New History of the DC Universe #1: Let’s Do The Time Warp Again

To say that the 90 years of DC Comics continuity is at best ‘convoluted’ is somewhat of an understatement. From Crisis’s On Infinite Earth’s to Zero Hour’s, Infinite and Dark Crisis’ the continuity of the DC Universe has been one wild and crazy ride.

One might think that making sense out of the reboots and relaunches would be a Sisyphean task but under the creative guidance of comicbook scribe and historian aficionado Mark Waid, along with Jerry Ordway and Todd Nauck on art, this latest foray into chronicling the DC Universe is off to a strong start.

Waid frames the recap of the DC Universe using Barry Allen, chronicler of the Multiverse to take readers from Perpetua and her three sons, The Monitor, Anti-Monitor, and World Forager, from Scott Snyder’s Dark Knights Metal events through the destruction of Krypton. Waid hits both the high points and not-so-high points in between in splash pages that blend elements of classic continuity and more recent retcons, such as characters introduced during the Dawn of DC initiative from 2023.

Included in this new history are concepts such as The Endless, the often-neglected mystical side of the DC Universe, lesser-known wartime heroes, and even a few characters that even longtime DC Comics fans might not readily recognize.   The issue’s completeness is bolstered by the bibliography compiled by Waid and Dave Wielgosz used to construct this chronology.

Ordway’s art lends a classic feel along with Nauck’s art combine nicely to give the story both a classic and new feel to the different eras of the DC Universe. The issue also includes the following page which show’s Barry’s study full of classic items and trophies similar to the spread of the Justice League’s trophy room in The Rebirth Era “The Button” story arc. (Stay tuned for annotated breakdown )