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DC Comics Novels
Crisis on Infinite Earths
A mysterious force is moving through reality, destroying all life in its wake. The world's greatest superheroes, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and thousands of others are confronted with their greatest stopping this interdimensional threat before it destroys all life everywhere! To stop this threat, they must ally themselves with the most dangerous super-villains. If they fail, more than 3,000 universes and untold trillions of living beings will die!
310 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Marv Wolfman
2,241 books285 followersMarvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
June 15, 2015
This was good overall. It was dramatized with a full cast of actors playing the various characters. Although there are different POVs, The Flash has the prominent one.
I have this book somewhere (still haven't found it), but I thought it would be fun to check out the audiobook, and it's a good way to multi-task. I will put audiobooks on when I am doing other things, such as folding laundry or my drawing homework. I think there is a thin line with audiobooks, especially dramatized one. Sometimes the cheese factor is magnified. This felt a bit melodramatic at times and very retro. The publication date is 2009, but it feels a bit older.
I ended up giving it three stars because I started losing interest after a while. It seems to go a bit long for me. Also, there is a fair amount of jumping around, so it was hard to keep up with the story. The villain was irritating to me, although he was very formidable. I liked that the heroes and the villains joined forces because of the huge threat they were facing. On the good side, the idea is interesting. The epic battle doesn't guarantee any sort of happy ending, and the casualties are monumental. We're talking about billions of people dying because literally, the various earths and their universes are ceasing to exist. I felt for these people, both the ones who had a prominent viewpoint and people who had no voice.
If you're a fan of the Flash, he is the most prominent character, so this is worth checking out for him. I like the Flash, always have. He's a good guy. He doesn't get the spotlight as much as the Big Guns like Supes and Batman, but he's pretty awesome in what he can do and the enormous heart of his. Another cool aspect is the differences between the various Earths. I can't call myself an expert in quantum physics or cosmology, so I can't verify the science of the multiverse, but the explanation seems plausible.
Overall, this is a good production and the acting is very good. The sound effects are well-done. It's an interesting way to view the DC Universe, but so much happens and so many different versions of the heroes are present, this might be confusing for a newbie to the DC Universe to read. From what I've been reading on DC Wikia, this is a huge event in the world, and it affects the storylines of pretty much every character. I'm glad to finally get a vantage point of the Crisis and go from there.
I have this book somewhere (still haven't found it), but I thought it would be fun to check out the audiobook, and it's a good way to multi-task. I will put audiobooks on when I am doing other things, such as folding laundry or my drawing homework. I think there is a thin line with audiobooks, especially dramatized one. Sometimes the cheese factor is magnified. This felt a bit melodramatic at times and very retro. The publication date is 2009, but it feels a bit older.
I ended up giving it three stars because I started losing interest after a while. It seems to go a bit long for me. Also, there is a fair amount of jumping around, so it was hard to keep up with the story. The villain was irritating to me, although he was very formidable. I liked that the heroes and the villains joined forces because of the huge threat they were facing. On the good side, the idea is interesting. The epic battle doesn't guarantee any sort of happy ending, and the casualties are monumental. We're talking about billions of people dying because literally, the various earths and their universes are ceasing to exist. I felt for these people, both the ones who had a prominent viewpoint and people who had no voice.
If you're a fan of the Flash, he is the most prominent character, so this is worth checking out for him. I like the Flash, always have. He's a good guy. He doesn't get the spotlight as much as the Big Guns like Supes and Batman, but he's pretty awesome in what he can do and the enormous heart of his. Another cool aspect is the differences between the various Earths. I can't call myself an expert in quantum physics or cosmology, so I can't verify the science of the multiverse, but the explanation seems plausible.
Overall, this is a good production and the acting is very good. The sound effects are well-done. It's an interesting way to view the DC Universe, but so much happens and so many different versions of the heroes are present, this might be confusing for a newbie to the DC Universe to read. From what I've been reading on DC Wikia, this is a huge event in the world, and it affects the storylines of pretty much every character. I'm glad to finally get a vantage point of the Crisis and go from there.
September 23, 2019
The novel based on the 12 issue series that back in the day attempted to unclutter DC's multiple earth issues. Funny how what was old is now new again because DC has gone back to having multiple earths and even going so far as to have their Elseworld tales canon.
The book itself is told from Barry Allen's ( aka The Flash ) point of view and deals with the threat of the Anti-Monitor destroying all the earths. Opposing the nefarious villain is a large contingent of heroes and villains spanning DC's history, earths, and universes.
Wolfman weaves a rather convoluted, but humorous at times ( given the gravity of the crisis itself ) tale that despite having taken place in a year long event series from DC in the 1980's still resonates and works even today. It was the original "crisis" as well which DC has gone to the well with a number of times with their event series.
The book itself is told from Barry Allen's ( aka The Flash ) point of view and deals with the threat of the Anti-Monitor destroying all the earths. Opposing the nefarious villain is a large contingent of heroes and villains spanning DC's history, earths, and universes.
Wolfman weaves a rather convoluted, but humorous at times ( given the gravity of the crisis itself ) tale that despite having taken place in a year long event series from DC in the 1980's still resonates and works even today. It was the original "crisis" as well which DC has gone to the well with a number of times with their event series.
August 11, 2020
Wolfman did a good job of adapting his scripts for the twelve-issue graphic story that was the first universal major reboot/reset/retcon (that since has become an annoying custom of both DC and Marvel) into a cohesive prose novel here. He took the time (and had the space) to re-introduce some very obscure characters and reference long-forgotten events, often in humorous or poignant ways, expanding from the sequential-art original version. I was particularly impressed with The Flash, who was too often overshadowed by Clark and Bruce in the magazines. I prefer the comics version, but enjoyed this novelized summary.
April 25, 2015
Includes spoilers:
This was a bit different than I had expected. I had read the comics several times but was not aware of the novelization. This version is not a traditional audiobook but is an audio drama performed by a whole cast. I haven't read a lot of DC comics but had a passing familiarity with most of the characters. First odd thing, most of this book was narrated by the Flash. That is pretty counter to the comic version. The Flash basically becomes the center of everything that happens in the book. He is basically a ghost that is placed at all the major events so he can narrate them. In my opinion, this is bad gimmick writing and speaks to "telling" a story rather than "showing" a story. It also makes what in the comics is a side character with one significant event the central figure of the story. It undermines the accomplishments of all the other characters by making it as if the flash was the one doing everything. They also changed the death of Supergirl. I didn't like that. They removed the villain war and death of Wonder Woman. They completely removed Superboy and changed the final climax of the book. That was very disappointing since I had intended on reading this as part of the Crisis trilogy and the original ending of the book leads directly to the set-up for Infinite Crisis. Without Superboy and without Superman-2 going off into the void, that book doesn't make sense now. I still know the difference but for my friends who've I've recommended these titles to, it won't make sense now. The performances were pretty good for the most part. Especially psycho pirate and barry allen.
This was a bit different than I had expected. I had read the comics several times but was not aware of the novelization. This version is not a traditional audiobook but is an audio drama performed by a whole cast. I haven't read a lot of DC comics but had a passing familiarity with most of the characters. First odd thing, most of this book was narrated by the Flash. That is pretty counter to the comic version. The Flash basically becomes the center of everything that happens in the book. He is basically a ghost that is placed at all the major events so he can narrate them. In my opinion, this is bad gimmick writing and speaks to "telling" a story rather than "showing" a story. It also makes what in the comics is a side character with one significant event the central figure of the story. It undermines the accomplishments of all the other characters by making it as if the flash was the one doing everything. They also changed the death of Supergirl. I didn't like that. They removed the villain war and death of Wonder Woman. They completely removed Superboy and changed the final climax of the book. That was very disappointing since I had intended on reading this as part of the Crisis trilogy and the original ending of the book leads directly to the set-up for Infinite Crisis. Without Superboy and without Superman-2 going off into the void, that book doesn't make sense now. I still know the difference but for my friends who've I've recommended these titles to, it won't make sense now. The performances were pretty good for the most part. Especially psycho pirate and barry allen.
June 14, 2009
Why yes, I own both the comic and the novelization. Is there something wrong with that?
Actually, here's a Little Known Fact about me: when I was in, maybe, junior high school I tried to novelize Crisis. I sat down with the comics and went through them, panel-by-panel, trying to put them into a narrative form. I tried to fill in things like expressions, reactions, to bridge the gap between the kind of story you can tell in a comic and the kind you tell in a novel. To my memory, it was pretty good, though it's no doubt lost to the ages by now. If I ever run across it, I'll either marvel at my innocent youth or cringe at my fumbling attempt to do the unnecessary.
I am not the only one who gave that some thought, it seems. To his credit, though, since Marv Wolfman was the guy who wrote the comics, I think he has far more right to put it into novel form than I ever did. But whereas mine was a straight page-by-page translation of the comic to text, Wolfman decided to tell the story from a very different angle. He decided to let is see the Crisis on Infinite Earths through the eyes of Barry Allen, The Flash.
As I said in my review of the comic series, Barry Allen was (more or less) the beginning of the Multiverse in DC Comics, so it was fitting that he be the one to narrate the end in this book. After all, he didn't get all that much page time in the comics - a few ghostly visitations, some taunting and then he was dead. Yes, his death saved billions of people, but still - for someone as important as he was, you would have thought he'd have gotten a few more pages.
The thing about The Flash, though, is that he's hard to pin down. Literally. Even on an ordinary day, we're talking about a man who can race laser beams - and win. He can alter his subjective view of time to the point where a hummingbird in flight becomes a still life. He can run fast enough to travel through time, and vibrate the very molecules of his body to a point where he can not only ghost through solid matter but pass between the dimensional barriers that separate the multiple Earths.
How any villain ever got the best of this man is beyond me. If the writers had ever taken his powers seriously, The Flash never would have had a challenge.
So who better to narrate our alternate view of the Crisis than he? The fact that he's dead by the time the book begins doesn't really make much of a difference. There's too much for The Flash to do, and suddenly the fastest man alive doesn't have enough time.
I don't really need to re-iterate what the Crisis was about, why it happened and who the main players were. None of that has changed in this version of the story - we just have a different point of view. And from this point of view, we learn many interesting things that the comic held back from us. The relationship between The Monitor and his young ward, Lyla, for example - he knew even before he found her that she would kill him. In fact that she would have to kill him, if any of the Earths were to survive the coming apocalypse. We get a much better look at the Psycho-Pirate, the mad puppet of the Anti-Monitor whose ability to manipulate emotions becomes key to the control of worlds. And we get first-person views from so many other heroes and villains that took part in the Crisis - getting a much deeper look at the work.
Most of all, of course, we get to see Barry Allen. What drives him, even in this semi-dead state, to continue to play an active part in this Crisis? Incorporeal and largely unable to interact with - let alone avert - the catastrophe, The Flash remains a witness until the time comes that he is able to (with a little time-travel cheating) free himself from his bonds and go to a death that he knows he cannot avoid, and which he also knows is not the end. Honestly, how he survives beyond death the way he does isn't very clear in this book. It has something to do with the Speed Force, a kind of semi-sentient energy field that grants speedsters their powers and provides them with a heaven when they die. His jaunts through time and space seem to be at the control of a higher power, but exactly who and what that power is we are never quite sure of.
As with any transition from one medium to another, there are changes. The villainous takeover of three Earths is gone, for example, as is the involvement of Superboy-Prime, and much of what occurs after the Anti-Monitor's ultimate defeat is completely different (and is therefore, if you've been keeping up with the DC Universe over the past three years or so, decidedly non-canon). But Supergirl's death is expanded upon, and we get to see the decisions that bring her to her doom. We know that, like Barry Allen, she did what needed to be done, knowing that it would be her end. Getting a quick look inside her head before she took on the Anti-Monitor makes her death just that much more poignant.
But also as with any transition from one medium to another, it is very hard to compare the new rendition to the original. While this novelized version of Crisis is a quick and enjoyable read, it doesn't have nearly the scope and depth and visual punch that the comic did. Because comics are such a visual medium - a story told in mixed media - you're going to lose something when you take one of those media away. While I enjoy reading this (and it's a lot easier to carry around than the Rosetta-stone-sized Absolute Edition of the comic), it's never going to take the place of the original. Wolfman is an excellent writer of comics, but he's not a novelist.
If you are a fan of Crisis and you just want another look at the old story, pick this up. If you've never read Crisis before, get your hands on the comics and let this one come to you later.
Actually, here's a Little Known Fact about me: when I was in, maybe, junior high school I tried to novelize Crisis. I sat down with the comics and went through them, panel-by-panel, trying to put them into a narrative form. I tried to fill in things like expressions, reactions, to bridge the gap between the kind of story you can tell in a comic and the kind you tell in a novel. To my memory, it was pretty good, though it's no doubt lost to the ages by now. If I ever run across it, I'll either marvel at my innocent youth or cringe at my fumbling attempt to do the unnecessary.
I am not the only one who gave that some thought, it seems. To his credit, though, since Marv Wolfman was the guy who wrote the comics, I think he has far more right to put it into novel form than I ever did. But whereas mine was a straight page-by-page translation of the comic to text, Wolfman decided to tell the story from a very different angle. He decided to let is see the Crisis on Infinite Earths through the eyes of Barry Allen, The Flash.
As I said in my review of the comic series, Barry Allen was (more or less) the beginning of the Multiverse in DC Comics, so it was fitting that he be the one to narrate the end in this book. After all, he didn't get all that much page time in the comics - a few ghostly visitations, some taunting and then he was dead. Yes, his death saved billions of people, but still - for someone as important as he was, you would have thought he'd have gotten a few more pages.
The thing about The Flash, though, is that he's hard to pin down. Literally. Even on an ordinary day, we're talking about a man who can race laser beams - and win. He can alter his subjective view of time to the point where a hummingbird in flight becomes a still life. He can run fast enough to travel through time, and vibrate the very molecules of his body to a point where he can not only ghost through solid matter but pass between the dimensional barriers that separate the multiple Earths.
How any villain ever got the best of this man is beyond me. If the writers had ever taken his powers seriously, The Flash never would have had a challenge.
So who better to narrate our alternate view of the Crisis than he? The fact that he's dead by the time the book begins doesn't really make much of a difference. There's too much for The Flash to do, and suddenly the fastest man alive doesn't have enough time.
I don't really need to re-iterate what the Crisis was about, why it happened and who the main players were. None of that has changed in this version of the story - we just have a different point of view. And from this point of view, we learn many interesting things that the comic held back from us. The relationship between The Monitor and his young ward, Lyla, for example - he knew even before he found her that she would kill him. In fact that she would have to kill him, if any of the Earths were to survive the coming apocalypse. We get a much better look at the Psycho-Pirate, the mad puppet of the Anti-Monitor whose ability to manipulate emotions becomes key to the control of worlds. And we get first-person views from so many other heroes and villains that took part in the Crisis - getting a much deeper look at the work.
Most of all, of course, we get to see Barry Allen. What drives him, even in this semi-dead state, to continue to play an active part in this Crisis? Incorporeal and largely unable to interact with - let alone avert - the catastrophe, The Flash remains a witness until the time comes that he is able to (with a little time-travel cheating) free himself from his bonds and go to a death that he knows he cannot avoid, and which he also knows is not the end. Honestly, how he survives beyond death the way he does isn't very clear in this book. It has something to do with the Speed Force, a kind of semi-sentient energy field that grants speedsters their powers and provides them with a heaven when they die. His jaunts through time and space seem to be at the control of a higher power, but exactly who and what that power is we are never quite sure of.
As with any transition from one medium to another, there are changes. The villainous takeover of three Earths is gone, for example, as is the involvement of Superboy-Prime, and much of what occurs after the Anti-Monitor's ultimate defeat is completely different (and is therefore, if you've been keeping up with the DC Universe over the past three years or so, decidedly non-canon). But Supergirl's death is expanded upon, and we get to see the decisions that bring her to her doom. We know that, like Barry Allen, she did what needed to be done, knowing that it would be her end. Getting a quick look inside her head before she took on the Anti-Monitor makes her death just that much more poignant.
But also as with any transition from one medium to another, it is very hard to compare the new rendition to the original. While this novelized version of Crisis is a quick and enjoyable read, it doesn't have nearly the scope and depth and visual punch that the comic did. Because comics are such a visual medium - a story told in mixed media - you're going to lose something when you take one of those media away. While I enjoy reading this (and it's a lot easier to carry around than the Rosetta-stone-sized Absolute Edition of the comic), it's never going to take the place of the original. Wolfman is an excellent writer of comics, but he's not a novelist.
If you are a fan of Crisis and you just want another look at the old story, pick this up. If you've never read Crisis before, get your hands on the comics and let this one come to you later.
May 14, 2024
This novelization of the greatest comic book mini-series in history should have been either a thousand-word brick...or a complete shambles. Instead, Marv Wolfman focuses everything from the point-of-view of The Flash...and as a result manages to include so much in a condensed package, without sacrificing any of the main thrust of the plot. It also handles the death of Supergirl in powerful & touching fashion...the one part over which I was particularly concerned. Could it have included more? Did the cuts and omissions prevent it from satisfying every geeky completist gene I have? Perhaps...but I don't think it could have been done in any other way. And the final result is a staggering, delightful surprise.
March 7, 2011
Surprisingly, I was very moved near the end of the book. Although very disjointed due to the time-jumping nature of the story, at the end, I found it worth the confusion at the beginning. Told from the POV of The Flash, the Multiverse is being destroyed one universe at a time. The super-heroes in multiple universes are being tapped to save all their worlds. Of the billions, only five Earths are left. The premise is pretty awesome, but I think the translation from graphic novel to book form left a lot to be desired. Furthermore, whoever did the copy-editing could've done with one more look-through.
March 16, 2018
DC does it well, and does it first. Always. What they need these days is renewed creativity in order to do it well and do it first all over again.
This is a serious page-turner, and unpredictable at every step from the beginning to the end. A true pleasure to read, and is probably the first graphic novel to keep me awake reading in the middle of the night.
This is a serious page-turner, and unpredictable at every step from the beginning to the end. A true pleasure to read, and is probably the first graphic novel to keep me awake reading in the middle of the night.
February 15, 2022
This story exists because DC had a huge multiverse going on that was becoming hard to control and keep track of. So the great Marv Wolfman and George Perez came in a write a cataclysmic event that brought everything back to one Earth and a single universe. This is the novelization that Wolfman wrote based on the comic.
This story is for the most part told through the Flash/Barry Allen’s eyes as he finds himself dead as the story begins. He doesn’t know how he died but finds himself being transported through time and space; jumping to different Earths and seeing faces he both recognizes and doesn’t.
It was cool seeing all the different Earths and how each is compared to Earth-1 and how the heroes and villains are changed depending on which Earth they’re from. I really like the idea of Jay Garrick and Uncle Sam, (while real people on Earth-2 and Earth-S) existed on Earth-1 in comics and war propaganda because things from the multiverse filtered in via dreams and thoughts to their Earth-1 author’s heads.
Never having read the comic but knowing the end goal was to get back to one Earth, this book was a good way to get the story of Crisis. I liked popping between characters and times because it added to the urgency that the multiverse was ending and all these heroes and villains had to come together to find a solution. If you’re looking for a novelization of a comic that defined how DC Comics set about restarting their characters and comics in a more congruent way then this is the book for you.
This story is for the most part told through the Flash/Barry Allen’s eyes as he finds himself dead as the story begins. He doesn’t know how he died but finds himself being transported through time and space; jumping to different Earths and seeing faces he both recognizes and doesn’t.
It was cool seeing all the different Earths and how each is compared to Earth-1 and how the heroes and villains are changed depending on which Earth they’re from. I really like the idea of Jay Garrick and Uncle Sam, (while real people on Earth-2 and Earth-S) existed on Earth-1 in comics and war propaganda because things from the multiverse filtered in via dreams and thoughts to their Earth-1 author’s heads.
Never having read the comic but knowing the end goal was to get back to one Earth, this book was a good way to get the story of Crisis. I liked popping between characters and times because it added to the urgency that the multiverse was ending and all these heroes and villains had to come together to find a solution. If you’re looking for a novelization of a comic that defined how DC Comics set about restarting their characters and comics in a more congruent way then this is the book for you.
January 16, 2015
This is not exactly a novelization of the ground-breaking comic book series from the 80's. In fact, if you haven't read that, I don't really recommend this one. The comic book series ran 12 issues, and tied into every single DC Comics title that was being printed at that time. Basically, too much for a novel without turning into something George Martin in length.
What it is, instead, is the retelling of many of the high points of that series through the viewpoint of Barry Allen, the Flash, who died during the series. It covers the major points of the series, skipping some stuff, and simplifying some things that only comic geeks will pick up on (the history of the Guardians on Oa skips the Manhunters, going straight to the Green Lanterns, for example).
With such a huge cast, a few small mistakes creeping in is understandable, and also probably only noticeable to geeks like me (Firebrand Danette Riley was a vulcanologist, not a nurse; Psimon had mental powers, not matter transmutation, that was his teammate Shimmer; Northwind's weapon didn't fire lasers, it produced a gas that left people off-balance). The errors are few and far between. It's overall very enjoyable, and gives a feel for the epic nature of the events.
I liked it. I recommend it to DC comics fans, and a bit less so to other comic fans.
What it is, instead, is the retelling of many of the high points of that series through the viewpoint of Barry Allen, the Flash, who died during the series. It covers the major points of the series, skipping some stuff, and simplifying some things that only comic geeks will pick up on (the history of the Guardians on Oa skips the Manhunters, going straight to the Green Lanterns, for example).
With such a huge cast, a few small mistakes creeping in is understandable, and also probably only noticeable to geeks like me (Firebrand Danette Riley was a vulcanologist, not a nurse; Psimon had mental powers, not matter transmutation, that was his teammate Shimmer; Northwind's weapon didn't fire lasers, it produced a gas that left people off-balance). The errors are few and far between. It's overall very enjoyable, and gives a feel for the epic nature of the events.
I liked it. I recommend it to DC comics fans, and a bit less so to other comic fans.
May 14, 2015
This was Graphic Audio's Audio Drama version
3.5 Stars
3 of which was for the quality of the performance. Really, they went all out with the quality of the voice actors and sound effects. Superman, Batman, and the Joker all sound like themselves. The sound effects are top notch and are backed by a pretty decent soundtrack (except for those weird metal riffs that went down a couple times) There was nothing lacking in production quality from this. To me, it was perfect. I was really blown away by the performance. I rated this lower because the story really falls apart in this format. Scenes seem random and the story is all over the place. The emotional moments were well done but the three step boss fight nature of the original story really brought this down. Just once sequence of events that leads into a completely random and unpredictable next series. The story felt really thrown together in this format. If you don't know the story, read the comic first.
3.5 Stars
3 of which was for the quality of the performance. Really, they went all out with the quality of the voice actors and sound effects. Superman, Batman, and the Joker all sound like themselves. The sound effects are top notch and are backed by a pretty decent soundtrack (except for those weird metal riffs that went down a couple times) There was nothing lacking in production quality from this. To me, it was perfect. I was really blown away by the performance. I rated this lower because the story really falls apart in this format. Scenes seem random and the story is all over the place. The emotional moments were well done but the three step boss fight nature of the original story really brought this down. Just once sequence of events that leads into a completely random and unpredictable next series. The story felt really thrown together in this format. If you don't know the story, read the comic first.
April 15, 2017
This novelization was a nice compliment to the original Crisis On Infinite Earths mini series.
April 24, 2018
Barry Allen (The Flash) is trapped in time and shuffled among alternate universes as he helps all those universes' heroes and villains battle the anti-monitor and the evil fiend's attempts to destroy all of reality. Written by DC Comics veteran Marv Wolfman, this novelization of the comic series reads sort of like a recounting of a very intense acid trip. If you like that kind of thing, you'll enjoy this, I'm sure, but I personally can't get into this style. I like my stories to be somewhat grounded in a more coherent narrative, and by the last quarter of the book, it reads more that way. I did like the premise of the story and found the ending to be very satisfying. I just found out that there's an audio version of the book. Perhaps I would have enjoyed that better. Anyway, kudos to Marv for going out on a limb with this style of storytelling. I think he did it well. It's just not my thing.
November 14, 2019
Back in the 80's, comics books took a new direction - the "multiple heroes and villains, facing a universe threating disaster, and so they must team up for a mini-series to combat the looming disaster"
Marvel had 'Secret Wars"
And DC had 'Crisis on Infinite Earths"
Marvel gave us the Black Suited Spider-man (which would give us Venom) and change the line up of the Fantastic Four.
DC took it one step further- it killed off various heroes. Some B-listers. But there were some A Players- Flash, Supergirl, and one of the Supermans.
Many years later, that story would be collected into a book, written by the same comic book writer who first gave us the storyline.
This books has been sitting on my shelf for over a decade - but with the upcoming CW mini-series Major Cross-over Event, I figured I would sit down and read this.
Marvel had 'Secret Wars"
And DC had 'Crisis on Infinite Earths"
Marvel gave us the Black Suited Spider-man (which would give us Venom) and change the line up of the Fantastic Four.
DC took it one step further- it killed off various heroes. Some B-listers. But there were some A Players- Flash, Supergirl, and one of the Supermans.
Many years later, that story would be collected into a book, written by the same comic book writer who first gave us the storyline.
This books has been sitting on my shelf for over a decade - but with the upcoming CW mini-series Major Cross-over Event, I figured I would sit down and read this.
June 14, 2023
Though it was original at the time, "the entire multiverse is getting vaporized" is about as generic a gigantic threat as one can get nowadays. It leads to a tangled mess of writing where there's very little to hang onto. But I understand how important and influential this story is. At some point, there needed to be a story large enough for every single hero and villain to show up, and this was the first time where literally everything was at stake in a comicbook story, it created the Crisis "genre" in comics, and it's admittedly extremely cool and epic to see all these characters together in one multiverse-spanning story.
There's nothing about this story that I'm attached to and I didn't feel particularly strong about anything in it, but I still acknowledge how monumental it is, and respect it for that.
There's nothing about this story that I'm attached to and I didn't feel particularly strong about anything in it, but I still acknowledge how monumental it is, and respect it for that.
December 10, 2018
This novelization of the landmark DC mini-series, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS is fantastic, bringing a three dimensional quality to the characters involved, with a special emphasis on The Flash (Barry Allen) and the narrator/lead protagonist of the story.
Marv Wolfman has done an excellent job of adapting his comic book script into a prose novel.
September 26, 2019
It must be a hard task adapting a major multi-issue comics event to prose form but I must say Marv Wolfman did an incredible job. The story moves at a lightning pace and the Flash’s inner dialogue was often hilarious. I think the author does a great job of characterization as well. I fully recommend it.
May 18, 2017
Great story, although it could have used a bit more thought in translating the comic to prose, some "scenes" just rush by and could have been developed further. Spelling and grammatical errors are too numerous to keep track of, but it is still a very fun read. I would recommend this to a friend.
October 17, 2019
The book itself is told from Barry Allen's ( aka The Flash ) point of view and deals with the threat of the Anti-Monitor destroying all the earths. Opposing the nefarious villain is a large contingent of heroes and villains spanning DC's history, earths, and universes.
April 29, 2023
Probably more like 3.5/5. It was fun. I listened to the Graphic Audio version where it’s fully acted out with sound effects and music. Interesting take to have Flash be out liaison through the story.
September 4, 2019
A little rough in parts, but full of wonderful pop references and lots of action!
January 26, 2020
Doesn’t translate as well as the original comic book series, but does add some interesting twists and explains some minor plot holes.
October 4, 2020
A fun and epic tale from the viewpoint of the Flash. Featuring an alliance of heroes and villains as they face off against a universal threat that threatens the entire multiverse.
January 9, 2022
OK for kids to listen
May 22, 2022
I loved it.
October 26, 2022
I couldn’t get into the comic but I love the novel.
Want to read
October 2, 2023Ojalá algún día se edite en castellano.
January 29, 2019
'Crisis on Infinite Earths' was a twelve-part maxi-series published by DC Comics throughout 1985 and 1986, in an attempt to completely reboot their fictional universe; bringing an end to their multiverse concept for a more trimmed-down continuity for newer readers. This was DC's first publication in their Crisis chronology, as a way of rebooting timelines and correcting any discrepancies in comic-book lore, that has continued up to the present day with the 2005 'Infinite Crisis' follow-up and the more recent universe-shattering events of 'Flashpoint', resulting in the New 52 reboot line of comic series. The original crisis was written by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, and is considered one of the comics' community most greatest literary triumphs of its time. It was this series, which spans nearly the entirety of the DC Multiverse, that first gave me an interest in all things comic-book and, in my opinion, none has surpassed its complexity and emotional thrall.
Consequently, I was more than elated when, in 2006, iBooks released its latest novel in their series of comic series novelisations, which is a translation of the '85-6 original Crisis maxi-series into novel form, written by one half of the original writers themselves, Marv Wolfman. The novel deviates slightly from its comic-counterpart, by being narrated primarily from the view of the silver-age Flash, Barry Allen, who was an important character in the original plot-line, and who eventually was killed by the Anti-Monitor. The Monitor and the Anti-Monitor, powerful beings of positive and anti-matter yin and yang, wage a multiversal war for supremacy, with the Monitor assembling heroes from all over the infinite stretch of earths, in an attempt to save the five remaining universes that are eventually merged into a New Earth, with one unified history and continuity for readers to consequently explore from 1986 onwards. The Flash's narration offers an alternative viewpoint to the original Crisis, as seen by one of the participating heroes, and it offers the opportunity to experience events from a first-eye perspective.
Even though there are a few misspellings and grammatical errors that seem to have escaped the editing process, Wolfman manages to include allusions to a plethora of retroactive continuity corresponding to stories regarding the Crisis, such as the mention of the Justice Alliance of Earth-D, that were seen in the 'Legends of the DC Universe' Special of the late 90s, honouring the events portrayed in the 80's maxi-series. The heroes of the DC Multiverse are expertly examined and the characterisation of heroes like the two Supermen of Earths one and two and Lady Quark of the forgotten Earth-six, along with lesser known characters like Alexander and Lois Luthor of Earth-three, is trademark to Wolfman's ability to portray comic-book characters with emotional and powerful intensity, along with being able to peel back character relations while portraying a cataclysmic sense of universal danger.
This novelisation of the original Crisis, which spanned infinite earths and universes, is a great accompaniment to the said series, as well as a brilliant addition to the growing collection of novels based on particular comic-series published by iBooks. Additionally, with Graphic Audio having picked up the rights to produce original audio-books based on some of these novels, it is a definite recommendation to purchase the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' audio-book, which is essentially a 'Movie in Your Mind', as the slogan suggests. It is a great representation of the series using this novel as its source, and it is probably the closest that the comic-book community will get to seeing this brilliantly crafted comic-series on the big screen, at least for a while anyway.
Consequently, I was more than elated when, in 2006, iBooks released its latest novel in their series of comic series novelisations, which is a translation of the '85-6 original Crisis maxi-series into novel form, written by one half of the original writers themselves, Marv Wolfman. The novel deviates slightly from its comic-counterpart, by being narrated primarily from the view of the silver-age Flash, Barry Allen, who was an important character in the original plot-line, and who eventually was killed by the Anti-Monitor. The Monitor and the Anti-Monitor, powerful beings of positive and anti-matter yin and yang, wage a multiversal war for supremacy, with the Monitor assembling heroes from all over the infinite stretch of earths, in an attempt to save the five remaining universes that are eventually merged into a New Earth, with one unified history and continuity for readers to consequently explore from 1986 onwards. The Flash's narration offers an alternative viewpoint to the original Crisis, as seen by one of the participating heroes, and it offers the opportunity to experience events from a first-eye perspective.
Even though there are a few misspellings and grammatical errors that seem to have escaped the editing process, Wolfman manages to include allusions to a plethora of retroactive continuity corresponding to stories regarding the Crisis, such as the mention of the Justice Alliance of Earth-D, that were seen in the 'Legends of the DC Universe' Special of the late 90s, honouring the events portrayed in the 80's maxi-series. The heroes of the DC Multiverse are expertly examined and the characterisation of heroes like the two Supermen of Earths one and two and Lady Quark of the forgotten Earth-six, along with lesser known characters like Alexander and Lois Luthor of Earth-three, is trademark to Wolfman's ability to portray comic-book characters with emotional and powerful intensity, along with being able to peel back character relations while portraying a cataclysmic sense of universal danger.
This novelisation of the original Crisis, which spanned infinite earths and universes, is a great accompaniment to the said series, as well as a brilliant addition to the growing collection of novels based on particular comic-series published by iBooks. Additionally, with Graphic Audio having picked up the rights to produce original audio-books based on some of these novels, it is a definite recommendation to purchase the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' audio-book, which is essentially a 'Movie in Your Mind', as the slogan suggests. It is a great representation of the series using this novel as its source, and it is probably the closest that the comic-book community will get to seeing this brilliantly crafted comic-series on the big screen, at least for a while anyway.
June 15, 2010
Let me begin by getting my biggest annoyance, regarding this book, out of the way. The cover, although beautifully drawn, gives away what should be one of the biggest shocks of the story...Supergirl dies. When the finale of the book approaches and Kara (Supergirl) looks like she might die I was dragged right out of the story...there was no suspense because I knew from the cover she died. However, that's not the author's fault.
The author, Marv Wolfman, is usually a comic book writer and is the guy responsible for creating the character of 'Blade' for Marvel as well as the 'Teen Titans' for DC Universe. Although the writing in this book is by no means poor I think it showed that Marv is primarily a comic book writer as the story just didn't flow the way it should and it was like reading a story that was lifted from a comic series (which it was) rather than reading like a regular novel. From the back cover...
"Trapped in a timeless limbo, Barry Allen, the Flash can only watch in silent and helpless horror as, one by one, countless universes fade from existence in order to feed the insatiable need for power of the Anti-Monitor, a being from the anti-matter universe of Qward.
Under the guidance of the Monitor, his benevolent opposite, the super-heroes and villains of all realities are brought together for a last, desperate stand against the forces that promise the literal end of all existence."
The writing spans 310 pages and 93 chapters which makes this a novel you can pick-up and read a few pages of during a quick tea break at work, or during a visit to the toilet, as the chapters usually run only three or four pages long. Sometimes I wasn't sure why a new chapter was needed when it was a direct follow on from what had just ended the previous chapter but it did keep the story condensed into manageable chunks. That is also a good thing as there are a lot of characters in this book. Practically all the major, and some not so major, heroes and villains that make up DC Universe appear at one point or another. Add to the mix of characters a mix of infinite earths where these heroes and villains also appear and it could have gotten very confusing very quickly. Thankfully, this confusion did not appear as Wolfman (sounds like he should be a story character doesn't he?!?) had an intricate knowledge of all the characters and at no point was I confused as to who was who.
So what we have is the classic battle of good versus evil spread across multiple universes and, for the most part, it's an enjoyable story. Due to the amount of characters and the intricate plot spanning multiple universes it certainly isn't a book for anyone who has yet to enter their teens as I imagine a younger reader would get lost very quickly. However, it is aimed at adults and there is more than one death to a major character in the story. I very much enjoyed this book even if the multiple universe plot was just a little ho-hum for me (multiple universes always appear in the DC Universe as it's a way of taking the traditional characters such as Superman, Batman etc and giving them new personalities for the new universe that they inhabit) and would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys superhero fiction.
The author, Marv Wolfman, is usually a comic book writer and is the guy responsible for creating the character of 'Blade' for Marvel as well as the 'Teen Titans' for DC Universe. Although the writing in this book is by no means poor I think it showed that Marv is primarily a comic book writer as the story just didn't flow the way it should and it was like reading a story that was lifted from a comic series (which it was) rather than reading like a regular novel. From the back cover...
"Trapped in a timeless limbo, Barry Allen, the Flash can only watch in silent and helpless horror as, one by one, countless universes fade from existence in order to feed the insatiable need for power of the Anti-Monitor, a being from the anti-matter universe of Qward.
Under the guidance of the Monitor, his benevolent opposite, the super-heroes and villains of all realities are brought together for a last, desperate stand against the forces that promise the literal end of all existence."
The writing spans 310 pages and 93 chapters which makes this a novel you can pick-up and read a few pages of during a quick tea break at work, or during a visit to the toilet, as the chapters usually run only three or four pages long. Sometimes I wasn't sure why a new chapter was needed when it was a direct follow on from what had just ended the previous chapter but it did keep the story condensed into manageable chunks. That is also a good thing as there are a lot of characters in this book. Practically all the major, and some not so major, heroes and villains that make up DC Universe appear at one point or another. Add to the mix of characters a mix of infinite earths where these heroes and villains also appear and it could have gotten very confusing very quickly. Thankfully, this confusion did not appear as Wolfman (sounds like he should be a story character doesn't he?!?) had an intricate knowledge of all the characters and at no point was I confused as to who was who.
So what we have is the classic battle of good versus evil spread across multiple universes and, for the most part, it's an enjoyable story. Due to the amount of characters and the intricate plot spanning multiple universes it certainly isn't a book for anyone who has yet to enter their teens as I imagine a younger reader would get lost very quickly. However, it is aimed at adults and there is more than one death to a major character in the story. I very much enjoyed this book even if the multiple universe plot was just a little ho-hum for me (multiple universes always appear in the DC Universe as it's a way of taking the traditional characters such as Superman, Batman etc and giving them new personalities for the new universe that they inhabit) and would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys superhero fiction.
July 9, 2013
I had very high hopes for this book. The original Crisis on Infinite Earths comic books series is one of the best comic books ever that blew my over-actively imaginative mind when I was young and still does so. The idea of the author of that tale adapting his own wonderful work into a prose novel was exciting for me.
Wolfman's smartest move here was the device of having Barry Allen, the Flash, bounce around in the timeline of the story kind of like Billy Pilgrim. This not only gave the story potential to be more than just an adaptation, but also helped clear up a few details like the coincidence of Wally West's origin and how the Golden Age Superman got all of that strength to KO the Anti-Monitor.
Reading the familiar story through Barry's eyes, with intermittent third person chapters that focused on other characters, was interesting at first. Then little things started to irk me. It started with a mention of e-mail. Then there was a reference to Homer Simpson. The original comic book was published 1985 and 1986. These and other anachronisms made my head turn a few times until I realized that Wolfman had basically slid the story over in time. I do not know why he felt the need to do this, but it was a little jarring. Shrugging that off, I continued reading.
Continuity glitches plague the book. In the comics at the time, the Flash had fled to the future to avoid a jail sentence. But there is no mention of this at all in the novel. Reading of the characters meeting in the Justice League satellite headquarters also made my head turn as I am well aware that during the original story, that headquarters was abandoned and in ruins. In one of the cross-over tales, a team of heroes has to use space suits to enter the satellite and utilize the equipment on board.
Something else akin to the continuity glitches that bothered me was that whole story elements that were cut out. The Villain Wars may not have been much more than a few panels in a few issues culminating into a one-issue battle in the original comic book, but it was a compelling bit of story that was also all too realistic in dealing with how villains would handle a multiversal crisis. I don't see why Wolfman ignored it, nor why Superboy-Prime never appears.
The ending (or should I say "endings?") brought me the biggest head scratching moments. Instead of the nice send-off for the Golden Age Superman and Lois Lane Kent we get . . . I'm not sure really, but it was not an improvement.
In the original comic book, we got glimpses around the new Earth with foreshadowings of things to come. In this novel, Barry gets a peak at the future of his own legacy that is not without its charm, but also contributes to the continuity glitches.
For fans of the original comic book, this novel has moments that make it a somewhat interesting supplement to that story, and others that detract from it. It is by no means a necessary addition to the tale.
Wolfman's smartest move here was the device of having Barry Allen, the Flash, bounce around in the timeline of the story kind of like Billy Pilgrim. This not only gave the story potential to be more than just an adaptation, but also helped clear up a few details like the coincidence of Wally West's origin and how the Golden Age Superman got all of that strength to KO the Anti-Monitor.
Reading the familiar story through Barry's eyes, with intermittent third person chapters that focused on other characters, was interesting at first. Then little things started to irk me. It started with a mention of e-mail. Then there was a reference to Homer Simpson. The original comic book was published 1985 and 1986. These and other anachronisms made my head turn a few times until I realized that Wolfman had basically slid the story over in time. I do not know why he felt the need to do this, but it was a little jarring. Shrugging that off, I continued reading.
Continuity glitches plague the book. In the comics at the time, the Flash had fled to the future to avoid a jail sentence. But there is no mention of this at all in the novel. Reading of the characters meeting in the Justice League satellite headquarters also made my head turn as I am well aware that during the original story, that headquarters was abandoned and in ruins. In one of the cross-over tales, a team of heroes has to use space suits to enter the satellite and utilize the equipment on board.
Something else akin to the continuity glitches that bothered me was that whole story elements that were cut out. The Villain Wars may not have been much more than a few panels in a few issues culminating into a one-issue battle in the original comic book, but it was a compelling bit of story that was also all too realistic in dealing with how villains would handle a multiversal crisis. I don't see why Wolfman ignored it, nor why Superboy-Prime never appears.
The ending (or should I say "endings?") brought me the biggest head scratching moments. Instead of the nice send-off for the Golden Age Superman and Lois Lane Kent we get . . . I'm not sure really, but it was not an improvement.
In the original comic book, we got glimpses around the new Earth with foreshadowings of things to come. In this novel, Barry gets a peak at the future of his own legacy that is not without its charm, but also contributes to the continuity glitches.
For fans of the original comic book, this novel has moments that make it a somewhat interesting supplement to that story, and others that detract from it. It is by no means a necessary addition to the tale.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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