This is absolutely stunning. Where to even start?The closest thing I can compare this to is Crisis On Infinite Earths. It's on a much smaller scale setting wise, just the one Earth, but the cast of characters is immense, so complex and otherworldly I won't even get into it. And the writing is ripe with social criticism and politics. And there are many plots.The story, much like Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross's Marvels, is told from a bystander's perspective, a pastor who has lost faith and begun to e...

Beautiful art, deep and interesting story full of twists and truths hidden behind truths.And really how do you control a world full of meta humans and how do you keep faith.If you're a fan of super hero comics this one is almost essential.

(1) Why is Green Lantern's custom design looks so much like Parallax's!? Did the artists run out of custom design or something!? LOL(2) Well! It's mentioned that the daughter of Red Arrow and the mercenary Cheshire, has become Red Hood.(3) I can't stress this enough but Alex Ross' artwork and the characters' design is so, so exquisite! Glorious! Amazing! You are welcome to take a look at the example of said artwork here.(4) Plus the middle-age to old-age Justice League members are so damn badass...

Mark Waid and Alex Ross's story that spans years in the future dystopian DC universe where the heroes have gone (away) and all that remains are countless reckless metahumans who have little regard for humanity. Events lead to the return of the old guard and to what could be potentially mankind's end. Highly rated, but not that exceptional to be honest, although definitely a good read. 7 out of 12.

80% | B+ | Great"The future...like so much else...is open to interpretation"The Justice League are retired, living normal lives out of the spotlight. However, they are thrust back into their former lives as they make a final stand to save the planet they used to diligently protectWow. This is comicbook storytelling at its finest. The writing is superb and the art is absolutely immaculate, emulating that of a beautifully crafted painting in every panel. There is a strong focus on morality and mor...

#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. (Collect them all!)From the October 1998 edition with a theme of "Limited Series":INTRODUCTIONOne of the greatest innovations of the last two decades has got to be the limited series. My two favorite comics of all time, for instance, are limited series: WATCHMEN and BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. Even my favorite independent title, CEREBUS,...

Kingdom Come should be in the (holy) canon of graphic novels. It is easily among the top 25 (10?) greatest stories ever written for super-hero comics. The story takes place in the future. Most of the DC roster of heroes have grown old. Superman (don’t call him Clark) has retired. It seems that the public can only stand so much of villains, like the Joker, who, because of the thou-shalt-not-kill-villains hero code, just escape from jail and repeatedly wreak havoc.Some heroes break the code, star...

"Kingdom Come" is one of the most boring, overrated, and simply bad "event" books from DC I've read. It lacks a coherent narrative, competent writing, strong characterisation, and, maybe most basic of all, an interesting story. Mark Waid's writing on this book is truly abysmal. The saving grace of this book is Alex Ross' artwork which may be the reason so many people think it's a "classic" of the superhero genre. But even Ross' photo-realistic art can't save it from the literary quagmire it driv...

"They move freely through the streets… through the world, but unopposed. They are, after all… our protector." I wasn't expecting to like this. I really wasn't. It was just one of those days when I have no idea what to read, then remembered someone recommending this, so I picked it up. Imagine my surprise when I ended up loving it. I'm pretty iffy with older comics because of how they are written. I don't really enjoy the way it's written as some of them are written in a very dated way

This one is a classic. If you haven't read it? You should.However, that doesn't mean it's perfect or even that it's one of my personal favorites.Something happened that made Superman give up. And in this Elseworlds story, that caused a chain reaction in other superheroes that eventually meant the old guard (mostly) retired into oblivion. Now the world is left with the next generation of heroes who don't have the same respect for human life that their parents and grandparents had, and there's no...

This is such a layered story that it almost makes no sense to write a review after only one reading. On the other hand, despite being very good (and make no mistake, it’s very good), this is probably one I won’t be re-reading soon. It’s a demanding story, and occasionally unsettling, much like Watchmen. There’s even a novelization (Kingdom Come), which I may even seek out at some stage, to fill in the gaps.The story deals with the premise of a world filled with superhumans who have no regard for...

One of the DC’s crown jewels! This TPB edition collects “Kingdom Come” #1-4, plus an epilogue (exclusive of the collected TPB edition), an introduction by Elliot S. Maggin (who did the prose novelization), and a Sketch gallery (including a guide of the characters portraited on each individual cover of the original comic book issues).Creative Team:Writers: Mark Waid & Alex RossIllustrator: Alex RossLetterer: Todd Klein ROAD TO KINGDOM COME This epic tale showing the last days of the DC Super

This story is about the children and grandchildren of the Old Guard superheroes (think Justice League and the like), who are lacking in finesse, compassion and an overriding need to protect the regular people. Instead, they bicker, brag about wiping out Old Guard villains and then proceed to become the villains by having gang fights out in public, putting the humans at risk amidst flying cars, crumbling buildings and all types of energy blasts. Superman has since withdrawn from things after a yo...

This is just about as bad a book as DK2.There is a Power Girl Boob joke at the end, almost as if Waid read this and realized it had not a single moment of levity.This is dark and right wing reactionary garbage. It's scary because it doesn't seem far off. Everything new or different or changed is bad. Also everyone in the justice league except batman and flash just abandon everyone.Throw in the weird religious blunt hammering over the head...just NOT my cup of tea.I've now read 2 horrid books in

Following the departure of Superman and the old guard of heroes, a new generation is content to play judge, jury and execution by killing its enemies.  10 years have passed and a battle in the heartland of America results in a nuclear explosion that wipes out millions of people and effectively obliterates stockpiles of America’s food supply. At the urging of Wonder Woman, Superman returns to try and sort out the mess, but the world is a very different place from when he left.  Can Superman relax...

I write this with some trepidation since on the Goodreads List of Best Graphic Novels of all Time, Kingdom Come is one of the very top books. It was maybe the only one in the top fifty I had never read, so when a student who loves it brought it to me to read, well. .. anticipation, but yes, I began with trepidation. High expectations. But consider this context: I am teaching a graphic novels/comics class, and had just read books at the very top of the Best GN list, Dark Knight Returns, Fun Home,...

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.If there is one thing that heroes are for, it is to inspire the people and the upcoming generations by being the voice of reason, truth, and justice. Not only do they tend to speak the maxims of life that humans should abide by, they also display concrete actions that present unquestionable proof of their moral and ethical values as beings who are the living embodiment of Good. Their exemplary behaviour becomes a norm that is difficult to ignore...

I love Alex Ross's superhero art, especially on a book like Kingdom Come. There's the right mix of epic pages with awe-inspiring visuals and panels that use realism to show these still larger-than-life characters as flawed and human, in their own ways. The character design, both aging up existed DC characters and creating new ones, is almost flawless.And yes, there's a story, too. And the story is perfectly suited for the art, or vice versa. It's a story with larger-than-life, almost godlike her...

easily the best artwork I've seen so far in a comic book. Alex Ross may use models and photographs and Photoshop intensively in order to obtain this photorealistic effect, but I don't really care as long as the final product is something like this. He's abusing a little the trick of illuminating a face from bellow to increase dramatism, but I love the color palette and the dynamism of his scenes.The decision to depict the superheroes as mature / older versions of their established images is anot...