Kingdom Come
I just finished reading Kingdom Come, Mark Waid and Alex Ross’s award-winning comic miniseries (collected in graphic novel form). And although this 1996 text doesn’t quite have the subtlety and thought provoking impact of superhero graphic novel granddaddies, The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen – both published in the 1980s – Kingdom Come gets pretty damn close. It’s a solid read, with plenty of depth.
What’s immediately obvious about Kingdom Come is that it has higher aspirations. It isn’t just “some comic book”. It’s Art. And what makes this most resoundingly clear is the illustration by Alex Ross. Kingdom Come is perhaps the most beautiful comic ever drawn… and painted. Although some of the epic battle scenes become a bit visually confusing, Ross’s similarly epic treatment of the characters is stunning – the heroes are solid, credible figures; not overmuscled brutes straining in their tights. The characters look “real”. And for this reason, Kingdom Come is worth buying for the artwork alone.
As for the storyline, Mark Waid has written a tale that is in many ways a generational struggle. In the face of criticism by the public – who want stronger, ruthless heroes willing to take lives – Superman and many of the older “moral” heroes have gone into retirement. Unfortunately, the new breed of superbeings, many descended from the old heroes, are so utterly consumed by their powers that they have no concern for human life whatsoever. Having defeated all the world’s villains they turn on one another, fighting in the streets with no regard for civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, feeling powerless in the face of living gods, humanity has largely given up: church attendance is down, the UN is a powerless joke, the Olympic Games are cancelled and Nobel Prizes are no longer awarded for excellence in human achievement.
It takes a catastrophe to jolt Superman out of his self-imposed exile, which in turn sends events hurtling towards an Apocalypse. Three groups emerge in this context, struggling to return the world to their very different brands of order. One group is the Justice League, headed by Superman and populated by superbeings. Another group largely comprises of human “urban warriors”, like Batman, Green Arrow and Black Canary. And the third is the sinister Mankind Liberation Front, headed by Lex Luthor and a collective of vintage super-villains.
Admittedly, a lot of the fun of Kingdom Come comes from playing “Spot the hero” in the busy panels. Readers with a solid knowledge of the DC multiverse – Kingdom Come is an Elseworlds miniseries, with events taking place outside of the current DC continuity – will probably receive more enjoyment out of the comic than a non-superhero fan, as plenty of characters are left unnamed in their cameo appearances. This said there’s a handy key at the back of the graphic novel to explain who each of the characters are.
What is perhaps most poignant about Kingdom Come is the ultimate positive message it makes about humanity’s potential. It’s not the first text I’ve read from the late 1990s that was cautiously optimistic about man’s growing mastery over the earth and the responsibility that comes with it. Then 9/11 happened and everything just went to shit: Hope evaporated, and in its place arose fear, war, religious fundamentalism, and assorted world-devastating problems – global warming being perhaps the most prominent.
This makes Kingdom Come already something of a nostalgia piece, a mere eleven years after it was first published.
If you’re currently looking for a Christmas gift for a superhero fanatic, Kingdom Come is an excellent option.
What’s immediately obvious about Kingdom Come is that it has higher aspirations. It isn’t just “some comic book”. It’s Art. And what makes this most resoundingly clear is the illustration by Alex Ross. Kingdom Come is perhaps the most beautiful comic ever drawn… and painted. Although some of the epic battle scenes become a bit visually confusing, Ross’s similarly epic treatment of the characters is stunning – the heroes are solid, credible figures; not overmuscled brutes straining in their tights. The characters look “real”. And for this reason, Kingdom Come is worth buying for the artwork alone.
As for the storyline, Mark Waid has written a tale that is in many ways a generational struggle. In the face of criticism by the public – who want stronger, ruthless heroes willing to take lives – Superman and many of the older “moral” heroes have gone into retirement. Unfortunately, the new breed of superbeings, many descended from the old heroes, are so utterly consumed by their powers that they have no concern for human life whatsoever. Having defeated all the world’s villains they turn on one another, fighting in the streets with no regard for civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, feeling powerless in the face of living gods, humanity has largely given up: church attendance is down, the UN is a powerless joke, the Olympic Games are cancelled and Nobel Prizes are no longer awarded for excellence in human achievement.
It takes a catastrophe to jolt Superman out of his self-imposed exile, which in turn sends events hurtling towards an Apocalypse. Three groups emerge in this context, struggling to return the world to their very different brands of order. One group is the Justice League, headed by Superman and populated by superbeings. Another group largely comprises of human “urban warriors”, like Batman, Green Arrow and Black Canary. And the third is the sinister Mankind Liberation Front, headed by Lex Luthor and a collective of vintage super-villains.
Admittedly, a lot of the fun of Kingdom Come comes from playing “Spot the hero” in the busy panels. Readers with a solid knowledge of the DC multiverse – Kingdom Come is an Elseworlds miniseries, with events taking place outside of the current DC continuity – will probably receive more enjoyment out of the comic than a non-superhero fan, as plenty of characters are left unnamed in their cameo appearances. This said there’s a handy key at the back of the graphic novel to explain who each of the characters are.
What is perhaps most poignant about Kingdom Come is the ultimate positive message it makes about humanity’s potential. It’s not the first text I’ve read from the late 1990s that was cautiously optimistic about man’s growing mastery over the earth and the responsibility that comes with it. Then 9/11 happened and everything just went to shit: Hope evaporated, and in its place arose fear, war, religious fundamentalism, and assorted world-devastating problems – global warming being perhaps the most prominent.
This makes Kingdom Come already something of a nostalgia piece, a mere eleven years after it was first published.
If you’re currently looking for a Christmas gift for a superhero fanatic, Kingdom Come is an excellent option.
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