Crisis on Infinite Earths

The mega-series of mega-series

This is the one that started the whole "crisis of" cross-over trend at DC. An outstanding tour-de-force by Marv Wolfman and George Perez that achieved what it set out to do: lay a basis for reorganizing the DC Universe into a single self-consistent whole. Wolfman didn't do this without casualties -- several beloved figures died in the process and their deaths provided additional tragedy and pathos for future stories -- but in the process he provided a basis for understanding the DC characters we have known and loved in the context of a new single universe. Characters such as Kal-L, Kara Zor-El, Barry Allen and others are celebrated and treated with a reverence lacking in more recent "crises".

On the whole, I missed the Multiverse concept and the color it gave to DC stories in the past but if they had to combine everything, this was the way to do it.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Crises for DC Comics Writers

DC writers apparently experienced their own crises when chronicling stories of the various DC parallel worlds and universes. Parallel world "Earth-2" was introduced by writer Gardner Fox and editor Julius Schwartz in "Flash of Two Worlds," and was revisited in the Flash story "Vengeance of the Immortal Villain" and the subsequent Justice League and Justice Society team-ups. It was hardly the most innovative concept, having been used many times before in various science-fiction stories, but nontheless provided a convenient vehicle for the reappearance of the "Golden Age" super-heroes from Earth-2, and their inevitable team-ups with their modern day ("Silver Age") counterparts. A problem is that it didn't stop there. Earth-2 begat Earth-3, which begat the various "infinite" earths. DC writers and editors -- patently not doing their jobs correctly -- eventually could not keep things straight, and even confused which characters could interact without the necessity of "parallel world hopping," via their existing on the same earth. Rather than deciding to "get things right," or simply ignore prior glaring inconsistencies, DC decided on a major overhaul. Part of this massive upheaval was DC's desire to de-age its various characters, to make them more "appealing" to younger readers. Another was to rid itself of "clutter," including the multiple earths concept and the various "Super-" characters which were a part of the "Superman Family." And yet another was a major project which would provide DC with a great deal of publicity. For those reasons, the Silver Age Flash died, with Kid Fash assuming the Flash identity, because there's a lot more hoopla over a major character dying rather than merely retiring and passing on the mantle to his successor. Superboy now "never existed," and Supergirl both "died" and "never existed," because the post-Crisis writers couldn't seem to agree whether the Crisis events were REMEMBERED by the super-heroes who survived, or were simply forgotten in a rebirth of sorts. But, of course, we now have a new Superboy, and two new Supergirls, both albeit conceptually somewhat different, so DC has gone back to "cluttering" its new universe which already reeks of the inconsistencies it supposedly strove to excise. Is the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS maxi-series and book bad? No, it's an average story which sought to do too much, and, more importantly, did what was UNNECESSARY to DC's universe. DC's "problems" could have been corrected by writers and editors who could read and think. Instead, they took the avenue of needlessly starting from scratch because they thought (rightly or wrongly) that would sell more product, and because (wrongly) that was the best alternative to correct its past mistakes. CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS is nontheless worth a read, just don't expect too much from it. Except, that is, for the unbelievable art. The story features fantastic pencil art by the great George Perez (and equally fantastic inking by Jerry Ordway), and a beautiful cover by Perez and the incomparable Alex Ross. Anyone who appreciates great comics art will want to purchase this volume even if only for that reason.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Death for Entire Worlds?!

This book is THE BEST DC COMIC I'VE EVER READ!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think the story was outstanding and the artwork was phenonemal. With an ensemble cast of the world's finest heroes, this is by far a must-have for D.C. fans. When a strange occurence is destroying entire dimensions, the Monitor, a shady character, enlists the help of our world's super heroes. Even though this series kills off such memorable heroes like Supergirl and (sniff) the Flash, you should read this book if you love comicbooks. If you're still reading this close this web site and buy Crisis! I am boring and Crisis is AWESOME!!!!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best MIni Series in Comics History.

Before Watchmen, Dc One Million, and Kingdom Come, DC introduced Crisis on Infinite Earths back in 1985 as a 12 part mini series. The premise was to start from scratch because the multiverse was becoming confusing to readers old and new alike. DC took a big risk when they said that things would never be the same and they have kept their word. It showed the deaths of heroes and introduced new ones. I read the other reviews and strongly disagree with them. The series was full of hype, it delivered unlike later mini series that came after it. It had no enhanced covers, just a excellent story that forever changed the DCU.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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