Tuesday, November 23, 2010

DC Universe Legacies #7 (of 10)

So far this series has given us a look at some of the most important moments in the history of the DC Universe - but the events covered in this issue probably received more attention world-wide than almost any other event in DC's history.

It lumps together two of DC's most shocking moments - the death of Superman and the crippling of Batman. The former event received an amazing amount of media attention (presumably it was a slow news day), with stories in every major news outlet.

As a result, sales shot through the roof, and DC followed that event with the equally-shocking near-death of Batman as Bane actually breaks the hero's back, leading to a new Batman - for a while.

Those events are retold (with some nifty story parallels noted) by writer Len Wein and artists Dan Jurgens and Jerry Ordway. Since they both worked on the original stories about the battle between Superman and Doomsday, they're well suited to tackling this recap.

As much as I like the main feature, I have to admit I enjoyed the backup story even more. It's a mash-up of the legends of Camelot, all coordinated with great skill. Longtime fans will certainly enjoy this one, and there are a few surprising revelations.

Oh, and the art is by Brian Bolland, so you know it's excellent.

I have to admit that I'm not as enthusiastic about these stories - the closer we get to modern times, the lower my interest. But it's still a great recap of some key moments in DC history, all spun with some interesting new angles. Good stuff!

Grade: A-

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chuck, I've also noticed my interest in my series waning as
we reach the last twenty years of
DC publishing history. I bailed on
Superman after his "Death"; I had
already booted Batman before backs
were broken. Yet, the talent on
Legacies keeps me coming back one
more time.
Oh, well...there's only three more
issues!

Sam Kujava

Dwayne said...

My reading history has been spotty, so these two story lines are ones I ignored at the time. So, for me, it's a good primer as to what happened back then. Will we get to see Superman-Blue and Superman-Red next?

Chuck said...

Yeah, I'm curious to see what's next. Surely the Electric Supermen will get some attention...