DC Universe Legacies #9 (of 10)

The DC Universe Legacies series has been a heroic effort to make sense of more than 70 years of DC history, as witnessed (more or less) by a policeman named Paul Lincoln.

I'm not sure what it says about the series (or me) that I find my interest waning more as the series nears its conclusion.

Perhaps it's because I've enjoyed the skillful way writer Len Wein has woven together "historic" events from the earliest years, perhaps it's my own nostalgia for those early stories - or perhaps it's just that more recent stories don't stand up well to the "old days."

More likely, it's that these events seem too recent to be historic (if that makes sense) - but I suppose such things are relative.

Anyway, by this point we're deep into the "event" storylines that have dominated DC (and Marvel) for the last decade or so. This time around the story focuses on the Final Night story, where a cosmic creature called the Sun-Eater threatens to snuff out the sun, ending all life on Earth.

The story is all about the first attempts at redeeming Hal Jordan, who had been transformed into the mass murderer called Parallax. (Have I mentioned how much I hated that whole storyline? I thought so.)

The art by Jesus Saiz and Karl Story is quite good, although they mostly get to draw big crowds of heroes posing for the "camera."

The backup feature is more experimental and more fun, as Wein and artist Bill Sienkiewicz focus on Captain Marvel and the Shazam family - and Black Adam.

Next issue wraps up the series, and I'm sorry to see it end - I just wish it had focused more on the Silver and Bronze Ages, and less on the "Modern" Age (or whatever they're calling it now).

But that's just me.

Grade: B+

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