Rating: 
Summary: A clever combination of the sacred and the secular!
Review: "Incredible" is the best word to describe "Kingdom Come", a deft blend of DC mythology and Christianity. While fundamentalists might scoff at the inclusion of Biblical text in what is essentially a "comic book", Mark Waid's story line doesn't rely heavily on the text; it just serves as a background for the events that unfold within the book's pages.Ross's artwork is exemplary, actually surpassing anything from the "Golden Era of Comics". Unlike another reviewer, I found Superman, Wonder Woman, and Bruce Wayne to be well-developed characters, showing new sides of their respective personalities while exhibiting the traits that fans have come to expect from them. The major players in the history of DC Comics appear in some form or fashion in this beautifully illustrated work. Because so many make "cameos", the book becomes a bit crowded, at times coming across like a "Where's Waldo?" as one searches for the recognizable. Thus, it loses a star on account of overkill.
Rating: 
Summary: As good, in its own way, as the graphic novel
Review: [This review refers to the novelization of the graphic novel, written by Elliot Maggin] I honestly didn't expect this book to be very good. I loved the graphic novel when it came out. I had been a DC fan for several years, and this story seemed somehow more human and worldly than the usual run-of-the-mill comics story. Now, to be sure, I haven't picked up a comic book in years, nor have I read the graphic novel version of Kingdom Come to compare with this novel. But I have to say that, as a stand-alone, it is excellent. The trouble I have had with superhero comics is that they simplify many things down to hack-and-slash. Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Green Lantern: if you think about it, the primary means to what they are usually portrayed doing is fighting. The fact that they have super-powers, after a while, becomes beside the point. It's not REAL. Good stories like Kingdom Come and The Watchmen make it about character. You learn to care for and identify with the people. So what I enjoyed about the novelization is that I felt that even more than with the graphic version. It wasn't just a panel-by-panel remake of the comic. It was a real, fleshed-out story, with more in-depth characterizations and surprisingly satisfying details, written better than I would have expected from any sort of adaptation. (I once read Orson Scott Card's novelization of the movie The Abyss. I love Card's work, but the novel was bad.) Maggin gives us political backstory, longer and more intimate conversations, and extended versions of scenes that have to be short when most of the page is pictures. To me it seemed that he worked what was in the graphic novel seamlessly into a greater work -- not that I had it beside me to compare, but to tell the truth, I didn't miss it. I actually felt that I appreciated the depth of each character more than I could have with the original comic. It's not as easy to describe characters in words. This is also a problem with movies: you can only tell so much about a character. The benefit of books is that you can be TOLD these things, and cram more into a book than you can in a 90-page comic or a 2-hour movie. So it is with the novel. There are so many more little details to enjoy: the spiritual and moral conflict the narrator Norman McCay is faced with; the many visits and conversations Superman has with various erstwhile metahumans; the little rivalry between Scott Free and Captain Comet; details on what life as the Flash must be like; characterizations and moral conflict in the politicians' decision to drop the bomb; and the final moments of battling superheroes right before the bomb hits. Much of which was not and could not be contained in the graphic novel. Granted, the fine art is not there. You win some, you lose some; best to have both, but the book stands on its own too. I give five stars to this unexpected but extremely pleasurable read.
Rating:
Summary: Simply awesome
Review: After years of hiding, superman comes back with the justice league after kansas is destroyed. The story is told through the eyes of a preacher after the spectre tells him he will judge armeggedon. The book is armeggedon superhero style and has fantastic artwork to boot. Simply put, Buy This Book.
Rating:
Summary: Kingdom Come answers -- and asks -- a lot of questions
Review: Have you ever wondered why Superman doesn't fix the world? He could eliminate all weapons, nuclear and conventional. He could cure most diseases, solve most disputes, eliminate hunger and poverty, rescue every cat from every tree. The answer, in the subtext of Kingdom Come, is that superhumans are still humans, and if they impose their will through force, it's Fascism at best, despotism at worst, no matter how well-intentioned. In the story, the world's familiar superhumans -- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, et al -- must confront these issues as the children and grandchildren of the superhero world run amok on our tiny globe. What role should they play? Do they play shepherd? Jailer? Policeman? Or simply turn their backs? What is the RIGHT thing to do, given their mighty powers? This alone makes for a fine thumbsucker, as the familiar cape-and-cowl crowd debate fine moral distinctions. However, co-creators Mark Waid and Alex Ross, pre-eminent in their field, raise the stakes a bit. The story is told in the context of the Book of Revelations -- and I think we all have an idea what that means. That might strike some as a stretch for a comic book, or possibly even blasphemous. Nevertheless, the marriage of our modern mythology (superheroes) with Old Testament theology is more comfortable than this review can possibly suggest. In the end, the same moral questions must be addressed, whether we're ordinary mortals (from whose eyes the story is told) or imaginary superhumans in Spandex. For comics fans, this is one of the top five comics ever produced. For non-comics readers, who won't get many of the in-jokes, asides and references, it is still a powerful story of hubris laying low the mighty, one well-told.
Rating:
Summary: This is fine graphic literature.
Review: Kingdom Come is judged by many (including myself) to be one of the best comic books ever written. There's simply no words for the magnifigence conveyed in this book. The sublime text and awe-inspiring pictures meld perfectly. There are also touching human moments, through the human character of Norman McCay. The plot, which is wonderful in itself, goes like this: in an unspecified future, that atually looks pretty much like today, superheroes (or "metahumans") have run amok. The superheros of yesteryear has been replaced with innumerable others that are more cold, ruthless, irresponsible, and have less regard for human life. A preacher, Norman McCay, starts to visions about Armaggedon, which is apparently coming pretty soon. Norman is selected by The Specter, an agent of a higher power, to "judge". He is then taken to see the events that will lead up to the coming battle. He watches as Superman, long gone, comes out of retirement to start a new Justice League to combat the newer breed of mankind's "protecters". The characterizations in this book are extremely powerful. All the major superheroes return, including Batman, Wonder Woman, and of course Superman. We get to go inside of these characters and see who they really are and why they are doing things. It shows everybody in a surprisingly human light, where nobody is entirely good or evil. The art is nothing short of earth-shattering. The beautiful fully painted illustrations can convey human emotion as well as the incredible power of superheroes. The central issues of the comic book are very interesting. As Norman McCay walks down a street filled with superheroes fighting another battle, he wonders if humanity gave up it's drive and ambition by allowing superheroes to solve all our problems for us. The climax, the best combination of pictures and text I've ever seen, hits you like a punch in the gut. The conclusion is one of the most inspiring moments in comics. Unless you read this, you are missing something.
Rating:
Summary: Art, Story, Plot & Tie-in: 5. Writing: 3
Review: I chose to purchase this book because of the many high recommendations and comparisons to other great books of the genre, Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, etc., and was not disappointed. - The art is fantastic. Gouache paint and airbrushing add up to a feast for the eyes. Character rendition was realistic and I was pulled into it visually. - Story kept me from putting the book down. It was an interesting plot that kept me engaged. - The writing - Just average. Why is it that bad guys are plagued by exposition? For such a wonderfully painted book, the characters were often under-developed and relied on the readers past knowledge of the characters. The story development felt rushed at times and I often had to re-read sections because I felt like I had missed something, though I hadn't; It was just choppy story telling. That would be my one complaint. The writing was not near the quality found in books by Gaiman, Miller, Morrison or Moore. Despite my compaints about the writing I would certainly place it in my top 10. Pick it up. It's worth the $12.00
Rating:
Summary: I coudn't put it down for two readings in a row
Review: I normally just skip over all the 5 star reviews.... Anyway almost every list of best graphic novels you will ever see looks something like this: 1. Watchmen
2. Everything else In my mind the list should now look like this: 1. Watchmen
2. Kingdom Come
3. Everything else I always was kind of disappointed with Comic Book art, some of it is well pretty bad and almost none of it is the kind of stuff you would want on your wall. Then I found some work by Alex Ross. The art is simply amazing and if you haven't seen his work before you owe it yourself to get something that he has done just so you can see. alexrossart.com has some samples if you really want to see something before you buy it. The story itself is excellent as well. Not as good as Watchmen but certainly better than that "other" iconic graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns." (For those of you who don't know Dark Knight starts off really strong but ten goes downhill once we get Batman involved with mutants and 13 year old girls, whatever you think of its story its influence can not be denied though). The many many sub plots and references (there is a copy of "Under the Hood" in a bookstore) will keep long time DC comics fans busy. However, this is also my mane point of criticism of the work. So many of sub plots assume you know what they are talking about that readers without an understanding of the comics history will miss out on a lot. The reunion of Nightstar and Dick Grayson, for example, is a minor sub plot told mainly with pictures, is meaningless if you have no idea who Nightstar is. These many references are something of a double-edged sword in that respect as many people will miss most of them but those who do will enjoy them greatly. If you don't know a lot about the DC universe I suggest you scroll down and look at reviews by other people who don't before buying, for people who do this is a definite "must have" graphic novel on the level of Watchmen.
Rating:
Summary: A Feast For Longtime Comic Readers.
Review: Kingdom Come, through it's generation gap tale of Batman, Superman, and various other classic DC Super-Heroes fighting for humanity against the new breed of "Heros" that are indifferent to Human suffering, also functions as an allegory/wish fulfillment for creators Mark Waid & Alex Ross: Their hope that modern fans will stop embracing mindless walking-death-machine characters (Note the Liefeld-esque "Americommando", preceeding the Liefeld Captain America revamp by years, and the character of Magog, instigator of Kingdom Come's Kansas disaster, a thinly veiled jab at Marvel's Liefeld-created Cable.). Ultimately, despite the apocalyptic premise, Kingdom Come is a very hopeful and optimistic tale, with good prevailing over evil, and Waid and Ross get their point across quite well: Do we REALLY want heroes to act less-than-heroic? Would you rather entrust your life to Superman or Wolverine? Ross' art is lovely, and Waid does a fine job on the script, maybe his best ever. The only problem was, unlike other "Iconic" graphic Novels, like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen, I think a strong knowledge of the DC Universe and it's denizens is a must for understanding the story. Thinking back, I don't think there were any expository captions in the book at all, and the cross-generational connections can be very overwhelming, even to a comic-geek like me. Overall, I think fans will be in heaven, and newcomers will at least get taken on a great thrill ride.
Rating:
Summary: somewhat confusing
Review: its no surprise to most comic fans that this is a must have book. and over the years its grown into a true classic. but when it was initially released i found some problems that i couldnt get over. the book does spend a lot of time focusing on the feelings of the main characters but in the end never really shows us where they stand. the story was written as a backlash to the ultra violent comic books of the 90's and tried to show why violence never wins. its odd though since this comic has one of the most memorably violent battle sequences ever written. and in the end violence is used to solve itself. but at the story's end we're not given any clear view into the hero's mind. and its hard to figure out why they find it ok to use violence to solve the problem of violence. i guess if it was left to us to decide that would be nice but why write it if you have no definite point to make. after all the build up why leave it to the reader to contemplate. it seemed a bit odd and they kind of lost me on this point. still, the book is well written and gives our most beloved characters some real emotion and depth. truly worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best comics ever
Review: If you are a fan of heroes then you'll like this book. The best part was the interaction between the heroes. They spoke to each other like any of us would to a lifelong friend. They seemed almost real rather than characters on a page.
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