisis.
Reading Kingdom Come again (it's been years) was a nice trip down memory lane (I won the Empire State Student Press Association Gold Award for Entertainment Writing in 1998 for a high school newspaper interview I conducted with Elliot S! Maggin about the novelization). The story is chock full of some of the best representations of DC's heroes you'll ever see. Insightful, consistent and cleverly laced together, these are the truest and most enjoyable versions of many of the characters that readers had seen in years. Captain Marvel was engaging, interesting and he had a purpose! Martian Manhunter was truly tragic. And, of course, Superman and Batman were both a little perfect, a little flawed...and constantly disagreeing about methods. This was the DC Universe that appealed to me more than any other I had read back in 1996, and a quick return trip to what's apparently now called Earth-22 has reinforced in this critic that Kingdom Come is the single greatest achievement in in-universe superhero storytelling ever published. While there are plenty of graphic novels that might give it a run for its money in terms of sheer storytelling, they're usually things like Watchmen, or stories like Kraven's Last Hunt which feature individual characters and, whether or not they technically occur in the Marvel/DC/Image Universes, they don't really use the universe effectively. Kingdom Come did so masterfully and, indeed, could not have happened without many of DC's smaller players coming in to insinuate themselves into a story that seems far too large for them.
And--that startling and tragic conclusion notwithstanding--many of the underappreciated heroes of the DCU got their moment in the sun, without having to get killed for it. That hardly ever happens anymore, right, Ted?...Ted?

for more information click here

I Don't Think We Are In Kansas Anymore

I came upon this book by accident in the comic books store while looking for new titles to read. As I write this I am 49 years old (only a few months to half-century) and it was just 2 years ago I got back into comics after 30+ years away from reading them. It was apparently the right time as since then I have bought and read 52, Countdown, Infinite Crisis, and am now in the midst of the excellent Final Crisis series.

As for Kingdom Come I have never been so impressed and stunned by comic book art than the work of Alex Ross. This man's work is on the level of the great masters. Each character in the story looks like he could step out of the story and exist as a real person and yet also is exaggerated to some extent (i.e. Superman and that size 50 chest) to give you that super-human feel. A perfect balance and in my mind the way I picture a super hero.

My favorite character rendering is the Spectre who until just recently was not a well known or well used character in the DC Universe. He acts as our narrator in the story and as he is the avenger of God it is quite an appropriate role. However (as I will discuss below) this also hurts the story.

The story many others have summarized in other reviews so I will not do so here. It is the reason I have to only give the book 4 stars. Not enough of the story is given to the new generation (the uncaring) of super heroes. I felt that too much of the story was centered around Superman and the older generation. It needs balance to be truly epic. The exploration of a the Gulag theme I found original and the crisis of conscience it caused brought welcome tension to the story's conflict. Also taking away from the story is the Spectre "telling" what happens instead of the story "showing" what happens. Yes showing would have made the story longer but this is a story that could easily be extended and still keep the reader engaged.

This Elseworlds story has recently been integrated into the main DC Universe storyline and even Superman in Kingdom Come is now a member of the current Justice Society via the events of 52 and Countdown. Give credit to the writers and editors at DC to take a good story and through careful planning integrate it years later into new story lines. I like that about today's comics. They are now planning the story and character arcs years in advance.

Overall Kingdom Come is a great book and should be a part of every serious comic readers library. I have read it twice now and still go back to it at least once a month to admire the art and re-read selected story panels.

If only I could get hold of (and afford) an original Alex Ross painting to hang in my house.

for more information click here