Zero Hour: Crisis in Time [Paperback]

Dan Jurgens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 1994 | Series: Zero Hour

Parallax

Product Details

• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (August 23, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563891840
• ISBN-13: 978-1563891847
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.4 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Overlooked Crisis, October 17, 2005

By 

Erik M. Held (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zero Hour: Crisis in Time (Paperback)

With all the hooplah around DC Comics right now - they are bringing all their DC Universe titles together for the "Infinite Crisis" crossover that is supposed to change everything (!!) - I am surprised more attention isn't paid to this mid-90s event: Zero Hour: Crisis in Time.

Time was unravelling at both ends, heroes were dying, their efforts for naught against the onrushing entropy that consumed everything. But, as always, the late 20th Century heroes decide to take action to right this wrong, a wrong perpetrated by one of their own. The story was not too bloated (downright brisk, next to the sprawling crossovers today), moved like a good summer blockbuster movie should, and left a lasting mark on the DC Universe. That, and it boasted Dan Jurgens artwork, he also being an overlooked gem in the modern comic artwork field.

Based around the idea that Parallax (former Green Lantern/now hugely powerful Hal Jordan, then a bit nuts after seeing his home city wiped out and having assaulted and bested his former masters, the Guardians of the Galaxy) wishes to redo time to save all his friends and family - and those of his cohorts, Zero Hour follows several dozen heroes as they race to save time or die trying. Along the way, that latter part is certainly fulfilled, as numerous heroes - and some villains - fall to the entropy effect Parallax is unleashing on the timeline.

The original superteam, the JSA, bring the fight to Extant, a former hero-turned-megalomaniac who is aiding Parallax and reveling in the chaos unleashed. These geriatric heroes do not find an easy victory, with the whole team being changed forever. Their story here in fact laid the groundwork for James Robinson and Geoff Johns to reinvent that whole generation of heroes and identities, creating the stellar Starman and the current ongoing JSA, respectively.

But really, all heroes are affected here. The build-up took place over every single issue in the DC Universe, as time shifts began to appear, characters from eras long gone or yet to come started to pop up and unexpected visitors refused to leave after arriving (current Kid Flash, then just Bart Allen, appeared in the pages of the Flash during Zero Hour's build-up). Numerous new heroes were introduced, some of whom are still around (though for how much longer...). While many hardcore fans objected to the use of Parallax/Hal Jordan as the villain - an objection taken shamefully to heart as the deceased hero has been returned to his mythic stature as a Green Lanter - for those of us who had recently started reading DC's stable of titles, the use worked very well. I thought his tragic turn fit well, but that's just me (his home city was wiped from existence, and people expected him to shrug and forget it?). His reasoning fit for what had happened

Over the course of the mini-series the whole wild story came together and in my mind, fulfilled its promise of a new DC universe, changed from what came before. It took a little time for all the ramifications to be felt - James Robinson/David S Goyer/Geoff Johns' JSA wouldn't launch for another four years and change, for example - and many of the new titles disappeared into obscurity. But that's all right. How many people remember Alexander Luthor? Who? Exactly. Created, used and forgotten in a year, as were most "Crisis on Infinite Earths" - the father of all these damned DC Crisis epics - created characters. Granted, not all lived, but you don't have to live to be remembered in comics. Look at Jason Todd, or Bucky...er...

We see long-term fans feel the bitter weight of all these epic tales as they press on the stories today, constantly forcing judgments that are too harsh. Zero Hour came out ten years after Crisis on Infinite Earths (eh, more like nine), and was inevitably compared. The two series, however, are hard to line up. The former was a brief reboot of several titles and characters, and it did a fine job and was over in several months; the latter, the big Crisis, spanned a year and literally restarted the entire DC Universe line of titles. The newest incarnation, Infinite Crisis, is more comparable, as it had dozens of lead-in issues, on top of the 7-issue mini.

Zero Hour itself covered five issues, and was entirely self-contained in those five. All I read at the time was Superman, and I didn't feel out of the loop at all . In fact, I thought it pretty crazy to see all the heroes and villains come out of the woodwork, like the JSA. Parallax came from left field, as did the deaths.

It wasn't perfect, but I look back on it fondly. Few stories are really so good to earn five stars. This is a solid four star story, with great art and a terrific yarn of a plot that will satisfy many. You just have to let the story tell itself, have to let understand that not all characters can act as you want them in your fan fiction, and sometimes the greastest of heroes can become the most tragic villains. Give it a shot; you won't be disappointed.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Can be confusing for new readers, July 18, 2006

By 

Steve Fuson "comics geek" (Beaverton, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Zero Hour: Crisis in Time (Paperback)

After Crisis on Infinite Earths the history of the DC Universe had to be blended into one continuity, but not all of that history had been mapped out in advance and some of the continuity was a bit fuzzy. With Crisis almost a decade behind and hindsight being 20/20, Zero Hour was intended to tie up the few remaining continuity errors.

I originally read this story when it came out in monthly installments and I liked it. The events here bled into other books and all kinds of time anomalies occured, like the Superboy of appeared after the death of Superman running into the young Kal-El Superboy, and a Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) from a time period before she was paralyzed showed up and joined the fight.

The crossover tried to promote new characters like Damage and dealt with major shake-ups like what was happening with Guy Gardner, which is what a crossover should do. A regular Superman reader picks it up to see what happens to him and becomes interested in what's happening to Hawkman, so the reader starts buying Hawkman as well. Cross promotion of characters is the general idea here. But Guy Gardner is back to being a Green Lantern and Damage no longer has his own book, and a lot of the other things this crossover tries to promote are no longer relevant. In order to really enjoy this you would need to go and get the back issues, since most of what was happening at this time isn't collected in trades.

A personal critique is that the characters who seem important in the beginning aren't the ones who seem important in the end which is just poor storytelling. Somewhere in the attempt to put in as many characters as possible, the story ends up a bit unfocused.

But, as I said, I did enjoy it, and I still do. It was a story on a huge scale, time burning itself out on both ends. There were twists and turns. There were some very intriguiging paradoxes in the battle between Extant and Waverider. We understand why Parallax is doing what he's doing but at the same time we know he has to be stopped. The artwork is good, and lots of characters make cameos (not quite as many as in Crisis but still a lot).

Keep in mind this was written before everything DC published got collected into trades. You do have to take it in context. And I highly recommend going to you local comic store and picking up the Zero Hour crossover issues of Superman, Batman, etc. They're definately worth reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hal Jordon Becomes Interesting... for a brief moment, August 14, 2011

By 

E. David Swan (South Euclid, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zero Hour: Crisis in Time (Paperback)

Duuuude, welcome to the 90's where Superman has AWESOME long
hair, Guy Gardner is called WARRIOR!! and Rob Leifeld is sending shockwaves through the industry with his.... well... there was a reason I went the entire decade without purchasing a single comic book.

Here's a confession. I start my reviews well before I finish reading a book and my review for Zero Hour was shaping up to be pretty harsh. The first issue of Zero Hour is both the most poorly written and features the worst artwork. My experience with Zero Hour was similar to when I read "The Great Darkness Saga". At first I couldn't fathom why so many people considered it to be one of the all time great comic storylines and Paul Levitz writing was to put it politely, not good. By the end, however, I was a total convert. Zero Hour isn't as well regarded but it definitely improves as it progresses to an explosive and satisfying ending.

Warning, I make no attempt to avoid spoilers....
Zero Hour was shaping up to be yet ANOTHER story of the DC heroes teaming up to save the universe from being consumed. Nowadays it seems like the DC heroes are saving the universe about as often as I go in for a physical. One wonders why they're so affected at this point or feel such desperation since they do it all the time. The story felt like a watered down version of Crisis on Infinite Earths until the big reveal of the power behind Extant. I'd had knowledge of the events of Zero Hour but I'd forgotten that Hal Jordon, now self renamed as Parallax, was attempting to recreate the universe in order to "fix" it and restore Coast City. Long before Jordon stepped forward it dawned on me who the man in the shadows was but it still was a powerful moment. Sadly, DC comics wimped out and years later decided that Parallax was a separate entity controlling Hal Jordon. It's crystal clear that Dan Jurgen intended for Hal Jordon to be acting under his own motivation having snapped from the tragic events of the previous years and the story works much better as Jurgen intended it.

What sets Zero Hour apart from Crisis on Infinite Earths is that there is a certain level of ambiguity about whether the villain is actually a villain. You never question whether the Anti-Monitor is villainous but in this story you're talking about Hal Jordon trying to restore his hometown even if his methods are horrific. In this sense it's more like Watchmen with readers able to debate whether Ozymandias's actions could actually be regarded as benevolent in the end. Even some of the heroes side with Jordon seeing wisdom in his cause. After reading Zero Hour I have to say that Infinite Crisis, a series I really enjoyed, feels like it rips off this mini-series heavily with Alexander Luthor replacing Parallax and Superboy Prime standing in for Extant. On the other hand, the conclusion of Zero Hour steals from Crisis on Infinite Earths where Dr. Light was used as a conduit for the energy attacks of various heroes to blast the Anti-Monitor. In Zero Hour the character Damage becomes the conduit. There is a ton of pseudoscientific gobbledygook and I learned that just about any problem can be solved by, "pouring energy into it". Need to widen a Boom Tube? Pour energy into it. Tear in the fabric of space and time? Throw a Mobius Chair at it and pour energy into it. Another way to close a time rift is to, "race away from the rift fast enough to create your own vortex-- then double back through it at ultimate speed-- right into the heart of the rift which may cause a powerful shockwave that will collapse it" And the cool thing is, it always works. I have to wonder if the JLA fixes a clogged toilet by focusing all their energy attacks on it in one concentrated blast.

I don't regret buying Zero Hour one bit and say what you will it really is a major event in the history of DC comics. Crisis on Infinite Earths was better and in my opinion so was Infinite Crisis but Zero Hour carves its own nitch. Jordon becoming Parallax was pretty darn cool until DC undid it. I also have to say that Extant's costume is one for the ages and I loved the way his identity kept changing. If you're a fan of DC comics this is one you should probably own.

So that's my review but let me close with a brief rant on the state of the comic industry. I didn't buy comics in the 90's because they were just too Kewl for my simple tastes. Actually, I was busy finishing college and finding a job and the cost just didn't factor into my life at the time. Zero Hour is a good analogy for the 90's. In Zero Hour a rift was consuming time while in the comic industry the publishers were burning the candle at both ends. The comic industry has always had a carnival barker type atmosphere with covers promising the most shocking, amazing stories ever but in the 90's they ramped it up to the nth degree with publishers more than subtly implying that the comics were serious collectables. Great writing was downplayed as publishers focused on pushing first appearances, issue number 1's (and 0's), character deaths, variant covers and *Good God* sealed comics never even meant to be read. Sure, you might have an issue of Spiderman but do you have the 3D, holofoil, glow in the dark, die cut, signed and numbered, limited edition variant cover? And these gimmicks worked like a charm... for awhile. And when collectors discovered that these are lousy collectables they naturally felt burned. There was a lot of bad writing and art shipped on high quality paper but wrapping an old fish in velvet instead of newspaper doesn't make it smell any better. The aftermath of Zero Hour was a major gimmick that saw all the DC titles restart with issue #0. Some of the monster hits of the 90's could sell in excess of 1 million copies and today it's rare for any comic to break the 100k mark in any month. Even today I've skipped Brightest Day and Flashpoint because the buzz just wasn't all that good. If comics are to regain their numbers it will have to be with better writing and a reboot of the DC universe with the same mediocre stories just isn't going to do it. Zero Hour didn't create these problems but it was definitely at the eye of the storm.