Customer Reviews

History of the DC Universe

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Ever since DC Comics jumpstarted its entire line with 1986's classic "Crisis on Infinite Earths," some people have been confused as to which elements of the pre-Crisis universe survived the transition. This book collects a two-part series DC published soon after "Crisis" that explains that in full.

With text by Marv Wolfman and artwork by George Perez (the same team that brought you "Crisis,") this book outlines the entire timeline of the DCU as it existed in the wake of the Crisis. It explains and clarifies the history of the single universe that remained following the implosion, and while some of the elements touched upon in here have changed in the 17 years since its original publication (the Legion of Super-Heroes in particular stands out, since they were jumpstarted on their own in 1994's "Zero Hour"), the book is still clear and concise enough that the casual comic reader can use it as a primer to reconcile the DCU of today with the multiple universes of the Silver and Bronze Ages. While it may not be a book for anyone, it's a good place for a comics fan to jump back in.

In a loose way, this book acts as the concluding installment of a trilogy, the other two parts being "Crisis on Multiple Earths" and "Crisis on Infinite Earths." All three books are worth reading.

This story was written shortly after the Crisis on Infinite Earths and it is sort of a sequel to that groundbreaking tale. Its told in prose and details the entire history of the DCU universe from its birth until its persent. It covers almost everything you can think of including ancient characters such as Destiny (Sandman's brother), Western characters such as Jonah Hex, War comics characters such as Sgt Rock and the superheroes of the 40s. George Perez's artwork is stunning and the new cover by Alex Ross is also excellent. Unfortunately I have the older two-part miniseries minus the beautiful Ross cover so I envy you if haven't already got it.

This was originally released in a 2-issue prestige format to put the cap on Crisis On Infinite Earths, presenting the restructured history of the DC Universe. The new cover by Alex Ross gets a thumbs-up, naturally. The artwork by Perez is beautiful as always, and he once again packs the pages with characters. Not to the degree of COIE, but they're still a joy to look at. Cheers to Wolfman for the concept, but the writing gets a bit tedious at times. How many different ways can the narrator, Harbinger, ask "What is a hero?" Too many times, for my taste. I think the book would have benefitted more from a chronological presentation with timelines, rather than a generic narrative. Still, it's a great one to have, especially since you get coverage of many minor characters who didn't get much attention in COIE: Firehair, Neptune Perkins, and of all people, the Viking Commando??? Waa-hoo!

In other words, this book no longer serves as THE history of the DCU.

I am not sure if any one book CAN serve as a history of any comic universe, but just after the Crisis of 1986, this book did just that for DC.

Then, as the years and stories and heroes came and went and changed, so did the history.

And as comic fans know, History (some of us have to give it a capital "H" there, you know) changes with almost every issue of a comic and to some readers it is all-important to their reading of a given series and their enjoyment of comic books.

The art is George Perez at his best.

The text is fine for what it is. It does what it is meant to do: summarize in short blurbs origins and major events.

I was hoping this new edition (May 2009) would have some updated material but it is really disappointingly just a new printing from the 1980's post-Crisis history. So much has gone on in the DCU since then, especially the past few years with further Crises and Rebirths, that it would be nice to have an updated version. Interesting and nice artwork but understand some of the history has been since changed. C'mon DC!!!

I buy this book and I must say that covers are done really awesome. Pages are printed on very low quality paper and that's sucks. Many DC heroes have one or two sentences at the most and one picture. I am not impressed with this book as I expected I will be.

History of the DC Universe is the most recent attempt by DC Comics to provide its readership with a guide to the characters who inhabit DC Comics. It is not a particularly well done volume. While the artwork is fairly good, the writing is amateurish. Nor is this book particularly thorough.

Back in the mid-1970's, at the height of comics fandom, DC put out a number of volumes that collectively amounted to a history of the DC Universe. As such, they were superior to this mishmash book.

If all you want is an introduction to the world of DC Comics, then this book will fullfill your desire. However, if you are a comics fan like this writer, you will find this book lacking.

The book tries summarize the vast (and convoluted) history of the DC Universe. While some of the artwork is excellent, some it is just adequate.
The story line wanders too much because it tries to do excessively much in a limited amount of space. It serves as a minimal primer of the DC Universe.