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DC Greatest Events Book Review

“DC Greatest Events” is a handy rundown of DC comic history. 

“DC Greatest Events” (AKA “DC Greatest Events: Stories That Shook The Multiverse”) is a new DK Book release penned by Stephen Wiacek (who also provides an introduction). Ater a dedication to comic legends Neal Adams and George Perez and a foreword by renowned comic writer Gail Simone, Wiacek dives into the main content which is the biggest comic stories, story arcs and events in DC comic book history in chronological order from 1938 to 2021. Each entry is accompanied by a title, photos, detailed history on the comic and its impact, an overview of the event or story, key issues, comic cover art and comic panels, and a sidebar. For example, “The Death of Superman” has a sidebar about the media reaction, sales and release platform. The book closes out with an index and acknowledgments. 

So what all is in this book you ask? A lot. While not comprehensive, the book touches on origin stories that changes comics ala Action Comics #1 (Superman’s debut), team debuts (like JLA in “The Brave And The Bold” #28), iconic arcs like “Crisis On Infinite Earths” in 1985 and 1986, “Blackest Night” in 2009 and 2010, Flashpoint in 2011, and legendary comics like “Watchmen” in 1986 and “Batman: the Killing Joke” in 1988. As an added bonus, there is a directory of additional key comic events that include the likes of “The New Teen Titans- The Judas Contract” and Superman’s race against The Flash in “Superman” #199. Granted, most of this book could have just been Batman stories. Several Batman events and arcs are actually lumped together just to save space. If you’re seeking more Batman info, scope out DK’s recent “Batman: The Ultimate Guide.”

If you don’t have the time to read thousands of comics but are deeply interested in exploring DC’s comic history, “DC Greatest Events” is a good starting point. While there’s not a lot of character rundowns or origin stories (you can get those in other DC DK Books), this one mostly covers plots. If you want to know about The Fourth World or the Rotworld event, this book has you covered.

What really caught my eye the most here is that Wiacek digs into events that lead into one another (which is common for DC comics). For instance, he mentions that “Batman: Cataclysm” led into the more well known “Batman: No Man’s Land” arc. It’s very helpful for folks out there who may feel overwhelmed as to where to start reading.

“DC Greatest Events” is yet another winner from DK Books. It’s truly a quality summary of DC Comics biggest and best moments.

December 21, 2022 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Book review | Batman, DC Comics, DC Greatest Events Book Review, DC Greatest Events: Stories That Shook The Multiverse, DK Books, Superman