DIVERSE CURRENTS #1: A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE

[Mitch Brown]

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/DCDCUniverse.jpg" align=left border=1>By Mitch Brown, ComiX-Fan DC Correspondent

DC Comics is perhaps the most respected and diverse publisher operating within the comic book industry today. DC is home to some of the most iconic properties in the world of comics; Batman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, and the granddaddy of them all, Superman; as well as being the home of the progressive superhero imprint Wildstorm, the revered "mature readers" imprint Vertigo and the CMX manga label. Most recently, DC Comics became the North American distributors for the popular European publishers Humanoids (The Metabarons, I Am Legion) and Rebellion (2000A.D., Judge Dredd), offering new printings and collections of classic material previously unavailable outside of Europe.

Alongside its expansive stable of characters, DC has also provided a home to some of greatest talents the industry has to offer – Jerry Siegel, Neal Adams, Bob Kane, Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Gardner Fox, Grant Morrison, Denny O’Neil, Jack Kirby, Julie Schwartz, Jim Lee, Neil Gaiman and many, many more.

February 2005 marks the seventieth anniversary of this storied and innovative publisher. Diverse Currents is a four-part exploration and celebration of the history and diverse flavor of the industry giant that is DC Comics. This first installment casts an eye over the expansive history of the company's most popular and enduring property – the DC Universe itself.



THE GOLDEN AGE



<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/newfuncomics.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/newfuncomicsT.jpg" alt="New Fun Comics #1" align=left></a>The story of DC truly began in February 1935 with the launch of New Fun Comics #1. An industry milestone, New Fun Comics is considered to be one of, if not the first comic book ever published to contain 100% new material. New Fun was produced by National Allied Magazines (later Nicholson Publishing, one of the companies that would later evolve into DC proper) and was the brain-child of former pulp magazine writer and entrepreneur, Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. At the time of its publication, newspaper comic strips were in high demand, with bound collections of Mandrake the Magician and Dick Tracy strips as hot commodities. Wheeler-Nicholson - wanting to break into the burgeoning comic book market - assembled a motley crew of Depression-era artists and writers who mimicked the successful strips of the day (such as Flash Gordon). Rather than pursuing rights to already published material, Wheeler-Nicholson’s strategy was to use unknown (and inexpensive) talent to helm his anthology.

New Fun Comics #1 featured the adventures of "Sandra of the Secret Service", "Don Drake on the Planet Saro" and "Barry O’Neil", edited by Lloyd Jacquet. Despite slow early sales, New Fun Comics would slowly pick up the pace, with its creative high point (in hindsight) being the first appearance of Siegel and Shuster’s Dr. Occult in New Fun Comics #6. Built on the success of New Fun Comics (later known as More Fun), Wheeler-Nicholson would go on to release the smaller-sized New Adventure and later the crime-oriented Detective Comics in 1937.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/ActionComics1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/ActionComics1T.jpg" alt="Action Comics #1" align=right></a>Despite the following Wheeler-Nicholson had constructed around New Fun and New Adventure, Nicholson’s business was in dire straits. In 1938, Wheeler-Nicholson filed for bankruptcy, but was kept afloat by his long-suffering business partners Harry Donenfield and Jack Liebowitz of the Independent News Company. Despite their own reservations about Wheeler-Nicholson’s product, Donenfield and Liebowitz would buy out Wheeler-Nicholson’s existing titles – Fun, Adventure and Detective – before throwing their own hat in the ring. Spearheaded by Liebowitz, Action Comics #1 was released in June 1938, heralding the arrival of comic books’ biggest phenomenon with the introduction of Siegel and Shuster’s Superman.

Action Comics #1 opened the floodgates of the superhero genre. In 1939, Adventure Comics would feature Bert Christman’s Sandman, while Detective Comics unveiled Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s shadowy vigilante – the Dark Knight Detective, Batman. Meanwhile, The Man of Steel would spin out of Action Comics and into his own series, simply known as Superman. The success of the Batman and Superman characters quickly spawned a variety of imitators such as Fox Comics’ Wonder Man (the subject of the first ever comic industry lawsuit), Fawcett’s Captain Marvel and Standard’s The Black Bat.

In the early 1940s, National Periodicals/Nicholson Publishing took on the name of its flagship publication Detective Comics. The 1940s saw Superman spin off into radio and newspaper strips, as well as the continued expansion of its superhero content, as the company debuted characters such as The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Spectre, Hourman and Dr. Fate, along with expanding Superman’s own mythos with the introduction of Jimmy Olsen and Lex Luthor; while Detective Comics #38 saw the first appearance of Batman’s ever-present sidekick, Robin.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/allstar3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/allstar3T.jpg" alt="All-Star Comics #3" align=left></a>1941 ushered in the concept of the “super-team” in All-Star Comics #3, bringing the Atom, Dr. Fate, Green Lantern, Hourman, Sandman, the Spectre and the Flash together as the Justice Society of America. The creation of the JSA would also mark the beginning of the "Superhero Universe", laying the foundation for the decades of rich DC continuity that would follow.

Until the inception of the Justice Society, DC’s characters had each operated within their own fictional realities, independent of one another. The formation of the JSA necessitated the creation of a shared fictional universe that would be inhabited by DC’s properties - a concept that has become a mainstay of the superhero genre to this day. The JSA would later lead to the birth of the All-Star Squadron and the inevitable pairing of the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel in The World’s Best Comics.

Yet another industry milestone would be reached in 1941 – the first ever female superhero/ine was introduced in All-Star Comics #8. Wonder Woman was the creation of psychologist and cultural observer William Moulton Marston. Marston criticized the presentation of females within comic books of the day, and the effect of their "overwhelming masculinity" on young readers. Marston would propose a counter balance in Wonder Woman, possessed of "all the strength of a superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman." Wonder Woman became yet another hit for DC, spinning out of All-Star and Sensation Comics into her own series in 1942, outselling most of DC’s other properties.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/morefun101.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/morefun101T.jpg" alt="More Fun Comics #101" align=right></a>1945’s More Fun Comics #101 marked the arrival of one of DC’s most popular, but notorious creations – Superboy. Superboy was the youthful version of the hugely popular Superman. Superboy was intended to capitalize on the youth of the comic book audience, presenting a character with all of Superman’s power, but at an age closer to that of DC’s target audience. While Superboy’s adventures proved popular with the readers, the Boy of Steel would cause large headaches for the company in years to come.

The character, created without approval from Siegel and Shuster, became the subject of a bitter lawsuit between Superman’s co-creators and DC. Superboy’s existence within DC’s Universe completely contradicted Siegel and Shuster’s original stories. In the established Superman canon, Superman had come into his powers and began his heroic career as an adult – a fact that was completely subverted by Superboy’s presence. Superboy supposed that a much younger Superman had already donned the costume and was fighting for "Truth, Justice and the American Way" in his hometown of Smallville.

Even worse was the fact that many Superboy writers were setting the young Kal-El’s adventures in the same time frame as those of the adult version – creating continuity problems and paradoxes within DC’s Shared Universe. Superboy would create a long-lasting rift between Siegel, Shuster and DC Comics, as well as having long-lasting repercussions for the DC Universe as a whole that would culminate decades later in 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/wertham.jpg" alt="Seduction of the Innocent Author Frederick Wertham" align=left>In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Post-World War II paranoia was mounting as the fear of Communist and "Un-Americanism" took hold over American culture. Moral and political witch-hunts drove many of the 1940s superheroes underground following the publication of Dr. Frederick Wertham’s book Seduction of the Innocent. The book focused around the supposed rise of juvenile delinquency, which Wertham linked (utilizing the sketchy logic of post-war censors) with comic books. Wertham’s claims led to intensive scrutiny of DC and other publishers’ content, as comic book publishers, writers and artists were subjected to governmental enquiry into their publications.

Many superhero comic books were accused of encouraging violence, communism and criminal activities. Rather than face the inevitable uphill struggle to preserve their content and prevent further Inquisitions, comic book publishers saw fit to establish their own governing body – the Comics Code Authority. Comic book publishers were encouraged to submit their material to the Authority who would judge its worthiness for publication based on content guidelines restricting sexual, violent or other potentially controversial content.

<img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/code.jpg" alt="Comics Code Authority Approval Seal" align=right>As restrictive as the Authority’s guidelines were for superhero content, the Comics Code effectively destroyed entire genres in the fledgling industry. Many horror, romance and crime comics were rejected by the Authority, forcing many publishers out of the business for many years to come.

With McCarthyism and the Comics Code Authority choking the industry of much of its creative force, comic books quickly became bland and formulaic affairs. While Superman and Batman survived, many other characters were not so lucky. The Flash, Green Lantern and the Spectre soon faded from view, bringing down the curtain on DC’s "Golden Age".



THE SILVER AGE



<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/detective225.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/detective225T.jpg" alt="Detective Comics #225" align=left></a>A few years later as the sweeping terror of the Communist menace began to (at least temporarily) subside. The initial hardline fervour of the Comics Code had begun to relax, creating a friendly environment for comic book publishers. Following the decline of superhero and horror books, war and science fiction stories, particularly those praising the American military’s fighting spirit and technological superiority had filled the comic book vacuum, but while most of the heroes seemed to be gone they certainly were not forgotten.

In 1955, DC had unveiled its first new superhero in quite some time – J’onn J’onnz, the Martian Manhunter. The Manhunter first appeared in Detective Comics #255 as a support feature. Mixing sci-fi elements with the costumed crimefighter, J’onn was DC’s first real hit since the arrival of Superboy and helped usher in the rebirth of DC’s superhero stable. J’onn would provide the spark that would ignite the "Silver Age".

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/showcase4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/showcase4T.jpg" alt="Showcase #4" align=right></a>Less than a year after Detective Comics #255, DC editor Julius "Julie" Schwartz was asked to revive the popular 1940s superhero speedster, the Flash. Schwartz agreed, but rather than use the original Flash Jay Garrick, Schwartz chose instead to revamp and update the character for a new audience. Written by Robert Kanigher and John Broome with art from Carmine Infantino and Joe Kubert, Showcase #4 hit the stands in September 1956, debuting the new, improved and science fiction influenced speedster Barry Allen.

The new Flash was an immediate success, with the redesigned costumed crimefighter proving to be popular with readers across the country, a phenomenon that kick started the revival of more of DC’s old heroes along with an assortment of new superhero properties that endure to this day. Showcase would become DC’s "try-out" book, spotlighting new characters, concepts and creative talent. While his original appearance had been intended as a one shot, Barry Allen would return the next year in the pages of Showcase for an encore appearance.

By 1959, DC had introduced characters such as Adam Strange, Bizarro, Lady Blackhawk, Space Ranger, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Supergirl, Batwoman and the Challengers of the Unknown. Lois Lane would spin off into her own series, while Superman’s pal Jimmy Olsen became the costumed hero Elasti-Lad. In 1959 DC finally revived Flash Comics with #105. The book was renamed as simply The Flash and became the vehicle for the ongoing adventures of the new Flash.

In September the same year, Showcase #22 sees the return of the Green Lantern by Gil Kane and John Broome. Like the Flash, this was not the Green Lantern of the previous decade, but an updated version of the classic character. Unlike the Golden Age Green Lantern’s magical ring, Hal Jordan’s abilities were firmly rooted in the now popular realms of science-fiction. Jordan’s ring and abilities were acquired from an alien being named Abin Sur. This new origin would later give rise to the Green Lantern Corps and the explosion of cosmically themed characters within the DC Universe.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/bravebold28.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/bravebold28T.jpg"alt="Brave & The Bold #28" align=left></a>If Barry Allen and the Martian Manhunter had begun the revival of the superhero genre, it was Hal Jordan that firmly laid down the roots for the Silver Age. Spurred on by the success of the new Green Lantern, DC would launch another comeback in the form of the Justice League of America – a re-imagined version of the Justice Society that would unite DC’s top characters under the one banner in The Brave and the Bold #28 (March, 1960). The original League featured the new Green Lantern and Flash, the Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and Wonder Woman, with supporting roles from Superman and Batman. The Justice League, like the Justice Society before it, would reinforce the shared universe that DC had pioneered the decade earlier.


The heroes had returned….



CRISIS ON MULTIPLE…NO, WAIT….INFINITE EARTHS!



<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/allstar8.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/allstar8T.jpg" alt="All-Star Comics #8" align=right></a>DC was the first comic book publisher to establish a shared reality for its characters to call home. This fictional continuity allowed DC’s characters to influence each other, make guest appearances in each others’ books and even all band together to fight injustice as members of the Justice League/Society or All-Star Squadron. This idea of a narrative universe would be emulated by dozens of comic book publishers to come, from DC’s chief rival Marvel, through to companies such as Image, Valiant and Crossgen in the decades to follow.

At least in theory, the shared universe concept awarded DC’s characters with a great deal of depth, and went a great way towards establishing the mythic feel of the DC Universe of today. However, attempting to tell original stories in such a shared universe while still maintaining the overall coherence and consistency of that mythos is a daunting task indeed. Small continuity errors –glitches, contradictions and paradoxes in the larger narrative were understandably unavoidable. The writers and editors involved were only human. However, what happens when you are faced with exceptionally glaring errors, such as the introduction of Superboy, or the ramifications of the second generation versions of characters such as the Flash and Green Lantern? In the case of the fledgling DC Universe the answer was simple – “alternate” Earths.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/flash123.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/flash123T.jpg" alt="The Flash #123" align=left></a>In 1962, DC had the Silver Age Flash (Barry Allen) meet his Golden Age namesake and inspiration, Jay Garrick. In The Flash #123 Allen inadvertently transports himself into a parallel universe – the home of the Golden Age heroes. Back in Showcase #4, Barry Allen had been reading a comic book featuring the Golden Age Flash. When Allen acquired his powers of superspeed, he took up the mantle of the Flash inspired by the comic book. In Flash #123, Garrick and Allen come to the conclusion that the writer of the comic Allen had previously been reading had somehow gained knowledge of this alternate earth (henceforth, Earth-2) and recorded the adventures of the heroes he had seen in his dreams. Allen would eventually return to his own reality (Earth-1), but before long characters from both Earths were crossing over, teaming the Silver Age Green Lantern or Atom with his Golden Age counterpart. Even Superman and Batman, who had survived into the Silver Age mostly unchanged, would find the Golden Age versions of themselves on Earth-2. This was used to explain how Superman and Batman were able to have been a part of the Justice Society with the Golden Age Flash and also the Justice League with Barry Allen.

DC would use and abuse the multiple Earth concept through the sixties and seventies, explaining and retrofitting continuity errors such as many of Superboy’s adventures as having occurred on an alternative Earth. Earth-2 gave rise to Earth-3, Earth-4 and so on. When DC purchased characters from other publishers, such as Fawcett’s Captain Marvel, they would place them on new Earths all to themselves (Earth-S in the case of Marvel and his Family). Of course, when a writer wanted to have Superman team up with Captain Marvel he would simply construct a plot device that would transport one or the other to the appropriate Earth. DC’s Universe had evolved into a "Multiverse".

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/crisis1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/crisis1T.jpg" alt="Crisis on Infinite Earths #1" align=right></a>After more than two decades of Earth swapping and hopping, the Multiverse concept became mired in even more horrendous continuity issues. With the sheer number of new Earths that had been created, writers and editors would find themselves losing track of which character belonged to which earth. Characters from one Earth would even find themselves permanently switched to another. The task of keeping track of this expansive continuity was next to impossible. On one hand, the multiverse concept had become something of a crutch for shoddy storytelling. On the other, it had become a restrictive, suffocating prison that stifled many new writers’ creativity. DC’s solution was to resolve the conflicts in an ambitious, year-long series entitled Crisis on Infinite Earths by, quite simply, destroying the multiverse.

Crisis took its name, ironically, from the original Multiverse crossovers from the 1960s – Crisis on Earth-1 and Crisis on Earth-2, beginning in April 1985 (DC’s fiftieth anniversary). Crisis on Infinite Earths would change the face of the DC Universe forever. The premise was simple – an evil being (the Anti-Monitor) had begun devouring the universes that comprised the multiverse, one by one. Towards the end of the series, the Anti-Monitor’s mission has claimed all of these universes save for five - thanks to the sacrifice of the Silver Age Flash Barry Allen. The remaining five universes were then merged into one singular universe by the Spectre.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/manofsteel1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/manofsteel1T.jpg" alt="The Man of Steel #1" align=left></a>Crisis saw the deaths and/or erasures of many of the DC Universe’s cast, most notably the previously mentioned Flash and Supergirl. With the merger of the remaining universes into one, DC was able to erase muddled or redundant characters and events, leading to the re-imagining of many of their core characters’ origins and adventures (such as John Byrne’s Man of Steel and Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One). In an unprecedented and unthinkably risk move, DC had essentially erased fifty years of storytelling in order to begin again.

Fan reaction was mixed to say the least. Angry comic fans protested the erasure of their treasured continuity, while others (along with most of the creator community) saw the reinvention of the DC Universe as a move towards keeping content fresh, exciting and cohesive. No matter your opinion, the outcome remains the same – Crisis put the final nail in the coffin of the Silver Age and gave birth to the current era of the DC Universe, most often known as the Post-Crisis DCU.



POST-CRISIS: THE 80s & 90s



<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/watchmen1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/watchmen1T.jpg" alt="Watchmen #1" align=right></a>While much of the cultural output of the 1980s is best forgotten, DC Comics reached arguably its highest creative pinnacle in the 1980s. In this decade, DC began building its reputation as a pioneering and forward-thinking company, that would publish some of the most respected and industry-shaking books that comic fans have ever seen - most notably the seminal Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns.

Prior to Crisis, DC had been falling behind the mighty Marvel machine, built by Stan Lee and former DC employee Jack Kirby in the 1960s. Marvel had been enjoying huge success with their grittier, supposedly more realistic superhero properties like Wolverine and the X-Men. Frank Miller, the artist and writer of one of Marvel’s greatest success stories Daredevil came to DC to try his hand at reinvigorating Batman with his four issue 1986 mini-series The Dark Knight Returns.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/darkknightreturns.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/darkknightreturnsT.jpg" alt="The Dark Knight Returns" align=left></a>In The Dark Knight Returns, Miller presented a far more extreme, more violent and intense Batman than readers were accustomed to. Telling the tale of a dystopian future where Bruce Wayne has retired the mantle of the bat, DKR blew away critics and readers alike. With DKR Miller not only put the darkness back into the Dark Knight, but raised the bar for superhero comics as a vehicle for storytelling. Nowadays, the trade paperback collection of The Dark Knight Returns is a ubiquitous item for comic readers.

The same year, DC would publish Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ shocking and potent "graphic novel in twelve parts", Watchmen. Watchmen redefined the superhero genre for a new era, deconstructing the traditional superhero milieu and showing readers a grim, all-too-human take on superheroics that sent shockwaves through the industry that still haven’t subsided. Watchmen set a new standard for structural complexity and narrative depth with its bleak near-future world of flawed, violent vigilantes and impending nuclear disaster.

Originally, the series was intended to utilize characters recently purchased from the defunct Charlton Comics. Charlton’s stable of characters included Captain Atom, the Question and the Blue Beetle. DC later decided that Moore’s grim epic would be better served by introducing new characters, so as not to damage the Charlton characters’ commercial appeal. Instead of the Question, Moore introduced us to Rorschach, while the Blue Beetle was replaced by the Nite Owl. DC would later incorporate the Charlton characters into its mainstream universe, where they remain mainstays of the DCU.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/sandman1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/sandman1T.jpg" alt="The Sandman #1" align=right></a>Following the mammoth critical and commercial success of Watchmen, DC continued to push the boundaries of their publications. While Alan Moore continued his success with his re-vitalistion of the Swamp Thing, DC began actively seeking out similar talent – leading to the "British Invasion", as DC tapped the deep vein of comic book creativity surging in the United Kingdom. Soon “mature readers” titles Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, Grant Morrison’s Animal Man and Peter Milligan’s Shade, the Changing Man set the industry alight, leading to the formation of the Vertigo imprint in the early 90s – “a line devoted to more literary themes and mature subject matter” that has gone on to produce some of the most acclaimed comics of the past two decades. The Sandman, Animal Man and Shade, would pave the way for titles such as Warren Ellis’ Transmetropolitan, Garth Ennis’ Preacher and Brian K. Vaughan’s current hit Y: The Last Man.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/superman75.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/superman75T.jpg" alt="Superman #75" align=left></a>Not to be outdone by Vertigo’s success, the 1990s saw one of the most shocking comic book storylines ever to be published by DC, when it bravely killed off the Man of Steel – Superman himself in 1993’s Superman #75. In an era of high profile publicity stunts (such as Marvel’s infamous "Clone Saga" and "Age of Apocalypse"), none managed to pull off the level of publicity as "The Death of Superman". The storyline made news around the world, as the Last Son of Krypton fell in battle to mysterious monster known only as Doomsday. Of course, as more rational comic book fans realized, there was no chance that DC would actually kill off their flagship character. The Death storyline was only the beginning, leading to the much heralded "Return of Superman", bringing him with him a new version of Superboy and a new hero – John Henry Irons, better known as Steel. "The Death of Superman" storyline also led directly to Green Lantern Hal Jordan’s descent into madness and eventual rebirth as the villain, Parallax. Around the same time, DC also launched a storyline that saw Batman defeated by the super-villain Bane. Bane shatters Bruce Wayne’s spine, forcing him into retirement, with the mantle of the bat being passed to Batman’s former enemy Azrael in the "Knightfall" storyline.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/zerohour4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/zerohour4T.jpg" alt="Zero Hour #4" align=right></a>Towards the end of 1994, DC launched into Zero Hour: Crisis In Time, a smaller-scale sequel of sorts to Crisis in an attempt to smooth over certain continuity glitches and errors still present following, or directly resultant from the original Crisis – once again killing off a number of characters, launching new series while canceling older books such as L.E.G.I.O.N. and most notoriously establishing former Green Lantern Hal Jordan as the previously mentioned arch-villian – Parallax. Unlike Crisis, Zero Hour had little impact on overall continuity, providing more of a “patch” than a whole new set of rules for the DCU.

Other notable events in the early to mid-nineties include the death of Green Arrow, Oliver Queen; a run of DC/Marvel crossovers that would culminate in the short-lived Amalgam Universe; James Robinson’s Starman revival; and the re-introduction of Fawcett hero, Captain Marvel.

While sales were strong for storylines like Zero Hour, "Knightfall" and the "Death of Superman", critics and old-school fans were not impressed. In the second half of the nineties, the comic industry boom brought on by the media coverage industry events such as Superman’s death and the formation of Image comics, would begin to contract. The speculator market that had been driving sales of these "shocking, never-to-be-repeated, everything-changes-here, collector edition events" soon lost interest, while at the same time long-time readers began to tire of the constant deaths, cancellations, reboots and special edition variant covers, with many turning their backs on the comic book industry. The slump was so great that DC’s chief rival and industry giant Marvel Comics would file for bankruptcy before the end of 1996.

However, not all was "doom and gloom" in the DC Universe. December 1996 saw the inevitable marriage of Clark Kent and Lois Lane in Superman: The Wedding Album and the beginning of a “stabilization” of the DC Universe (although Superman would soon find himself embroiled in the notorious "Red/Blue" storyline) as editors and writers began returning to the business of telling stories, rather than focusing on short-lived, high profile, throwaway events.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/jla1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/columns/diversecurrents/dcu/jla1T.jpg" alt="JLA #1" align=left></a>Vertigo writer Grant Morrison and artist Howard Porter would revitalize the ailing Justice League in JLA with a back-to-basics, high octane approach to superheroics – kicking off what some call the "Post-Modern Age of DC"; Mark Waid and Alex Ross set critics and readers on fire with their dystopian future mini-series Kingdom Come; Jeph Loeb and Time Sale’s acclaimed Batman: The Long Halloween; the Grant Morrison-led DC One Million while Mark Waid would controversially re-introduce the concept of hyper-time in the Kingdom Come sequel, The Kingdom.

As sanity, and creative integrity returned to the DC Universe, DC the company would go on to pursue a further diversification of its product lines, acquiring Jim Lee’s Wildstorm Studios and launching the short-lived Helix imprint. Earlier in the 90s, DC had also launched the African-American focused Milestone, Impact! and Paradox Press.



DC UNIVERSE 2005



<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0405/IdentityCrisisCv1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0405/IdentityCrisisCv1T.jpg" alt="Identity Crisis #1" align=right></a>Today, DC continues to hold its place as one of comics’ premier publishers. Their top-selling title, Superman/Batman continues to ride high in the number one position on Diamond Distribution’s sales charts, and have recently enjoyed great success with Brad Meltzer and Rag Morales’ gripping mini-series, Identity Crisis, and Geoff Johns & Ethan van Sciver’s Green Lantern: Rebirth that showcases the return of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern.

Coming into 2005, rumors abound about a possible Crisis on Infinite Earths 2, spinning out of Andy Diggle and Pascal Ferry’s Adam Strange mini-series, Identity Crisis and the mysterious, upcoming DC Countdown. Little is known as yet, and DC are keeping very tight-lipped on the subject, refusing to even speak about Countdown for fear of “letting the cat out of the bag”. Spinning out of Countdown, April sees the launch of Greg Rucka’s OMAC Project and Bill Winningham’s Day of Vengeance.

<a href="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0305/DCCountdown.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/previews/dc/0305/DCCountdownT.jpg" alt="DC Countdown" align=left></a>Recently, DC dropped two major bombshells on the industry – the announcement of their All-Star line, starting with All-Star Superman and All-Star Batman & Robin. All-Star is something of a counterpoint to Marvel’s successful Ultimate line, placing top flight creators on its most iconic characters to tell stories outside of current continuity. All-Star Superman features the acclaimed We3, New X-Men and Flex Mentallo creative team of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, while All-Star Batman & Robin sees Frank Miller’s return to the character, teaming up with Wildstorm founder and superstar artist Jim (Batman: Hush, X-Men) Lee.

With exclusive top tier creators, the greatest icons in comics, the sales momentum of the hugely successfully Identity Crisis, the upcoming feature film Batman Begins, DC is set to shine in 2005.

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[Qubic]

Good read, I've always been more of a marvel boy but I try to remain up to date on whats doing on with dc.

I've like Superboy, who would have known a character designed to cash in on the success of Superman would cause so many problems.

I wish you would have shown some Jimmy Olsen or Lois Lane covers, and that was crazy silver age stuff.

I still don't agree with the idea of crisis but something had to be done.

[Dylan McKay]

More than anything, Crisis had to be done for financial reasons, Marvel was just killing DC who was hanging on by The Teen Titans and The Legion. DC was really struggling to attract big name creators and any fresh blood they developed would hop to Marvel. (If I'm not mistaken, Silvestri did some work at DC before Marvel.) But letting top creators like Byrne and Miller take top characters over from scratch was something that was able to entice them, and getting those name brand creators onto their characters and having a huge unignorable event put them back in the running sales wise.

Continuity can always be worked around, but desperate sales call for desperate measures.

All that said, fabulous work Mitch. Good job!

[Blessed]

Thank you, thank you, thaaaaaaank you for that.
Great read mate!

[Unsynchronized]

Wow! Incredible article!

[Mitch Brown]

Thanks for the kind words guys. This was a biiiiigg article to write and a lot of research time went into it. Most of the topics and events mentioned could easily warrant their own article (I'd love to take an in-depth look at Seduction of the Innocent and the Comics Code one day). Glad it's appreciated!

Originally Posted by Dylan McKay

More than anything, Crisis had to be done for financial reasons, Marvel was just killing DC who was hanging on by The Teen Titans and The Legion. DC was really struggling to attract big name creators and any fresh blood they developed would hop to Marvel. (If I'm not mistaken, Silvestri did some work at DC before Marvel.) But letting top creators like Byrne and Miller take top characters over from scratch was something that was able to entice them, and getting those name brand creators onto their characters and having a huge unignorable event put them back in the running sales wise.

Continuity can always be worked around, but desperate sales call for desperate measures.

All that said, fabulous work Mitch. Good job!

Most definitely, financial considerations played a huge part in Crisis -- as they in all comic book event. That certainly wasn't something I was trying to downplay, but there is only so much room after all.

Having said that, I think a lot of the decline and the reader/creator disinterest in the DCU around that time was a direct result of the convoluted continuity, coupled with the fact that the Multiverse concept was a real barrier to readers really connecting with the story. Creators would constantly revise or ignore storylines using the "oh, that happened on a different earth" cop-out, which I think alienated a lot of comic readers who were after a mythos they could connect with. Marvel's Univese at that time had much tighter continuity that gave each story a greater meaning.

For creators too, the disjointed, messy and convoluted continuity was a major turn-off, which I think is why DC had such a hard time recruiting top tier talent at that time. But the Post-Crisis, practically clean slate allowed writers so much more freedom to tell meaningful stories that would actually matter - like Year One and Man of Steel.

[Al Harahap]

Great read! Concise, to the point, yet inclusive. Nice job on the research too. There were a couple of things I didn't know about.

[Moonstar]

What an awesome article. I loved X-Fan's move to Comix-Fan a while back, because while I am constrained by money to follow just the X-titles monthly, I love superheroes in all their facets, and that definitely includes DC. It's wonderful to be able to learn so much about the company's fascinating history on this site. I can't wait for more. VERY impressive research, Mitch. What were some of your sources? I'm interested in looking at them myself.

[James Groves]

Excellent article Mitch, very informative. And like Al, i've learned a few things i didnt before. The time it took for u to do it was definitely worth it. Lovely job.

[BoyWonderNextDoor]

Great article; enjoyed it greatly. I've always been a bit of a DC boy myself and I'm so glad to see the positive strides the company has been making in recent years. Top notch books like Wonder Woman and Manhunter are topping my reading list every month. And old favorites like Batman have renewed interest. Holla for some DC!

[Mitch Brown]

Originally Posted by Moonstar

VERY impressive research, Mitch. What were some of your sources? I'm interested in looking at them myself.

Everything from the web to the recently released DC Encyclopedia.

Probably the most useful resource online in regards to specific issues came from, coincidentally enough another comic journalist named...Mitch Brown, who has compiled his own list of the 100 Greatest Comics of the 20th Century. Its an expansive look at the well..the 100 Greatest Comics of the 20th Century. Everything from DC and Marvel to the small press. You can find it here http://www.geocities.com/mbrown123/

Just a reminder, that its not the same "Mitch/ell Brown"

Other than that, there's a lot of great resources out there to be found. Google is your friend

[Alex Groff]

I'm amazed what en.wikipedia.org contains when it comes to comics. Look at the article on Superman's Brainiac to see what I mean.

This was phenomenal, Mitch. I look forward to seeing more of these.

[Jordan T. Maxwell]

very awesome article, Mitch...and i'm rather proud that you showed so much restraint in making no mention of the Invisibles.

i was a bit surprised to find no mention of O'Neil and Adams' hugely progressive Green Lantern/Green Arrow stint (which also garnered quite a bit of media coverage at the time) or Wolfman and Perez's incredibly successful Teen Titans run which gave X-Men a pretty good run for it's money back in the day. but i guess with seventy years of history to cover, a few things have to be left on the cutting room floor (we'll just say you mentioned them in an alternate universe. or an anti-matter world. or a pocket reality. or...did i hear Elseworlds?!)

[Mitch Brown]

Originally Posted by Jordan T. Maxwell

very awesome article, Mitch...and i'm rather proud that you showed so much restraint in making no mention of the Invisibles.

i was a bit surprised to find no mention of O'Neil and Adams' hugely progressive Green Lantern/Green Arrow stint (which also garnered quite a bit of media coverage at the time) or Wolfman and Perez's incredibly successful Teen Titans run which gave X-Men a pretty good run for it's money back in the day. but i guess with seventy years of history to cover, a few things have to be left on the cutting room floor (we'll just say you mentioned them in an alternate universe. or an anti-matter world. or a pocket reality. or...did i hear Elseworlds?!)

Thanks Jordan. No Invisibles this time out...but just wait until Diverse Currents #4: Vertigo for Invisibles lurve.

You're right on calling the lack of Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Teen Titans coverage, but as you say, with seventy years of history to cover I simply couldn't fit everything in. I also really wanted to work Black Lightning amongst others in there as well but was beginning to get worried that no one would take the time out to read the whole thing! And..Holy I missed Elseworlds!!!

I figured that CXF's other DC heads would chime in with enough info in the discussion thread to cover it (Still waiting on Mr. Hancock to make his presence felt)

Originally Posted by Alex Groff

I'm amazed what en.wikipedia.org contains when it comes to comics. Look at the article on Superman's Brainiac to see what I mean.

Never, ever underestimate the fearsome power of the wikipedia

Originally Posted by Alex Groff

This was phenomenal, Mitch. I look forward to seeing more of these.

[Lord Exodus]

Really intersting article. Good job

(waits for the All Star titles)