ELSEWORLDS: Q&A

[Gaz]

I just got a bunch of old Elseworlds books, Elseworlds' Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl, Batman: In Darkest Knight, and Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham.
They were pretty good, Catwoman suprisingly so. Loved the idea of her having a snarky maid as her Alfred.
Just wondering what people's favorite use of this line is...

[Stephane Garrelie]

The post-crisis DC universe. :(
Crisis was a good joke but now it's time to give us back the real DC multiverse.
always a earth 2 fan.
Always a Batgirl Babs fan.
always a Batman/Talia fan (and a Bruce/Selina too; I know, I know...)
always....

Ho... the question was about the elseworld line.
I don't read it.
Since I think that Babs being shouted by the joker in "the killing joke" and ending in a wellchair should have stayed an elsworld story, it will be my choice. :cool:

[Gaz]

The post-crisis DC universe. :(
Crisis was a good joke but now it's time to give us back the real DC multiverse.
always a earth 2 fan.
Always a Batgirl Babs fan.
always a Batman/Talia fan (and a Bruce/Selina too; I know, I know...)
always....

Ho... the question was about the elseworld line.
I don't read it.
Since I think that Babs being shouted by the joker in "the killing joke" and ending in a wellchair should have stayed an elsworld story, it will be my choice. :cool:
I knew Moore meant it as a What If story, but he made a mistake, it's too good and in character to not be a continuity tale.
And I love both Cassandra Cain (have you read the new Batgirl series?) and Oracle (Birds of Prey is currently amazing, and she's a unique hero, which is rare now)

[dancj]

The Golden Age is probably the best Elseworlds story I can think of.

[Rebuilt In Error]

I always liked Batman / Dark Joker: The Wild

Don't really know why to be honest, just always liked did.

[thehod]

The Golden Age is probably the best Elseworlds story I can think of.

oooooh, I was going to say "Gotham by Gaslight", but dancj is right, the Golden Age is the best Elseworlds story.

I've always thought that the event should've been incorperated into DC continuity, with maybe some of the specifics amended.

[Rob H]

"Red Rain" was great. Good to see a Batman/Dracula twist.

Also.... I've heard that "Red Son's" a great read but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

[dancj]

I've always thought that the event should've been incorperated into DC continuity, with maybe some of the specifics amended.

Yeah - It's just about the one "Elseworlds" book that doesn't fit the original idea of doing changed versions of existing charactes. I think they just slapped the label on to make it clear that it was out of continuity. Apparantly James Robinson wanted it to be in continuity but they wouldn't allow it.

Dr Flem - Red Son is great!

[The Adventurer]

JSA:The Liberty Files/Unholy Three

followed closely by The Golden Age.

[slayer2005]

Kingdom Come

[cactusmaac]

Kingdom Come

Superman: The Dark Side

JSA:The Liberty Files/Unholy Three

Justice Riders

[The Shadow]

Gotham by Gaslight

JSA The Liberty Files/Unholy Three

Golden Age

My all time favorite though is Kingdom Come

[Joe Grendel]

"Kingdom Come," "Elseworld's Finest." Any of the versions of LSH no longer being published.

[amphetamine]

New Frontier (not explicitly out of continuity, but it can't possibly fit into the current DCU timeline, so I'm calling it an "Elseworlds")
Dark Knight Returns
Red Son
Kingdom Come

in that order.

...I'm one of those weird fans that actually liked Dark Knight Strikes Again, too.

While we're on the subject, does anyone remember the Elseworlds Annuals back in 1994? Some were interesting in that it-makes-me-uncomfortable-but-I-kind-of-like-it kind of way, and others were pure crack. Of that set, I'm most fond of the Green-Lanterns-as-Nazi-Stormtroopers story, myself.

[Gaz]

That uncomfy-but-interesting feeling is what I got from the Elseworlds' Finest: Batgirl/Supergirl one. Seeing Oracle as a "Big Sister" figure was pretty creepy, but it's plausible that Barbara would do it if she had Bruce's motivations.

[PanzerMega]

I vaguely remember some of the Elseworlds Annuals from 1994. There was a story running in multiple Superman annuals where 7 or so characters had to team up.

I remember really enjoying it, but 10+ years has completely erased my memories of the content.

[Jason H]

The Blue, The Gray and the Bat
Golden Age
Kingdom Come

[AlanScott606]

1. Kingdom Come
2. Golden Age

[Forsaken_One]

Superman: Secret Identity. Great, great story.

[Gaz]

I'd venture Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow? as one too.

[Rik Levins]

That uncomfy-but-interesting feeling is what I got from the Elseworlds' Finest: Batgirl/Supergirl one. Seeing Oracle as a "Big Sister" figure was pretty creepy, but it's plausible that Barbara would do it if she had Bruce's motivations.

Abso-freakin'-lutely. Also, the sight of that dead fetus floating in the jar, and the accompanying mental picture of Luthor killing a helpless infant Kal-El with Kryptonite, was really chilling.

And, yeah, I dug "Whatever Happened", too. Not quite sure if it qualifies as Elseworlds, but it was pretty moving, especially for someone like myself who'd been reading Supes since the early Silver Age.

Also liked Byrne's "Generations" and "Generations II". Didn't much care for the third installment, though.

[Gaz]

Abso-freakin'-lutely. Also, the sight of that dead fetus floating in the jar, and the accompanying mental picture of Luthor killing a helpless infant Kal-El with Kryptonite, was really chilling.

And, yeah, I dug "Whatever Happened", too. Not quite sure if it qualifies as Elseworlds, but it was pretty moving, especially for someone like myself who'd been reading Supes since the early Silver Age.

Also liked Byrne's "Generations" and "Generations II". Didn't much care for the third installment, though.
But Moore himself wrote "This is an imaginary tale that may never happen..." :D

[Paradox]

I wouldn't call it the "best", but my favorite Elseworlds is the little known Twilight (http://www.comics.org/series.lasso?SeriesID=4006) by Howard Chaykin and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, a dark reimagining of DC's "space/sci fi" heroes of the '50s/'60s. Great stuff, if a bit "grim and gritty".

http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/4006/200/4006_2_1.jpg

[Dr. Hfuhruhurr]

Is Golden Age even considered an "Elseworlds" book anymore? Seems to me a lot of Golden Age made its way into current continuity.

But, still, a great book.

I also enjoyed the Nail (haven't read Another Nail, which was, er, less good from what I understand). Great Alan Davis art and a pretty good take on a world without a Superman (at least for awhile).

[Paradox]

Golden Age is DEFINITELY an Elseworlds, regardless of how much James Robinson wanted it not to be. Several characters that died in it still being alive now is kind of an indicator. James tried to squeeze as much as he was allowed from it into Starman, but that's just reusing the concepts when available, not pushing Golden Age into continuity.

[dancj]

Here we go again....

Just because a story is not in continuity does not make it an Elseworlds. Elseworlds stories either take a known DC character and either tweak it in some way (baby Kal-El lands in Russia), or merge it with some historical event (Jack the Ripper) or classic story (War of the Worlds) to make a version that is familiar, but obviously different.

Dark Kight Returns, Dark Knight Strikes Again, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tommorow, Secret Identity and New Frontier are not Elseworlds. Golden Age really shouldn't have had the label either as it doesn't fit the whole idea, even though it is out of continuity.

Dan

[Slam_Bradley]

Holy Terror.

[amphetamine]

Here we go again....

Just because a story is not in continuity does not make it an Elseworlds. Elseworlds stories either take a known DC character and either tweak it in some way (baby Kal-El lands in Russia), or merge it with some historical event (Jack the Ripper) or classic story (War of the Worlds) to make a version that is familiar, but obviously different.

Dark Kight Returns, Dark Knight Strikes Again, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tommorow, Secret Identity and New Frontier are not Elseworlds. Golden Age really shouldn't have had the label either as it doesn't fit the whole idea, even though it is out of continuity.

Dan

I know, I know. Elseworlds stories are stories that "could not, would not, should not happen," or however the intro went. But I think a discussion of our favorite "imaginary stories" fits here better than starting up a separate thread for them.

I vaguely remember some of the Elseworlds Annuals from 1994. There was a story running in multiple Superman annuals where 7 or so characters had to team up.

Still have that one -- a two-parter over Adventures of Superman and Superboy. Very "GRR, RAWR, EXTREME!!!" in retrospect, but I still like it after all these years. I recall Wonder Woman's costume redesign being especially cool (which is quite a feat, considering it involved what looked like black bike shorts under the star-spangled underoos).

[hondobrode]

It looks like Kingdom Come and The Golden Age are the heavily favored on this thread as well they should be but there are some other gems that I really love.

Robin 3000 - Batman is dead in the year 3000 and Robin has to succeed him. A 2 part Elseworlds written by Byron Preiss and illustrated by P. Craig Russell. This was surprisingly good, esp considering I really got it for the art but the story was great and I never read solo Robin.

Batman & Captain America - by John Byrne. Fighting the Joker and the Red Skull in the Golden Age.

Superman: War of the Worlds - Written by Roy Thomas and lovingly illustrated in the Golden Age style with grace and finesse by Michael Lark. Superman vs the Martians from H. G. Wells "War of the Worlds".

Superman: Last Son of Earth and the sequel Superman: Last Stand on Krypton - Written by Steve Gerber and illustrated by Doug Wheatley. Outstanding story where Kal is rocketed from the endangered planet Earth to Krypton. In the sequel he's back on his home planet Earth but longs to see his adopted parents on Krypton and travels a wormhole back there. Lois Lane (!) follows him and Lex Luthor follows her ! Kal must protect Krypton from Lex and his Kryptonian followers.

JLA: The Secret Society of Super-Heroes. I looked high and low for two years before finally being able to get my hands on these ! Howard Chaykin and David Tischman with Mike McKone put together a tale where Clark Kent, aging editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet, has spent three decades initiating individuals of tremendous power -- Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Atom, The Flash, and others -- into a group of heroes dedicated to capturing super-criminals in secret, with the guilty sentenced to the otherworldly dimension called the Phantom Zone. Now, as the weary founder of the Secret Society plans to retire, there`s dissension in the ranks of the new generation of heroes as they vie for recognition and remuneration for their work. Meanwhile in Metropolis, tabloid reporter Lois Lane teams up with FBI agent Bruce Wayne to get to the bottom of the strange rash of criminal disappearances. Will all come undone ?

Superboy's Legion (2 parter) - by Mark Farmer & Alan Davis. Superboy grows up in the 30th Century and is the founder of the Legion. A rocketship blasts away from an exploding planet just in time. Inside the ship, the last survivor of an entire civilization sleeps. His destination: 20th-century Earth. Only the Kryptonian ship veers off-course, enduring a thousand-year journey into the 30th century, where it ends up being discovered by billionaire industrialist R.J. Brande. The story of the Last Son of Krypton takes a different, yet somehow familiar twist. Brande`s now adopted son, "Kal," grows up an impetuous teenager with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Alone and without purpose, Kal is regarded by many as a childish boy who dreams about the super-heroes who protected Earth a millennium ago. But certain events prompt young Kal to turn those dreams into reality, as he decides to find other unique teens like himself and form a Legion of Super-Heroes! Unfortunately, their first mission may turn into a nightmare for the young group of heroes, as unseen forces enter the equation and look to strengthen their grip on a universe they already control!

These really all are great.

[Captain Jim]

I never considered Batman-Captain America an Elseworlds title, but it sure was a good book! Absolutely loved it, probably my favorite Byrne project of all time.

[stealthwise]

Does Watchmen count? :)

[Captain Jim]

I'm about to the point of limiting it to books that were actually labelled "elseworlds." It gets too complicated and too controversial otherwise.

[stealthwise]

Does that include Dark Knight Returns? Because I don't recall it having that label on the copy that I own.

[Joe Grendel]

Does that include Dark Knight Returns? Because I don't recall it having that label on the copy that I own.
I think it predates "Gotham by Gaslight," the first official Elseworlds, as I recall, by a short distance.

I've seen at least one paperback collection over the past ~20 years that had the label, though.

[Napolean Blownapart]

Golden Age
Kingdom Come
Batman: Holy Terror
Batman: Speeding Bullets
Robin 3000
Superman: Red Son
in that order.
The one where Batman and Robin were swashbuckling pirates was also cool or was that in Legends of the DK? Hard to remember, anymore. Dark Knight Returns would be third for me if it qualifies as an elseworlds.

[The Shadow]

Superman: Red Son

That's a VERY underrated story! Thanks for the reminder.

[UniqueFrequency]

off the top of my head, i really enjoyed Superman: The Dark Side. first time i found superman interesting. of course, JLA: The Nail as well

[dancj]

Still have that one -- a two-parter over Adventures of Superman and Superboy. Very "GRR, RAWR, EXTREME!!!" in retrospect, but I still like it after all these years. I recall Wonder Woman's costume redesign being especially cool (which is quite a feat, considering it involved what looked like black bike shorts under the star-spangled underoos).

That was a good story. In the back of my Superman/Batman: Alternate Histories TPB, there is an advert for Superman/Batman: Alternate Futures - which is presumably a collection of Armageddon 2001 annuals, and another TPB called The Super Seven or something like that which was obviously a collection of this story.

Unfortunately neither book surfaced

[Shade]

Golden Age for me is one of the best comic stories period across any label.

Gotham by Gaslight is probably next on my list.

[Gaz]

On a side note, the Supergirl- Wings one is the worst one I've read. Really annoying, although the Phantom Stranger is used well.

[borateen]

The Golden Age is probably the best Elseworlds story I can think of.

That gets my vote, too. Robinson is really a hit-or-miss writer for me, but with Starman and The Golden Age, he scored to EXTREMELY big hits in my book.

Edited to add: Wow, and I can't believe I forgot about Superman: Red Son. The ending blew my mind. I sat there in shock about what Millar did. Personally, it's the best thing I've ever read by the man, who is also very hit-or-miss for me, and who seems to rely on shock value WAY too much. Great, great book.

Edited yet again to add: Holy crap! And I forgot Kingdom Come? What's wrong with me?!?! Okay, my top 3 Elseworlds stories, in no particular order because they are all equally great for different reasons, are The Golden Age, Red Son, and Kingdom Come. There, I'm done with the edits.

[Chris CCL]

I actually liked the "Legends of Dead Earth" Annuals. I really should get around to picking them all up on e-bay or a good back issue store.
Chris

[hondobrode]

I'm about to the point of limiting it to books that were actually labelled "elseworlds." It gets too complicated and too controversial otherwise.

Jim, I checked and all that I had listed were indeed Elseworlds, including the Batman / Cap one-shot. Yeah, I know, it's a crossover, but it was Elseworlds too.

I agree that some of the other items being mentioned are not "official" Elseworlds. I think for the purposes of this thread that we should stick just with the official Elseworlds emblem for story selection. Another thread could address non-Elseworlds stories IMHO.

[Captain Jim]

Jim, I checked and all that I had listed were indeed Elseworlds, including the Batman / Cap one-shot.

I wasn't aiming that at anyone in particular; it was just a general comment. (And I wasn't even wearing my mod hat at the time.) :)

[Apathy Boy]

THE GOLDEN AGE isn't just the best Elseworlds story of all-time; it's the best superhero story ever.

[cactusmaac]

That gets my vote, too. Robinson is really a hit-or-miss writer for me, but with Starman and The Golden Age, he scored to EXTREMELY big hits in my book.

Edited to add: Wow, and I can't believe I forgot about Superman: Red Son. The ending blew my mind. I sat there in shock about what Millar did. Personally, it's the best thing I've ever read by the man, who is also very hit-or-miss for me, and who seems to rely on shock value WAY too much. Great, great book.

Edited yet again to add: Holy crap! And I forgot Kingdom Come? What's wrong with me?!?! Okay, my top 3 Elseworlds stories, in no particular order because they are all equally great for different reasons, are The Golden Age, Red Son, and Kingdom Come. There, I'm done with the edits.

Ending was suggested to him by Morrison as a riff on Samaritan's origin from Astro City.

[LukeRed5]

The first and best IMHO Gotham by Gaslight.

[davids]

I will start it off.
Act of GOD. All the super heroes lose their powers. Lois leaves Clark because he loses his powers. [Lois loves clark not superman!] Clark turns into a drunk. Wonder woman starts going to church and tries to comit sucide. The end is a rip off of what ever happened to the man of tomorow. Only this time the baby son of Diana and Clark is demonstrating his powers. The whole thing leaves a really bad taste in your mouth!

[Kid Kyoto]

You mean besides Dark Knight Returns?

Superboy's Legion was a lot of fun as was the Nail but not really great...
Golden Age and Kingdom Come were already mentioned.
I confess to being a big fan of Byrne's Generations books. I think the idea of introducing characters in real time and letting things go from there is great and would be a terrific ongoing series.

The Secret Socity of Superheroes looked good but I didn't pick it up, any reviews of it?

A lot of people liked the Supergirl Batgirl book, can anyone tell me more about, what was so great?

[Kid Kyoto]

I tend to avoid the ones that just look goofy. Superman is Tarzan! Batman is a pirate! JLA are cowboys! JLA are knights! JLA are Accountants! JLA are funny animals (actually I would totally buy Elseworlds: Just Alotta Animals)

One I remember reading and hating was by John Byrne. Superman's evil grandfather lands during the revolution and takes over Earth after killing George Washington et al. Not a bad idea but it went no where.

[Gaz]

I detested the Supergirl: Wings one. Basically, a lot of heroes, including her are actual angels. Only the Phantom Stranger was used really well.

[Sk8maven]

My anti-favorite is "GL: Evil's Might". It's actually not badly written, but I got very annoyed with the creative team on two counts: 1) they seemed to go out of their way to rub the readers' noses in the stupidity and futility of heroism, and 2) they dishonestly used Guy Gardner under the name "Alan Scott". (NO WAY that character was any kind of analogue to the REAL Alan - but I could sure see him being Guy with Guy's virtues minimized and his faults exaggerated!)

Maven

[Beta Ray Bill]

Superman: Last Son of Earth and the sequel Superman: Last Stand on Krypton - Written by Steve Gerber and illustrated by Doug Wheatley. Outstanding story where Kal is rocketed from the endangered planet Earth to Krypton. In the sequel he's back on his home planet Earth but longs to see his adopted parents on Krypton and travels a wormhole back there. Lois Lane (!) follows him and Lex Luthor follows her ! Kal must protect Krypton from Lex and his Kryptonian followers.
I also enjoyed these quite a bit. Gerber is one of my favorites.

[cactusmaac]

Superman: Speeding Bullets.

Batman: Brotherhood of the Bat.

What wastes of great concepts.

[Gaz]

You mean besides Dark Knight Returns?

Superboy's Legion was a lot of fun as was the Nail but not really great...
Golden Age and Kingdom Come were already mentioned.
I confess to being a big fan of Byrne's Generations books. I think the idea of introducing characters in real time and letting things go from there is great and would be a terrific ongoing series.

The Secret Socity of Superheroes looked good but I didn't pick it up, any reviews of it?

A lot of people liked the Supergirl Batgirl book, can anyone tell me more about, what was so great?
The Supergirl/Batgirl book's hook is that the two heroine's are the first and only Super/Bat heroes in that world. Barbera is a famous author living in an independent Gotham which is ruled by a "Big Sister" paranoid Batgirl wjho uses the "Eyes of Oracle" to watch the whole city. No metas are allowed in the city without her sayso.
Supergirl is Lex's friend/bodyguard/surrogate daughter and is just as loved as Clark is, she doesn't have a secret ID that we see.

[Paradox]

I wasn't at all fond of the Green Lantern Asian Elseworlds done by Moench and Gulacy. Just seemed to go nowhere.

[dancj]

There were so many bad ones...

Batman: Brotherhood of the Bat
Superman: Speeding Bullets
Batman: Thrillkiller
Matman: Masque
Batman: The Blue, The Grey and The Bat
Dark Joker: The Wild

[The Adventurer]

JLA are cowboys!

Hey, Justice Riders ROCKED HARD.


Personaly, JLA: Destiny could have been alot better, some really good ideas and moments, but a bit muddy in the delivery.

[BoosterBronze]

I bought one that I traded the next day for some NFL Superpro.

I forget the title, but all the heroes lost their powers, and were living like savages in some post-apoclayptic world.
Captain Marvel becomes a big shot in the new world, but then people start getting their powers back, and Superman becomes the boss again. And the Joker becomes a good guy. Captain Marvel acts like a petulant child and somehow destroys the world. It ends with Superman and Wonderwoman shooting their child (Bruce) in a rocket off Earth just as it's destroyed.
Garbage.

[Apathy Boy]

Hey, Justice Riders ROCKED HARD.Preach on, brother. A book written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by J.H. Williams III is physically incapable of being anything other than kick-ass. You gotta love an Elseworlds book that spotlights Blue Beetle, Booster Gold and Guy Gardner instead of Superman and Batman.

My nomination for worst? BATMAN: IN DARKEST KNIGHT, the "What If... Bruce Wayne became Green Lantern?" story. Answer? He acts just like Batman. Snore. Worse yet, the story has no conclusion: Bruce spends the entire issue chasing down Joe Chill, who eventually becomes Joker/Sinestro and escapes into space. Bruce goes after him. The end. Wha-?

[GoGo Yubari]

The worst I've read was Batman/Dracula: Red Rain. It was just sort of stupid.

[dancj]

The worst I've read was Batman/Dracula: Red Rain. It was just sort of stupid.

Thank god - I was beginning to suspect I was the only person who didn't like that much. For me it was merely mediocre - much like most of Doug Moench's work. I've had the third volume of that trilogy sitting around unread for years

[The Adventurer]

Oh, I also think The Nail is highly overrated. It's got a good premisis, a good set up, and a good begining and middle.

Then they have to go a cock it all up by bring in Superman to save the day.

THE WHOLE FRIKEN POINT WAS THERE WAS NO SUPERMAN! YOU MORONS!!!

[Shellhead]

JLA: Destiny

http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=fullsize&issue=44095121078%201

It seemed like dumb, violent, unheroic kewlness fest that had a single point (tension between super-powered beings and merely skilled vigilantes) and tried to pimp it into a Watchmen level of greatness. Instead, it just kind of sucked. Or maybe it got better in the later issues. I don't know, because I hated the first issue so much.

[The Adventurer]

Destiny got better after issue 1 and was quite interesting, but it really did fail to be....good.

A missed boat, unfortunatly.

[BoosterBronze]

Oh, I also think The Nail is highly overrated. It's got a good premisis, a good set up, and a good begining and middle.

Then they have to go a cock it all up by bring in Superman to save the day.

THE WHOLE FRIKEN POINT WAS THERE WAS NO SUPERMAN! YOU MORONS!!!

Dude, it's a law of nature that THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SUPERMAN.

Lands in Russia, Apockalyps, The Ocean, Palm Springs, Caveman time, the future, a men's room, Texas, Gotham, Oa, it doens't matter. THERE WILL BE A SUPERMAN.

I think at least 1/2 of all Elseworlds are variations on the There Will Always Be a Superman theme.

[cactusmaac]

My nomination for worst? BATMAN: IN DARKEST KNIGHT, the "What If... Bruce Wayne became Green Lantern?" story. Answer? He acts just like Batman. Snore. Worse yet, the story has no conclusion: Bruce spends the entire issue chasing down Joe Chill, who eventually becomes Joker/Sinestro and escapes into space. Bruce goes after him. The end. Wha-?

Yeah, I'd forgotten how awful that was.

[Gaz]

Yeah, I'd forgotten how awful that was.
Oh, the worst part is Star Sapphire, who is, of course, Selina Kyle, angry feminist fighting Bats because he hit her in Year 1...

[Jade_GL]

It's a tough one. I have a ton of Elseworld's books, either the issues or in trade. I like the Elseworld's premise a ton. The only problem is that quite a few suck ass.

My least favorite is probably a tie between Wonder Woman: Amazonia and JLA: Act of God.

Amazonia just rubbed me the wrong way throughout. I hated the art, and the premise of a Victorian Age Wonder Woman while sounding pretty cool initially, was not that cool. I just remember being immensely unimpressed at the end of the comic.

Act of God was atrocious. CLark is a drunk, Wonder Woman loses her faith and goes to church (whaaaa?) and almost commits suicide, and there are other stupid things. STUPID book. Again, interesting premise, but the execution was awful. Ugh, I wish I could pruge it from my memory, especially since I paid full price for the trash...

Just to let everyone know, my favorite Elseworld's tales are The Golden Age and Superman: Red Son. I also liked Green Lantern: 1001 Arabian Nights (I think that's the title). I thought that one was going to suck, but it surpised me, and it had gorgeous art, from what I remember.

[dancj]

I also liked Green Lantern: 1001 Arabian Nights (I think that's the title). I thought that one was going to suck, but it surpised me, and it had gorgeous art, from what I remember.

I liked that one as well. I've never had a big like for Green Lantern or 101 Arabian Nights, so it was a real surprise. I think it might have been called 101 Emerald Nights, but I'm not sure

Dan

[Funeral Party]

The Dark Knight Returns. People can call it the brilliant masterpiece of modern comic book storytelling all they want. I personally couldn't stand that story.

[dancj]

The Dark Knight Returns. People can call it the brilliant masterpiece of modern comic book storytelling all they want. I personally couldn't stand that story.

That's not Elseworlds

[BoosterBronze]

That's not Elseworlds

I'd say it counts. They just didn't use the Elseworlds title back then but it fits all the criteria.

[The Adventurer]

No it's not, it's a "Possible Future" which doesn't always mean Elseworld. Books like Kingdom Come have screwed this fact up.

Look The Golden Age was an Elseworld, but The New Frontier wasn't.

Not all Imaginary stories are Elseworlds.

[Kirayoshi]

My least favorite? I think it was called "I Joker". IIRC the story was set in a dark future where a cult of Batman worshippers hunted down a group of political prisoners who were surgically altered to resemble members of Batman's rogues gallery and sent into the streets as human sacrifices. One prisoner, forced to assume the mantle of the Joker, fought against his brainwashing to take down the corrupt system, inspired by a 'final message' by the original Batman that warned against letting the symbol becoming more important than the man. Or something. The plot was incomprehensible and the artwork was an eyesore! Imagine Bill Seinkevickz minus any sense of storytelling or composition.

(Dis)honorable mention: Superman/Wonder Woman: Whom Gods Destroy. Written by Chris Claremont, thus proving that he should stay in Marvel. Cool concept(an immortal Superman's presence during WWII changed the balance of power, and not in favor of the Allies), plus some strong characterization in the first half(espcially the idea of an elderly Lois becoming the young and powerful Wonder Woman) marred by 1) Dusty Abell trying too hard to draw like Mike Mignola, 2) some overly dense writing that stopped the story dead at some points (this is one a few recent stories that would have benifited by decompressed plotting) and 3) is it my imagination or, by the end of the story, were Clark, Lois and Lana living together in a polyamorous relationship? Geez, that's what fanfiction's for, Chris!

[Jade_GL]

I liked that one as well. I've never had a big like for Green Lantern or 101 Arabian Nights, so it was a real surprise. I think it might have been called 101 Emerald Nights, but I'm not sure

Dan

Yeah, I'm not sure on the title, I just remembered it at the last moment and threw it in there. :)

You are right, it was called Green Lantern: 1001 Emerald Nights.

Superman/Wonder Woman: Whom Gods Destroy is another one that had a good premise but just fell flat with me. The art was bad (I like quirky art, but this was just yech to me) and the story was so confusing as it progressed. Hard to read at some points. Just not that good.

I've read so many Elseworld's comics, I'm just trying to think of the best ones.

JSA: The Liberty Files and JSA: Unholy Three were pretty good too.

[Taskmaster]

Batman: Area 51 :mad: Batman is suprised to see an alien there, acting as if he's never seen one before. HELLO!!! Superman, Martian Manhunter, Lobo, Hawkman, Green Lantern (s), etc........ It really pissed me off and it wasn't even well written to begin with

[cactusmaac]

I liked I Joker.

It was pretty different from your run of the mill Elseworlds.

[Santanico]

Word to Red Rain; why it's so beloved, I'm not entirely sure (BATMAN meets DRACULA!!!1!!1 OMG iznt that KEWL??????). A reading of it only served to further my belief that Doug Moench may well be one of the worst professional comics writers who ever lived.

My big problem with Elseworlds, though, is the fact that every other one of them - the Batman ones, anyway - seems to be set in the Victorian era. Don't get me wrong, I love that setting - fog and gaslight and cobblestones and all that neat stuff. But, man, Elseworlds has just gone to that well waaaaay too often.

[tangentman]

I'm going to disagree about "WW: Amazonia" and "Batman: Thrillkiller". I liked both stories and the art. Interesting premise with each one, particularly casting Wonder Woman as an Amazon orphan exploited by the british caste system of late 19th Century England. Tying in Jack the Ripper by having foiled by Wonder Woman seems like a good use of the ELSEWORLDS principle.


"Thrillkiller" makes good use of the "Dynamic Duo" aspect of the Batverse, but turns it on the head by having Batgirl & Robin precede Batman. Nifty art, good use of the early 60s as the backdrop of Gotham, and an awesome Batgirl and Black Canary (in the sequel)!

[dancj]

A reading of it only served to further my belief that Doug Moench may well be one of the worst professional comics writers who ever lived.

You're not wrong

My big problem with Elseworlds, though, is the fact that every other one of them - the Batman ones, anyway - seems to be set in the Victorian era.

Yeah - it's odd that. Batman seems to be a natural fit for Elseworlds, but in my experience the Superman ones tend to be a lot better than most of the Batman ones

[AllisterH]

My least favourite Elseworld?

Got to be the elseworld where all the men died off except for Luthor (in a protected environment) and Superman.

God almighty, I detest harem style shows in anime, and I sure as hell detest the harem aspect of that elseworld.

Another thing I hated was how Barbara got the GL ring. Um, excuse me, you were going to take off a woman's fingers because she didn't want to give you the GL ring?

Dude, that was so wrong and turned me off right there...

[Slam_Bradley]

A reading of it only served to further my belief that Doug Moench may well be one of the worst professional comics writers who ever lived.



Which clearly means you've never read Master of Kung-Fu or Moench's Batman run in the mid-80's, both of which were outstanding.

[Captain Jim]

Well, if you amend that to refer to Moench's Master of Kung Fu and Moon Knight, then I'll agree with you. :)

[dancj]

Which clearly means you've never read Master of Kung-Fu or Moench's Batman run in the mid-80's, both of which were outstanding.

I can't speak for Santanico, but I've read Moench's mid-80's Batman and I thought it was pretty bad.

[dancj]

Got to be the elseworld where all the men died off except for Luthor (in a protected environment) and Superman.

I can't remember that one very well, but I do remember quite enjoying it

[Jade_GL]

The one where all the men die off was JLA: Created Equal, I believe.

I liked it more than most Elseworld's tales, but it isn't in the upper tier of great ones, at least on my own list. I remember thinking that the premise was awesome, and I liked a lot of the twists in the story. I would have to read it again to remember why I didn't think it was the greatest.

[Nega Knight]

Elseworlds Finest: Supergirl/Batgirl
Superman: Red Son
Superman: The Dark Side
Superman: The Last Son of Earth
The Superman Monster
JLA: The Nail

And although it isn't technically an Elseworlds, 'Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?' is definitely way, way up there.

[Mr. Croup]

Batman: In Darkest Knight
Batman: Holy Terror
The story where Batman is the Scarlet Pimpernel.
The story where Superman's pod is found by Thomas & Martha Wayne.
Wonder Woman: Amazonia
Elworld's Finest: Batman/Superman; the story that takes place in the 1930's. Where Alexi Luthor is both Robur & Captain Nemo.

[docbyrd]

Kingdom Come, Red Son, Golden Age... Throw in Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen and New Frontier and the more I realize that DC's best work is out of continuity or elseworlds projects.

[Ned Leeds]

Gotham by Gaslight & Red Son are my two favorites. JLA: The Nail wasn't too bad, nice Alan Davis art.

[DracoMalfoy]

I vote for JLA: Act of God. It almost literally made vomit. :eek:

[Lubichev]

League of Batmen was quite the turd as well.

[davids]

Lois leaves clark because he's not superman any more.

Wonder woman turns christain and tries sucide

Then at the end rips off the ending of what ever happened to the man of tomorrow! :mad:

[dancj]

Ooh so many to choose between

Batman: Masque
Batman Reign of Terror
Superman: Speeding Bullets
Batman: Brotherhood of the Bat (which I thing League of Batmen was the sequel to)
Thrillkiller and Thrillkiller '62

I think the crown goes to Masque

[Calybos]

That's easy: Kingdom Come.

Hated it. So much so that I never bothered with many of the Elseworlds titles that followed.

[davids]

HATE KINGDOM COME? HAVE YOU NO HEART, NO LOVE OF COMICS?

MAY YOUR DOG PEE OVER YOUR COMIC BOOK COLLECTION! MY CURSE ON YOU! :p

[BoosterBronze]

I dont remember the title... but all the heroes lost thier powers in some crazy apocalypse, and the joker turned good. Captain Marvel figured into it heavily. In the end, Marvel was the badguy and ended up destroying Earth, and Superman and Wonder Woman sent their cliche baby (Bruce) out in a rocket for the cliche ending.

[Calybos]

HATE KINGDOM COME? HAVE YOU NO HEART, NO LOVE OF COMICS?

MAY YOUR DOG PEE OVER YOUR COMIC BOOK COLLECTION! MY CURSE ON YOU! :p

You have a different view, I take it?

[davids]

I loved kingdom come the novel most of all. The vast majority of comic book lovers i think would agree with me. :evilsmile

[Hellstormer]

Ooh so many to choose between

Batman: Masque
Batman Reign of Terror
Superman: Speeding Bullets
Batman: Brotherhood of the Bat (which I thing League of Batmen was the sequel to)
Thrillkiller and Thrillkiller '62

I think the crown goes to MasqueI liked Masque it was short but it was very appealing, Speedimng Buillets was a good read to and that was Superman: Speeding Bullets not Batman (even if it's Bats on the cover)

The worst one I read was.....lemme get back to u.

[Slam_Bradley]

You have a different view, I take it?


I wouldn't say that I hated it...but I do think it is horrifically overrated.

This may be the only time that Calybos and I come close to agreeing on anything.

[Jade_GL]

Batman: In Darkest Night had to be one of the worst I have read. Heck, I even moderately enjoyed Thrillkiller, but this Batman Elseworlds story was just plain dumb. It's too bad too, I like Batman and I love Green Lanterns as a whole, but both together in this story? Sucked...

JLA: Act of God was a good premise that went absolutely in the crapper. It's like they had no idea how these characters would react in that situation. God awful stuff that took an interesting idea and completely messed it up.

Hmmm. Another stinker was Wonder Woman: Amazonia. I really just didn't like it, but I liked small parts of it. Just not the entire thing. It's certainly not as bad as my first two choices for worst Elseworlds, though. :)

[newscott]

Batman: In Darkest Night gets my vote as well. I traded it away to someone who really wanted it for a bunch of old image stuff.

Old Image stuff. That's how much I didn't like it.

[DracoMalfoy]

That Superman/Batman storyline where Superman and Batman ruled the world was pretty bad too.

[bannermanonemillion]

Darkest Knight was just bad bad bad.

What could have been an intriguing idea (Bruce with a power ring) was just turned into.....UGH.

[trickster]

Lois leaves clark because he's not superman any more.

Wonder woman turns christain and tries sucide

Then at the end rips off the ending of what ever happened to the man of tomorrow!

Um yeah. I can see any woman doing that. "-What, you're no longer man of steel?" :P
Besides let's face it, Lois is more in love with him because he's Superman, that's obvious.

A really lame one was the one with Batman being a jew in Berlin (talk about nazi overexposure :mad: ).

[Jade_GL]

Batman: In Darkest Night gets my vote as well. I traded it away to someone who really wanted it for a bunch of old image stuff.

Old Image stuff. That's how much I didn't like it.

I have it hidden away in a longbox in the basement. I actually wouldn't be sad if it got horribly water damaged or spontaneously combusted. And I love any and all comics.

Just not this crap-fest of a book.

I am very forgiving. I have liked many an Elseworld tale that others hate (Thrillkiller, Dark Knight Dynasty, more I can't recall at the moment). This book just was so bad. I don't even dare reread it to see specifically what was so awful.

It's too bad too. Bruce with a GL ring should make a pretty damn cool story.

[davids]

[QUOTE=trickster]Um yeah. I can see any woman doing that. "-What, you're no longer man of steel?" :P
Besides let's face it, Lois is more in love with him because he's Superman, that's obvious.]

Not this present veresion of Lois. She fell in love with Clark Kent not Superman. Superman is the pain in the Ass that comes between Lois and her Clark! :evilsmile

[Suzanne]

JLA: Created Equal was God awful. All the men in the world die and with only Superman surviving, what does he do to revive the population? Provide his seed. There's a scene where Wonderwoman flies off to the new female League's satellite with a can of Super-jizz :eek: The idea of an all-girl Justice League is fine; this was the wrong damn way to do it! Plus, the art was crappy.

[Alan2099]

I liked the art and I liked the concept, but to me it came across as, everything was basically the same except there's no more men. You'd think not having any men on the planet would create a bit more of a status upheaval.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

I dont remember the title... but all the heroes lost thier powers in some crazy apocalypse, and the joker turned good. Captain Marvel figured into it heavily. In the end, Marvel was the badguy and ended up destroying Earth, and Superman and Wonder Woman sent their cliche baby (Bruce) out in a rocket for the cliche ending.

Yeah I've got that.

It was like Chaykin wasn't even trying when he wrote that one.

[Forsaken_One]

I liked the art and I liked the concept, but to me it came across as, everything was basically the same except there's no more men. You'd think not having any men on the planet would create a bit more of a status upheaval.
It's an especially dissapointing read after so many years of Y: The Last Man showing us how good the concept can be. I know it was written first, but still...

And I wasn't too fond of The Kents myself. Not the worst, but I just didn't get into the western atmosphere.

[caboose]

Batman: Book Of The Dead

As for Kingdom Come, it certainly isn't the worst thing I've ever read, but it is perhaps the most overrated.

[LtMarvel]

I dont remember the title... but all the heroes lost thier powers in some crazy apocalypse, and the joker turned good. Captain Marvel figured into it heavily. In the end, Marvel was the badguy and ended up destroying Earth, and Superman and Wonder Woman sent their cliche baby (Bruce) out in a rocket for the cliche ending.
That is the worst one.

[Apathy Boy]

Another KINGDOM COME hater here. Four issues of pretentious melodrama for what purpose? So that Alex Ross can tell us that DC's classic superheroes are cooler than '90s Image-esque heroes. Wow, that's deep.

At least the other crappy Elseworlds tend to be one-shots.

[Erebus]

Slightly OT: I have this idea about this Elseworlds, which I want to call "Dark King". I only have a basic idea of it, but the idea is that halfway through Infinite Crisis, Robi becomes an OMAC, and is accidently killed by Superman. Batman, mad with grief, kills all the criminals in Gotham, saving Joker for last. Jump foreward a couple of years. The world is in a totalitarian state, ruled by the dictator Batman, who gave up his Bruce Wayne identity years ago. Almost all the heroes are dead. He killed most of the Justice League. Nightwing is leading a resistence force, comprised of some old Teen Titan members, John Constantine, and others. There's some other stuff I want to tie into it, but I'm not sure how yet. Does it sound any good?

[MythicBrawn]

That's easy: Kingdom Come.

Hated it. So much so that I never bothered with many of the Elseworlds titles that followed.

Kingdom Come was one of the best stories that DC has put out. Every once in awhile I'll pull it out and read it all over again. The subsequent Elseworlds titles were not all that great. I have them but I would rate those very low.

I did think that Superman Speeding Bullets was going to be good until I read it.

[stealthwise]

Kingdom Come was one of the best stories that DC has put out. Every once in awhile I'll pull it out and read it all over again. The subsequent Elseworlds titles were not all that great. I have them but I would rate those very low.

I'm going to read it again right now.

[Bob Violence]

JLA: Act of God, by a long, long distance. The art was nothing special but boy, Doug Moench managed to cram in more WTF? moments in three issues then I've ever seen. Everyone was waaaaay out of character and the plot device was screwed up beyond belief, and applied as randomly as only a writer can
And yet I kept buying it because I was so sure there could be a decent ending, that Moench could pull out an explanation other that would make sense of all the stupidity that had come before, but he didn't bother.

[dancj]

JLA: Created Equal was God awful. All the men in the world die and with only Superman surviving, what does he do to revive the population? Provide his seed. There's a scene where Wonderwoman flies off to the new female League's satellite with a can of Super-jizz :eek: The idea of an all-girl Justice League is fine; this was the wrong damn way to do it! Plus, the art was crappy.

I enjoyed that one. It was a light bit of fluff, but enjoyable none the less. And IIRC, the art was by Kevin Maguire - and therefore good.

[Oggar]

Slightly OT: I have this idea about this Elseworlds, which I want to call "Dark King". I only have a basic idea of it, but the idea is that halfway through Infinite Crisis, Robi becomes an OMAC, and is accidently killed by Superman. Batman, mad with grief, kills all the criminals in Gotham, saving Joker for last. Jump foreward a couple of years. The world is in a totalitarian state, ruled by the dictator Batman, who gave up his Bruce Wayne identity years ago. Almost all the heroes are dead. He killed most of the Justice League. Nightwing is leading a resistence force, comprised of some old Teen Titan members, John Constantine, and others. There's some other stuff I want to tie into it, but I'm not sure how yet. Does it sound any good?

There was something fairly early on (maybe just before) they started the Elseworlds stuff called Tyrant. That had Batman running Gotham like a dictator. Anarky was leading the resistance it's probably my favorite in the Elseworlds line.

[The Adventurer]

My Elseworld idea is called JLAddicts

Lex Luthor in conjunction with Tyler Chemicals creates a team of "super-heroes" using a variation of the Miracle Drug. Clark Kent, Diana Prince, Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, and John Jones all get super powers and do the super hero thing. Unfortunately the miracle drug is highly addictive and Luthor quickly puts his media darlings on a short leash.
So it's up to the non-powered industrialists, Bruce Wayne, Ted Cord, Rex Tyler, and Ollie Queen to take Luthor and his pets down.

[Superboy Sr]

I am a fan of the DC Elseworlds and there are a few titles I would like to see as ongoing series. Pick five Elseworlds that you would like to be ongoing series also, think of an Elseworld you would like to see done.

[Suzanne]

I enjoyed that one. It was a light bit of fluff, but enjoyable none the less. And IIRC, the art was by Kevin Maguire - and therefore good.
I haven't looked at in a while. I may be confusing this with something else I have :p

I like the Elsewords concept, along with Tangent. My biggest peeve was the glut of Batman and Superman Elseworlds. If something similar is ever done again, I hope there's more diversity in terms of who gets the treatment.