Thy Kingdom Come (Parts One, Two, Three - Geoff Johns et al.
One of my favorite comics set in the DC Universe is Kingdom Come, a sort of story-to-end-all-superhero-stories, brought to life by Alex Ross' amazing paintings. When our local library got this three-part series—with covers painted by Ross and a very similar title—I was pretty excited about reading it.
I was a little disappointed, however, both because the interior artwork isn't by Ross (with a few exceptions), and because I felt again the old problems: "Who are these characters? Where did they come from? What did I miss?" Even with the little character summaries at the beginning, I felt more than a bit lost.
One key plot point in this book is the appearance of the Kingdom Come Superman in the current world. Whenever he thinks back on events from the earlier book, it's rendered in Ross' paintings; and the last section of the book, another "final chapter"-type story, is completely done by Ross. Because of what happened in Kingdom Come, this Superman wants to warn the Justice Society to prevent another war between superheroes.
I did enjoy the story arc about Gog, a "god" who comes to life in the second part and starts traveling across Africa, performing miracles and claiming to come in peace. Some of the heroes take his side, but others wonder if there's a catch. It's an interesting twist, and I thought the conflict was thought-provoking.
I ended up enjoying the second and third volumes, but the first was a little slow going for me. I still prefer the original Kingdom Come but if you're looking for more this has some of the same flavor.
Fed to jonathan's brain | July 02, 2009
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