DC Versus Marvel Comics

DC Versus Marvel Comics by Ron Marz & Peter David (and a lot of illustrators, editors, and letterers from DC and Marvel Comics)

Why did I read it?

A couple patrons mentioned that I don't have enough comic books in the Young Adult section. So, I grabbed a couple comic encyclopedias and this one. Once it arrived I brought it home for a couple of my brothers to read, and then I got the chance to read it. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was still good.

What happened?

Comic book heroes are starting to disappear. But, not disappear completely. No. They are starting to show up in their rival comic book universe. Spider-Man runs into Joker, Juggernaut meets Superman, Robin runs into Jubilee...Whether its heroes, villains, or citizens, everyone is affected.

Once both universes are severely confused and mixed-up, the announcement comes. Each hero will be pitted against another hero from their rival universe. Whichever universe has the most victors will remain. The other will be obliterated.

So Superman fights The Hulk, Captain America does battle with Batman, Spider-Man contends with Superboy, and countless other battles are waged across two universes to decide the fate of all.

What did I like or not like?

While I really enjoyed the imagination behind the battles and the overall story that brought the characters together, I don't think the battles were long enough. When the heroes faced off, the longest one was like eight frames. Lame!

Now I understand that their has to be a story behind the battles, comic books really aren't very long, and ultimately we like it when heroes are fighting side by side not face to face. But, there was and is a little bit of hype around this showdown, and the battles themselves were a little disappointing.

Overall though, the art was really cool, the thought of creators from both of the biggest comic book companies collaborating is pretty sweet, and the way they got the characters to fight but also team up was pretty imaginative.