Wikipedia

History of the DC Universe

History of the DC Universeis a two-issuecomic booklimited seriescreated by writerMarv Wolfmanand artistGeorge Pérezwhich was published byDC Comicsfollowing the end ofCrisis on Infinite Earths.

History of the DC Universe
The cover to theHistory of the DC Universetrade paperback. Art byAlex Ross.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
FormatLimited series
Publication date1986
No.of issues2
Main character(s)Harbinger
Creative team
Created byMarv Wolfman
George Pérez
Written byMarv Wolfman
Penciller(s)George Pérez
Inker(s)Karl Kesel
Colorist(s)Tom Ziuko
Editor(s)Mike Gold
Collected editions
History of the DC UniverseISBN1-56389-798-9

Publication history

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History of the DC Universewas an attempt to summarize the new history of theDC Universeto establish what wascanonicalafterCrisis on Infinite Earthsreformed themultiverseinto a single universe.[1]In the original planning ofCrisis on Infinite Earths,theHistorywould have formed the final two issues, following the destruction of the Multiverse at the beginning of time, but this was changed.History of the DC Universehad been one of the working titles forCrisis on Infinite Earths.[2]

The loose plotline of the series involves the characterHarbingerchronicling the past, present, and future of the post-CrisisDC Universe. The history is mostly told through one- and two-pagesplash pages,accompanied by brief prose. At the end of the series, Harbinger places the history in a capsule and launches it into space. In the subsequent seriesMillennium,this history is intercepted by theManhuntersand used against Earth'ssuperheroes.

Portfolio

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TheNext Mencharacters made a prototypical appearance as "Freaks" in a lithography plate that was published within theHistory of the DC Universe Portfolioin 1986.[3]Writer/artistJohn Byrnehad originally pitched the series to DC Comics but itnever surfaced there.[4]With some changes, Byrne changed the concept to fit in with his work on thegraphic novel2112,to become theJohn Byrne's Next Menseries. Two characters from the "Freaks" artwork somewhat retained their physical looks and became the lead characters of theNext Menseries: heroine Jasmine and villain Aldus Hilltop.

The other plates in the portfolio included art byStephen R. Bissette,Brian Bolland,José Luis García-López,Keith Giffen,Dick Giordano,Joe Kubert,Steve Lightle,Jerry Ordway,George Pérez,Curt Swan,andJohn Totleben.The cover was painted byBill Sienkiewicz.

Collected edition

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The series was reprinted in hardcover by Graphitti Designs in 1988 with a painted cover byBill Sienkiewicz.It featured additional material not included in the original series[5][6]including an introduction by Wolfman and the following:

The series was reprinted as atrade paperbackin 2002. It had a new cover painting byAlex Rossbut did not include the bonus material from the 1988 hardcover edition.[8]In October 2015 the series was collected once again when it was included as an extra in theCrisis on Infinite Earths Deluxe Editionhardcover collection.[9]

History of the DCU

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After the events ofInfinite Crisis,DC included a backup feature titled "History of the DCU" in52,running in issues #2–11 and written byDan Jurgens.In this version,Donna Troy,now in possession of Harbinger's orb, tells the story of the history of the DCU up toInfinite Crisis.

History of the Multiverse

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The backup feature,History of the Multiverse,appears in issues #49–38 ofCountdown,as told from the perspective of theMonitors.It was written by Dan Jurgens as well.

References

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  1. ^Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1980s".DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle.London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley.p. 220.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.In an effort to organize the status quo of the DC Universe after the events of theCrisis on Infinite Earthsmaxiseries, artist George Pérez and writer Marv Wolfman collaborated on a two–part prestige–format history of the DCU.{{cite book}}:|first2=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^Crisis on Infinite EarthsCompendium, pg. 4,Crisis on Infinite Earths: The Absolute Edition.
  3. ^Cooke, Jon B.; Nolen-Weathington, Eric (2006).Modern Masters Volume 7: John Byrne.Raleigh, North Carolina:TwoMorrows Publishing.p. 87.ISBN978-1893905566.
  4. ^Cronin, Brian (August 6, 2009)."Comic Book Legends Revealed #219".Comic Book Resources.Archived fromthe originalon October 7, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 15,2012.
  5. ^Wolfman, Marv;Pérez, George(1988).History of the DC Universe.Graphitti Designs.ISBN0-930289-26-9.
  6. ^History of the DC Universe(1988)at theGrand Comics Database
  7. ^Cronin, Brian (March 15, 2019)."Celebrating theHistory of the DC UniverseJam Poster ".Comic Book Resources.Archivedfrom the original on July 9, 2019.
  8. ^History of the DC Universe(2002)at theGrand Comics Database
  9. ^Wolfman, Marv; Pérez, George (2015).Crisis On Infinite Earths Deluxe Edition.DC Comics. p. 400.ISBN978-1401258412.
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