The Kingdom

While I did indeed love "Kingdom Come" I actually think "The Kingdom" is a much better comic. But let's explain a few things (without spoilers). "The Kingdom" was a graphic novel done in one piece. It's style is very photorealistic and, indeed, I'm almost positive much of the art was created by tracing photo images (the artist himself admits he worked extensively from hundreds of photos). I'm not a big fan of this approach and based on the artwork alone I'd rate it pretty low. However, it's a terrific story. "Kingdom Come" was a collection of stories from various comics that attempted to tread some of the same ground while offering some new insights and, yes, be a sequel of sorts. As a collection it used both many different artists as well as encompassed different casts (because the individual comics that tell the tale were from the lines that were concerned mainly with those characters). The artwork is definitely comic artwork, and is very different from chapter to chapter as it is collected from so many different sources. Overall, however, I much prefer it as representative of "comic" art. If you enjoy the characters of "Kingdom Come" you will most likely enjoy "The Kingdom" -- they are very true to those characterizations. But this is something you need to see for yourself. Just like nearly every other powerful tale in the DC universe, it will inspire vastly dramatic (and differing) opinions. But if you avoid this due to someone trying to tell you it's awful then you will be missing out on potentially one of your favorite books (it's one of mine). Make up your own mind and you might be very pleasantly surprised.

I thought this was a great tale. For anyone who's interested in physics and comics this will make you think. Time travel is a major part of this story. As you read Kingdom keep this question in the back of your mind, "If you went back in time and killed your own father or grandfather would you cease to exist?" The figure of Gog and a religion based on Superman is a fascinating idea. In some ways I was remind of the worship of Marilyn Monroe in the rock opera "Tommy". Kingdom was slow in parts, but generally speaking a good read.

Three days ago I wrote a review of "Crisis on Infinite Earths",decrying DC Comics for eradicating all of my beloved parallel universes and alternate realities. At that point I had not read "Kingdom" by Mark Waid, et al. I just finished this graphic novel a little while ago. DC COMICS, ALL IS FORGIVEN: THANK YOU FOR 'HYPERTIME'! Hypertime, what a brilliant and elegant concept! I suspect that by now the folks who make policy at DC came to the inalterable conclusion that rather than clearing things up, COIE only made things a bigger mess; that try as you might to tidy everything up into a nice neat continuity with no contradictions, inconsistencies and incongruities, they will inevitably creep in. By constantly revising the history of the "DC Universe" to try and arrange it into a neat and orderly little bundle, the writers at DC were forced to rip out all sorts of past characters and events and even entire runs of comics,i.e., "Superboy", "Supergirl", "The Marvel Family", Krypto the Super-dog, etc., etc. So all of us who were reading those comics for all those years and really believing that Superboy was Superman as a teenager, that Kara a.k.a. Linda Danvers a.k.a. Supergirl was Kal-El's cousin from Argo City, well, all of that stuff had never 'really' happened in the 'real' DC Universe. So what were we reading? Were all these tales just 'imaginary stories' or 'Elseworlds', as they call them now. AT THIS POINT I WANT TO STRESS THAT THE 'KINGDOM' GRAPHIC NOVEL DOES NOT BEAR THE 'ELSEWORLDS' LOGO AND THIS IS CRUCIAL TO THE WHOLE POINT I AM MAKING. At the very end of the story we are introduced to the concept of Hypertime. On pages 224 - 225 there is a slash panel that literally choked me up and brought tears to my eyes! (Yeah, I get all emotional over comics, I must admit.) If a picture is worth a thousand words, this one is worth literally millions! The writers bestow on us the sublime, elegant and aptly named Hypertime, which is the infinite expression of endless timelines, including all of those that were supposedly eradicated in COIE. WOW! THANK YOU, DC COMICS! On the next to last page, where our heroes (Superman, Wonder Woman, Rip Hunter & others) confront the supposedly omnipotent beings Ganthet the Guardian, Zeus, Izaya the High Father and the wizard Shazam and accuse them of arrogance, I see that as a metaphor for all of the angry, frustrated, disillusioned and broken-hearted readers of DC Comics over the last 65 years who were told that all of their heroes had been rendered invalid and in effect, relegated to limbo. (I wonder what the writers will do to our heroes twenty years from now?) "Crisis on Infinite Earths" was a door closing on a universe of infinite and wondrous possibilities, an ill-advised attempt to bring a semblance of order to what is essentially unmanageable. You might as well try to capture the wind or contain the ocean. With the concept of Hypertime in the "Kingdom" book, DC has opened the door to infinity just a little c

"The Kingdom" is a sequel-of-sorts to the 1996 phenomenal "Kingdom Come" by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. This volume collects the "Kingdom" book-ends and all the one-shot character-studies that make up the deeper exploration of the future DC Universe. "The Kingdom" was a controversial work when it was released in the late nineties, chiefly because this work was done without the participation (nor the blessing) of "Kingdom Come's" original artist, Alex Ross. And as you can see from the other reviews here, that alone warrants this work to be condemned to comic-book hell for all eternity. I find that quite laughable really!You see, there are comicbook fans and there are Alex Ross fans. The latter are nothing more than lap-dogs of the famed painter. Granted, the artwork here falls short of the fine paint jobs by Ross in the prequel but then that's an unfair comparison (comparing any artist to Ross is usually an unfair comparison anyway - and should never be the chief reason to accept or dismiss a specific work). But the issue is deeper than that even. Many of these aforementioned lap-dogs believe that "Kingdom Come" is chiefly the work of Alex Ross and that Mark Waid actually stole Ross' ideas for this lame-sequel. Nothing can be further from the truth. Mark Waid is the most passionate fan of Silver-Age comics and his work here as well as in "Kingdom Come" is a testimony to that fact.While "Kingdom Come" serves as a final tribute and celebration of what makes Silver-Age heroism great (in view of the darker, grim-and-gritty characters of then-popular X-Men and Image books), "The Kingdom" is a true return of the Silver Age. The Silver Age is examined in a very deep and poignant way through the eyes of the children of those same heroes (i.e. Ibn, son of Batman; Nightshade, daughter of Robin; and the children of Flash and Plastic Man). Furthermore, we see the ramifications of Superman's actions (or, more appropriately, inaction) during "Kingdom Come" - and also the child of Superman and Wonder Woman (and god-child of Batman) as the "everyman" representing everyone of us who grew up influenced by the John Broome heroism of the 50s and 60s. This "child" (representing all us Silver Age fans) is therefore the appropriate guardian of all the best stories that DC had to offer in the past through a device called "Hypertime". To this "child", the Golden Age Superman and Silver Age Superman is as real as the current canonical post-Crisis Superman. The "Hypertime" concept is really representative of the imagination. It does not supplant the effects of "Crisis on Infinite Worlds". It is really the infinite universe of "Just Imagine..."!This is the passion of Mark Waid. This is the celebration of the spirit of imagination. This work returns us to the Silver Age and the Silver Age back to us. Every work of imagination "counts" (not just those that are "in-continuity"). Every work of imagination is to be celebrated (not just those painted by Alex Ross!). This is the Kingd

i thought the kingdom was one of the best books of the year if you liked kingdom come you will like the kingdom althogh the art is some what lacking