Available as a four-issue miniseries or in Trade Paperback form (which has 12 extra story pages and various sketches and comments from the creators)
How do I write about the most incredible comic story that I’ve ever read? I love everything about this story. So where do I begin?
I should probably start with the writing. Mark Waid is someone whom I believe is a master of his craft. Has he written stories that I don’t like? Absolutely. But he’s also written some of the best Captain America stories that I’ve ever read. And his run on “The Flash” turned Wally West (a.k.a. The Flash) into one of my favorite characters in ANY medium.
With Kingdom Come, Waid brought his “A” game. He crafted a magnificent story filled with grief, hatred, faith, love, fear, war, hope, passion, forgiveness, and humor. And he did it without being disrespectful to the characters (Brad Meltzer & Greg Rucka should have paid attention to what Waid did and taken notes). The story begins a little over 10 years into the future. At a time when Superman has retired (and disappeared) and most of the other heroes of his generation have followed suit, leaving a world full of mindless, rampaging engines of destruction to protect the normal people. Perhaps “protect” was the wrong word. These newer “heroes” usually destroy everything and everyone in their way as they attack each other for no reason. Finally, Wonder Woman, who has had enough, approaches Superman and asks him to come back to put a stop to these new “heroes”. He does, and in doing so, sets in motion a series of events that could lead to Armageddon.
The story is narrated by a pastor named Norman McKay, who is led around through the key events by the Spectre in a style that’s very reminiscent of the way Clarence leads George Bailey around in “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The reader follows McKay in his travels through the DC Universe and watches (with him) as the events unfold. And like Peter Jackson’s portrayal of “Lord of the Rings”, this story has its grand scenes and as well as intimate moments - it doesn’t forsake one for the other. The story also takes you all over the DC Universe, from Metropolis to Themiscrya and from Apkolips to Atlantis and everywhere in between. Not only that, but practically every DC super hero and villain makes an appearance in the course of the story. It’s an incredible and breathtaking journey.
Now, about the art: Alex Ross is an illustrator whom I both like and despise. (Warning! A mini-rant is about to occur. If you’d rather not read it, skip to the beginning of the next paragraph.) Part of my animosity comes from his “writing” contribution to “Kingdom Come,” specifically, his rendering of the character Green Lantern. To anyone who has watched “Superfriends” and/or read DC Comics from the 70s and 80s, Green Lantern is a man named Hal Jordan. But in a story called “Emerald Twilight”, Hal essentially went crazy from grief over the loss of his city (during “Reign of the Supermen” in 1994) and destroyed the Green Lantern Corps. The only remaining “boss” of the GLC created one last GL ring and gave it to an Earthling named Kyle Rayner. Alex Ross hates Kyle and loves Hal. As such, he absolutely refused to draw Kyle. But since DC wouldn’t let him use Hal, they were at an impasse.
Thankfully they compromised and used DC’s first Green Lantern (from the 40s and 50s), Alan Scott. Now I know that this is a minor gripe (considering that most of you reading this have no idea who any of these guys are in the first place). But considering that Ross was paid to paint the comic as it was written and he decides to act like a little baby when it comes to illustrating one character, that’s just plain unprofessional! (And that concludes this mini-rant.)
That argument aside, Ross did a bang-up job of illustrating this story. His people look like real people. They have a real sense of weight and dimension to the way that they look. It’s amazing! He also illustrates motion in his images extremely well; the people he paints don’t look frozen or stiff (well, some do, but I’m sure that’s intentional). Ross’ people can and do move. Additionally, Ross hides a plethora of comic references and items in his images. Things like the superhero memorabilia in the background of the Planet Krypton restaurants; or the innocent bystanders, who are actually DC staff; or the visual references to the old “Superfriends” TV series. There is literally a myriad of other hidden items throughout this story that Ross seamlessly sneaks in. It’s worth a second read through just to look for them.
I’ve gone back and re-read this story countless times. And every time is still as good as the first. Waid’s story is truly epic in scope and scale and Ross captures all of it in his illustrations. It’s an amazing and deeply touching story. I can’t compliment this story any better than to say this: “Kingdom Come” is on par with Alan Moore’s “Watchmen” as one of the greatest comic tales of all time.
Check it out.
