Date: Aug 1985

Cover Price: $0.75

Publisher: DC Comics

Description 

First appearances of: Pariah and Alex Luthor, Jr.

Co-plotters: Len Wein/Bob Greenberger

Reprinted in:

• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS: DC COMPACT COMICS EDITION (03 Nov 2026) 

• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 (Digital) (06 Sep 2010) DC Comics

• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 (Canada) (Apr 1985) DC Comics

• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1: SPECIAL EDITION (THE CW) (18 Jul 2019) DC Comics

• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS GIANT #1 (18 Dec 2019) DC Comics

• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS (ARROWVERSE) DELUXE EDITION (16 Jun 2020) DC Comics

• SUPERMAN #266 (Mexico) (31 Aug 1997) Grupo Editorial Vid

• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS HC (Dec 1998) DC Comics

• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS (Digital) (03 Feb 2015) DC Comics

• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS: DC ESSENTIAL EDITION (Oct 2019) DC Comics

• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS (Trade Paperback) (Dec 2000) DC Comics

• JLA - DIE NEUE GERECHTIGKEITSLIGA SONDERBAND #12 (Germany) (21 July 1999) Dino Comics

• JLA - DIE NEUE GERECHTIGKEITSLIGA SONDERBAND #12 (Glitter Edition) (Germany) (21 July 1999) Dino Comics

• SUPERMAN TOMO #1: CRISIS EN LAS TIERRAS INFINITAS (Mexico) (1998) Grupo Editorial Vid

• CRISIS EN TIERRAS INFINITAS #1 (Peru) (Jun 2014) Peru21

• SUPER-HOMEM #34 (Brazil) (Apr 1987) Abril

• ART OF VINTAGE DC COMICS: CRISIS #1 (Sep 2010) Chronicle Books

• CRISIS VARIANT SUBLIMATED T-SHIRT (2014) Trevco Sportsware

• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 (France) (Oct 2001) Semic

• MILLENNIUM EDITION: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 (Feb 2000) DC Comics

• MILLENNIUM EDITION: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 (Chromium) (Feb 2000) DC Comics

• MILLENNIUM EDITION: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 FLASH RE-MARKED EDITION (Dynamic Forces) (April 2001) DC Comics

• MILLENNIUM EDITION: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 SUPGERGIRL RE-MARKED EDITION (Dynamic Forces) (April 2001) DC Comics

• DOLLAR COMICS: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 (25 Sep 2019) DC Comics

• DC THROUGH THE 80S: THE HEROES (21 Dec 2021) DC Comics

• ABSOLUTE EDITION: CRISI SULLE TERRE INFINITE (Italy) (2007) Planeta DeAgostini

• CRISI SULLE TERRE INFINITE COFANETTO (Italy) (10 Dec 2016) RW Lion

• UNIVERSO DC: CRISE NAS TERRAS INFINITAS Vol 1 (Portugal) (2013) Levoir

• KRYZYS NA NIESKONCZONYCH ZIEMIACH (Poland) (Apr 2016) Świata Komiksu

• CRISIS EN LAS TIERRAS INFINITAS - DC COMICS ABSOLUTE (Mexico) (2015) Televisa México

• CRISIS EN TIERRAS INFINITAS (Peru) (2014) Peru21

• DC ESSENTIAL: CRISIS EN LAS TIERRAS INFINITAS (Mexico) (23 Dec 2019) DC Comics

• CRISIS EN TIERRAS INFINITAS XP Vol 1 (Spain) (Feb 2020) ECC Ediciones

• DC COMICS GRAPHIC NOVEL COLLECTION SPECIAL VOLUME 1: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS HC (UK) (Nov 2015) EagleMoss

• DC KOMIKSOVÝ KOMPLET SPECIAL #01: KRIZE NA NEKONECNU ZEMI (Czech) (Jul 2017) EagleMoss

• DC COMICS COVER ART (Book) (06 Oct 2020) DK Books

• CRISI SULLE TERRE INFINITE (Italy) (25 Jun 2020) Panini Comics

• CRISIS EN TIERRAS INFINITAS (Argentina) (Aug 2020) OVNI Books

• TALES FROM THE DARK MULTIVERSE II (08 Jun 2021) DC Comics

• CRISIS EN TIERRAS INFINITAS (Fourth Print) (Spain) (Sep 2019) ECC Ediciones

• CRISIS EN TIERRAS INFINITAS (Fifth Print) (Spain) (Dec 2020) ECC Ediciones

Homages:

• BATMAN: THE RED DEATH #1 (20 Sep 2017) DC Comics

• BETTIE PAGE #2 (Variant Cover) (May 2019) Dynamite Comics

• NINJA HIGH SCHOOL INDIE WARS TP (02 Dec 2020) Antarctic Press

MILLENNIUM EDITION: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS SUPERGIRL RE-MARKED EDITION (Dynamic Forces), MILLENNIUM EDITION: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS FLASH RE-MARKED EDITION (Dynamic Forces) and CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 (Australian). Translated and reprinted in OS NOVOS TITÃS #12 (Brazil), CRISIS EN TIERRAS INFINITAS TOMO #1 (Argentina) (2000) , SUPER STAR COMICS #3 (French), SUPER STAR COMICS #4 (France), CRISIS NAS INFINITAS TERRAS #1 (Brazil) (1989),   CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 (Italy) (1990), and SUPERMAN TASCHENBUCH #71 (Germany) (1986) 

Aug 11, 2026 | 09:22:00 AM | John C

DCBS is running a "Special Discount" on a few items for pre-order. You get the entire Crisis 12 issues for $5, what a deal.

https://www.dcbservice.com

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

posted Apr 24, 2020, 6:59 PM by Vu Sleeper

Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 among some of the free "DC Essential Reads" offering via comixology.com. This is the first time that I've thought "Add all to cart" link made sense.

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

posted Oct 10, 2019, 7:54 PM 

From scoop.previewsworld.com, thanks to Ilke

Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, Pariah/Kell Mossa made his debut in Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 in April 1985. Pariah appeared during the 12-issue limited series event that saw the Anti-Monitor threatening the multiverse and the various Earths contained within it.

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

posted Sep 25, 2019, 9:10 PM 

Crisis on Infinite Earths 35th Anniversary and Dollar Comics: Crisis on Infinite Earths are both out in comic book stores today.

Photo from twitter.com

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• Crisis on Infinite Earths

posted Jul 8, 2019, 12:34 AM 

Eric M writes:

I wanted to send you guys the debut of The Monitor I did in tribute to George and Marv

Photos by Adya Moran

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

posted Jun 30, 2019, 9:53 AM 

From newsarama.com

What can be said about the landmark 1985 series by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez that hasn't already been said?

Crisis on Infinite Earths changed the whole landscape of the DCU and served as the first time a comic book company would reboot its entire continuity in order to freshen its product — something that's much more frequent these days.

Crisis killed boatloads of characters (back when character deaths actually meant something)...

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

posted Feb 2, 2019, 9:56 AM by Vu Sleeper

Ten important George Perez work compiled at C4 Comic (Italy) at c4comic.it

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

 posted Dec 9, 2018, 8:12 AM by Vu Sleeper   [ updated Dec 9, 2018, 8:13 AM]

From ew.com

Excerpt:

“I knew the significance and his place in DC mythology, and I know what his name does when fans hear it,” Garrett, a comics fan himself, tells EW. “When you say, ‘the Monitor is in this crossover,’ people’s ears perk up because they automatically think of the Anti-Monitor [and] Psycho-Pirate.”

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

posted Jan 1, 2018, 11:55 AM   [ updated Jan 1, 2018, 12:23 PM]

Leslie S asks

Has George ever drawn Squirrel Girl? are there any commission scans?

Answer: No. However, Avengers: No Surrender #1 homage cover to Crisis #1 does feature a Squirrel Girl.

Mark Brooks (@MarkBrooksArt) added "Thanks George, it was an honor to be able to homage you!"

Also, it's worth noting that if Squirrel Girl had joined the Great Lakes Avengers earlier, she would have appeared on the cover of JLA/Avengers #3 (which features every team member roster from both teams).

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

posted Sep 22, 2017, 8:31 PM 

John S. writes:

CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1 (Apr 1985)

DC Comics

When I started in this hobby I had a shortlist of pieces that were must haves. A cover from Crisis was near top of the list, but with only 12 of them, and most being locked in people's collections, I knew that it was not going to be easy.

After shortlisting the covers I reached out and contacted the owners of the 3 that I liked the most, and although none of them were in the market to sell (or if they were it was at levels that made Kirby covers look cheap), I kept at it over the years, and back in 2004, I was contacted and asked if I was still interested and could complete the deal in a matter of days. What followed was a back and forth ending up in me picking this piece up in an empty parking lot, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere.

It was a record price for any Perez piece sold publicly or privately at that time (and for many years after), and although by that stage I was well on my way to getting what I considered the best examples of Perez's works on many titles, I was still in need for that ever elusive Crisis cover. My friends thought I was crazy doing what I did, but I am glad I did, as over the ensuing years I purchased another 2 Crisis covers, but only this one made the final cut when I started to let pieces go.

Crisis #1 was a wraparound cover and this piece is all on one board, which makes it even more impressive, and sets it apart from all the others. It has everything that you could want in a Perez cover, and from a landmark series that defined the 80's and decades to come.

Many thanks to the previous owner for thinking of me when the time came, and I will get around to a proper image at some point, but for the time being enjoy.

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

 posted Sep 29, 2017, 7:06 PM 

From cbr.com

Illustrated by Mark Brooks, the wraparound cover depicts pretty much every major player currently calling themselves an Avenger. The USAvengers are represented by heroes including Cannonball and Squirrel Girl, the Falcon-led team is present, along with members of the Uncanny Avengers and Occupy Avengers star Hawkeye. 

The cover homages George Perez’s iconic cover for Crisis on Infinite Earths, the classic DC Comics storyline that rebooted the publisher’s entire continuity in themed-1980s. Whether “No Surrender” has the same level of effect on the Avengers as the original Crisis event did on the DCU remains to be seen, but considering Marvel has already introduced the fact that the team’s continuity has been changed, illustrated by the retconned introduction of Voyager as a founding member, it’s likely “No Surrender” will leave the team in a very different place than readers are used to. While she’s not visible in the cover art, Marvel has made it clear that Voyager will factor into the storyline in a major way.

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

posted Dec 6, 2014, 12:51 PM 

Grumpy Old Fan | ‘Crisis’ at 30, Part 1

by Tom Bondurant | December 4, 2014 @ 3:00 PM

Thirty years ago, as part of the first ship week in December 1984, the debut issue of Crisis on Infinite Earths arrived in comics shops. Cover-dated April 1985, and scheduled to appear on newsstands during the first week of January, it was the flagship title of DC Comics’ year-long 50th-anniversary celebration. The two-year Who’s Who encyclopedia had launched a month earlier, and most of DC’s series would tie into Crisis at some point; but this was the book that promised big changes.

We talk a lot about the legacy of Crisis — high-stakes events, crossovers, reboots, etc. — but that can obscure the story itself. For all that it was designed to do, and all that it promised, Crisis remains both uneven and intriguing. At times it can read like a ramshackle assembly of exposition and spectacle, held together by the combined wills of its creative team. Some of it is flabby, some of it is clunky, but Crisis can still be thrilling, and even touching. In any event, it remains one of the great mileposts of DC history, so it can certainly stand another look.

[ Read more Grumpy Old Fan | ‘Crisis’ at 30, Part 1 ]

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• Crisis on Infinite Earths

posted Nov 25, 2014, 7:48 PM 

CHARACTER DESIGN

Pencils by George Perez

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• Crisis on Infinite Earths

 posted Feb 23, 2014, 8:26 AM [ updated Feb 23, 2014, 8:29 AM ]

Crisis on Infinite Earths by mushisan

©2007-2014 mushisan

Versão 3D da capa do comics "Crisis on Infinite Earths" (Crise nas Infinitas Terras), uma das melhores histórias que só nerds vão entender

Para quem quiser ver a versão original, por George Peres, ela está aqui: [link] - é a primeira imagem do lado direito.

Material: Bryce e Photoshop. Novembro e dezembro de 2003

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

posted Mar 10, 2011 11:06 PM by vu sleeper

From geek-news.mtv.com

The 11 Biggest Comic Book Events - Ever

Posted 03/10/11 by Alex Zalben 

What makes something an “event” comic? Is it the sheer number of issues? The number of characters? The impact on the Universe? Sure, it’s those things, but it’s also a combination of those factors – and more than that, its lasting impact on the readers in the long run. Events like Atlantis Attacks over at Marvel, or Invasion at DC might be remembered fondly; but they’re not seminal works that changed the way comics are made. Okay, maybe some of the books on our list don’t quite fit that criteria, either… But trust us: these are the eleven biggest comic book events – ever:

(excerpt)

7. The Infinity Gauntlet

Basically a more refined version of the giant cosmic crossovers of 1985, The Infinity Gauntlet found uber-baddie Thanos gaining possession of the all-powerful Infinity Gauntlet. Since Thanos was in love with the avatar of Death, he decided to offer a gift by erasing half of all life in the Universe… Which didn’t sit well with, um, anyone. Massive fights don’t get much bigger than this, as the entire Universe fought against Thanos, drawn by the able pens of George Perez and Ron Lim (and written by Jim Starlin). The comic was so popular, it spawned two sequels, and an ongoing series. But the original is still the best.

1. Crisis on Infinite Earths

That said, the gold standard is still, over twenty-five years later, DC’s Crisis on Infinte Earths. A massive villain named The Anti-Monitor, who lives in – you guessed it – the Anti-Matter Universe wants to destroy not just all life in our Universe, but all life in every Universe, and every reality. Ostensibly started as a way of simplifying what DC considered an overly complicated continuity and reboot the whole line, Marv Wolfman and George Perez created an epic work of comics. From the heroic death of The Flash, which used to be the manly-man hallmark (“Sure, I’m a dude, but I cried when Barry Allen died,”), to the several epic battles against The Anti-Monitor, this series is bigger than anything that came before it, and really, has never been matched since.

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

October 27, 2005 12:14 am

 From www.wizarduniverse.com

CRISIS COUNCELING: Wizard Unvierse presents Crisis On Infinite Earths Director’s Commentary Bonus Material Part One!

October 26, 2005

For the exclusive commentary on themajor moments of DC’s 1985-86 mini-series Crisis on Infinite Earths,pick up Wizard #170 on sale now! In the meantime, enjoy these extrascenes with commentary by co-creators Marv Wolfman and George Pérezthat we couldn’t fit into the magazine!

(excerpt)

Crisis On Infinite Earths #1, pp. 6-7
THE SALVATION OF ALEXANDER LUTHOR

WOLFMAN: If we had just had AlexanderLuthor appear later on at some point full-grown, he may not have seemedlike anything special. But by introducing him in this way, now peopleare trying to figure out how a couple-day old baby is going to have aneffect on the rest of the series.
PÉREZ: I thought the way it echoed Superman’s origin, Kal-El beingshot to Earth from Krypton, was a nice touch. The last surviving childof a dying planet was the beginning of the DC Universe and now as weare tearing that universe apart and putting it back together again, wegive a nod back to that beginning.

Crisis On Infinite Earths #1, pg. 14
HARBINGER

PÉREZ: The primary function of Harbingerat the start of the series was to provide us with a way to progress theaction without having to give away the Monitor too quickly. I alsothink Marv did a wonderful job of creating a dynamic between Harbingerand the Monitor that let you know these characters had been around forawhile even if they were only just being seen by us for the first time.
WOLFMAN: The fact that Solovar is the first character Harbingerrecruits is not a coincidence. The Flash was the first character ofDC’s Silver Age, so we wanted somebody from his supporting cast to bethe first established character brought into the Monitor’s mission, andSolovar fit the bill.
PÉREZ: And it’s always nice when you first introduce a prettyfemale character and put her in a scene with a gorilla. The beauty andthe beast dynamic are always appealing.
WOLFMAN: Hey, there are never enough monkeys.

[ Read more CRISIS COUNCELING: Wizard Unvierse presents Crisis On Infinite Earths Director’s Commentary Bonus Material Part One! ]

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• Crisis on Infinite Earths

September 16, 2005 05:49 pm

 From scoop.diamondgalleries.com

Teen Titans at 25, Crisis at 20

The Main Event, Scoop, Friday, September 16, 2005

Teen Titans at 25, Crisis at 20:The Enduring Duo of Marv Wolfman and George Pérez

NEW TEEN TITANS #1 (Nov 1980) 

(excerpt)

The legendary creative duos in comicbooks include two teams - Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, and Stan Lee andJack Kirby - of whom it is generally safe to mention only their lastnames. Others may well someday be added to this pantheon and stillothers probably already belong to it, but while Simon & Kirbyhelped define the 1940s and 1950s and Lee & Kirby certainly definedthe 1960s, another team defined the 1980s and in many ways helped setthe groundwork for the superhero comics we have today.

Writer Marv Wolfman and artist GeorgePérez, who this year celebrate the 25th anniversary of New Teen Titansand the 20th anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths, have impactedthe superhero genre as have few other pairs of creators. Though bothworked extensively with other partners before and since those efforts,there is undeniably something compelling and special about that periodand their collaborative labors.

[ Read more Teen Titans at 25, Crisis at 20 ]

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• Crisis on Infinite Earths

November 4, 2003 

From COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1565 (14 Dec 2003)

RETROVIEW: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS

written by Jim Johnson

published in COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1565 (14 Dec 2003)

website: www.comicsbuyersguide.com

DC editors bestowed four-color godhoodupon Marv Wolfman, when they OK'd his proposal to revamp the company'sincomprehensible 50-year history in the early 1980s. and, like an angrydeity come judgment day, Wolfman waved his hand and wiped countlessredundant universes from existence, making the DC universe a moreaccessible place for new readers.

Of course, fandom would have settled forno one other than George Pérez to illustrate such an epic, and Pérezsuperceded all expectations by turning in one of the finest efforts ofhis career.

Wolfman wastes no time getting started,beginning the culling of the multiverse on the second page. With theironically heroic demise of Earth-3's Crime Syndicate immediatelythereafter, Wolfman also kicks off the first of many emotionallyintense and beautifully constructed death sequences.

It's a bit unfortunate that theremainder of the issue is little more than exposition for the rest ofthe series, but riding along while various heroes and villains fromdifferent Earths and eras are brought together is, nonetheless, a fanboy's delight.

It's another fairly slow issue,action-wise. But that's barely noticed amid the excitement generatedfrom the intermingling of such characters from different Earths andtime periods as Kamandi and Earth-2's Superman, for example.

Amazingly, among the dozen of charactersutilized (so far), Wolfman still manages to squeeze in panel time forindividual characters, like The Flash and Psycho Pirate, who eventuallyplay important roles. And, as if that weren't enough, he jams a fewintriguing plot developments into an already-packed issue. Astonishing.

It would be easy to criticize the factthat all Wolfman does here is fill another issue with unlikely, ragtagalliances plopped into random time periods.

Except it's just too doggone cool not to like, and this is what we all paid 75¢ to see, after all.

This is fun, plain and simple. But it'sobviously none are having as much fun as Wolfman and Pérez themselves,who are making the most of the limited playtime allotted to them Incomicdom's biggest sandbox.

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

October 10, 2003

From Scoop

Comic Book Ages: The Discussion Continues
The Main Event, Scoop, Friday, October 10, 2003

(excerpt)

Kirk Mills: The Copper Age was whencomics grew up. DC relaunched most of its main heroes, stories becamequite sophisticated, and super-writers transformed the industry. Crisis could be a good starting point, but would there have been a Crisis if Marvel hadn't introduced the mega-crossover with Secret Wars?

Personally I think it goes back even farther. DC's first hugely successful relaunch came 4 1/2 years before the Crisis (and by the same creative team) with the New Teen Titans. A few months later, Marvel gave us the "Days of Future Past" storyline in X-Menwhich opened the Pandora's box of alternate X-futures and the titlestarted becoming the complex world we know and love. That same month,Frank Miller took over the writing of a title he'd been drawing for ayear or two and started the classic Daredevil/Elektra/Kingpin/Bullseyesaga that opened the door to gritty drama in super-heroes. Those threetitles created the popularity of teenagers, mutants, and ninjas thatwould later inspire a terrapin parody. Six months later John Byrne began his run on Fantastic Four. So my vote for the start of the CopperAge is 1981

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

May 14, 2003

From Vu

Wizard is offering some semi-cheap CGC Graded Comics that includes either CRISIS #1 or CRISIS #7.Seven comics for $99.95 for 9.4 or $129.95 for 9.6 Grades.

According to CGC's websitetheir Modern Age comics grading is about $15 (with 10 or moresubmissions), so you are saving quite a bit of money if you're thinkingabout starting a CGC collection.

Alternatively, you can also buy CGC graded books at Mile High Comics, if they offer them.

Personally, I believe you should buy comics to read, not to put on slabs :)Unfortunately, it looks like the trend of CGC is here to stay.

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

May 11, 2003

From COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1540 (23 May 03)

CATCHING UP WITH DICK GIORDANO

written by George Nelson

as published in COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1540 (23 May 03)

websites: www.comicsbuyersguide.com andwww.futurecomics.com

(excerpt)

Though several of the revamps that followed were successes for DC - George Pérez's Wonder Womanrepresented one of the few times the characters sold well, he remarked- the fixes in some cases created as many problems as they solved.

"I have to admit that, after Crisiswas over, I wasn't watching things as closely and we got new continuityglitches built in by the writers and editors who were there," he said.

Giordano said that one mistake he made was not following writer [Marv] Wolfman's suggestion to restart the entire line with new first issue following Crisis. However, he said he didn't feel that he had the creative personnel for such a comprehensive relaunch.

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

April 26, 2003

From Movie Poop Shoot

COMICS 101: AND THEN THERE WAS ONE
April 23, 2003
By Scott Tipton

(excerpt)

In the early 1980s, Len Wein and MarvWolfman were two of the hottest writers/editors in comics. Longtimefans turned professionals, Wein and Wolfman had both had stints in theeditor-in-chief position at Marvel Comics, as well as turning inextremely popular, high-profile stints as writers. Wolfman had writtenjust about every comic Marvel had put out, including a notable run onTOMB OF DRACULA with Gene Colan, while Wein had made a name for himselfon AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and FANTASTIC FOUR, not to mention co-creatingthe new X-Men and Wolverine. Eventually, both found themselves at DCComics, where Wein had a lengthy and well-regarded run on JUSTICELEAGUE OF AMERICA, among others, and Wolfman created THE NEW TEENTITANS with artist George Perez, a critical and commercial smash hit.

Wein and Wolfman were of the belief thatthe parallel Earths of the DC Universe were far too complex andconfusing to the common reader, and came to DC’s Publisher Jenette Kahnwith a bold proposal: a 12-issue miniseries (unheard of at the time)that would involve all of DC’s characters, past, present and future, ina mammoth, cataclysmic adventure that would result in a single,elegant, consistent DC universe. Much to their surprise, Kahn approvedthe idea, and set them off to begin the research for what would be thesingle most ambitious project in DC’s publishing history.

With both Wein and Wolfman workingfull-time as writers/editors, the bulk of the research fell to PeterSanderson, a comics fan/historian, who over the course of three yearsor so read every comic National/DC ever produced, taking extensivenotes. The research took so long that the miniseries was postponed,eventually scheduled for 1985, which just happened to be DC’s 50thanniversary. When Wolfman nervously presented his first synopsis of theseries to Kahn, he feared he may have been too outrageous, asking forchanges that were too radical. To his surprise, Kahn returned thesynopsis, asking Wolfman to take another crack at it and be evenbolder, to really shake things up. Wolfman delivered.

[ Read more on MoviePoopShoot.com ]

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

April 18, 2003

From COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1534 (11 Apr 03)

ASK MR SILVER AGE

written by Craig Shutt

published in COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1534 (11 Apr 03)

website: www.comicsbuyersguide.com

Bronze Age fans strike back again!

(excerpt)

Dave Blanchard: … "While I've argued that the Bronze Age ended with Crisis #12(Mar 86) - not with #1 - and can respect (if not necessarily agreewith) your notion of taking the Bronze Age all the way to the end ofthe 1980s, I'm not 100% sure that either of us is right. Maybe theBronze Age never really ended, since super-hero comics haven't fallenoff the radar screen the way they did in the interregnums between theGolden and Silver Ages and between the Silver and Bronze Ages.

My theory is that all the grim 'n' gritty stuff that followed Crisis, such as Watchmen and Dark Knight Returnsand the rebooted and darker versions of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman,Hawkman, Aquaman, et al., were kind of that period's equivalent of themonster comics that ruled the early to mid-1970s - the cruel differencebeing that, this time, the monsters were the super-heroes themselves…."

Craig Shutt: "Your take on Crisiscreating a new age of horror comics centered on horror-heroes is thefirst time I've heard it argued that way, Dave, and, in that framework,I'd give it more consideration than I do otherwise. But I've heard manyanecdotes from fans who were enticed back to super-hero comics by Crisis, and they wouldn't have hung around after that, if the comics hadn't excited them. I don't know that I'd say Crisis really darkened that many heroes overall…."

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

January 23, 2003

From Marv Wolfman

TODAY'S NEWS

1/22/03

written by Marv Wolfman

I just read Crisis on Infinite Earths,the first time I've ever re-read the full 12 chapters, actually. Back in '85 I of course checked them out when we got the printed copies,but, truth to tell, when I finished writing the series the very last thing I wanted to do was look at that book again. It was and remains the hardest thing I've ever done and when I typed "The end," I pretty much got on a jet plane and spent the next five weeks touring Europe forgetting it. There were the inevitable nightmares putting it together and trying to coordinate the series with all the editors at the time.Not an easy task since it was the first time something like this was ever done. There were disappointments that the ending couldn't be what I wanted: everyone forgets the Crisis ever happened and they live their life on the new combined Earth as if it was never anything different -but, more importantly, I was just happy it was over. Imagine trying to write that thing while still writing four other books, coming into the office three days a week and editing a line of comics, and, stupidly,doing a signing tour during the summer where I flew to some city every Friday and returned Sunday... for thirteen straight weeks. No wonder I went into a writer's block. When I did the one-shot Crisis sequel a few years back I only had to read through issue four, since the story was set during issue 3. But this time I read all 12 issues.

Man, who are some of those characters? I don't recognize a whole slew of them. Literally. There are tons of sub-plots I can't for the life of me recall. I read it more like a reader than the writer as I didn't remember half of what the characters did. I was impressed by the story's complexity and structure, but appalled by my over writing. There must be 50 million balloons a page.On the whole, though, I actually enjoyed the book more than I thought I would, which for me is rare.

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

October 7, 2002

From COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1509 (18 Oct 02)

STOPPING THE BRONZE AGE

published in COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1509 (18 Oct 02)

written by Craig Shutt 

Gerry Sorek and Dave Blanchard argued that it was actually Crisis on Infinite Earths #1(Apr 85) that ended the Bronze Age. Gerry noted that DC "was changingdirection and leaving the past behind and creating a new version ofthings (whether they were completely successful or not). This was thefirst of several companies' retooling projects, leading into a new era." As a result, he says, it indicates "a fitting place to mark theend of that previous time period."

…

I understand their point, because Crisiscertainly was a change, and a new ages are invoked by great change. ButI believe the changes added more superhero excitement to what wasthere; it didn't stop it. Sure, to a long-time fans who had embracedthe multiple Earths and loved the characters as they were, the changescould have been a disappointment and even a betrayal. But in the last10 years, I've heard a lot of fans say they returned to reading comicsbecause of Crisis.

Comics' ages are about excitement andabout super-hero comics. That's how both the Golden Age and the SilverAge claimed their names, and it's why another age would lay claim tothe title of Bronze Age. And the bottom line is that Crisis (and Secret Wars before it) added excitement and new fans to super-hero comics.

Besides, Crisis actually didn't change toomany characters. It killed some of the duplicated Earth 2 characterswho had caused confusion (mostly for editors). It also passed the Flashmantel to Kid Flash. But the major DC reboots didn't occur during or asa result of Crisis.

Only Wonder Woman truly was rebooted based on events from Crisis, and it took one year before her new #1 (Feb 87). Superman was rebooted a few months after Crisis, in the Man of Steel mini-series, but it just happened with no precursor (negating Supergirl's Crisis sacrifice and making the effort to revert Wondie to clay for a fresh start seem wasted)….

[ Read more in COMICS BUYER'S GUIDE #1509 (18 Oct 02) ]

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

July 13, 2002

From COMICS BUYERS GUIDE #1497 (26 July 2002)

When was the Bronze Age?

written by Craig Shutt

Crisis:Some fans believe this series ended an era by creating the one-world DC view. But Crisis brought many new fans back to super-hero comics. The grappling with various threads that came out of a Crisiscompares with the declining years of the Silver Age, 1968-1970, when ahost of oddball comics were produced in an effort to find anotherwinning direction. In the Bronze Age, the compaies again were searchingfor new ideas, but they searched primarily within the super-heroes.It's also difficult to believe the third great super-hero era endedbefore Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen appeared.

(Vu: Two other important comic books mentioned (and discussed) in this article was NEW TEEN TITANS #1 and CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1. Incidentally, according to this article, the Bronze Age took place between 1975-1989.)

[ Read more on COMICS BUYERS GUIDE #1497 (26 July 2002) ]

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths

July 13, 2002

From Silver Bullet Comics

WHAT TH--?

Sunday, July 7

By Marv Wolfman

Letters. We've Got Letters!

(excerpt)

Q: Why didn’t DC Comics stop you from killing Supergirl/Flash/ Earth 3/The Green Stringbean, etc. in Crisis On Infinite Earths?

A: Well, the truth is I wentbehind the backs of the company; the president, publisher,proofreaders, assistants, production department, curious bystanders, mydog, Tala, and random others and see if I could sneak in the deaths ofmajor characters, all by myself, without anyone noticing. Also, becauseI don’t like green stringbeans and he deserved to die anyway! Finalalso, I personally get a visceral thrill in taking things that don’treally exist in the first place and murdering them.

There! At last I’ve told the truth. I’mglad to have gotten that off my chest after all the years. You have noidea how many times I’ve lied about this when I repeatedly said Iworked hand-in-hand with the company in choosing our “death list.”Fortunately, nobody believed my lies and you’ve now forced me to comeclean. I already am sleeping better. Thank you. 

Related: 

• Crisis on Infinite Earths