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Volume 1, Number 159 June 2025 EDITOR EMERITUS Michael Eury
Comics’ Bronze Age and Beyond!
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Roger Ash PUBLISHER John Morrow DESIGNER Rich J. Fowlks COVER ARTIST George Pérez (The art originally appeared as the cover to the Crisis Index. Scan courtesy of Heritage Auctions.) COVER COLORIST Glenn Whitmore COVER DESIGNER Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADER Kevin Sharp
BACKSEAT DRIVER: Editorial by Roger Ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
SPECIAL THANKS Kurt Busiek Gerry Conway Stephen Englehart Grand Comics Database Robert Greenberger Milton Griepp Karl Heitmueller Jr. Heritage Auctions Paul Levitz Brian Martin John Jackson Miller Donald Propsom Roy Thomas Mark Waid John Wells Marv Wolfman
OFF MY CHEST: Paul Levitz of How Crisis Came to Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 FLASHBACK: The Crisis Watcher’s Guide to the DC Multiverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Explore the many worlds of DC FLASHBACK: Crisis at 40 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 From concept to series and beyond Crisis Original Art Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 PRINCE STREET NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Darkseid walks into a bar… PRO2PRO: Marv Wolfman and Robert Greenberger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 BACK IN PRINT: DC Celebrates Crisis on Infinite Earths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 FLASHBACK: The Importance of Direct Market Retailers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 The unsung partner in the success of Crisis
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FLASHBACK: Crisis, What Crisis? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 A guide to the tie-in issues FLASHBACK: You Can’t Go Home Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Can the pre-Crisis Multiverse be recreated?
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BACK ISSUE™ issue 159, June 2025 (ISSN 1932-6904) is published monthly (except Jan., March, May, and Nov.) by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614, USA. Phone: (919) 449-0344. Periodicals postage paid at Raleigh, NC. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Back Issue, c/o TwoMorrows, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Michael Eury, Editor Emeritus. Roger Ash, Editor-In-Chief. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: BACK ISSUE, c/o Roger Ash, Editor, 2715 Birchwood Pass, Apt. 7, Cross Plains, WI 53528. Email: rogerash@hotmail.com. Eight-issue subscriptions: $102 Economy US, $127.60 International, $39 Digital. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Cover artwork by George Pérez. TM & © DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. All editorial matter © 2025 TwoMorrows and Roger Ash. Printed in China. FIRST PRINTING
40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths • BACK ISSUE • 1
It’s hard for me to believe that we’re celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths. First, it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago. Second, that means it came out when I was 20. While chronologically true, I certainly don’t feel that old. In this you’ll read about pre-Crisis DC, the epic series itself, and what has happened since. The accounts are chock-full of behind-the-scenes stories from many of the people involved. I really don’t have anything to add to that here, so please allow me to share some personal memories. I started collecting comics in 1978 and was a self-proclaimed Marvel Zombie. It wasn’t until I saw New Teen Titans on a spinner rack while grocery shopping with my mom that I bought a book from the Distinguished Competition, as Stan Lee used to call DC. And I liked it. A lot. With the help of a friend who was a DC fan, I started branching out and trying other DC comics. But even then, I was reading far more Marvel titles. In 1984, Marvel blew my mind by publishing the first company wide crossover, Secret Wars. In this day and age where there have been many crossover events, you have to remember that Secret Wars was groundbreaking. Nothing of this scope had ever been done before. And the following year, DC gave us Crisis on Infinite Earths. I’ve heard many arguments about which was the better series and, well, I see that as your personal opinion. Whichever you like best, more power to you. But for this Marvel Zombie, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Crisis. Even though I knew very little about DC’s multiple Earths, and after reading John Wells’ article in this issue I learned things I didn’t know before, the story really grabbed me. Marv Wolfman’s writing drew me in and made me care about a lot of characters I knew very little about or hadn’t encountered before. It felt important. I was a fan of George Pérez’s art on Avengers and New Teen Titans, but his work on Crisis was next level. It feels right to celebrate Crisis. Much of what was done in the series has been undone over the years, but that doesn’t change the impact of the series. Turn the page and begin your exploration. I’ve read all this. You’re in for a treat.
It’s the final battle in Crisis #12. Original art courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com) TM & © DC Comics
2 • BACK ISSUE • 40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths
oger Ash
TM & © DC Comics.
by R
Photo credit: Jesse Chieffo.
by P a u l
Levitz
Some context, before you go deep diving into Mystery, and replacing them with interesting new forty years ago. The newsstand era of American experiments aimed at older readers. It had even comic books was drawing to a close, and every- taken its two best-selling titles in the shops, Teen one involved could feel it. Long established com- Titans and Legion Of Super-Heroes, and relaunched panies that relied on it, like Harvey Comics, were them in fancier format. Swamp Thing had quit dwindling from twenty-odd Richie Rich the safe world of the Comics Code and the comics to…er…none. The marketnewsstands altogether. But there was place had moved to the smaller, clearly a long way to go. more concentrated modest number One aspect of the gap as of comic shops, perhaps 1/25th diagnosed by then-conventionalof the locations that had offered wisdom seems absurd now, in the comics only a few years before. era of Everything Everywhere At But the good news was, the Once. Marvel’s mythology seemed customers there were serious simpler, with a timeline extending about their comics, buying more back a mere twenty-off years as of them, more knowledgably, opposed to DC’s five decades, and and willing to support a better was set in a more or less consistent product. But the bad news (at single world. DC had resolved least for everyone else) was that its complex past with a series of paul levitz Marvel dominated sales in these parallel worlds, labeled Earth© Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. shops. Most of the store owners One, Two, Three…and on and on. had grown up feeling Marvel were by far the best Many people involved in the field creatively, or at comics, and X-Men had become the dominant retail, believed that the DC universe was just too franchise in the field. damn complicated, an untangleable canon full of DC was doing a lot to catch up. Behind debatable contradictions and unknowable details. the scenes, the company was offering deeper Healing that seemed like a necessary part of the discounts to pump funds into the new emerging catch-up plan. market and improve distribution. More visibly, it The solution wasn’t an entirely new idea. A was canceling titles that had thrived on the news- decade before, Gerry Conway had suggested stand for decades, like G.I. Combat and House of DC should have a ‘big bang’ and simply blow
(top) The incredible cover by George Pérez and Alex Ross for the Crisis on Infinite Earths collection. (inset) The coming of the Crisis is hinted at in DC Comics Presents #78 as Harbinger and the Monitor briefly appear. TM & © DC Comics
40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths • BACK ISSUE • 3
A George Pérez recreation of the most famous Crisis cover, issue #7. (inset) The note that assured Supergirl’s death. TM & © DC Comics. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com).
up the multiple dimensions (the term multiverse hadn’t entered the conversation yet). But there was no appetite for the idea then: the newsstand was still limping along, the comic shops barely born, the average customer still assumed to be an unsophisticated ten- to twelve-year-old. And a lot of the staff had been with DC since the dawn of time, and weren’t anxious to see their life’s work discarded. By 1985, that had all changed. The company was moving ahead in multiple directions, with challenging projects that would forever change the whole industry beginning to be assembled. President & Publisher Jenette Kahn was settling into her role leading the DC team and was seeing significant results from the initiatives that had been put in place. There would be risks attendant to launching a project that would ultimately change everything, but there were also great rewards if it worked. Dick Giordano was now leading the editorial department and was ready for the challenge. DC had a long, fine history behind the word ‘Crisis.’ In fact, it was the word that arguably had gotten the company into this fine mess, with the original crossovers that linked the Golden Age DC Universe with the contemporary one, two decades before. This would be the ‘Crisis’ to end all crises (oh, if only we had known!). To make it magical, the top team in the company was drafted from Teen Titans: editor Len Wein, writer Marv Wolfman, and penciller George Pérez. All three had deep background as comic fans, passionate in their knowledge of the DC lore that they were about to blow up. To make it serious, the changes had to be dramatic, and feel final. No major DC heroes had died since the final issue of Doom Patrol in 1968 (let’s not elevate the passing of Karate Kid a few months before in Legion to that stature). There needed to be casualties. And there would be. I suspect somewhere in this BACK ISSUE will be the memo Jenette signed off on as a death warrant (Editor’s note: boy are you ever right, Paul; just look to your left!). The ramifications of Crisis on Infinite Earths for DC, and ultimately, the whole field of American comics, were indeed serious. Many of the resulting series changes were viewed as healthy revitalizations, and were DC’s strongest commercial launches in a very, very long time. Others were (and are) debated, with favored characters disappearing. And as our culture— and indeed our scientific theories—have evolved, eliminating a multiverse arguably feels unnecessary. But it felt like a good idea at the time. And perhaps it couldn’t—and hasn’t—be done better. With four decades of massive company crossovers that have followed from DC and all its major competitors, there isn’t another one looked back on as fondly, considered as memorable, or perhaps executed with much passion as Marv and George put into those pages. It’s worth celebrating. So turn the pages, and jump into BACK ISSUE. Because if there were ever back issues worth talking about, this dozen hit the mark.
4 • BACK ISSUE • 40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths
by J o
Earth-One. Earth-Two. Earth-Three. Earth-S. Earth-X. DC fans of a certain age can rattle off the major parallel worlds of the DC Universe. As a certain mini-series once declared, however, there were infinite Earths, and they were a far greater presence in the DC cosmology than even many longtime readers are aware. Join us now in a look back at some of the other alternate realities where history played out differently. Note that the Earth numbers in quotes were not present in the originals. Most were coined by me in a feature for 2005’s Crisis On Infinite Earths: The Compendium. Some of my 2005 designations have since been reclaimed in DC’s Multiversity Guidebook and Dark Crisis: Big Bang. The numbers here have been updated to reflect them. “Earth-59”: It was writer-editor Robert Kanigher who set things spinning in March 1955’s Wonder Woman #59 (illustrated by the H.G. Peter Studio). For the first time in DC history, a character traveled to a parallel world and met their counterpart. In this case, the alternate world twin was Princess Tara Terruna, an exact double of Wonder Woman and whose name translated to same. A “warp in time”
somehow linked the two’s physical movements before a lightning strike temporarily propelled WW into TT’s world. “Earth-Three…?”: Kanigher and Peter returned to the concept in WW #89 (Feb. 1957), this time pitting Wonder Woman against the master of a parallel Earth “which, unlike yours, crime—not justice—triumphs!” Bearded with pointed ears, the Vandal Savage lookalike seemed to be describing a world later known as Earth-Three. “Earth-238”: Editor Mort Weisinger joined the parade with January 1958’s Action Comics #238, specifically in an Otto Binder/Jim Mooney tale where the 21st century’s Tommy Tomorrow of the Planeteers was thrust into a ghostly dimension that ultimately led him to an alternate Earth. Tommy discovered that everything there was the mirror reverse (including printed matter) of other Earths…and that events took place 24 hours after they did in his universe. Saving the life of his doppelganger, Tommy used the dimensional device to send himself back home.
hn Wells Rip Hunter, Booster Gold, and Daniel Carter observe the myriad of parallel Earths converging to form a new Multiverse in the conclusion of the mega-series 52 #52. TM & © DC Comics.
40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths • BACK ISSUE • 5
“Earth-258”: Kanigher and Peter were back for Wonder Woman #97 (Feb. 1958), where the Amazing Amazon embarked on a test run of a transporter than could propel its subject anywhere in space or time. Responding to a distress call, Wonder Woman landed on a parallel Earth whose physical laws were different than her own and made a battle with the dictator Blunt more challenging. “Earth-146”: In May 1961’s Superman #146 (by Jerry Siegel and Al Plastino), Superman was astonished that he’d seemingly overcome the immutable rule that time could not be changed. After preventing the sinking of Atlantis and the Lincoln assassination as well as evacuating the planet Krypton before it exploded, the Man of Steel finally realized he’d been shunted to another dimension and had changed the history of another Earth rather than his own. “Earth-661”: Manifesting hitherto unknown mental abilities, Suicide Squad member Karin Grace began transmitting—through painted images—plans for an invasion from a parallel Earth in June 1961’s The Brave and the Bold #37 (by Bob Kanigher, Ross Andru, and Mike Esposito). Pushing her newfound powers to the limit, Karin teleported the Squad to the parallel universe dominated by super-intelligent dinosaurs. Discovering that the giants were being controlled by extraterrestrials, the Squad severed the link and dispersed the impending invasion before Karin teleported everyone home. Earth-One and Earth-Two: With July 1961’s The Flash #123, editor Julius Schwartz joined the festvities with a seminal adventure by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino, and Joe Giella. Acting on fan interest in the Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick and the fact that successor Barry Allen had been depicted as a comic book reader, the team devised a story where the younger Flash accidentally vibrated to a parallel Earth that was home to an older, married Jay Garrick. A giddy Barry became fast friends with the elder Flash. Their reunions spiraled outward to embrace other 1940s heroes from the Justice Society of America—including annual team-ups with the modern Justice League—and explore other herofilled Earths in a growing multiverse. Barry and Jay’s worlds were respectively dubbed “Earth-One” and “Earth-Two” in 1963’s Justice League of America #21. Properly, Jay and his elder teammates should have been the ones on Earth-One, but Schwartz and Fox were thinking in terms of where most of DC’s comics were taking place. The editor and writer followed their habit of referring to Jay and company’s home as that “second Earth.”
(top) When Wonder Women meet! Diana meets her Earth-59 doppelganger in Wonder Woman #59. (2nd row) Action Comics #238 lands Tommy Tomorrow in a literal mirror image of his universe. (3rd row left) Wonder Woman struggles with the laws of physics on the parallel Earth of Wonder Woman #97. (3rd row right) The Man of Steel meddles with the history of Earth-146 in Superman #146. (bottom) Great Spielberg’s Ghost!! The Suicide Squad must prevent an invasion from a dimension of super-intelligent dinosaurs in the bizarre The Brave and the Bold #37. TM & © DC Comics.
6 • BACK ISSUE • 40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths
(top) Temporal displacement teams Barry Allen with the Golden Age Flash, Jay Garrick, in The Flash #123. (2nd row left) Lois Lane witnesses the demise of Earth 963’s Superman in Lois Lane #43. (2nd row right) It’s a wonderful life for Batman in World’s Finest #136. (3rd row) The Crime Syndicate of Earth-Three in JLA #29. (bottom left) Superboy #116 glimpsed at a not-so different Earth-116. (bottom right) Hal Jordan’s nuptials are interrupted as he elopes to Earth-864 in Green Lantern #32. TM & © DC Comics.
“Earth-962”: Before getting to that, though, September 1962’s JLA #15 (by Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs) introduced a world populated by stone-giants that was revealed to be “separated from Man-Earth by a single minute in time” until dual bombs were detonated on each world at the same time and place. With the dimensional balance upset, the two worlds began to merge in three locations. Working the crisis from each side of the barrier, the stone-giants and the Justice League—and specifically, Green Lantern—reset the degree of separation to one minute and prevented both planets from exploding. “Earth-963”: Transported to a parallel Earth by an electric shock in June 1963’s Lois Lane #43 (by Leo Dorfman and Kurt Schaffenberger), Superman’s girlfriend became eyewitness to the deaths of Superman and his killer Lex Luthor. Upon learning that Atlantis had never sunk, Lois realized she was in an alternate reality before another electrical jolt sent her home. “Earth-136”: Continuing the trend in July 1963’s World’s Finest #136 (by Bill Finger, Jim Mooney, and Sheldon Moldoff), a freak thunderstorm sent Batman to a world where he never existed. His panic mounting, the Caped Crusader was confronted by the facts Bruce Wayne was a Clark Kent lookalike who was secretly Superman, that reporter Lois Lane was known as Vicki Vale, and that the Joker was a law-abiding comedian named Freddy Forbes. Using his powers to recreate the storm, Superman was able to open the portal that sent Batman home. “Earth-308”: In November 1963’s Action Comics #308 (drawn by Al Plastino), it was Superman’s turn to be transported by a freak lightning strike. This alternate Earth was a mythological mash-up where Hercules and Goliath were the same person in the same orbit as Ben-Hur… and everyone in ancient Greece spoke English. After helping Herc perform six labors, Superman shielded shepherd boy Jason (a.k.a. David) from a lightning strike and was teleported back home. “Earths I, M, and R”: Just months after the first JLA/JSA team-up, the evil alien Despero tapped the Justice League’s powerhouse members to create the first designer Earths of the multiverse (January 1964’s JLA #26, by Fox, Sekowsky, and Sachs). Dominated by giant insects (I-Earth), marine life (M-Earth), and super-intelligent reptiles (R-Earth), the new worlds also held good-hearted beings who helped thwart the villain. Among the questions hanging in the air: Did Despero really have enough power to create three inhabited planets from the ether? Perhaps he simply used his chronal energy to open portals to three existing parallel Earths. R-Earth, for one, could have been the reptilian world previously visited by the Suicide Squad in 1961’s B&B #37.
Earth-Three: JLA #29-30 (June-July 1964) introduced Earth-One and EarthTwo’s logical follow-up. Earth-Three was a world of reversals where Europe was discovered by an American named Columbus and won its independence from the USA in the Revolutionary War. And where President John Wilkes Booth was assassinated by actor Abe Lincoln. Evil triumphed over good on this Earth as exemplified by the Crime Syndicate of America: Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Johnny Quick, and Power Ring (counterparts of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern). Over two issues, the bored CSA took on their JLA and JSA counterparts before being captured and imprisoned. “Earth-116”: August 1964’s Superboy #116 (by Jerry Siegel and Al Plastino) demonstrated that not every parallel Earth had differences to write home about. In this one, an alternate Boy of Steel was catapulted to Earth-One and ultimately met his counterpart. The last page revealed that a seeming coloring error was in fact a point of distinction between the two heroes. The alternate Superboy had an “S” symbol whose yellow/red color scheme was reversed.
40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths • BACK ISSUE • 7
by A
l e x G a l e r, D C C o m i c s Collected Editions editor Since April 2024, DC has published remastered facsimile editions of the landmark Crisis on Infinite Earths, with each issue of the 12-issue series available monthly at participating comic book shops. As part of its DC Finest line of paperback collected editions, the publisher will release DC Finest: Events: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One this September at participating comic book shops, booksellers, and mass market retailers. This will be the first of a four-volume series (500 pages each) collecting the entire event (including every crossover title) in reading order for the first time. In 2026, DC will release a brand-new, remastered Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths. Working with Crisis on Infinite Earths and Superman artist Jerry Ordway, DC has sourced his entire collection of original artwork from the series, as well as working with fans worldwide to source existing art from Crisis on Infinite Earths. This scanning effort will be used in DC’s full remastering of the series with original colors, featured in both the DC Finest: Events: Crisis on Infinite Earths line and Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths. The new Absolute edition will also feature new essays, and never-before printed material.
These beautiful scans of original art from Jerry Ordway’s collection have us excited for DC’s upcoming Crisis on Infinite Earths Absolute Edition. TM & © DC Comics
56 • BACK ISSUE • 40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths
by R o g e r
Ash
No matter how good a comic may be, it needs to find its intended audience to succeed. In the case of Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC had an unofficial partner in the growing Direct Market. Comic shop owners and their clientele were the perfect audience for Crisis. According to Milton Griepp, founder of ICv2 and co-founder of Capital City Distribution, “Crisis required comic stores to work. The main thing being that you really needed all 12 issues to understand what was happening, and potentially the tie-in issues. Getting all the issues wasn’t really the strength of newsstand distribution. That was more scattershot. “Also, DC had been in the Direct Market long enough to understand the customers there. This was written with them in mind; people that really understood the DC characters and the worlds that their stories were in. That wouldn’t have been the case as much with the casual reader.” Even before the series debuted, the buzz was positive. “My memory is that there was a lot of excitement around the start of this series,” says Donald Propsom of Westfield Comics. “There had been a number of mini-series previously and Marvel was in the midst of their maxi-series Secret Wars which was successful, but DC had struggled with getting their first maxi-series, Camelot 3000, out in a timely manner. The creative team of the series, along with the concept of Crisis (hearkening back to the EarthOne/Earth-Two team-ups that had milton griepp been popular for 20 years), gave it via ICv2. a lot of potential. “My strongest memory of Crisis on Infinite Earths was the eagerness we had in getting the boxes of copies from Capital City Distribution back to the warehouse and opening them up so we could look at and read the first issue. Some of the excitement turned to disappointment when we saw what awful things the Flexographic printing process did to that first issue.” Printing aside, the buzz remained positive, and readers eagerly followed along, resulting in strong sales. This gave DC the hit that they were hoping for. The best-selling monthly comic at the time was Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men, and Crisis was getting similar sales. As far as we can tell. According to John Jackson Miller’s Comichron web site (comichron.com), “It was still very early days for comic sales reporting by Direct Market distributors in 1985. Capital City Distribution did monthly reports with order index numbers, but if
The DC Universe will never be the same! A house ad promoting Crisis. Note the early version of the title used in the ad. TM & © DC Comics.
40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths • BACK ISSUE • 57
DC supported Crisis on Infinite Earths with house ads throughout the run of the series. TM & © DC Comics
“There are sort of rolling relaunches of Superman, Diamond Comic Distributors reported anything at all, we haven’t found it.” That means that all the Wonder Woman, and Flash that happen over an sales information we have about Crisis is only from extended period—Year One is a soft restart in a Capital, with nothing from Diamond or newsstand sense. Those of course are lucrative for DC, but it’s the creators rather than the Crisis that were the sales. These are educated guesses. driving forces behind several of them. For March 1985 titles, Crisis #4 was DC’s “I guess you can say that by making best seller and came in just behind the Legends series possible, it helps Uncanny X-Men #195, with both new fans understand the comics by lagging behind Secret Wars II #1. presenting them with shorter, new How did the success of Crisis imcharacter histories—but again pact the business of comics? That’s the timing of all the changes was a tricky question to answer and, spread out so as to make the full in part, it depends on who you ask. impact unclear.” “I think Crisis on Infinite Earths Griepp has similar views to Miller. helped usher in an avalanche of tie“Crisis was part of a wave of comics ins across comic lines that ultimately written for teen and adult readers. made comics more confusing for I don’t think you can isolate its the casual comic book fan and impact outside of all those other raised the bar for entry for a new john jackson miller things that were going on. Watchfan,” says Propsom. Photo by Fourthords. men and Dark Knight were both in Miller explains the complexity of the question of what impact Crisis had on the ’86, which was an incredible year overall. It was part of that creative explosion in the mid ‘80s that business of comics. “Other than prompting bits of DC to be was only possible because comic stores existed.” relaunched over time, not much directly. It wasn’t anything close to a New 52-style relaunch where The author thanks Milton Griepp, John Jackson Miller, and the sales change can be tracked from a single day. Donald Propsom for their input.
58 • BACK ISSUE • 40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths
by B
rian Martin
The giant overarching series that incorporates numerous crossovers... the savior or the bane of the comic industry? Whatever your opinion of these series, this issue of BI celebrates the granddaddy of them all. And in order to cover it completely, we need to examine all of those crossovers, books that either reflected events in the main series, or spun off from them and created new stories within that framework. So get set to examine some series that you would not normally concern yourself with. But don’t worry, you don’t have to buy any more comics than usual, you can just continue reading this article and leave the driving to us. (Before we begin, a quick note. The Official Crisis Crossover Index was published by Eclipse in July of 1986. It will be referenced a few times in this article when the question of why some crossovers were certified as such, and some were not. Hopefully this will become clear as we move along.)
A STUDY IN SCARLET
The official Crisis crossover banner did not appear on any DC title until books dated September 1985, the month Crisis #6 came out. The choices for these initial issues may have seemed arbitrary, but when you look back, in retrospect they make perfect sense. The Losers Special may have seemed an obvious yet not obvious choice. This loose conglomerate of old DC war characters had a long run in Our Fighting Forces stretching from issue #138(Oct/Nov 1969) to #181(Sept/Oct. 1978). Significantly for our purposes, they were the first casualties of DC characters who had starred in their own series, being killed by the AntiMonitor’s shadow demons in Crisis #3. Written by Robert Kanigher, with pencils by Judith Hunt and Sam Glanzman and inks by Mike Esposito, the Special strangely gave a different version of the group’s demise than the cited issue of Crisis. robert greenberger Frequent BI contributor Robert Greenberger (so frequent he is in this very issue!) wrote an afterward in that very special and tells us, “Murray Boltinoff was edging towards retirement, but at every editorial meeting, he eagerly made suggestions and wanted to be, ahem, a good soldier. “When brainstorming ideas for tie-ins, we felt we owed it to the war titles to give them a place in the event. Len (Wein) and Murray discussed the needs and how Marv and George would kill the Losers, as was only natural given their hard-luck lives. However, it was a war book for war readers, so Murray and Bob Kanigher produced the story that honored that line. It was a narrative cheat but appropriate to the 50th anniversary celebration.” Wonder Woman, however, was a more conventional subject for a crossover. It was not until Crisis Even as far as Crisis crossovers go, there was a lot going on in #12 that we were to realize just now significant All-Star Squadron #50. a role the series would play in the characters evolution, but as a member of the DC big three, TM & © DC Comics. 40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths • BACK ISSUE • 59
(top) The Losers Special served as a fitting goodbye for the war heroes. (bottom) Sarge and Captain Storm give their all on this page from The Losers Special. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions (www.ha.com). TM & © DC Comics.
she was entitled to a spotlight. Issue #327 of her title occurred within the midst of a continuing plot line crafted by writer Mindy Newell and artist Don Heck that pitted the amazing Amazon against the Aztec god Tezcatlipoca. The story does not crossover with Crisis very much, the main point of intersection being Diana having issues due to red skies and storms at the story’s commencement, then wondering about the ramifications of the same crimson clouds at tale’s end. This sort of crossover would become a much-discussed aspect of the legitimacy of these sorts of books. You’ll see at least a few more with this being the only thread connecting them to COIE as we proceed. One of two series that was to be affected the most directly by the events taking place in the parent series began to examine the ramifications with its eighteenth issue. This would be the currently set Earth-Two series Infinity Inc. Written by Roy Thomas who at the time also held the title of ‘Earth-Two editor’, and drawn by future superstar Todd McFarlane and inker Pablo Marcos, this series was also in the midst of a continuing story, in this case the titular group’s first battle with the villainous ensemble known as Helix. This issue’s crossover point highlighted the other way that many creators handled their Crisis bannered incursions. In Crisis #1, Harbinger gathers the initial grouping of fifteen heroes who are meant to assist the Monitor. That issue does not show her recruitment of every one of them however. One of those not featured was Obsidian from Infinity Inc., and this issue shows her recruiting him and spiriting him away.
CROSS THAT OFF YOUR LIST
With books dated October 1985, the long tentacles of the series began to reach out and affect more and more books in the DCU. Among the books with what might be termed a tangential connection was Blue Devil #17. Written by BD’s creators Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn with Alan Kupperberg and Mark Farmer illustrating, at the end of the main plot of the issue, Green Lantern John Stewart shows up to recruit the book’s star to assist in the rehabilitation of the damaged Red Tornado. This crossover is significant in that, although this scene was repeated in Crisis itself, it would not occur until next month’s issue of the parent series. Over in Roy Thomas’s neck of the woods, the 19th issue of Infinity Inc., created by the same team as the previous issue with the exception of having Steve Montano as inker, the connection to the main series is a little more subtle, with characters mentioning Obsidian’s disappearance and a corner of the eye sighting of Harbinger. Oh, and of course the obligatory appearance of the red skies. The most important event contained in this issue, at least from the perspective of we Silver and Bronze Age fans, is the fact that it is part one of what was billed as The Last JLA-Justice Society team-up. (My eyes still tear up a bit just typing that). An annual summer tradition since Justice League of America #21-22 (August-September 1963) the team up of the two Earths’ premier super teams was eagerly awaited by many fans. Of course, since Crisis was going to do away with the multiple Earths concept, it would necessarily put the kibosh on this interdimensional get together. We did say this was part one. The concluding chapter would appear next month in the Justice League title. Please do not skip ahead, we’ll get there in due time. Roy Thomas’s other Earth-Two set title entered the party this month. All-Star Squadron has been referred to by Mr. Thomas as his favorite series he ever wrote. Set during WW2, the book encompassed most of the heroes under DC’s purview during that time, even ones they purchased 60 • BACK ISSUE • 40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths
(top) It’s the beginning of the end with the final JLA/JSA crossover in Infinity Inc. #19. (bottom left) The final Kara Zor-el story before her death. (bottom right) The concluding chapter of the final JLA/JSA crossover. TM & © DC Comics.
after the fact. As such, there were always going to be retroactive changes that would have to be puzzled out, though as things progressed, they would cause many more headaches than at first anticipated. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves again. Issue #50 of All-Star Squadron (have to be careful with its abbreviation) was, of course, an extra-large issue to celebrate the anniversary. Thomas had a few significant events of his own to depict there, but as with the Infinity Inc. issues, he went the extra mile to connect with Crisis. Illustrating this anniversary issue were pencillers Mike Clark and Arvell Jones, teaming up with inkers Vince Colleta and Tony DeZuniga. Issues of Squadron had previously retold Golden Age Justice Society stories, fitting them within the timeframe of this series. Thomas set out to do the same thing with this issue, beginning a retelling of All-Star Comics #13 (Oct-Nov 1942) “Shanghaied Into Space”. He utilized the Crisis connection by depicting Harbinger arriving to recruit Firebrand, again a scene from Crisis #1. Her arrival throws rockets containing various JSA members into different dimensions. Back in 1942 a lot less was known about the planets in our solar system, and they were all shown having atmospheres and inhabitants. This solution allows Thomas to remain faithful to the original tale, yet update it scientifically. The issue also has the aforementioned recruitment, extrapolating on it by having a few of Firebrand’s fellow All-Stars witness the event and attempt a rescue. We are also shown a further thread from the JSA tale, and even given a tie-in to the JLA/JSA story mentioned above. Sorry we can’t supply all the details, there was a LOT of stuff going on at this point! DC Comics Presents #86 features a Superman/ Supergirl team up with crazy weather, a replay of the Batgirl/Supergirl chat from Crisis #4, and ends off with Kara having an ‘ominous feeling.’ Rick Hoberg and Dave Hunt are the illustrators of this Paul Kupperberg penned peril pitting the Kryptonian cousins against Supergirl foe Blackstarr. The story has historical significance, as it is chronologically the last story Kara Zor-el would appear in before her demise in the tale unfolding in Crisis. The writer of Crisis was not spared having to include crossovers in his regular books. New Teen Titans #13, written by Marv Wolfman, with Eduardo Barrett and Romeo Tanghal illustrating, did not shirk its duty. Besides giving a detailed account of Harbinger’s recruitment of Cyborg, it also included a capsule summation of the events of the first six issues of Crisis! Last but certainly not least that month, was a Vega tale encapsulated with Omega Men #31. Todd Klein wrote a piece that Ernie Colon and Bill Collins illustrated, showing a few of the Omega Men entering a tear in the fabric of space and time, and telling us to follow them into Crisis #8, as well as another comic which would be one of the stranger crossovers that Crisis would generate. 40th Anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths • BACK ISSUE • 61