Alright back with another comic book review for this road to. Let's get to it.
Kingdom Come was a 1996 four part miniseries published by DC Comics under their Elseworlds imprint. The miniseries was written by Mark Waid and drawn by Alex Ross.
The story is, terrible events happened after an attack at the Daily Planet. These events caused the greatest hero of them all, Superman, to retire. Years later a new generation of heroes has emerged but their moral compass has become just as reckless as the villains. Having enough Superman returns and reforms the Justice League, but what nobody knows is this event will lead to a battle that'll define not only what true heroism is, but the future of the planet.
- Negatives
I've got nothing.
- Mix
I've got nothing here as well.
- Positives
One pro goes to the pacing. Now I have read this story before, but I forgotten about the pacing. So I was going into this clueless, and to my surprise it's a quick read. I breeze through this within a day and didn't miss any part of a great story.
My next praise goes to Alex Ross' art. This is gonna come out as a cop out but, my words truly don't do his work any justice. And if you don't believe me, here's a tiny snippet of what Alex Ross is capable of.
Oh yeah, this beauty right here doesn't even scratch the surface. You get tons more amazing pieces like this.
The last thing I'll praise is, the story. Let's start off with the very common praise. That being one part of the story is an old generation of superheroes vs. a new generation. Now one thing I've read from other reviews is how there's a meta commentary on how anti-heroes are no better than the villains. I don't tend to agree with that. That mainly just comes into the anti-heroes' designs. Combat boots, pouches, and awesome guns. All the big trends that were sweeping the comics industry during the 90's. To me the story was mainly about two generations colliding and their BOTH at fault. The new generation, no doubt about it, they're reckless. And yes, there are ones who shouldn't be labeled heroes, but at the same time that group did consist of people who wanted to change by the end of the story. The biggest one and essentially the spearhead of that generation [Magog] wanted to repent from his sins. What about the old generation? Superman's generation? Do they screw up? Oh yeah. At first their mission is very noble. Stop the recklessness and endangerment of innocent lives caught in the crossfire. But at some point during the story they over step and become more authority figures than heroes. So while I get the meta aspect, the story had a great gray story, it wasn't as black and white as a lot of people make it out to be. What I also praise is the growing tension. The moment were told Superman's return isn't a great return because it's the first step to heading towards the Armageddon, you're just anxiously waiting for the powder keg to blow. Another fantastic thing I loved as well as many others is this very jaded Superman's journey. When we first see him and read his dialogue, it's very clear that this isn't the usual Superman. At first he clearly wants nothing to superpowers, superheroes, etc. When he returns and notices maybe his not being the same hero he once was, he goes on a journey of what heroism truly is. It's this part of the story as to why even though it's primarily a DC Universe story (albeit set in a different universe), it's also called a great Superman story. My last praise goes to how Mark Waid brilliantly structured the story around The Bible's Book of Revelation. The symbolism is played beautifully and speaking on a stylized viewpoint, it really made the story even more mythical and grand.
Kingdom Come is a favorite of mine. I've read this at least five times, and it still, IT STILL amazes me.
My final rating is, A MUST READ!
That was a fun one. Anyways, come back on Saturday, Feb 1st, for my review of DreamWorks newest animated feature, Dog Man. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and read Kingdom Come.
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