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Rating:  -
I read Superman back in the 60's when I was a kid. Tried to keep up with him in the 70's but as always, life happened.
I picked this book up a year ago because I was intriqued with what was going on when I heard about the work being done on the new "Superman Returns" movie. I was so blown away with the writing, artwork and action in this book I have returned as a comic book reader. I am not sure why I gave up my childhood pursuit, since the genre has obviously grown up as well.
Forget the naysayers. If you are wondering how good the comic/graphics novel genre has become, read this book.
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A change from traditional artwork make this book shine, you fall in love with the beauty of it in moments. The story is fantastic, and completely capable of actually happening. This story is a great "what if?" book, and a must have of any comic fan.
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It is encouraging to see that as I've grown up, comic books have grown up with me. When I was reading comic books as a kid they were kids' stories - the campy 50's & 60's stories had continued past the time when they were relevant. Then when the Infinite Crisis brought things "up to date", I was very glad to see more mature reading available and that comics weren't just something for little kids anymore. We had things like the death of Superman, which for previous generations is (or would be, if they read it) easier to recognise as what heroes do: they lay down their lives to defeat the great evils.
Then as I passed out of high school and through college I've again been glad to see that the writing has matured with me and Kingdom Come is certainly a good measure of that. Things start off with what we'd all recognise as the world having gone to hell in a hand-basket: those in power (or in this case 'with power') seem to have lost sight of the fact that they're supposed to have a greater sense of responsibility.
The story is told from the point of view of a disillusioned priest who's all but lost hope for humanity. Superman and the other familiar icons of super-humanity have decided, after a blatant case of a 'super' literally getting away with murder, to retire and leave mankind to 'reap the whirlwind'. As with most complicated decisions, it has become obvious that the easy choice was not the right one and Superman and the other icons of the Old Order return to set things right again, but must do so in such a way as to not rob humanity of its new-found maturity: they cannot simply step in and punch out the bad guys and live happily ever after...
The fact that the art was done by Alex Ross was one of my main reasons for getting the book and it loses nothing of it impact with re-readings, but the maturity of the story also holds up well for mature readers.
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I originally bought this title when it came out as a four-part mini series in 1997 and it is still one of the favorites in my collection.
Kingdome Come is an Elseworlds (what if) story set approximately ten years after the retirement of Superman and subsequently nearly every other super hero of that generation. As the story unfolds, the reason Superman quit is revealed. A rival hero named Magog killed the Joker and was put on trial for murder. When the public cried out for his aquittal and it was granted, Superman quit in disgust. The results of the public choosing a hero that would kill are very apparent in the future.
The children of the super heroes we know are everywhere. They hold society in a state of terror as they enforce justice and fight each other in the way they see fit, destroying property and causing chaos. The last straw is when Magog's Justice Battalion corners and tries to kill the Parasite in Kansas. Parasite lashes out in self-defense and splits Captain Atom open, turning the Midwest into a radioactive wasteland. Wonder Woman approaches Superman in his self-imposed exile in the Fortress of Solitude and asks him to return and lead the older heroes in returning order.
When Superman returns to the public eye in issue #2, it sets into motion an Apocalypse as described in the Bible, but with Superheroes being the catalyst. The new Justice League rounds up every violent super human and puts them into a prison designed by Mister Miracle(The world's greatest escape artist) called the Gulag. All this is shown from the viewpoint of Norman McCray, a disillusioned pastor and friend of the Golden Age Sandman. He is led on his journey by the Spectre (DC's Angel of Death)
Issue #3 has Superman finally confront Magog, though their meeting doesn't end the way one might think. The issue ends in a cliff-hanger with all the villains rioting and breaking out of the Gulag. As Superman races to the scene, he is thrown to the ground by the only person left that could, Captain Marvel (who has been brainwashed by Lex Luthor). I still remember waiting for issue #4 to come out.
The fight scene between Captain Marvel and Superman at the beginning of issue #4 was voted one of the top five comic fights of all-time by Wizard magazine and is worth the price of this trade alone. As Marvel keeps Superman from stopping the Gulag breakout, the U.N. has decided to not take any chances. They dispatch jets to drop nuclear bombs on the warzone. As the jets approach, Superman tries to reason with Capt. Marvel and stop the bombs, leaving Marvel to decide the fate of all the heroes.
I absolutely love this story by Mark Waid. The way he wraps comic characters and events into a Biblical epic is brilliant. Even his descriptions of the heroes are grandiose. Batman and Superman are called the greates heroes because "One, the zenith of human fortitude and ambition... the other, the pinnacle of other-worldly power". The painted art by Alex Ross is jaw-dropping in it's realism. The re-imagined characters are god-like in their depiction. Green Lantern has created a city orbiting the Earth and sits in a throne observing the events below him. Hawkman as become a Hawk-god protecting the forests of the Northwest. The Flash is shown as a red blur wrapped in lightning wearing a winged Greek helmet and moving to fast to be seen by those he protects.
The only possible negative to this series is that you have to already know something about comics to fully appreciate all the subtleties Waid and Ross weave into this story. Nearly every DC character is pictured at least once.(A geek's paradise I guess) After reading this I actually liked Captain Marvel, who I had always seen as an even cheesier version of Superman. The fear the other heroes have of him and his power level make him hard to laugh at, despite Jerry Ordway's Power of Shazam monthly series to the contrary.
I hope my description of the story has led any undecided mind to pick this up. Fabulous art and incredible writing. (This should be 5 stars, but I can't seem to edit my rating)
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The story sets in the future where Superman has been betrayed by the people he protected, Wonder Woman outcast by the Amazon, the Green Lantern looks like a tortise and have lost touch with Earth, Batman is old and in need machine support. Earth is filled with a new breed of super heros causing chaos to the world.It is an interesting protray of the future, which seems to shine on the negative aspect of the human behaviour.
The story is not the only thing that I enjoyed while reading. I am also impressed with the art work and wonderful use of colors. The figures look realistic and alive. The only flip side of this is the use of water colors, no matter how you try, it always give a softer feeling, therefore it is difficult to give a strong impact to the storyline.
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