New History of the DC Universe #3 Canonizes DC’s Most Important Period (Review)

DC Comics is going through a massive period of success, with more people than ever paying attention to the publisher. DC is known for its wonky continuity, so New History of the DC Universe is their guidebook for new fans to come on in and understand DC history. The first two issues of the book were phenomenal, dealing with the ancient history of the DC Multiverse and the Silver and Bronze Ages, and New History of the DC Universe #3 brings us into the modern, post-Crisis age of DC Comics. This is another fantastic issue of the book, perfect new fans and old, with a few pretty cool surprises

Mark Waid has been dropping DC knowledge bombs on DC fans since the first issue of New History of the DC Universe, and this issue is no different. Post-Crisis DC has always been one of the more interesting periods of DC history and Waid keeps it pretty much unchanged. The whole point of Crisis on Infinite Earths was to streamline the DC Universe, and Waid has used that pretty well. I grew up with this DC, so this issue was basically a nostalgia fest for me. This period of DC is where Waid made his reputation, so it makes sense that he keeps it all pretty much unchanged.

There were still some surprises, though, like the complete canonization of the Milestone imprint. For those who don’t know their DC history, the Milestone imprint was created by a coalition of African-American creators like the late great Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Chistopher Priest, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle and published by DC. The Killing Joke is now a hundred percent canon as well, as is the controversial Identity Crisis. The issue also brings up the return of Supergirl from Superman/Batman in the early ’00s, but doesn’t explain how Kara came back, since her death in Crisis is also canon. Waid does a tremendous job of laying out the history of DC from 1986 to 2011, putting the right spotlight and emotional resonance to various events.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Pros	Cons
Some surprising events are canon	Jurgens’s art is a bit too shiny and happy for some of its imagery
Waid is able to give readers a great narrative for a history book
The art is fantastic, especially Mahnke’s pages

New History of the DC Universe #3 Uses Two of DC’s Most Underrated Artists

One of the best parts of New Universe of the DC Universe so far is the art. Each page combines multiple events in big, beautiful splashes, and this issue brings in two of ’90s/’00s DC most underrated artists for its images. Dan Jurgens is the writer/artist who killed Superman and has one of the cleanest styles in comics. Jurgens’s pages are excellent; Jurgens has drawn basically every DC character at some point or another, and he does a fantastic job of giving readers the various modern looks of DC’s greatest characters. If I have any complaints about Jurgens’s pages, it’s that his style is a little too shiny and happy for some of the darker events he draws, but it still looks amazing.

Doug Mahnke, co-creator of the Mask, got his first DC big break with Major Bummer and since then has drawn multiple gorgeous runs on various DC characters. His pages in New History of the DC Universe are darker and grittier than Jurgens’s pages, and it definitely works for what he’s given. The last few pages he drew deal with post-Infinite Crisis DC and he perfectly captures the events of Final Crisis, “The Sinestro Corps War”, “Batman and Son”, “Last Son of Krypton”, Blackest Night, et cetera, and are some of the best images in the entire book. I’ve always loved Mahnke’s style, and his pages in this issue are my favorite.

New History of the DC Universe #3 Is Everything You Could Want

New History of the DC Universe is a guidebook more than a story, but Waid is able to do a great job of actually making a story out of the book. New History of the DC Universe #3 is another example of why this book has been so good; Waid is able to use his encyclopedic knowledge of DC to create a narrative that tells the story of the company in a way that will definitely pull readers in. The art is fantastic, Jurgens and Mahnke bringing their A-game to every image. This is DC at its best, and yet another fantastic issue.

New History of the DC Universe #3 is on sale now

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