DC Comics laid the foundations for the modern event comic back in the ’60s with the multiversal crossover “Crisis” stories. Their marvelous competition would take this idea and created the first modern events in the early ’80s, like Marvel Super Heroes Contest of Champions and Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars. However, DC would show them how it’s done with the classic Crisis on Infinite Earths, a story that would show exactly how far you could take event comics. Since then, for this fan’s money, DC events are easily the best in the industry. While they aren’t all amazing, there are loads of massively underrated ones and they blow the House of Ideas’ staid events out of the water.
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Sometimes, an event will come around that you read once, don’t get super into, and then file away, maybe getting rid of it for store credit at some point. However, some of these events are way better than they get credit for and you should check them out. You should read these seven DC events again, because they’re better than you give them credit for.
7) Lazarus Planet
Mark Waid is DC’s greatest historian and his return to the publisher in 2022 has given readers some amazing stories. His first book back was Batman vs. Robin, which led into Lazarus Planet. This story spun out of that book and Robin (Vol. 3), as a massive Lazarus Volcano erupted, inundating the globe with a fluid that can resurrect the dead. People all over the world get powers and the heroes have to figure out how to deal with the whole thing and defeat the demon Nezhu. The story mostly consists of anthology books following lower-level heroes and villains as they try to ensure the safety of the world, and they’re great, some of the best anthology of the 21st century. It’s an outstanding event comic that never got the credit it deserved.
6) Armageddon 2001
DC has created some great time travel stories, but one that never gets the credit it deserves is Armageddon 2001. This 1991 story saw Waverider, a man from a dystopian future ruled by the mysterious Monarch, go back in time and show the heroes their future, trying to figure out who the Monarch was. The event had a two-issue miniseries, but mostly takes place in annuals. The story is best known for DC panicking when the identity of Monarch was leaked to the public, forcing them to change the ending on the fly. The ending isn’t amazing and doesn’t make sense, but the various parts of the story are honestly pretty great until that moment. They can be hard to find, but they’re worth the search and the re-read.
5) DC One Million
I have been banging the drum about Grant Morrison and Val Semeiks’ DC One Million for a while now, for good reason. This four-issue event book saw the Justice Legion A of the 853rd century come to the present to allow the Justice League to go to the future to see the Prime Superman come out of the Solar Fortress of Solitude. However, an attack in the present by Vandal Savage is part of a plan made in the future by Savage and Solaris, one that could end the legacy of the Justice League across time. This story is sensational and the tie-ins are amazing. Buy the omnibus, which includes the tie-ins, and prepare to be amazed.
4) Titans: Beast World
The Titans are some of DC’s greatest legends and got their biggest chance at stardom after Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, replacing the Justice League. This lead to Titans: Beast World, by Tom Taylor, Ivan Reis, and Lucas Meyer. This event saw the Earth attacked by the Necrostar, a massive Starro-like kaiju. Beast Boy becomes a Starro to defeat it, but Amanda Waller is able to use him to rain Starros that turn normal people into animals upon the planet, forcing the Titans to figure out how to save the world. This event never got the credit it deserved when it came out and it’s honestly awesome. Read the Beast World Tour and Titans tie-in issues, which flesh the story out beautifully, which make it that much better.
3) The Final Night
The Final Night, by Karl Kesel and Stuart Immonen, isn’t some massive battle against an all-powerful enemy. It doesn’t rewrite the history of the DC Multiverse. It’s not about Batman beating everyone or Darkseid attacking. It’s just the heroes facing the most impossible odds ever. A Sun-Eater destroys the sun, forcing the heroes to try to figure out a way to reignite it before all life on Earth is ended. It’s a quiet, simple story, but Kesel and Immonen are able to make it sing, giving readers an event book unlike anything they ever read. It’s fantastic and if you only read it once and never went back to it, you need to fix that ASAP.
2) Forever Evil
The New 52 was a lousy time in DC history for a lot of reasons and a paucity of good events played a role in that. However, there is one event that was actually worth reading from this era and it’s Forever Evil, by Geoff Johns and David Finch. This story saw the Crime Syndicate of Earth-3, who had defeated the Justice League in Justice League (Vol. 3), take over the world, with only Lex Luthor and a group of villains standing in their way. This event was no one’s favorite back in the day, but it’s honestly pretty great. If you haven’t read it since it came out, you need to give it another look. There are loads of amazing moments and it’s highly entertaining.
1) Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths
Dark Crisis never got a fair shake in my opinion. This event series from Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere is basically a rehash of numerous DC events, but here’s the thing – if you read the main series and the tie-ins, you get a pretty awesome event book, because they add so much to the overall story. If you’re a fan of Crisis stories, you’ll love this one. It helped the lay the foundation for DC’s current successes, and giving it another read – a complete one – shows just how much fun it is an event book.
What DC event do you think fans should read again? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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