DC Comics Kingdom Come

After following the whole Crisis Saga from Crisis on Multiple Earths to Final Crisis the last stop would probably be Kingdom Come. In fact Kingdom Come is a true eulogy to the DCoU. Although it was published in 1996 it probably has more relevance now as we start the new chapter with the DC 52.

Kingdom Come starts off a good twenty years in the future with the Justice League mainly in retirement and world which once had a hand full of valiant heroes now finds itself inhabited by reckless vigilante hero wannabies.

Superman who once kept the super heroes in line with his moral compass and leadership has gone into hiding after the Joker massacred everyone in the Daily Planet.

Magog who was first introduced into the DC Universe with Kingdom Come is now the figurehead of all the new generation of anti-heroes. Magog does what Batman and Superman could never do, he kills the Joker. At this point the world is turned upside down with heroes no longer giving a second thought to crossing that line.

The Spectre who was a regular character in the Crisis series tells us that the world is coming to an end, that the new generation of careless super powered vigilantes will doom the world. Wonder Woman the first super hero to kill a bad guy now has the task of reassembling the Justice League and setting things right again.

The book collects four very full comics and tells a very action packed condensed story, one DC nowadays would stretch over 50+ issues.

The writers Mark Waid and Alex Ross have really put a huge amount of effort in creating this book which could easily be compared to the epicness of Watchmen in the way the only way Armageddon can be prevented is if a flawed group of people can overcome personal weakness in order to put the entire world right.

It’s one of the most well paced events in DC history too. If you have been put off by the way DC stretch events over a series of graphic novels this is all self contained.

The artwork is flawless, its consistently cover impressive with each panel a cover worthy tribute to the story. This type of classic artwork is something I think the new DC comics are frustratingly missing out on. You just don’t see artwork like this outside the covers of Fables.

Overall I would highly recommend Kingdom Come to anyone who is feeling nostalgic about the DC Universe and wants wants to say goodbye to the old school DC icons. If you felt like DC left the old universe like an unfinished story this book will be a great final chapter in comic book history.

Posted by Adi Mursec on January 30, 2012