The last month of pseudo-relaxing has followed a successful reset of my PhD research accompanied by a boatload of reading of graphic novels and comic books. Marvel’s Endgame was the initial spark that set ablaze my voracious appetite on revisiting various titles from the past. While Endgame signaled
in the marvel cinematic universe (MCU), a moment met by mixed emotions among the fans, I was glad to move on from what was a decade of movies and get back to roots with the comics that had been in my reading list for several years.
Although I lean more towards DC as a comic book fan than Marvel, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading stories from both universes. Considering the recent MCU releases, I found an obvious choice to begin with The Infinity Gauntlet, following which I have been on a blatantly biased run of DC titles. But at some point, you need to call a break and get your head out of the books, so I’ve decided to use this opportunity to briefly review the titles I’ve read thus far for both the experienced and amateur comic book fans among my readers.
While Marvel and DC have both gone through major relaunches of their respective universes over the recent years (New 52, DC Rebirth, Marvel Legacy) the titles I have chosen to review predate these events, and involve a mix of standalone novels that serve as perspectives into leading characters from the respective universes as well as sagas that span lengthy series.
The Infinity Gauntlet
If Thanos in MCU’s Infinity War was draped in shades of an anti-hero or a pragmatic villain, the Thanos of The Infinity Gauntlet identifies strongly with his sobriquet of The Mad Titan. The Infinity Gauntlet is the stage of a climactic struggle (and yet the first of many to follow) that pits the Avengers and literally all of Marvel’s pantheon of heroes and cosmic entities against the Mad Titan in the backdrop of what is largely a friend-zone drama between Thanos and the female entity that is Death. To capture the heart of his eternal love, we follow Thanos in what is an enjoyable and at times weirdly comical adventure that pits the balance of the universe at stake.
Superman: Red Son
Swinging into the DC universe, we have a title that is literally one of the best stories in the history of the Man of Steel. Superman: Red Son is a groundbreaking title from DC with a twist on the familiar tale of a Kryptonian rocketship that crash-lands on Earth carrying an infant who will one day become the most powerful being on the planet. Rather than being raised in Smallville, Kansas and become a hero who fights for “…truth, justice, and the American way,” in Red Son, Superman finds a new home in the Soviet Union where he becomes “…the Champion of the common worker who fights a never-ending battle for Stalin, socialism, and the international expansion of the Warsaw Pact,” making us all look up toward the skies and say, “Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…Russian Superman!”
Batman: Year One & Batman: The Long Halloween
A foil to Superman in many ways, Batman ranks among the most popular superheroes of the DC medium. Written by Frank Miller, shortly after the publication of The Dark Knight Returns (a storyline that inspired several sequences in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy), Batman: Year One is another reinterpretation of a classic hero, and provides a detailed perspective on his origins, the humanity behind the caped crusader’s rationale, as well as his struggles, and growth to become the seemingly invincible hero we know him to be.
The end of Batman: Year One (1986) transitions perfectly into Batman: The Long Halloween (2011) where we follow a compelling adventure in Batman’s early career. The humanity of the Dark Knight, often overlooked by most readers, is in plain view in a story where Batman confronts a former friend turned foe in Harvey Dent.
Alongside Superman: Red Son, these two titles hold up as great standalone stories that focus on the inherent humanity and fragility behind the essentially unbreakable beacons of justice, and truth these characters serve to be, making them suitable for amateur comic book readers.
Infinite Crisis & Final Crisis
Rounding off this blog post, we have two more titles that serve as DC’s counterpart to Marvel’s The Infinity Gauntlet. Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis span events that can be considered as the DC Universe’s darkest days. Infinite Crisis serves as a lead-in to the events of Final Crisis. In both cases, our heroes are faced with crises of cosmic proportions that bring together many familiar and unfamiliar faces in the pantheon of DC heroes.
Infinite Crisis highlights a critical moment that has divided Earth’s three greatest heroes: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. As such, the burden falls upon long-lost heroes from the past and other less recognized faces from the DC pantheon to set things straight in a crisis that spans infinite universes. On the other hand, Final Crisis follows the efforts of DC’s “Thanos” (but much better, in my humble opinion) Darkseid who takes advantage of the fallout from the prior crisis and decides to remake reality and the universe in his dark image.
Both Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis are among the last set of publications that preceded DC’s ultimately unsuccessful relaunch in the New 52, and their stories involve hero slug-fests and bouts on a global and universal scale. While these two titles would be most suitable for the well-versed DC fan, the stories are nonetheless a joy to read through for the pure fun, and escapism they provide into the world of DC’s superheroes.
- Pretty similar to what Darkseid essentially tries to achieve with the anti-life equation in Final Crisis.
This completes my reviews of the works I have read so far. I’m pretty sure the coming week will see another visit to the public library as I strive to go through the remaining books in what seems to be my endless reading list. See you all next week!
The Pensive Reverie 