This was one of the more fascinating books Ive read all year and definitely one worth checking out and passing on to your friends that dont typically read comic books. Read Full Review

The Other History of The DC Universe goes beyond mere history and nostalgia to present a new view of the DC Universe. If you've ever read the classic Black Lightning comics, you'll want to reread them with new eyes after reading this book. If you haven't, you'll want to seek them out. This book educates and entertains in equal measure and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Read Full Review

Reading The Other History of the DC Universe # 1 this feels like a guided tour of Jeffersons life. Black Lightning has been having a bit of a resurgence lately thanks to Cress Williams pitch perfect portrayal of the titular character on the CW, but I grew up loving him. He appeared when I was only 4, and so when I first started reading comics when I was 12, and was reading anything on which I could get my hands, Black Lightening was there for me to capture my imagination in the lore of DC Comics. This story and the set up reminded me of those times back in my childhood trying to piece together everything I could. Read Full Review

As a special treat, here's a sneak peek at the covers for issue #2 Read Full Review

John Ridley offers up a very distinct and alternative take on the history of DC Comics' black characters in this out-of-continuity new Black Label series. Told through the rightfully cynical eye of Black Lightning, we get a trip back through time that is as much a reflection of the social and political struggle of Black American as it is about black superheroes and their place in the privileged world of white superheroes. Read Full Review

The Other History of the DC Universe #1 is a triumph of a comic. Though it's main character has amazing powers, in the end it's the man that truly matters. We see his impact, both good and bad, in the streets fighting and his role in the school guiding. Ridley shows us the fallout, the bodies piled up, the marriage shattered. He gives us a realistic and honest take on the superhero. And he does all of this in one issue. Read Full Review

John Ridley's long-awaited DC Universe project is unlike any other DC Comic you'll read this year"starting with the fact that it isn't fully a comic. You should set aside a brick of time to read this book, because it's mostly prose backed up with some gorgeous art from Giuseppe Camuncoli, but it's really not a sequential story. Rather, it's a deep dive into the mind and heroic career of one man. Read Full Review

Camuncoli and Cucchi do an amazing job of bringing the story to life visually without taking away from the story or the humanity of the characters. There is a chronicle nature to the story itself and that is brilliantly reflected in the art. Read Full Review

There is a deeper world than this, tugging at the capes of some of the biggest names in superheroics. Finally, hear a side of the story not often told. Read Full Review

The end result is an enjoyable read filled with engaging compositions and skillful prose, but its success in addressing racist ideas and systems embedded in DC Comics' history is less clear. Read Full Review

Ridley examines how the prejudices, both personal and societal, that affect our world also affect the world of our favorite heroes and villains. This is meant to be a statement piece about how the world on paper isn't all that different from the world outside our windows because it's still informed by similar structures. Those systemic issues don't just go away when rendered in two dimensions instead of three. Read Full Review

Just... wow. Ridley is one heck of a writer.

Holy cow. Wow. Not sure how to write this but here goes.

So right off the bat this thing is fricken fantastic and you should absolutely, 100% buy and read this unless you just really hate superheroes. That's just about the only valid reason I can give for not wanting this book.

I've always liked Black Lightning, but in a more casual sort of way. A black guy myself I always enjoy representation, not just for being black, but actual, fully realized characters with flaws and personalities who happen to BE black. Jefferson Pierce, aka Black Lightning is one of the best and earliest examples of that in comic books.

Which is to say he's the perfect charcater for a series like this. Focused character studies of characters you dont see every day, and their stories and the people behind them. This book is that... a character study... very different from your average comic. Indeed, this takes about an hour to read from cover to cover, and for the price I feel like I got a steal.

This is more like a short story length book, and it fully explores a character in a way most comics never have the opportunity to do in this day and age, especially for tertiary characters. Sure this guy managed to get a TV show which I admittedly haven't watched more than a few episodes of, but hes always felt like he was in the background of the DC universe.

This book explores all of that, and much more. You can pick up and read this without ever having read a single Black Lightning story, and come back with a strong appreciation for this character and what he represents.

I dont wanna get into much because you should just read it, but Jefferson is a very old fashioned kinda guy in many ways... He's a strict but mostly fair, world weary and opinionated. Reminds me of how my dad was in some ways, but even older. Sometimes in this story you will disagree with him, sometimes you wont even like him, but at the end of the day you'll likely respect him, and why he does what he does. You'll see many iconic eras of the DC universe, iconic depictions of its pantheon,through this jaded, tired but still fighting lens. The art is all gorgoeus.... thick lined, scratchy and detailed... reminding me strongly of work done by Bill Sienkewicz and Denys Cowan. Still it has its own burst of vibrance and life, even when recreating iconic covers and images from history. Pierce's bolts of lightning blaze off of the page in particularly memorable fasion.

My one and only cricism here is that it frankly despite being so long, its too short and I was left wanted more. Which in and of itself is hsrdly a criticism so much as a praise. It ends at a particular time in the heroes life, not with an epic realization or bold statement, but simply a new chapter beginning, a quieter one. Theres only so much that can be done within the pages here but I still felt like I wanted to see more of... this. This stuff here is very good. If they decided to continue the story focusing on Black Lightning I'd pick it up without hesitation.

Not sure yet about the upcoming issues. This being an anthology it will focus on various characters in a one and done fashion, but Im not sure yet if the others will be nearly as interesting as this. But with what this writer pulled off, there's no reason to be wary of what's coming. I for one will be watching closely to decide if I will continue with the series or not. As for this issue though, I cant recommend it enough. I would read a hundred books like this, focussed on one character for an extended time, really getting into their psyche and mindset. 10 out of 10 from me. more

This was such an excellent experiment and I can't wait for the Teen Titans issue in January. Make no mistake, it is dense (since it's largely prose) and it will take you over an hour to complete the issue, but it's absolutely worth it. Jeff's insight is thought-provoking and often poetic and really shows the struggle of a man trying to be something more. Can't recommend it enough.

I was slightly wary of this comic. Not for any uncouth reasons, which I'm sure will be shouldered by a very different crowd within the next few days, but just because this is prose with illustrations, not a normal comic. And as much as I like reading comics, I don't much like reading. It's a paradox, sure, but I'm used to reading the average issue in 5 minutes. I had to take a break in the middle of this for work, but this took me over an hour to read. That's a lot for someone as uneducated and easily frightened as I am. If this issue wasn't really well written, wasn't telling an interesting story, wasn't a great display all around, I would've dropped it midway through, cutting my losses. Fortunately, this is a really good fucking issue. I think everyone should take the obscene amount of time to read it, and get on board for the rest of the series as well. I mean, I don't know what to say beyond that. more

marvelous

Long.

I just finished The Other History of the DC Universe 1 and am blown away.

It's not as much a history as a memoir of Jefferson Pierce, told in a first person narrative style. John Ridley puts so much depth, perspective and - yes - pain into Pierce's story. The work in lifting up his students while fighting the baddies all night...at the expense of his family. His resentment and jealousy toward Superman and the Justice League. His dismissal of and eventual friendship with John Stewart. The Teacher of the Year surpise that may have been the happiest page of the book. The breakup with his wife and efforts to patch things up with his kids. Ridley writes pages around 99% of what's currently being presented in comics. This is a small novel....truly, a fictional memoir.

The art by Giuseppe Camuncoli is more illustration to accompany the text than narrative. It's great. Not a lot of subtlety, which is befitting a story that has taken forever to be told. That's not to say that he didn't use the occasional flourish, best example being the Watchmen Comedian blood stain on the Ronald Reagan campaign button.

Damn. Didn't see that coming. What a book! more

I'm definitely reading his solo series soon

I was interested in this book for two reason - first, obviously, it seemed like a big, important comic made with proper purpose in mind, and second, it's written by John Ridley, who aside from being beyond talented, is supposed to write short series for the Future State event, so I wanted to see what he has to offer before it all begins.

There have been attempts in the comic industry to bring TV and movie talent before. Mostly unsuccessful for pletora of reasons, but ultimately screenwriters could not necesarily fit the frames set by the medium. And I'm glad John Ridley did create something that feels like a meaningful comic tale. One that not only is a story on its own, but also acknowledges the rich history of the DC universe, with all its ups and downs. He really has put the effort to familiarize himself with the lore and core characters he writes about, instead of just jumping the ship, collecting the paycheck and leaving.

As far as social commentary contained within the book goes, it's good and I can't complain. We've got so, so many comics trying to make a statement and failing either because of their half assed nature and writers' refusal to properly reseach the subject and craft a compelling narrative around it (like Green Arrow's DAPL issues) or because their message was approached with elegance of a sledgehammer and hamfisted (Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass). Ridley isn't one of these hacky, lazy and/or not enough intelligent writers. He clearly can address the issues of racism and tokenism, and does so in a direct way, calling things by their name. That's especially important now, when we deal not only with the issues of systemic racism and police brutality, but also with incompetent responses to them on form of hollow tokenization and regressive identity politics influencing both the entertainment and sadly even worldwide political spheres. Ridley, alongside likes of dr Cornell West or Ice Cube, understands what's wrong. Really wrong.

So, what doesn't click in this comic? I'd say its narrative structure, which at times can drag a bit as well as feel like the protagonist is angry and preachy for the sake of it. I get the message, received it loud and clear, and support it, but crafting an engaging comic requires some experience in the medium. Alan Moore and Sean Murphy worked hard to be able to write exhausing and extensive, yet still dynamic books. Brian Michael Bendis could be an example of the opposite. I hope John Ridley improves from now. Practice makes perfect, and I truly believe if he puts as much heart and soul into his future projects as he did into this one, he may become a very important name in the industry. more

Well intended but utterly inert, since it tells without really showing. With very few exceptions, comic books that try to be essentially novels with illustrations don't work well. Nothing really engages here.

Plus Jeff Pierce comes across as a bit of a jerk. And trying to force together real world events with the comics of the time is clumsy. I don't mind calling out DC's racism of the period (and presumably of the moment). But trying to explain why the JLA didn't rescue the hostages in Iran rings false. (Also, Ridley gets his facts wrong. Iran didn't let the hostages go because it was scared of Reagan.)

Not a bad story, but never a great one, and not worth the high price per issue.

And where are the creator credits, especially for Tony Isabella? more

Not bad, but not great either. Ridley writes in prose, which does not take advantage of the comic book medium; the story wouldn't be any different without the images.

The story itself come off as tedious and lacks payoff. Pierce spends most of the book tackling systemic issues by punching "thugs" and tossing bootstraps. He individualizes pretty much everything, including things like the Iran Hostage Crisis, which serves to frame his mindset within the time period but, in effect, also acts as apologetics for Reagan voters.

In the end, Pierce learns the error of his ways, sort of; he's nice to John Stewart... whom he initially disliked even though he didn't know anything about him.

In the end, we walk away from this story without properly acknowledging the root of poverty because punching gangsters ends up legitimately improving the neighborhood... On top of that, the theory that you just need a good teacher to improve a school's performance also proves itself out: I guess we don't need to give them proper funding after all. So, if your neighborhood sucks, it's because you haven't destroyed every human connection in your own personal life by giving 110% as an individual. I don't know that this is the intended message by the writer, but this is my interpretation. more

It was a bit long winded and disappointing.

in the first percentile of words per page

Exposition History of the DC Universe ft. black characters

Couldn't read all of it and that is a sign of a bad comic.

Black Lightning is portrayed in way where he's a condescending asshole to superheroes and lacks empathy. The writer Ridley tried to be political but the racial discrimination was too on the nose and lacked a certain nuance that would have made this compelling.

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Toonstrack - Nov 25, 2020

You really, really need to finish and reevaluate this book. Its main character is supposed to be flawed and unlikable in parts. Thats part of the point of this.

TJMB3891 - Jul 27, 2021

No, he hit it on the nose. He references things I've read a million times and they don't sound familiar at all.

TJMB3891 - Jul 27, 2021

When I say "he" hit it on the nose I mean MainManDan. The second sentence, I was talking about Ridley's references. Sorry, I should have wrote that better, I made it a little confusing lol.

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