Kingdom Come(TM)

Rating:
Summary: "Kingdom Come" is "The Watchmen" of the '90s--Revolutionary.
Review: "Kingdom Come" is a brilliant hybrid of top-notch writing from Mark Waid and unparalleled art work by Alex Ross. "Kingdom Come" is to comic books in the 1990s as "The Watchmen" and "The Dark Knight Returns" were to comics in the 1980s. The story focuses on how "old-school" heroes such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman handle the problem of a new, more violent breed of super-heroes. The main story of "Kingdom Come" is an ages old struggle between generations that improves on the theme in several ways, but what really makes "Kingdom Come" stand out is the intricate details and subplots that Waid and Ross weave into the story and art. The creators of "Kingdom Come" give the readers many startling and imaginative insights into what has happened to our favorite heroes after several years in the trenches. Batman, for instance, lives with a battle-ravaged body that has suffered from fight after fight with his enemies. His body is supported, now, by an exo-skeleton. Superman and Wonder Woman have a brilliant conversation in the middle of the book during which they discuss their differing ideologies concerning the use of violence to control the violent new breed of heroes. It's as well written and important as any dialogue you might find in a "normal" book. Waid and Ross even throw in a older, drunkard version of "Marvin" from the old Super Friends cartoon and a Planet Hollywood type of restaurant whose servers all dress up as super-heroes. Perhaps the greatest moment in "Kingdom Come," and maybe all of comics, is the fight between Superman and Captain Marvel (Shazam) toward the end of the story. Check out the smile on Captain Marvel's face as he is about to lay a beating on Superman and the way the text describes Superman as Superman should truly be written. Comic books have routinely taken a beating in terms of their place as "literature." "Kingdom Come" is an amazing story, well-written with brilliantly defined characters that just happens to be accompanied by unbelievable paintings. Readers who want read something different, but still want to read something with high-quality writing, should not be so quick to dismiss the comic book form and what it can contribute to the world of literature. Any reading is good reading despite what some people would have you believe. It helps you establish what you like from what you don't. "Kingdom Come" does have pictures. It also has deeper characterization than most books today, fantastic settings, and a strong thematic structure woven throughout. "Kingdom Come" gets the highest possible recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Great Hero Book
Review: I am helping my son Billy (7) write this comment. I am torn between feeding him reading material that drives his desire to read and interesting stuff that is too old for him .... But here is his review -- "Kingdom Come is different than the other books. It is good because you get to see future versions of heroes. The star is Norman McCay and Superman at once."

Rating:
Summary: Amazing Art, Amazing Story-1 minor flaw
Review: Kingdom Come, the greatest graphic novel this side of the Watchmen, is a nearly perfect story with amazing art by Alex Ross. It is to the JSA what 'Avengers Forever' is to the Avengers, the 'Dark Knight Returns' is to Batman and 'The Inhumans' is to...well, the Inhumans.

The story takes place in JSA territory (Earth TWO for those who care). The basic premise is a new generation of superheroes-reckless, egotistical, immoral, has gained public support and and forced the older, 'moral' heroes into early retirement, apathy or underground. A horrendous accident caused by the new breed of sociopathic heroes spurs Superman and Wonder Woman to reform the JSA to forcefully bring the new heroes back in line. With Batman and his allies striking a devil's bargain with Luthor and other super villians to return power back to the 'regular' humans, a fearful government ready to unleash the nukes to solve their problems, things rush to a climactic final battle and possible armegedon for all involved.

I loved alot about this book. I loved the kick.../take no prisoners spin on Wonder Woman. I loved the love-hate realtionship between WW and Superman. I loved the tension in wondering if Superman could or would take on Magog. I loved the snippets of the Book of Revelation that kickstarts the story.

What keeps it from being perfect for me, however, is the ssingular focus on the main players, i.e. the "good guys" (with one exception...sh-sh-shazam!). Not one of the villians is looked at in any depth. Nor are any of the minor characters given much of a voice- especially the young bucks that are causing alot of the fuss. What about a glance into things from their eyes?

Still, it is a great story.The art is perfect, equal to Jae Lee's Inhumans, but a little extra depth and fleshing out a few more characters would have put it up there with the ranks of the Watchmen, the Inhumans, and the Dark Knight Returns, instead of just below.