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Kingdom Come #1
Kingdom Come #1: Strange Visitor
"Strange Visitor" kicks off what is arguably the greatest Elseworlds tale ever told. Kingdom Come, replete with grand storytelling and biblical prophecy, takes place in the near future when Superman has retired and a new, ruthlessly violent generation of "heroes" has corrupted the Earth, their questionable deeds culminating in the destruction of Kansas. Written by Mark Waid, with art by Alex Ross.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
49 people are currently reading
5689 people want to read
About the author
Mark Waid
3,248 books1,300 followersMark Waid is an American comic book writer widely known for shaping modern superhero storytelling through influential runs on major characters at both DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Raised in Alabama, he developed an early fascination with comic books, particularly classic stories featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes, whose imaginative scope and sense of legacy would later inform his own writing. He first entered the comics industry during the mid 1980s as an editor and writer for the fan magazine Amazing Heroes, before publishing his first professional comic story in Action Comics. Soon afterward he joined DC Comics as an editor, contributing to numerous titles and helping shape projects across the company. After leaving editorial work to focus on writing, Waid gained widespread recognition with his long run on The Flash, where he expanded the mythology of the character and co-created the youthful speedster Impulse. His reputation grew further with the celebrated graphic novel Kingdom Come, created with artist Alex Ross, which imagined a future DC Universe shaped by generational conflict among superheroes. Over the years he has written many prominent series, including Captain America, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Superman: Birthright, bringing a balance of optimism, character depth, and respect for comic book history to each project. Waid has also collaborated with notable artists and writers on major ensemble titles such as Justice League and Avengers, while contributing ideas that helped clarify complex continuity within shared superhero universes. Beyond mainstream superhero work, he has supported creator owned projects and experimental publishing models, including the acclaimed series Irredeemable and Incorruptible, which explored moral ambiguity within the superhero genre. He later took on editorial leadership roles at Boom Studios, guiding creative direction while continuing to write extensively. In subsequent years he expanded his involvement in publishing and digital storytelling, helping launch online comics initiatives and advocating for new distribution methods for creators. His work has earned numerous industry awards, including Eisner and Harvey honors, reflecting both critical acclaim and enduring popularity among readers. Throughout his career Waid has remained a passionate student of comic book history, drawing on decades of storytelling tradition while continually encouraging innovation within the medium. His influence extends across generations of readers and creators, and his stories continue to shape the evolving language of superhero comics around the world today through enduring characters imaginative narratives and thoughtful reinventions of familiar myths within popular culture and modern graphic storytelling traditions.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
December 3, 2023
I think I read this story many many years ago but I truly don't remember anything about it.
Alex Ross's art is simply fabulous. One of the best artworks I ever saw in a comic book.
Mark Waid's writing is very good.
This is a world where the old superheroes went into hibernation and the new generation of superheroes are very irresponsible.
Will the old superheroes return and bring order to the world again?
I'm curious to see what is going to happen next.
Alex Ross's art is simply fabulous. One of the best artworks I ever saw in a comic book.
Mark Waid's writing is very good.
This is a world where the old superheroes went into hibernation and the new generation of superheroes are very irresponsible.
Will the old superheroes return and bring order to the world again?
I'm curious to see what is going to happen next.
March 30, 2023
The art is absolutely amazing, but I'm sort of stuck between a 2.5 or 3 star out of 5 for this first issue just based off of the writing.
September 25, 2018
Alex Ross, müthişsin. Marvels'dan beri okuduğum en kaliteli şeylerden biri. Cidden süper kahraman olmanın felsefesi bu...
(DC cahilliğime ilaç gibi gelen bu önerisi için de cağnım editörüm Yiğitcör Bey, sizi aşırılı seviyorum, bilinsin! ❤️)
(DC cahilliğime ilaç gibi gelen bu önerisi için de cağnım editörüm Yiğitcör Bey, sizi aşırılı seviyorum, bilinsin! ❤️)
July 21, 2012
Books of beautiful paintings, with an intriguing story and perspective. Alex Ross' work is truly extraordinary.
October 9, 2020
[ Tomo número 1 de 4 ]
Historia que habla de la toma de decisiones, los errores, los miedos, la humanidad.
Aunque me gusta el hecho de que el personaje del cura sea espectador de lo que sucede, las citas bíblicas no me terminan de convencer. En uno de los tantos mensajes, se nos dice que el cura (la religión) está ahí para encarrilarnos cuando estemos pasando los peores momentos.
Superman está en una posición idealista, pero se le va todo de las manos cuando se desata la batalla final (aunque pienso que antes tampoco tenía la situación totalmente controlada). Wonder Woman se la ve mucho más segura y decidida a actuar, aunque luego se va de mambo en la pelea.
Hay varias cositas que son algo inverosímiles y no tienen mucha explicación (o yo no supe entenderlas). Por ejemplo, el motivo por el cual los superhumanos (toda persona con superpoderes) se la pasan peleando entre sí constantemente (me refiero al principio de la historia). Se llega a decir: "Ya no luchan por la razón. Pelean solo por pelear, y sus únicos enemigos son ellos mismos". O sea, ¿pelean entre sí por diversión?, ¿a falta de supervillanos? ¿O acaso están aburridos y no tienen nada mejor que hacer? No sé, este detalle argumental me parece algo ridículo y de poca consistencia. Y otra cosa es la actitud de Batman: es ambigua al comienzo, y hasta diría que no se ajusta con su personalidad.
¿Y qué puedo decir del dibujo hiperrealista de Alex Ross? Encaja a la perfección con la grandilocuencia de la historia.
En resumen, son interesantes las cuestiones intrínsecamente humanas que se plantean. Cómo los dioses no suplen al ser humano, y es el hombre mismo quien tiene que tomar las riendas de su vida y su futuro.
Historia que habla de la toma de decisiones, los errores, los miedos, la humanidad.
Aunque me gusta el hecho de que el personaje del cura sea espectador de lo que sucede, las citas bíblicas no me terminan de convencer. En uno de los tantos mensajes, se nos dice que el cura (la religión) está ahí para encarrilarnos cuando estemos pasando los peores momentos.
Superman está en una posición idealista, pero se le va todo de las manos cuando se desata la batalla final (aunque pienso que antes tampoco tenía la situación totalmente controlada). Wonder Woman se la ve mucho más segura y decidida a actuar, aunque luego se va de mambo en la pelea.
Hay varias cositas que son algo inverosímiles y no tienen mucha explicación (o yo no supe entenderlas). Por ejemplo, el motivo por el cual los superhumanos (toda persona con superpoderes) se la pasan peleando entre sí constantemente (me refiero al principio de la historia). Se llega a decir: "Ya no luchan por la razón. Pelean solo por pelear, y sus únicos enemigos son ellos mismos". O sea, ¿pelean entre sí por diversión?, ¿a falta de supervillanos? ¿O acaso están aburridos y no tienen nada mejor que hacer? No sé, este detalle argumental me parece algo ridículo y de poca consistencia. Y otra cosa es la actitud de Batman: es ambigua al comienzo, y hasta diría que no se ajusta con su personalidad.
¿Y qué puedo decir del dibujo hiperrealista de Alex Ross? Encaja a la perfección con la grandilocuencia de la historia.
En resumen, son interesantes las cuestiones intrínsecamente humanas que se plantean. Cómo los dioses no suplen al ser humano, y es el hombre mismo quien tiene que tomar las riendas de su vida y su futuro.
July 7, 2025
Kingdom Come #1 – “Strange Visitor”
A somber, powerful opening that redefines what a superhero comic can be — full of mythic gravitas, philosophical weight, and stunning, museum-worthy art by Alex Ross. Watching a future where Superman has vanished and chaos reigns is genuinely chilling, and the re-emergence of the Justice League hits hard. But while the atmosphere is unmatched, the pacing is slow and narration-heavy, making it harder to connect emotionally at first — especially if you’re not well-versed in DC’s legacy characters.
A somber, powerful opening that redefines what a superhero comic can be — full of mythic gravitas, philosophical weight, and stunning, museum-worthy art by Alex Ross. Watching a future where Superman has vanished and chaos reigns is genuinely chilling, and the re-emergence of the Justice League hits hard. But while the atmosphere is unmatched, the pacing is slow and narration-heavy, making it harder to connect emotionally at first — especially if you’re not well-versed in DC’s legacy characters.
August 20, 2022
Hard to follow at times but interesting idea. Won't be completing the series though
October 20, 2024
This is truly an epilogue to the Dc golden age.
I’m so happy that I got to read this comic. In an era where superheroes are being replaced with the violent antihero trend, King Come is truly a love letter to those older comics. It is also filled with many religious allusions to Revelations and doomsday. From the writing to the art, it is all amazing, filled with moral grayness. I think every comic fan should give it a read!!! it’s incredible.
I’m so happy that I got to read this comic. In an era where superheroes are being replaced with the violent antihero trend, King Come is truly a love letter to those older comics. It is also filled with many religious allusions to Revelations and doomsday. From the writing to the art, it is all amazing, filled with moral grayness. I think every comic fan should give it a read!!! it’s incredible.
October 6, 2020
The art is beautiful but not what I want from an action comic.
However I would love a print of Kal as a farmer.
As for the story, I found that confusing, unaware who was a bad guy. And the confusion was only made worse by the beautiful artwork.
However I would love a print of Kal as a farmer.
As for the story, I found that confusing, unaware who was a bad guy. And the confusion was only made worse by the beautiful artwork.
April 25, 2024
This is my first sustained engagement with the art of Alex Ross. Honestly, from the glimpses I saw previously, I worried it would all feel too much like a Norman Rockwell painting and not enough like a comic book. I worried it would feel cloying, not just for the Rockwellian overtones but also because there always seemed to be such an overly detailed and strangely luminous quality to his art (again, in my limited impressions).
Maybe Alex Ross's art would disappoint me in other books. Not this one.
This story is inherently Rockwellian, because it's a nostalgic longing for a real or imagined America.
But here's the thing: if there's one thing to be nostalgic about in America, it's superheroes. Especially these days (and especially--based on my limited impression of the era--in the 90s).
Superheroes are huge right now (though I also sense some general MCU fatigue, not to confuse it with my own), and they were huge in the 90s as well (keeping in mind that this is from 1996). You could argue that they've been consistently huge SINCE the 90s, but I think that's somewhat inaccurate.
The cresting of the MCU really was a paradigm shift for superhero media after like a decade where--while there were certainly big superhero movies--they still felt a little less than mainstream; being into superhero fiction was not yet the assumption, whereas now you're either "normal" (please be appropriately scared by these quotes) or you're someone who practically goes out of your way not to consume superhero TV or movies (as you basically can't cross the street without accidentally binging Daredevil or Harley Quinn or The Boys).
Popular superhero fiction--in print in the 90s and on screen more recently--has had a reluctance to embrace what is frankly the nearly unqualified wholesome potential of these characters. Everyone needs to have some sort of edge or whatever, no matter how much they're the (anti-)hero.
But you know who's great? Superman. Superman's great. Superman makes me feel good. I like to feel good.
Know who else is great? Wonder Woman. She's the best.
These two people are icons for doing the right thing, even when it's hard (which is saying something, because it's easier for them than it is for us).
I don't know what the chicken or egg of this situation is: do people not have an appetite for moral clarity because they aren't being served it or are people not being served a more sure-footed, righteous vision of superheroes because nobody wants it?
Well, let me tell you that I want it. I want characters I can admire and be inspired by, and that's the undertone I gather from Kingdom Come #1. If we can't be nostalgic for that in the face of gritty, dark "heroes" permeating a cynically commercial superhero industry (which--to be clear--it's always been very commercial; this is the purpose of the Rockwellian kayfabe that you embrace if you're writing or reading Kingdom Come), we shouldn't be nostalgic for anything (which--hey--fair point).
Because while America has a lot to be ashamed of, we've gotten a few things right too. Jazz, baseball, and Superman, at the very least. (Ken Burns, get on it.)
Maybe Alex Ross's art would disappoint me in other books. Not this one.
This story is inherently Rockwellian, because it's a nostalgic longing for a real or imagined America.
But here's the thing: if there's one thing to be nostalgic about in America, it's superheroes. Especially these days (and especially--based on my limited impression of the era--in the 90s).
Superheroes are huge right now (though I also sense some general MCU fatigue, not to confuse it with my own), and they were huge in the 90s as well (keeping in mind that this is from 1996). You could argue that they've been consistently huge SINCE the 90s, but I think that's somewhat inaccurate.
The cresting of the MCU really was a paradigm shift for superhero media after like a decade where--while there were certainly big superhero movies--they still felt a little less than mainstream; being into superhero fiction was not yet the assumption, whereas now you're either "normal" (please be appropriately scared by these quotes) or you're someone who practically goes out of your way not to consume superhero TV or movies (as you basically can't cross the street without accidentally binging Daredevil or Harley Quinn or The Boys).
Popular superhero fiction--in print in the 90s and on screen more recently--has had a reluctance to embrace what is frankly the nearly unqualified wholesome potential of these characters. Everyone needs to have some sort of edge or whatever, no matter how much they're the (anti-)hero.
But you know who's great? Superman. Superman's great. Superman makes me feel good. I like to feel good.
Know who else is great? Wonder Woman. She's the best.
These two people are icons for doing the right thing, even when it's hard (which is saying something, because it's easier for them than it is for us).
I don't know what the chicken or egg of this situation is: do people not have an appetite for moral clarity because they aren't being served it or are people not being served a more sure-footed, righteous vision of superheroes because nobody wants it?
Well, let me tell you that I want it. I want characters I can admire and be inspired by, and that's the undertone I gather from Kingdom Come #1. If we can't be nostalgic for that in the face of gritty, dark "heroes" permeating a cynically commercial superhero industry (which--to be clear--it's always been very commercial; this is the purpose of the Rockwellian kayfabe that you embrace if you're writing or reading Kingdom Come), we shouldn't be nostalgic for anything (which--hey--fair point).
Because while America has a lot to be ashamed of, we've gotten a few things right too. Jazz, baseball, and Superman, at the very least. (Ken Burns, get on it.)
November 22, 2019
Story-line, Good. Artwork, Amazing...
This is perhaps one of the few 'elseworld' imprints that'd go into the history book as one of the greatest works in comics.
The setting is intriguing enough to be hooked with series, with this momentum I expect the rest of the issues to be packed with depth and meaning and I may probably rate the series with a 5 star.
This is perhaps one of the few 'elseworld' imprints that'd go into the history book as one of the greatest works in comics.
The setting is intriguing enough to be hooked with series, with this momentum I expect the rest of the issues to be packed with depth and meaning and I may probably rate the series with a 5 star.
July 30, 2021
stunning artwork, an interesting premise as well. superheroes wreaking disorder and destroying the planet they once swore to protect. i thoroughly enjoyed this. comics like these make me remember why i love the dc universe so much
February 3, 2023
An Elseworlds story about some kind of dystopian future where various superheroes' offspring and supervillains' descendants run amok, while the 'proper' heroes turn a blind eye. Well-written and quite fabulously drawn by Alex Ross. Looking forward to pt2... 5/5
June 23, 2023
4/5
dante’s inferno but it’s DC.
i really loved the art and the story was really intriguing to me. the major difference between dc and marvel to me is the godliness of all the hero’s. So seeing the story directly address some of the supers as “gods” was fitting. a god starter for DC comic stories
dante’s inferno but it’s DC.
i really loved the art and the story was really intriguing to me. the major difference between dc and marvel to me is the godliness of all the hero’s. So seeing the story directly address some of the supers as “gods” was fitting. a god starter for DC comic stories
March 21, 2024
The art looks amazing. The characterizations in here are taking some getting used to, but interesting to see more of a Superman who's outlived his human people he lived. An interesting contrast with how Superman Beyond handles it.
January 3, 2018
A bit preachy at times but it also got some great artwork and a story interesting enough to continue reading.
April 26, 2018
Good, reccemond it. fast read for me
June 25, 2022
Beautifully drawn.
It has some eerie similarities to the Miracleman storyline.
I wouldn't have known of this if not for Aria ・❥・Biblioaria ˚ · ..
It has some eerie similarities to the Miracleman storyline.
I wouldn't have known of this if not for Aria ・❥・Biblioaria ˚ · ..
June 30, 2023
First re-read since it came out. I don't think I've seen Ross draw anything other than covers for the last 25 years. Some pages were great but a lot of panels were just static shots.
July 13, 2023
Superman got ollllld
July 26, 2023
Actual rating is 4.5 for this one, but I rounded it up to 5 since it's so interesting.
October 1, 2023
Great story
February 16, 2024
I've been hyped to read this. The first book is a bit slow. I also wasn't sure about the artwork at the start, but once Clar.... Kal showed up you see how awesome it is.
September 17, 2024
DCU should adapt this...
December 20, 2024
muy introductorio, los dibujos son lindos
November 1, 2021
The art is amazing and, if I would have liked the story as much (this is a review of the four books) it would definitely get 4 stars from me. I ended up feeling that much of the story was untold and should have been developed further. Still a good book
September 14, 2023
This book is a masterpiece! The characters are richly developed, and the plot is both thrilling and emotionally resonant. It's a timeless classic that I'll cherish forever.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews