History of the DC Universe

 Before the New 52 initiative came about, DC Comics' convoluted timeline was addressed to create a cohesive new history for it's characters. Did the History of The DC Universe satisfy readers or confuse them even more?

When DC Comics implemented it's Crisis on Infinite Earths miniseries to clean up it's confusing continuity, a followup was necessary to depict the new timeline and changes brought on by the miniseries.Available in paperback, the History of The DC Universe, is a great endeavor by Marv Wolfman and George Perez to essentially establish the company's comic universe for the next 20 years.

Told from the viewpoint of the character Harbinger, a former protege of the Monitor, the original two prestige-format issues, depicted the new recreated DC Universe after the effects of the Crisis miniseries. The format is similar to Crisis on Infinite Earths No. 10, where Harbinger updated her logs about the crisis affecting the multiverse. All aspects of the DC Universe are prominently
chronicled with tie-ins to notable series at the time such as Teen Titans, Omega Men, Green Lantern. Readers got a glimpse of exciting locales such as Apokolips, Gemworld and all the way to Oa.

Book 1

Book 2

The books begin with early prehistoric characters such as Anthro and takes us towards all parts of history with characters such as Vandal Savage, The Shining Knight and many others. Early American history is also depicted and notable characters such as Jonah Hex, Batlash are prominently highlighted. The second book captured modern history depicting characters and events such as the Justice Society, Sgt. Rock and the World War II heroes and the early origins of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman and to the far flung future of the 30th Century, where Hex is sent to.

Readers will note the revised histories of groups such as the Justice League of America, Legion of Superheroes and other character biographies such as Power Girl and members of Infinity, Inc. The books also served as a springboard for the launching of new series such as the Superman, the Justice League, Wonder Woman and The Flash. Of course, the DC Universe has radically changed since then and many major events such as Infinite Crisis have had new ramifications. The History of the DC Universe is a reminder of the effort made to provide a concise history for it's characters and especially their readers.