On The Shelf: A different look at Crisis on Infinite Earths, and....Batman as a teenager?

Last winter, while the CW's adaptation of Marv Wolfman's epic Crisis on Infinite Earths was unspooling in primetime, DC Comics produced a 2 issue giant-size miniseries tie-in, which was available mostly at Walmart stores.

A hardcover collection of the miniseries, which also includes some art pages for the TV adaptation and other items, was recently released. Wolfman collaborated with Marc (Crazy) Guggenheim on the script, which includes elements that didn't make it to TV, such as OutKast, an anti-matter double for Nash "Pariah" Wells (Tom Cavanagh), and the use of characters like The Ray, who hasn't been seen since Crisis on Earth-X and the subsequent Freedom Fighters animated miniseries, still available on CW Seed. Tom Derenick and Tom Grummett paint the visual pictures, which are striking in their own right.

WB would be wise to release Crisis on Infinite Earths as a stand alone DVD.

Rating: B+.
========================================
In the wake of the original Crisis, Wolfman and artist George Perez followed up with the two-part History of The DC Universe in 1986, which traces the rebooted history of DC heroes up to that point, narrated by Harbinger. Of course, nearly 35 years later, after a number of reboots that followed, this is no longer relevant, but this was worth looking back at.

Rating: A.
=========================================
Free Comic Book Day items are starting to trickle out, and will do so this month and next.

First up from Image is Robert Kirkman's latest, Firepower, who was introduced in a "prelude" issue before the pandemic struck. Chris Samnee is the artist on this series, and while he brings a sort of cartoony style, it also has a sort of retro-feel to it that suggests a more innocent time. Owen, the protagonist, is now a family man with two children, and, as a youth himself, had learned his powers in a mystic temple (that sounds familiar), but is forced to return to save the temple from a new threat.

Rating: B-.
==========================================
A few years ago, Marvel attempted to attract fans of Classics Illustrated with their own line of literary adaptations. This second attempt was under the banner of Marvel Illustrated, not to be confused with the Marvel Classics Comics that came out in the 70's and are hard to find in mint condition because of how they were packaged.

Anyway, comics legend Roy Thomas adapted Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers, assisted by artist Hugo Petrus, who also drew an adaptation of another Dumas classic, The Man in The Iron Mask, as part of the series. If you only know the story from various loose adaptations, such as the 90's Disney movie or animated fare such as The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo, this will be worth the time.

Rating: A.
===========================================
DC's young adult graphic novel series should be getting more exposure at places like Walmart, because they'll otherwise be ignored in comics shops that don't have an appropriate display for them.

One such entry is Batman: Overdrive, an entertaining fable that posits young Bruce Wayne's first adventure as the Dark Knight while not yet in his teens. Predictably, writer Shea Fontana (DC Super Hero Girls) inserts youthful versions of Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy), Selina Kyle (Catwoman), and Harleen Quinzel (Harley Quinn, who's everywhere these days) into the mix as all attending school together, just like in Super Hero Girls. I think you know which one is Bruce's partner on the case, and if you don't, you haven't been paying attention to DC lately. It's a fun read, and worth the $10 investment.

Rating: A-.
============================================
Other stuff: After being a staple of Dark Horse's line of licensed titles since the late 80's, future adaptations of "Aliens" & "Predator" will be published at Marvel starting next year. Should've seen that coming after Disney acquired 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox). Already, fans are speculating on whether or not Marvel will be allowed to have their heroes cross paths with the movie franchises. DC did that when Dark Horse teamed with them to pit Superman against the Aliens, and Batman dueled with the Predator in three miniseries. More recently, there've been a pair of miniseries that has had the Predators meeting with Archie and his friends at Archie Comics. Can you picture X-Men vs. Aliens? Wolverine vs. Predator? (Or Hulk or Spider-Man, for that matter, instead of Wolverine) Yeah, thought ya could.

While Young Justice 16 arrives in stores this week, it looks as though co-author Brian Bendis may be writing off the Wonder Twins from that series, and moving them into a short stint in the pages of Superman, starting with this week's issue 24. While that's good news, the bad news is that John Timms, who gave Zan & Jayna oversized elf ears in the last few issues of Young Justice, is working on those issues (Scott Godlewski is the new series artist, and he has stuck with the elf ears). I'd sooner have Stephen Byrne drawing those books, but that's just me. If Bendis had any sense at all, he would let Mark Russell lend a hand on the writing. Just sayin'.