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GRADING THE MILLENIUM: FIRST IMPRESSIONS Combining our Grading the Millenium feature with one of our most popular regular review columns is a thrill. Short, sweet, and to the point, the FIRST IMPRESSIONS reviews tackle new series, creative relaunches, and important milestones. Since DC's MILLENIUM event was all about reprinting new series, creative relaunches and important milestones... well, you get the picture. Raymond Padillo and Adam Ford take a brief walk through some of DC's most important comics. 
In a decade dominated by grim and gritty heroes like the Dark Knight and the Punisher, the third incarnation of the Justice League threw comic fans for a loop with their focus on the absurdity of everyday life. In addition to the obligatory adventures, this series took some of the most powerful characters in the DC universe and put them in inane situations. Notable events include Martian Manhunter’s addiction to Oreos, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold’s numerous get-rich-quick schemes, and Guy Gardner criticizing Ice’s "thigh cheese." The art had a playful style that matched the book’s whimsical tone. Maguire and Austin made played up the fact that goggles on super-hero costumes are just plain silly. The duo made it seem natural that heroes would lounge around in the living room wearing their gaudy costumes. Although this series hardly represented the League’s finest moments, it was certainly the funniest and arguably the most realistic. Plus, any comic that produces such ridiculous moments as the Club Justice League resort and Justice League Antarctica should be required reading. Bwahahahaha!!! (RP) First first issue I bought off the news-stand. Loved the art, absolutely loved it. Dark and colourful. Kept buying the Justice League franchise for the next five years, up until issue #60. Lotta fond memories, even when it devolved into a comedy book. I still have issues 1 thru 12 tucked away somewhere. This issue was excellent, especially when Batman faces down Guy Gardner (hey - I was fifteen at the time, cut me some slack). (AF)
The defining work for two of comic’s most well-known talents, Kingdom Come takes and epic story by Mark Waid and matches it with the exquisite paintings of Alex Ross. Although Waid was a popular writer beforehand, his work on this book propelled him to the upper echelon of comic-book scribes. Likewise, Ross’ work on Marvels was critically lauded but this series brought his brilliance to a much wider audience. Set in a bleak future where the next generation of heroes dominates through extreme justice, Kingdom Come reexamines what it means to be a hero. The characters we know and love are retired or in seclusion, and their children and grandchildren’s recklessness cause as much problems for the public as the villains they vanquished. Eventually yesterday’s heroes come back to try and set things right. But are their ways necessarily right? Has time truly passed them by? Things come to a head as the heroes, the villains, and a third group, enter into a huge conflict. Of course it’s resolved, but a huge price. In the end the survivors learn what it means to be a hero. Even more impressive than the aesthetic beauty of Ross’ work is his ability to tell stories through his paintings, without the use of dialogue. Readers see a burgeoning relationship between Batman’s son and Nightwing’s daughter through subtle happenings in the background of panels. The art is also heavy on the imagery. The most notable is Superman’s first appearance in the book; he’s holding two beams of wood and three nails, representing a crucifixion. With two of comic’s finest talents at the top of their games, this book is not to be missed by comic-book fans. (RP)
This issue of The Flash is noteworthy and dubious all at once. By establishing separate worlds where the silver age and golden age Flashes lived, DC gave its writers a unique and wondrous device to play with. Unfortunately it would also lead to a complex and convoluted mess that would have to be cleaned up--by necessity--by the Crisis on Infinite Earths series. It’s a typical day for the Flash (Barry Allen) until he performs speed tricks at a charity function. He accidentally vibrates himself into another world, where the silver age Flash, Jay Garrick, resides. Barry’s appearance inspires Jay to come out of retirement and the scarlet speedsters team up to defeat a trio of rogues. It’s a shame that what started out as a clever, and almost innocent, idea would wreak such havoc in the DC universe. The story is a Gardner Fox classic and he handles the multiple Earths with aplomb. However, most writers do not possess Fox’s skill and the multiple Earths would confuse many a reader. Despite its ghastly consequences, this issue of The Flash should be remembered as vintage Fox and Infantino. (RP)
By 1985 the DC universe was a total mess. Different Earths, each having its own set of heroes, had readers perplexed. It was difficult to keep track of which Batman had what adventures, which Superman was married, etc. A major house cleaning was in order, and this is where Crisis on Infinite Earths came in. This was a major event that would establish order in the DC universe, as much for its storytellers as its readers. The story pits the heroes of Earth-1 and Earth-2 against the Anti-Monitor, a being powerful enough to destroy universes. At the end of it all, DC readers are left with one universe and one set of heroes. The climax of the story arc comes when the silver age Flash sacrifices his life to ensure that one universe survives. This was a tremendous deal at the time, since heroes did not have the revolving-door death policy that they do today. Since the story dealt with hundreds or heroes, no artist was better suited for the job than George Perez. He is the undisputed master of cramming dozens of characters in a panel, while still keeping it meaningful. Although the overall plot seems hokey by today’s standards, Crisis is a noteworthy series because of Flash’s sacrifice and its drastic effect on the DC universe. (RP)
John Constantine was an intriguing character in Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing series. He was mysterious, arrogant, charming, and dangerous. Surely he wasn’t your run-of-the-mill goody two-shoes leading man. In fact, most readers probably didn’t even like him, but he had a irrefutable appeal that made you want to see more of him. Comic fans finally could get their fill of Constantine when he got his own book, entitled Hellblazer, in 1988. The series follows the arcane adventures of Constantine, and although the occult has a great deal to do with his stories, Hellblazer is really the first comic where a total prick is the protagonist. Aside from the complex and mature storytelling, Hellblazer paved the way for anti-heroes, especially the intellectual sort. The comic proved that readers would follow the adventures of a bastard, so long as the storytelling was good and the characters unique. Although it started out as an alternative comic, it served as a springboard to writers who are immensely popular today, such as Grant Morrison, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, and Brian Azzarello. Even the incomparable Neil Gaiman had a run with Constantine. Hellblazer was one of the handful of titles that really helped comic-book storytelling evolve and mature. (RP)
Destined to be one the classic series of the ‘90s, Preacher is religious tale with heavy Western influences. The book follows the adventures of Jesse Custer, a preacher imbued with the power of "The Word of God." Custer’s mission is to find God, who for some reason has abandoned heaven. Comprising his posse are Tulip, his uzi-sporting and ultra-sexy girlfriend, and Cassidy, a drunken vampire. Although this core group is plenty interesting, Ennis also included some of the most memorable supporting characters in comics. The storytelling is Ennis at his best; it’s a fantastic mixture of violence, obscenity, and intellect. Although much of the series is over-the-top and extreme, there are several moments that are genuinely touching. The final story arc--which was surprisingly touching--of Preacher is without a doubt my favorite series ending ever. Dillon’s artwork is perfect for this book. It’s edgy and realistic, but also allows room for absurdity. He makes a character like Arse Face seem totally plausible in Preacher’s world. The duo has been working together for quite some time and Dillon’s art brings out Ennis’ words like no other. Much like The Sandman and Swamp Thing series, Preacher will go down in history as a classic. (RP)
In the early to mid ‘80s The New Teen Titans was DC’s hottest book. Fresh from a stint at Marvel, Len Wein and Marv Wolfman took what they learned of revamping super teams and applied to the Teen Titans. The book combined several of the original Titans with some fresh and exciting characters. Furthermore it established these heroes as more than just a team--they were a family. It took a bunch of younger heroes--many of them sidekicks--and delighted readers as we watched them go through the identity-forming years of their lives. The pencils further established George Perez as the premiere artist on team-based books. Nobody does multi-character action better than Perez, a fact that was evident throughout his Teen Titans’ run. Inks were deftly handled by Romeo Tanghal, best known for his outstanding work on Green Lantern. A key to the popularity of The Teen Titans is that readers could easily identify with the characters. The stage of life they went--and to this day still are going--through is similar to NBC’s immensely popular Friends. The heroes are ready to go out on their own, but not quite ready for full adulthood. Like many youths in this generation, The Titans were closer to each other rather than their parental figures. The New Teen Titans were the first surrogate family in comics. (RP) Only ever read this in Australian B&W reprints, but it was a tweaky story where Robin went forward in time and met his future team-mates. A nice introduction to them all, and of course George Perez's art was just brilliant. For a long time, because of the NTT, Perez was my benchmark for good comic art. (AF)
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JUSTICE LEAGUE #1
KINGDOM COME #1
THE FLASH #123
CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1
HELLBLAZER #1
PREACHER #1
THE NEW TEEN TITANS #1
