Xtreme Blog Squad!
Sunday, October 30, 1994
Time's Up!
You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again, but it will never, ever, no matter what, be as true as it is now.
This changes EVERYTHING!
That's right, it's the comics event we've all been waiting for since Crisis on Infinite Earths. I'm talking about ZERO HOUR, and friends, you are simply not gonna believe what happens here. If you're anything like me, you figured that after last year's black cloud of Superman's death that DC might give our heroes a break, let our heroes develop and regroup.
Oh, how I wish that were so.
Turns out the emissary from space/time called Waverider (you remember him from the Armageddon 2001 series) has news that some unknown entity has decided to "roll back time" in the entire Universe, which means, you guessed it, the utter destruction of our whole existence! In an effort to stem the tide of time rolling back to the beginning of creation, our heroes muster up a common front to battle the universe-destroying entities known only as the Extant and Parallax---but is Parallax truly a creature out of the blue? Or is it someone much, much closer to the heart of our heroes?
See, if you thought killing Superman was bold, wait until you see what they've done with---well, I won't spoil it, but let's just say Parallax (quite possibly the most unique villain in DC history) turns out to be one of DC's "brightest lights", and the name will have a familiar "ring" to it!
This series has time paradoxes, mysterious cosmic beings, superheroes dying nobly, and basically just about everything you would expect from a tightly plotted, purposeful script. Man, can this Danny Jurgens write the Big Summer Events or what? I'd love to see him get a crack over at Marvel---it seems like he'd be tailor made for "Secret Wars III".
ZERO HOUR breaks the "crossover" mold in almost every way --- instead of just limiting the story to a paltry 12-issue miniseries and a few other semi-related issues, not only do we get a nice, compact 5-issue main series, but we follow the story through 30 --- count 'em, 30! --- other titles across the DC Universe, and it's a great way to get people off their duffs and go check out some of the coolest new ideas DC's had in years.
I can't think of a better way to get introduced to Anima, Steel, Damage, or (sadly) say goodbye to old friends like Valor or Team Titans than to delve into each of their ZERO HOUR ishes.
But wait, that's not all! As a bonus, DC is giving us a collectible #0 issue retelling the origin of each one of their current characters! Revisit old classics like Batman in Batman #0, Batman: Legends Of The Dark Knight #0, and Batman: Shadow of The Bat #0 for three totally different takes on Bruce's story. Hands off that Gunfire #0 and Xenobroods #0, though---you better believe I'm getting in on the ground floor with these guys.
In fairness, there are a few things here that don't work. I don't think this Kyle Rayner character is going to be around very long, and I really don't see the appeal of yet another cheesy Starman character (I guess this one's supposed to be Jack Knight, the other son of the original or something...wake me when it's over.) Also it's a shame that Parallax' alter ego will never be thought of in the same heroic light that he or she once was.
And I thought numbering the ZERO HOUR series backwards (the first issue is #5, second issue #4, and so on) was really a clever way of keeping the theme going.
I seriously don't see how anyone's ever going to even try and top this crossover---Marvel's already decided they're just going to do Annuals from now on, and it seems like the ideas in ZERO HOUR are so unique that it would be foolish to even try another "universe-destroying cosmic threat that turns a great hero into a historic villain" story. I would seriously bet that the companies put away their "crossover" pens for at least a good five years before attempting something like this again. ¶ 2:02 PM 0 comments
You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again, but it will never, ever, no matter what, be as true as it is now.
This changes EVERYTHING!
That's right, it's the comics event we've all been waiting for since Crisis on Infinite Earths. I'm talking about ZERO HOUR, and friends, you are simply not gonna believe what happens here. If you're anything like me, you figured that after last year's black cloud of Superman's death that DC might give our heroes a break, let our heroes develop and regroup.
Oh, how I wish that were so.
Turns out the emissary from space/time called Waverider (you remember him from the Armageddon 2001 series) has news that some unknown entity has decided to "roll back time" in the entire Universe, which means, you guessed it, the utter destruction of our whole existence! In an effort to stem the tide of time rolling back to the beginning of creation, our heroes muster up a common front to battle the universe-destroying entities known only as the Extant and Parallax---but is Parallax truly a creature out of the blue? Or is it someone much, much closer to the heart of our heroes?
See, if you thought killing Superman was bold, wait until you see what they've done with---well, I won't spoil it, but let's just say Parallax (quite possibly the most unique villain in DC history) turns out to be one of DC's "brightest lights", and the name will have a familiar "ring" to it!
This series has time paradoxes, mysterious cosmic beings, superheroes dying nobly, and basically just about everything you would expect from a tightly plotted, purposeful script. Man, can this Danny Jurgens write the Big Summer Events or what? I'd love to see him get a crack over at Marvel---it seems like he'd be tailor made for "Secret Wars III".
ZERO HOUR breaks the "crossover" mold in almost every way --- instead of just limiting the story to a paltry 12-issue miniseries and a few other semi-related issues, not only do we get a nice, compact 5-issue main series, but we follow the story through 30 --- count 'em, 30! --- other titles across the DC Universe, and it's a great way to get people off their duffs and go check out some of the coolest new ideas DC's had in years.
I can't think of a better way to get introduced to Anima, Steel, Damage, or (sadly) say goodbye to old friends like Valor or Team Titans than to delve into each of their ZERO HOUR ishes.
But wait, that's not all! As a bonus, DC is giving us a collectible #0 issue retelling the origin of each one of their current characters! Revisit old classics like Batman in Batman #0, Batman: Legends Of The Dark Knight #0, and Batman: Shadow of The Bat #0 for three totally different takes on Bruce's story. Hands off that Gunfire #0 and Xenobroods #0, though---you better believe I'm getting in on the ground floor with these guys.
In fairness, there are a few things here that don't work. I don't think this Kyle Rayner character is going to be around very long, and I really don't see the appeal of yet another cheesy Starman character (I guess this one's supposed to be Jack Knight, the other son of the original or something...wake me when it's over.) Also it's a shame that Parallax' alter ego will never be thought of in the same heroic light that he or she once was.
And I thought numbering the ZERO HOUR series backwards (the first issue is #5, second issue #4, and so on) was really a clever way of keeping the theme going.
I seriously don't see how anyone's ever going to even try and top this crossover---Marvel's already decided they're just going to do Annuals from now on, and it seems like the ideas in ZERO HOUR are so unique that it would be foolish to even try another "universe-destroying cosmic threat that turns a great hero into a historic villain" story. I would seriously bet that the companies put away their "crossover" pens for at least a good five years before attempting something like this again. ¶ 2:02 PM 0 comments
