CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS
Written by Marv Wolfman
Pencils by George Perez
Inks by Dick Giordano, Jerry Ordway and Mike DeCarlo
Original Colours by Anthony Tollin, Tom Ziuko and Carl Gafford
Colour Reconstruction and Enhancement by Tom McCraw
Letters by John Costanza
Published by Titan £24.99
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This is a big book, a really big book. In lots of ways...

I've never been a huge fan of the DC Universe of superheroes. I'm a Batman fan, but cannot stand Superman (there's no tension in reading stories about someone who is, to all intents and purposes, invulnerable) and his ilk. By the time 1985 rolled around, DC was packed with decades of superheroes and super-villains, all intermingling, crossing back and forth between their worlds and dimensions.

It was a little confusing at times, even for those working for DC. What was needed was a Spring clean.

Along came writer Marv Wolfman, and with him a character called The Monitor. Marv found a sould mate in artist George Perez and together they did what a lot of other comics have claimed to do but failed to deliver. They changed comics' forever. Gone was the certainty that the good guys would always win. Gone was the certainty that the good guys would even make it out alive. By the end of the 12 issue run of Crisis on Infinite Earths, a lot of heroes and villains were dead or irrevocably changed. The Multiverse was a lot smaller.

This is a historic book. If you are a comics fan, especially if you are a DC fan, this is a collection you will want. I'd go so far as to say, this is a collection you absolutely have to have. However, it is from 1985, and it looks and feels like it's from 1985. The heroes posture and pose, the villains cackle and threaten; it's all very… DC.

Perhaps that's a little unfair, but there you go. Interesting, fun in places, almost moving in others, Crisis on Infinite Earths is a big slice of history. Like all history lessons, if you've no interest in the subject you won't get anything from it. 7/10

Review by Iain Lowson.