How I Would Have Solved DC's Big Crisis, Part 2: The Crisis!

I'll admit it. I was excited about Crisis on Infinite Earths, and I read every bit of news I could lay my hands on in the months leading up to the January 1985 launch. There was a lot of speculation about which worlds would live (Spoiler: only one, though I believe at one point Earth-One and Earth-Two were both supposed to survive -- one for the modern heroes and one for the golden age heroes) and which worlds would die (all the rest). The Comics Buyer's Guide and Amazing Heroes were great sources of new information as it was released. For a guy who looked forward to the annual JLA/JSA crossover, Crisis promised to be that and more!

Crisis on Infinite Earths #1
Art by George Perez, ©1985, 2020 DC

January 3, 1985, finally arrived and the Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 hit the stands. I had to wait until later in the month to get my shipment of comics since I lived in a small rural town, about seventy miles away from the closest comics shop. From the opening captions, "In the beginning there was only one, a single black infinitude, so cold and dark for so very long that even the burning light was imperceptible. But the light grew and the infinitude shuddered, and the darkness finally . . . screamed, as much in pain as in relief. For in that instant a multiverse was born. A multiverse of worlds vibrating and replicating . . . and a multiverse that should have been one, became many." (Marv Wolfman, Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, 1/3/1985, p. 1)

The main protagonists of that first issue were the Monitor and his assistant Lyla, and the twelve heroes they summoned to help save the multiverse. Those first twelve heroes were:

• Superman of Earth-Two, representing the Justice Society of America
• Firebrand of Earth-Two, representing the All-Star Squadron
• Obsidian of Earth-Two, representing Infinity, Inc.
• Psycho-Pirate of Earth-Two
• Firestorm of Earth-One, representing the Justice League of America (pre-Detroit era)
• Green Lantern John Stewart of Earth-One, representing the Green Lantern Corps
• Cyborg of Earth-One, representing the New Teen Titans
• Geo-Force of Earth-One, representing the Outsiders
• Dawnstar of Earth-One, representing the Legion of Super-Heroes
• Psimon of Earth-One, a member of the Fearsome Five
• Killer Frost of Earth-One
• Blue Beetle of Earth-Four
• Arion, Lord of Atlantis
• Solovar of Gorilla City
• Doctor Polaris

From the outset, with the loss of Earth-Three and the Crime Syndicate, who were needed for the Monitor's plans, the stakes were raised. Even though the Crime Syndicate appeared rarely since their first appearance in 1964's Justice League of America #29, readers knew that DC was serious about cleaning house. By the time the final issue of the maxi-series was released on December 19, 1985, every reader had been taken on a journey that introduced new earths and new heroes but also had its share of losses. By the time the curtain closed, only one earth remained.

DC had made some hard choices. The plans moving forward were to make Superman the sole survivor of Krypton again, so Supergirl was sacrificed -- and died a hero's death. But what about Power Girl, the cousin of the Earth-Two Superman? Well, her origin changed, became more mystical and tied to the legend that was Arion, Lord of Atlantis. Another casualty of the Crisis was the Huntress, daughter of the Earth-Two Batman and Catwoman. She survived because she was at the dawn of time with the other heroes when the new universe was born, but her parents never existed on this new earth. It was perhaps best that she and her "brother," the Earth-Two Robin perished.

There were also plans for Wonder Woman, so the Earth-Two version retired to Olympus with her husband, Steve Trevor, and the Earth-One Amazon was devolved into the clay from which she was formed. A new Princess Diana made her entrance to Patriarch's World a short time later as part of DC's Legends event.

Despite some solid work from writer Marv Wolfman and artists George Perez, Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo, and Jerry Ordway, DC's Crisis was like the road to hell: paved with good intentions. Cracks began appearing almost immediately and within a couple years, DC faced continuity gaffes with the original Captain Marvel, Hawkman, Wonder Girl, and more.

Next: How I Would Have Solved DC's Big Crisis: My Original Solution

How I Would Have Solved DC's Big Crisis, Part 1: Leading up to the Crisis

"Worlds will live. Worlds will die. And the DC Universe will never be the same."

Promotional ads for Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Art by George Perez and Dick Giordano; ©1984, 2020 DC

Those were pretty big statements to make, but DC began promoting their first company-wide crossover with tagline in 1984. Crisis on Infinite Earths was the culmination of work begun as a project at least two years earlier as a history of the DC universe. Comics historian Peter Sanderson was hired to read every DC comic ever published as part of that project. What was originally going to be a straightforward DC history soon became two separate projects: Crisis, which would be 12 issues in length with the final two issues being a concise history of the DC universe, and Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe.

The origins of the project are fairly clear. DC editor Len Wein is believed to have answered a fan's letter in a Green Lantern letter column that admitted that DC's continuity was a little messy (I'm paraphrasing), with some stories simply not fitting into DC's known multiverse. I'll admit that there were some inconsistencies. DC's continuity wasn't as simple as Marvel's at that time. But the Marvel universe at that time was less than 25 years old while the DCU was approaching 50.

But truth be told, the DCU wasn't that confusing. There were basically five earths that DC told stories on, and a couple others that made the occasional appearance. Those earths were:

• Earth-One: home of the Justice League of America, the New Teen Titans, the Outsiders, the Doom Patrol, and -- in the future -- the Legion of Super-Heroes
• Earth-Two: home of the Justice Society of America; the Seven Soldiers of Victory; Infinity, Inc., and -- in the past -- the All-Star Squadron
• Earth-Three: home of the Crime Syndicate
• Earth-C: home of Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!
• Earth-C Minus: home of Just'a Lotta Animals
• Earth-S: home of Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family, Shazam's Squadron of Justice and other Fawcett characters, and Kid Eternity (who was originally published by Quality Comics)
• Earth-X: home of the Freedom Fighters, heroes originally published by Quality Comics who migrated to Earth-X from Earth-Two
• Earth-Prime: "our earth," one with no heroes to speak of, though a couple did appear over the years

Did Bob Haney's stories in The Brave and the Bold and World's Finest Comics defy definition? Well, some of them did, such as those in which Sgt. Rock appeared. And how about those Super Sons?

The sergeant's first appearance took place during World War II, which would place the story on Earth-Two, but the yellow oval around the bat on Batman's chest was indication that the story featured the Earth-One Batman. And then there were stories co-starring Sgt. Rock that took place in the present. But Batman also met Kamandi and worked in the daytime when Batman and Detective Comics featured the return of the Creature of the Night aspect of the Batman. Readers generally consigned those stories that didn't really fit to an Earth-B, named for Bob Haney.

So really, did having two Supermen, two Batmen, two Robins, two Wonder Women, etc., muddy the waters that much? Especially considering that when DC reintroduced the multiverse in 2006, there were far more than two or three Supermen, Batmen, or Wonder Women?

But I'm getting ahead of myself . . ..

Next: The Crisis!

Everything Happened . . . or DC Comics the 5G Way

GENERATION ZERO: GODS AMONG US
Cover art by Francis Manapul, ©2020 DC

There's been a lot of talk over the past eight months or so about DC Comics' new 5G (or Generation Five) initiative. It is supposedly a restructuring of DC's 85-year history into five distinct generations and a prequel issue:

• Generation Zero: Gods Among Us
• Generation One: Age of Mysteries
• Generation Two: Age of the Metahuman
• Generation Three: Age of Crisis
• Generation Four: Age of Rebirth
• Generation Five: Age of Tomorrow

According to Jim Lee at C2E2, 5G is not a relaunch or reboot. We'll see.

There are things about this new timeline that excite me. My favorite heroes, the Justice Society of America, are back in a place of prominence during the World War II years alongside the Freedom Fighters, Seven Soldiers of Victory, and the All-Star Squadron. I couldn't be more excited about this. Hopefully, DC will give us some titles out of G1.

There are also some things that don't thrill me as much. Wonder Woman being the first public superhero, for example. No, I'm not being misogynistic; I just believe that if "everything happened," then Superman should still be the first superhero with Batman following along about a year later and Wonder Woman arriving in Man's World just before America's entrance into World War II. You know, the way the stories were originally published. But this is a minor -- and I do mean minor -- quibble. I'm actually more concerned about how they're going to do the time jumps so that the original Titans (Dick, Donna, Wally, Garth, and Roy) have their moment to shine or so that the Super Sons (Jon Kent and Damian Wayne) have their adventures.

The recent firing of Dan DiDio (and the lack of comment on the firing from DC, WarnerMedia, or AT&T) has fans and comics media wondering if 5G is going to publish as originally planned or if it will be scuttled. It has been reported that AT&T/WarnerMedia wants a more synergistic relationship between the comics and other media formats, including TV, movies, games, and more. DC's 85-year history is seen as somehow making that more difficult since Superman has been around since 1938, Batman since 1939, and Wonder Woman since 1941. That sounds like a cop-out. Still, I understand the need for "fresh new ideas." Just ask me about some of the missteps taken with some of my other favorite intellectual properties (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, etc.). Anyway . . .

Coming up next: How I Would Have Solved DC's Big Crisis, Part 1

It's been a long, long time . . .

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

I don't like to get too personal here on my blog about reading, but I noticed it's been well over two years since I last posted a review of any kind. And that's too long! So I've decided to do something about it -- and post something. Will wonders never cease? Lol

Here's the long and short of it: I've been sick. No, I don't have cancer or anything serious like that, and I'm not a carrier of anything contagious. I just get worn out quickly and that makes me susceptible to getting sick in other ways. If I'm careful -- and I am working on that -- I live a perfectly normal life.

My hope is that I will post something here every two or three days. We'll see how long I do that. Lol

Up first? A series of articles on DC Comics' new 5G initiative and the stuff leading up to it, starting with the granddaddy of all crossovers, Crisis on Infinite Earths. Basically, I'm going to write down thoughts I've had through the years on how things should have ended with Crisis. Feel free to post comments. I may even reply.

Review: Renegades (Recruits #2) by Thomas Locke

RENEGADES, the second book in Thomas Locke's "Recruits" series for young adults, picks up and continues the adventures of Earth-born twins Sean and Dillon Kirrell as they navigate Diplomatic Institute and Academy, respectively, as part of the Human Assembly on the planet Serena.

Having their talents discovered much later than others their age who attend classes and train on Serena, Sean and Dillon's advanced abilities, including using their strengths and weaknesses in tandem, are the object of scorn and disbelief. They, however, continue to gain allies within the Human Assembly as their skills are proved yet again in the field.

Locke has successfully created a serial science fiction adventure in the style of Buck Rogers, Star Trek, and Star Wars-- one that leaves the reader craving the next adventure as soon as the current one ends.

I received a copy of the book from the author and Revell Books in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie (trade paperback) by Anthony Del Col, Werther Dell'Edera, and Stefano Simeone

In his introduction to the trade paperback collection of Dynamite Entertainment's Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie, Francesco Francavilla states, "These are the Hardy Boys like you have never seen them before. This is Nancy Drew like you've never seen her before. And this is to say that the book is not your grandparents' NANCY DREW AND THE HARDY BOYS books."

Thank God!

Please don't misunderstand me. Growing up, I voraciously read the yellow-spined Nancy Drew and blue-spined Hardy Boys books. I quickly discovered that some of the books I was reading were revised editions of books originally published between 1927, when the first Hardy Boys books hit the market, and about 1957. Thanks to a dear friend I was able to read most of the original text versions of the Nancy Drew books. I've since read the original versions of the first 34 Drew books, and a good number of the first 38 Hardy Boys books.

A change in both series took place in 1959. In addition to a new volume in both series, the first couple of books in each series was revised to eliminate negative stereotypes, shorten the stories, and to increase the amount of action. The Hardy brothers and Nancy Drew had been known to work outside of -- and in competition with -- law enforcement. With the revisions, the characters became pro law-and-order types. In Nancy's case, she also became practically perfect in every way. She could step into a role on the stage at a moment's notice having memorized the lines or play the bagpipes after one lesson or speak a dialect of a language having heard it once or twice. By 1977 the early books in both the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series had been revised, and the first 58 Hardy Boys and first 56 Nancy Drew books continue to be in print to this day. Even though new series for the characters are currently being published, it is the blue-spined Hardys and yellow-spined Nancy Drews that most people remember and pass on to their kids, grandkids, nieces, and nephews.

But writer Anthony Del Col, artist Werther Dell'Edera, and colorist Stefano Simeone have brought Nancy, Frank, and Joe into the 21st century, changing their external circumstances -- we find out that Fenton Hardy was murdered, for example, on the second page of the story -- without changing the essence of what makes Nancy, Frank, and Joe who they are. Bayport Police Chief Ezra Collig is here, but is now a person of color. Carson Drew is now a federal prosecutor. Nancy, Frank, and Joe are friends with or acquainted with other familiar series book characters such as Tom Swift, Bert and Nan Bobbsey, the Rover Boys, etc.

Dropping Nancy Drew and Frank and Joe Hardy into a noir setting, a setting definitely more hard-boiled than they usually find themselves, would seem to be an odd choice except for the fact that they manage to take it all in stride. Readers soon discover that this isn't the first time Nancy, Frank, and Joe's world has been rocked by secrets better left hidden. Del Col ends the story with a cliffhanger, promising that this is only "The End . . . For Now," suggesting that there is far more to the story than what is told in The Big Lie.

Del Col writes succinctly, allowing Dell'Edera's art and Simeone's colors to convey mood and demeanor and move the story forward. Dell'Edera's art is loose and sketch-like in places but emphasizes at the same time the idea that things are constantly in motion. Simeone's colors manage to make Bayport look like the perfect vacation spot that visitors see, as when he uses bright color tones like those used in comics 35 years ago and more, and also reveals the seedy side of the town through the use of darker tones when America's favorite teen detectives move into areas where perhaps they shouldn't be.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Fans of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys who only want to read stories involving Nancy, Frank, and Joe as they appear in the books from 1957-1979 may be reluctant to give this a try, but if they do I think they'll find that the same things they like about the characters in those books are still here.

I understand Dynamite Entertainment has green-lighted the second arc of Del Col's story for release in 2018. I can't wait! (And I hope that Simon and Schuster, owners and publishers of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, considers a prose companion series for teens/young adults featuring the characters.)

Rating: 5 Stars

I received a copy of the trade paperback from Dynamite Entertainment and Diamond Book Distributors through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Distorted by Christy Barritt (Cape Thomas #3)

I suppose I could make this review short and sweet: "Awesome book! 5 Stars! Buy it NOW!!!" After all, Christy Barritt is an author who never fails to please me as a reader.

Barritt once again delivers strong, well-developed characters who find themselves working together under seemingly impossible circumstances, keeping -- and strengthening -- their faith, and coming through the trial stronger than before.

Synopsis: Mallory Baldwin is a survivor. A former victim of human trafficking, she’s been given a second chance, yet not a night goes by that she doesn’t remember being a slave to weapons dealer Dante Torres. Despite being afraid of the dark and wary of strangers, Mallory is trying to rebuild her life by turning her tragedy into redemption.

To former Navy SEAL Tennyson Walker, Mallory seems nothing like the shattered woman he rescued two years ago, and he can’t help but be inspired by her strength and resilience. So when a stalker suddenly makes Mallory vulnerable once again, Tennyson steps up as her bodyguard to keep her safe.

Mallory and Tennyson’s mutual attraction can’t be ignored, but neither can Mallory’s suspicion that Tennyson is keeping a terrible secret about her past. As the nightmare closes in, it’s not only Mallory and Tennyson’s love that comes under fire but their very lives as well. Will their faith sustain them? Or will the darkness win once and for all?

Barritt opens Distorted with the rescue of Mallory Baldwin and then reintroduces her to the reader after a two-year period during which time Mallory has been healing and reclaiming her life. Throughout Distorted, Barritt writes a convincing story of a woman who refuses to live in fear but who also deals with continuing effects of the trauma of having once been the victim of human trafficking. "Through the grace of God, I'm a victor not a victim!" is Mallory's watchword.

As with any story that features a mystery, I played armchair detective and tried to figure out who the bad guy really is. There are a couple of red herrings thrown in that will surely have the reader guessing that a person is involved in stalking Mallory, at the very least, only to find that they guessed wrong. Highly recommended!

Rating: 5 Stars

I received a copy of the book from the author and Waterfall Press through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.