Next up for the month is a bit of a controversial one. If
you’ve ever heard of this story, you’ll know why. It’s going to get a little
serious since this story deals with something a little too dark for some. Just
letting you know.
In 2004, DC Comics released Identity Crisis, a seven-issue
event. Like most Crisis events, it changed a lot about the landscape of DC for
years to come. Unlike events such as Zero Hour and Crisis on Infinite Earths,
it didn’t go all-cosmic with it. It’s pretty much a murder mystery set in the
DC Universe. It’s also a miniseries that scooped up a lot of controversy as it
was released throughout 2004. It was written by Brad Meltzer, a novelist who
started to enter into comics. He had previously wrote on Green Arrow and
apparently did so good there someone wanted him to helm an event. Ralph “Rags”
Morales, a guy who’s worked on many DC books, handled the pencils while Michael
Blair handled the inks.
I first ran into this event right at the end. I made my
first hike to the Outer Limits on Memorial Blvd. during November, I think. By
the way, there’s no way I’d do it now since they’ve moved since then. I also
remember I was going to a party later that night. Anyway, I picked up a few
issues like New Avengers #1 and Identity Crisis #7. I ended up reading it
sometime later. Then… I ended up throwing it away. If you think it was because
of that ending, I don’t think it was that. I don’t know if it got ruined or
ripped. With how this event was regarded, I bet I wasn’t the only one who threw
it away.
A couple of years later, I perused through the trade at the
Waldenbooks in Cool Springs. Since then, I’ve read some of the tie-ins as well
as what spun out of it. A few weeks ago, I saw it at McKay’s and finally
decided to check this story out. It's a story that folk either like or hate. I’ve seen folk like Linkara tear this story a new one. On the other end the spectrum, I’ve heard the father/daughter team on
the Relatively Geeky Network give it a fair but positive review. So, now that
I’ve read it in full, where do I stand? By the way, “there be spoilers here,
arrrr!!!”
Yeah, I’m hyping myself up for the darkness that’s about to
come.