Product Description

Already critically acclaimed for his outstanding visionary work on the Catwoman series (published by Titan), Darwyn Cooke takes a red-hot comics crucible and blends fact and fantasy into a new chronology of the past! In this beautiful re-imagining of history, a classic superhero universe is woven into the recent past. McCarthyism, the Korean War, Kennedy, the Space Race - they all bleed into the mythology of Batman, Superman and the JLA, to name but a few of the giants of history and cultural icons that star in this gorgeously painted graphic novel! Reading like the bastard child of James Ellroy's American Tabloid and the massively successful Superman: Red Son, this truly is a new and revolutionary frontier!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #473431 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Review
www sci-fi-online.com February 2005, review by Steve Mikando: " ...writer/illustrator Darwyn Cooke pulls this off wit hstyle. His artwork has a semi-retro feel to it, which sets this collection up in a league of its own."; ICComics.com "...this book is nothing short of a knockout."

SFX, April 2005
Cooke's smart examination of guilt and heroism never feels at odds with the gorgeous simplicity of his art.

Icomics.com February 2005
'This is a truly handsome book in every sense of the word."

Customer Reviews

To boldly go...
First of all, Darwyn Cooke's art is superb. He's of the same sort of school as Bruce Timm, who designed the excellent Batman animated series of the nineties, inspired by Jack Kirby and Fleischer Superman cartoons but with the rough edges knocked off. All the characters are distinct in face and build, do not resort to the usual superhero art cliches. The action scenes are dynamic as all get out and he always manages to imbue a scene with a feel. If you want a superhero story that looks fantastic, this is it.

Second of all, the story is superb. America in the 50s is an interesting time as it embodies a golden age for that nation (if only the caucasians), whilst showing a dark underbelly. The victors of World War 2 were embroiled in a cold war that brought out their darkest fears, even as they reached to the stars. Even as they enjoyed their riches, there was great racial tension. It was also a period where superhero titles were on the wane, due to Frederick Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent, in which he argued that superheroes were responsible for psychologically disturbing America's youth (not, as one might suspect, the fallout of the war and the intense paranoia directed towards communists?). The large number of titles available in the war years had dwindled back to Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman with a greater number of other genres, like war, horror and cowboy comics taking their place.

And Cooke captures this. A lot of the story in this volume features characters like the Challengers of the Unknown, the original Suicide Squad and Losers, as well as locales like Dinosaur Island. Indeed, the scenes on Dinosaur Island are a set piece dream that remind of the old Harryhausen flicks but with a greater realism and symbolism.

Where the superheroes do appear (and it's a thrill when they do), they are woven into the times. Wonder Woman is helping women throw off their shackles, Green Lantern to be Hal Jordan is a pilot who looks set to join the space race and Ted Grant, the Wildcat, boxes in a casino. The action piece with the Flash is one of the best uses of the characters I'd ever seen and made me wish that Cooke would write a Flash book. At the same time, Cooke touches the essence of these characters. They all feel true to themselves (with the possible exception of Superman, who, as in Frank Miller's work, is played as a Government stooge, something that I have never felt appropriate to the character), doing what they would have been doing at the time if their comics hadn't been neutered by the Comics code.

And there seems to be one addition (although this may just show a gap in my knowledge of comic's history) in that the modern character Steel (I think) is implanted into the past with a much more violent origin involving the Ku Klux Klan that would never have been done at the time.

Intriguing also is the deeper storyline that surfaces towards the end of this volume involving Batman, cultists and J'Onn J'Onzz, the Martian Manhunter. It feels as if this book is moving to an exciting conclusion and I've ordered my copy of volume two straight away.

Superhero action from the 50s
Set during the 1950s era, this book is a nice change of pace to the more modern comics I have been reading recently. Due to the prevailing culture of paranoia and suspicion during the early Cold War period, the heroes of the time have been force to retire, register with the government or go underground and become as hunted as those they face. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman still do their best to protect the innocent but with new threats arising, a new generation of heroes are also coming to the fore, heroes such as Hal Jordan, the Flash and the Martian Manhunter.

This book was a joy to read with a great involving story and brilliantly retro art that suits the story perfectly. The era that the story is set is brought to life expertly and the plot is funny and enthralling throughout. I also like the brief appearance and origin of, what I assume to be the hero Steel in a rather dark and violent aside that is beautifully written and is probably my favourite part of the book. If the piece has a flaw it is that some of the characters are somewhat underused but that is only to be expected when you put all these iconic figures together. I will definitely be getting the second volume of this great series.