{"id":30623,"date":"2024-09-30T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2024-09-30T08:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=30623"},"modified":"2024-09-27T11:38:26","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T11:38:26","slug":"kingdom-come-new-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/09\/30\/kingdom-come-new-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Kingdom Come – New Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Mark Waid<\/strong> & Alex Ross<\/strong>, with Todd Klein <\/strong>& various (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-4012-9096-2 (TPB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

With documentary The Legend of Kingdom Come<\/strong><\/em> out and another commemorative edition scheduled for early next year, it\u2019s time to revisit this modern classic once more and prep for all the furore to come. It\u2019s also a damn fine read to amble into the festive season with…<\/em><\/p>\n

In the mid-1960s a teenaged Jim Shooter wrote a couple of stories about the Legion of Super-Heroes<\/strong> set some years into the team\u2019s own future. Those stories of adult Legionnaires revealed hints of things to come that shackled the series\u2019 plotting and continuity for decades as eager, obsessed fans (by which I mean all of us) waited for the predicted characters to be introduced, presaged relationships to be consummated and heroes to die. By being so utterly impressive and similarly affecting, Kingdom Come<\/strong> accidentally repeated the trick decades later, subsequently painting the entire post Crisis on Infinite Earths<\/strong> DC Universe into the same creative corner until one of the company\u2019s periodic continuity reboots unleashed possibility and uncertainty again\u2026<\/p>\n

Envisaged and designed by artist Alex Ross as DC\u2019s answer to groundbreaking epic Marvels<\/strong>, Kingdom Come<\/strong> was originally released as a 4-issue Prestige Format miniseries in 1996 to rapturous acclaim and numerous awards and accolades. Although set in the future and an \u201cimaginary story\u201d released under DC\u2019s Elseworlds imprint, it almost immediately began to affect the company\u2019s mainstream continuity.<\/p>\n

Set approximately 20 years into the future, the grandiose saga details a tragic failure and subsequent loss of Faith for Superman and how his attempt to redeem himself almost leads to an even greater and ultimate apocalypse. The events are seen through the eyes and actions of Dantean witness Norman McCay<\/em>, an aging cleric co-opted by Divine Agent of Wrath the Spectre<\/strong> after the pastor officiates at the last rites of dying superhero Wesley Dodds<\/em>. As the Sandman<\/strong>, Dodds was cursed for decades with precognitive dreams which compelled him to act as an agent of justice.<\/p>\n

Opening chapter \u2018Strange Visitor\u2019<\/em> reveals a world where metahumans have proliferated to ubiquitous proportions: a sub-culture of constant, violent clashes between the latest generation of costumed villains and vigilantes, all unheeding and uncaring of the collateral damage they daily inflict on the mere mortals around and in all ways beneath them. The shaken preacher sees a final crisis coming, but feels helpless until the darkly angelic Spectre comes to him. Taken on a bewildering voyage of unfolding events, McCay is to act as the ghost\u2019s human perspective whilst the Spirit of Vengeance prepares to pass final judgement on Humanity.<\/p>\n

First stop is the secluded hideaway where farmer Kal-El<\/em> has hidden himself since the ghastly events which compelled him to retire from the Good Fight and the eyes of the World. The Man of Tomorrow was already feeling like a dinosaur when newer, harsher, morally ambiguous mystery-men began to appear. After the Joker<\/strong> murdered the entire Daily Planet<\/em> staff and hard-line new hero Magog<\/em> consequently executed him in the street, the public applauded the deed. Heartbroken and appalled, Superman disappeared for a decade. His legendary colleagues also felt the march of unwelcome progress and similarly faded from sight.
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\nWith Earth left to the mercies of dangerously irresponsible new vigilantes, civil unrest escalated. The younger heroes displayed poor judgement and no restraint, with the result that within a decade the entire planet had become a chaotic arena for metahuman duels.<\/p>\n

Civilisation was fragmenting. The <\/strong>Flash<\/strong> and Batman<\/strong> retreated to their home cities and made them secure, crime-free solitary fortresses. Green Lantern<\/strong> built an emerald castle in the sky, turning his eyes away from Earth and towards the deep black fastnesses of space. Hawkman<\/strong> retreated to the wilderness, Aquaman<\/strong> to his sub-sea kingdom whilst Wonder Woman<\/strong> retired to her hidden paradise. She did not leave until Armageddon came one step closer\u2026<\/p>\n

When Magog and his Justice Battalion<\/em> battled the Parasite<\/em> in St. Louis, the result was a nuclear accident which destroyed all of Kansas and much of Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. Overnight the world faced starvation as America\u2019s breadbasket turned into a toxic wasteland. Now with McCay and the Spectre invisibly observing, Princess Diana<\/em> convinces the bereft Kal-El to return and save the world on his own terms\u2026<\/p>\n

In \u2018Truth and Justice\u2019<\/em> a resurgent Justice League<\/strong> led by Superman begins a campaign of unilateral action to clean up the mess civilisation has become: renditioning \u201cheroes\u201d and \u201cvillains\u201d alike, imprisoning every dangerous element of super-humanity and telling governments how to behave, blithely unaware that they are hastening a global catastrophe of Biblical proportions as the Spectre invisibly gathers the facts for his apocalyptic judgement.<\/p>\n

In the ensuing chaos, crippled warrior Bruce Wayne<\/em> rejects Superman\u2019s paternalistic, doctrinaire crusade and allies himself with mortal humanity\u2019s libertarian elite – Ted<\/em> (Blue Beetle<\/strong>) Kord<\/em>, Dinah<\/em> (Black Canary<\/strong>) Lance<\/em> and Oliver <\/em>(Green Arrow<\/strong>) Queen<\/em> – to resist what can only be considered a grab for world domination by its metahuman minority. As helpless McCay watches in horror, Wayne\u2019s group makes its own plans; one more dangerous thread in a tapestry of calamity\u2026<\/p>\n

At first Superman\u2019s plans seem blessed to succeed, with many erstwhile threats flocking to his banner and his doctrinaire rules of discipline, but as ever there are self-serving villains with their own agendas. Lex Luthor<\/em> organises a cabal of like-minded compatriots – Vandal Savage<\/em>, Catwoman<\/strong>, Riddler<\/em>, Kobra<\/em> and Ibn Al Xu\u2019ffasch<\/em> (\u201cSon of the Demon\u201d Ra\u2019s Al Ghul<\/em>) – into a \u201cMankind Liberation Front\u201d. With Shazam<\/strong>-empowered Captain Marvel<\/strong> as their slave, this group are determined the super-freaks shall not win. Their cause is greatly advanced once Wayne\u2019s clique joins them\u2026
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\n\u2018Up in the Sky\u2019<\/em> sees events spiral into catastrophe as McCay, still wracked by his visions of Armageddon, is shown the Gulag where recalcitrant metahumans are dumped. He also witnesses how it will fail, learns from restless spirit Deadman<\/strong> that The Spectre is the literal Angel of Death and watches with growing horror as Luthor\u2019s plan to usurp control from the army of Superman leads to shocking confrontation, betrayal and a deadly countdown to the End of Days\u2026<\/p>\n

The deadly drama culminates in a staggering battle of superpowers, last moment salvation and a second chance for humanity in a calamitous world-shaking \u2018Never-Ending Battle\u2019<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

Thanks to McCay\u2019s simple humanity, the world gets another chance and this edition follows up with epilogue \u2018One Year Later\u2019<\/em> ending the momentous epic on a note of renewed hope\u2026<\/p>\n

This particular edition – released as a 20th<\/sup> Anniversary deluxe hardback, a standard trade paperback and in digital format – came with an introduction by author and former DC scribe Elliot S. Maggin, assorted cover reproductions and art-pieces, an illustrated checklist of the vast cast list plus a plethora of creative notes and sketches in the \u2018Apocrypha\u2019<\/em> section, and even hints at lost glories in \u2018Evolution\u2019<\/em>: notes, photos and drawings for a restored scene that never made it into the miniseries. We will have to see what Kingdom Come DC Compact Comics Edition <\/strong>additionally offers when it\u2019s released next May…
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\nEpic, engaging and operatically spectacular, Kingdom Come<\/strong> is a milestone of the DC Universe and remains to this day a solid slice of superior superhero entertainment, worthy of your undivided attention.
\n\u00a9 1996, 2006, 2008, 2016, 2019 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n

Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Because Quality Counts \u20269\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mark Waid & Alex Ross, with Todd Klein & various (DC Comics) ISBN: 978-1-4012-9096-2 (TPB\/Digital edition) With documentary The Legend of Kingdom Come out and another commemorative edition scheduled for early next year, it\u2019s time to revisit this modern classic once more and prep for all the furore to come. It\u2019s also a damn … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Kingdom Come – New Edition”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,133,10,258,110,33,76,235,91,15,82,69,16,28,131,9,68,48,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-aquaman","category-batman","category-black-canary","category-blue-beetle","category-catwomman","category-dc-superhero","category-deadman","category-flash","category-green-arrow","category-green-lantern","category-hawkman-hawkgirl","category-jla","category-jsa","category-shazam","category-superman","category-the-spectre","category-wonder-woman","category-world-classics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7XV","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30623"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30631,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30623\/revisions\/30631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}