Kingdom Come

by Elliot S. Maggin, Mark Waid, Alex Ross

published	1999 by Aspect
binding	Mass Market Paperback
isbn	0446606693 (isbn13: 9780446606691)
pages	416
date added	02-11-07 edit book

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Chris rated it:

02/09/08

bookshelves: apocolypse, fantasy, top-shelf

Read in February, 2008

This novel is, of course, based off the outstanding graphic novel done by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, and is its equal in every way. While it may not have the visuals that the comic provided, it adds a depth of detail to the story that the comic simply couldn't reach. For my money, they're both outstanding. And if you can find a copy of the full cast audio book, do it.

So, after that gushing praise, what is it all about?

It's about the darkest days of the super-heroes. The End Times. The unpleasa...more This novel is, of course, based off the outstanding graphic novel done by Mark Waid and Alex Ross, and is its equal in every way. While it may not have the visuals that the comic provided, it adds a depth of detail to the story that the comic simply couldn't reach. For my money, they're both outstanding. And if you can find a copy of the full cast audio book, do it.

So, after that gushing praise, what is it all about?

It's about the darkest days of the super-heroes. The End Times. The unpleasant future of the DC Universe.

In this not-so-distant future, the metahumans rule the world. Not officially, of course - we still have the United Nations and the President and all that, but for all intents and purposes, the "super-heroes" are the masters of the planet. They battle and rumble with abandon, concerned not with truth, justice and the American way, but with who's the toughest guy on the block. Some of them are new, many of them are the children and grandchildren of the heroes and villains of today.

They are powerful, they are beautiful, they are perfect. Now law can touch them, and no authority can confine them, and the once-prized concept of human achievement has nearly vanished.

From all of this does Armageddon come. Norman McCay, a pastor at a church in Metropolis and a man who's faith has all but gone, is chosen by The Spectre - a spirit of vengeance answerable only to God - to guide him through the events to come. These two witnesses tell our story of how the world became the way it did, and watch as the earth is nearly ripped apart in the battle between super-humans.

It's an awesome book. It touches on several very powerful themes, the least of which is the role of the super-human in a human world. When you have guys like Superman, who can bend steel around his finger, what does that do to the achievements of an Olympic weightlifter? How must the drivers of the fastest vehicles on Earth feel when they're outpaced by The Flash? These people can - and have - re-order the universe itself, so how are we supposed to live, knowing that even at our best, we can never come close to matching these living gods?

Of course, there is the major theme - the generation gap. The older heroes have left the stage, going into retirement or seclusion, because the world has changed around them. Their kids and their successors have become adults, and they have chosen a different moral path than the heroes that we know and love. Human life is no longer sacred, and higher ideals have been thrown aside. With a definite focus on Superman, the book looks at how one can deal with this - you can either hide from it, or try to force it to revert to the way you remember. Neither option is good, and so a third option must be found.

Then of course there is the idea of friendship. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are the iconic trio of the DC Comics universe, and despite their differences they are, ostensibly, friends. While the events of Identity Crisis a couple of years ago nearly cracked that friendship apart, this work tried breaking them up long before. They each react differently to the new world in which they live, and those differences are almost insurmountable.

If you're a fan at all of comic books, read this. And read the original graphic novel, because Alex Ross' work is indescribably beautiful. Then find the audio book and listen to that.

No pressure....less

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