Cosmic Madness 2018 First Round : DC Comics Region
Welcome to the first round of Cosmic Madness!
Here you will find the DC Comics region, quite possibly the strongest overall region in the tournament. And before you have a chance to argue, let me just say this. Watchmen. Dark Knight Returns. Kingdom Come. Those three titles alone could be contenders for the championship... if they weren't in the same region of course!
All you have to do is pick which titles you want to win in each contest. The first round of voting will go from March 14-17, with the second round kicking off on March 18.
All the info you need, including the complete bracket and info about the contest, is available at Cosmic Madness HQ! Now GET TO VOTING!
ALL STAR SUPERMAN
Written by Grant Morrision
Illustrated by Frank Quitely
Witness the Man of Steel in exciting adventures featuring Lex Luthor, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, Bizarro, and more! Plus: Superman goes toe-to-toe with Bizarro, his oddball twin, and the new character Zibarro, also from the Bizarro planet.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Written by Grant Morrison with art by Frank Quietly, All Star Superman won the Eisner Award for best new series when it was released. . It touches on all aspects of the Superman mythos, Lois Lane (who gets superpowers for an issue), Jimmy Olsen, Bizzarro, the fortress of Solitude, Krypton, Jor-el, Metropolis, and a wide range of other characters. It sums up all you need to know about Superman in twelve issues. And while it is a Grant Morrison book and has plenty of his wackiness it in, it's so easy to read and enjoy. Overall just a great story.
VS.
BATMAN:
THE DARK KNIGHT
Written and illustrated by Frank Miller
Ten years after an aging Batman retired, Gotham City has sunk deeper into decadence and lawlessness. Now, when his city needs him most, the Dark Knight returns in a blaze of glory. Joined by Carrie Kelly, a teenaged Robin, Batman takes to the streets to end the threat of the mutant gangs that have overrun the city. And after facing off against his two greatest enemies, the Joker and Two-Face, for the final time, Batman finds himself in mortal combat with his former ally, Superman.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: I mean. What can you say about the Dark Knight? Everyone should know this one. Originally published as a prestige format four issue mini-series back in 1986. It owns a special place in comic book history. For good or bad, Frank Miller really took Batman to a deeper darker place and the comic book industry has never been the same since. And if we were doing an ACTUAL greatest comic of all time tournament, The Dark Knight Returns might have very well been a #1 seed.
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??
KINGDOM COME
Written by Mark Waid
Illustrated by Alex Ross
Set just after the dawn of the 21st Century in a world spinning inexorably out of control comes this grim tale of youth versus experience, tradition versus change and what defines a hero. KINGDOM COME is a riveting story pitting the old guard - Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and their peers - against a new uncompromising generation and ultimately in the final war against each other to determine nothing less than the future of the planet.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Published in 1996, Kingdom Come is probably the greatest Elseworld title every published. An absolutely beautiful book painted by the incomparable Alex Ross. A large scale, self-contained story that features the full scope of DC's greatest heroes and explores what their lives would be like after the next generation had taken over.
VS.
WATCHMEN
Written by Alan Moore
Illustrated by Dave Gibbons
It all begins with the paranoid delusions of a half-insane hero called Rorschach. But is Rorschach really insane or has he in fact uncovered a plot to murder super-heroes and, even worse, millions of innocent civilians? On the run from the law, Rorschach reunites with his former teammates in a desperate attempt to save the world and their lives, but what they uncover will shock them to their very core and change the face of the planet! Following two generations of masked superheroes from the close of World War II to the icy shadow of the Cold War comes this groundbreaking comic story - the story of The Watchmen.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Watchmen has to be the early favorite of the tournament. Much like Frank Miller's Dark Knight re-imagined Batman, The Watchmen re-imagined the comic industry as a whole. There is a reason why this is the only book that does not feel the need to even put a title on the cover of their trade paperback and even thirty years later we are still getting a sequel (Doomsday Clock) and that is amazing too.
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??
BLACKEST NIGHT
Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Ivan Reis
The prophecy of The Blackest Night descends in this trade paperback collecting the best-selling BLACKEST NIGHT #0-8. Now, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps lead DC's champions into battle to save the universe from an army of Black Lanterns made up of the DCU's deceased heroes and villains!
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Geoff Johns reinvented Green Lantern in 2005 with Green Lantern rebirth and then continued on writing it for the next ten years! Telling some great stories and really establishing both the Hal Jordan character and the Green Lantern Corps that we know of today. Blackest Night is the culmination of that great work and it is probably the biggest and best story of Geoff John’s run. Plus Superhero Zombies! Need I say more?
VS.
BATMAN: HUSH
Written by Jeph Loeb
Illustrated by Jim Lee
In this story of murder, mystery and romance, Batman sets out on a simple mission to discover the identity of the mysterious villain wreaking havoc in his life known as Hush. But Batman ends up facing possibly the most intense case of his life as secrets from his past flood into the present, and the most notorious villains to ever haunt Gotham City's street attack simultaneously!
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Hush came out in 2002 and was originally published in Batman #608-619. It is one of DC’s all time favorites. They have published in a trade, in a hc, in an absolute edition, in a 15th anniversary edition, in a noir edition, needless to say they like it alot. And so do we. Basically, Batman sets out on a simple mission to discover the identity of the mysterious new villain wreaking havoc in his life known as Hush. And then things get crazy. Featuring some gorgeous art by Jim Lee and virtually every Batman character in it. Catwoman, Poision Ivy. Riddler, and Harley Quinn to name just few. On a side note it does end with a little Catwoman/Batman romance, and 15 years later our wedding invitation is in the mail!
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??
BATMAN:
BLACK MIRROR
Written by Scott Snyder
Illustrated by Jock, Francesco Francavilla
Originally published in DETECTIVE COMICS #871-877, this epic from the writer of BATMAN, SWAMP THING and AMERICAN VAMPIRE forces Batman to confront one of Gotham City's oldest evils! Plus: The corpse of a killer whale shows up on the floor of one of Gotham City's foremost banks, setting a deadly mystery in motion!
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: The last Detective story before the new 52 reboot and the first Batman story Scott Snyder ever wrote. What make Black Mirror so special though, is that it features Dick Grayson as the Caped Crusader and could easily be the greatest Dick Grayson story ever published. But that’s only part of it. Commissioner Gordon's son, James Gordon Jr., is reintroduced to DC continuity as a psycho serial killer. And the two stories while independent of each other do intertwine and come to a fantastic finish. We call it Rock and Roll Batman, cause Nightwing as Batman, ain’t your daddy’s Batman. He pulls off an escape from a car crusher that truly has to be witnessed. Definitely a high octane story. Definitely a psychological thriller.
VS.
FLASHPOINT
Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Andy Kubert
This is Flash Fact: When Barry Allen wakes at his desk, he discovers the world has changed. Family is alive, loved ones are strangers, and close friends are different, gone or worse. It's a world on the brink of a cataclysmic war - but where are Earth's Greatest Heroes to stop it?
It's a place where America's last hope is Cyborg, who hopes to gather the forces of The Outsider, The Secret 7, SHAZAM!, Citizen Cold and other new and familiar-yet-altered faces! It's a world that could be running out of time, if The Flash can't find the villain who altered the time line!
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Flashpoint had to be on the list. Especially if you are reading new DC comics. The entirety of the New 52 can be traced back to the events of Flashpoint and the consequences are still being felt in today's books. The Button dealt with Flashpoint. Doomsday Clock has to address Flashpoint at some time. It’s that important. Published in 2011 right before the new 52 started, it integrated both the Vertigo Universe and Wildstorm universe into the DC proper universe. It’s how you get a Hellblazer book. It’s how you get a Swamp Thing book. Alternate history, Alternate world, until the end, until it matters, then everything matters. And it is just a great story. Aquaman at his best, Wonder Woman is awesome in it. They fight a huge war that decimates western Europe! All while Flash is running around trying to fix the time line.