Rating: 
Summary: Starts slow but builds up to a good climax
Review: The novelization by Elliot Maggin is good. It follows the Mark Waid/Alex Ross story fairly closely. It also shows that superheroes do translate well to prose writing and can be used to tell more detailed stories which are not possible in 23 page comics. I wish DC would publish more novels on their characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder-Woman. This book showed that it can be done and some truely great stories can be written in the prosewriting/novel format.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy it for the art, if nothing else...
Review: Let me start by saying that Kingdom Come has a spectacular story. The 'heroes gone bad' theme has been done many times before, but never this well. It all culminates to a fantastic battle between Captain Marvel and Superman that you will never forget.But the art is truly remarkable. It's what sets this apart from all other stories. Every last page of it is painted by Alex Ross. It's a wonder it didn't take decades to complete. There are at least 10 scenes in the book that will stay with you forever, they are just that good. No one, and I mean no one, does heroes like Alex Ross. This one will absolutely blow you away. Even if you already own the issues, I suggest you buy this TPB. It's cheap, and it contains 2 missing scenes (the last one being QUITE memorable), original promo art, and an "index" that gives the name of all the characters in the book. Trust me, it's worth every penny.
Rating:
Summary: Easily the most amazing comic book series ever made
Review: Kingdom Come is an extraordinary work of illustrated fiction, and I call it this because the term "comic book" doesn't do this masterpiece justice. The story, scripted by Mark Waid is a complete original (interpreting the Book of Revelations as a war between metahumans) and the artwork by Alex Ross is absolutely breathtaking. He paints (and redesigns for the future) nearly every DC character you can think of exactly as they would appear in the real world. The result is awesome. Probably his best work in a career that has produced nothing but greatness. The story is by no means a happy and pleasant tale, but it starts down a dark path and culminates in an incredible climax, yet despite the apocalyptic tone of the story, it ends on kind of a high note. Everyone picking up the pieces of a devestating battle and looking ahead towards a better tomorrow. Writing this powerful has seldom been equaled in a comic before (except maybe Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns) and there has never been a comic book artist with the talent of Alex Ross.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Superman story, average DCU story
Review: This series has great diolouge and great characterization for several characters, but there were a few irritating holes. I was wondering who was Green Lantern in the book. I thought maybe Waid ignored current continunity and made him Hal Jordan. Imagine my surprise to learn he was Alan Scott! And where the heck was Kyle Rayner anyway? Also, it wasn't clear that Flash was Wally West. He dressed like the Jay Garrick version. This I learned in Wizard. It would have been nice if some of these guys would have played a bigger part in the story. Worst of all, a slightly better explanation is needed as to why this new generation of heroes was fighting.However, there are many more great things about this book than bad. There are tons of inside jokes(can you spot the reference to Watchmen in the first issue?), great interaction between Superman, WonderWoman and Batman, and Captain Marvel's role in the story was real well done, though why he had that role needed better explanation too. The ending was a tad contrived. Dark Knight Returns had the death of Batman and a new beginning for Bruce Wayne. The last page of Watchmen had an seemingly insignifigant event that could jeopardize the peace millions died for. This ending was a little too happy, and more emotion could've been put into it. This is the greatest Superman story I've ever read, as it basically is a Superman story. His role in the book is awesome and perhaps Waid should be a regluar on Superman because the one thing he did right above all was make the reader feel respect for Superman. Perhaps if this series were a bit longer and more plot elements were explained better and events were more intricate it would be able to topple Dark Knight and Watchmen. Even then it would still have to age, and as it stands it is only a very above par Superman tale.
Rating:
Summary: The story is a little too fast but the art is almost perfect
Review: The story was a little shakey in the beginning. It was also a little cheesy. The bulk of the rating comes from the wonderful iconagraphic depiction of all the heros, especially superman and Captain Marvel. I have never seen anyone make a corney looking 2nd best ( that says shazam ) appear so splendid, powerful, and psycologically conditioned. I've never seen superman appear so conditioned from his cultural background, that being, raised on a secluded farm. Superman is big: extremely heavy set. He is truly a 1950's farmer's super hero. He looks like he went to small highschool. He looks as if he were raised on a farm. His face isn't glamorous, but does radiate paternal handsomness. Alex ross depicts Superman as a very intimidating, trustworthy, emotional patriarch, with enough realistic facial expression to make him real. The rest of his figures are more than adequate representations of the old heros. I would have loved to see about 70 more pages of art mixed with story, for Alex ross does an excellent job of visual depiction every time. I think for all it is worth, It reads like a really really short movie, that had a chance to be the best but blew it. However, it does blow away almost everything DC has ever produced.
Rating:
Summary: Shazam!
Review: Quite possibly the best comic book limited series ever. Mark Waid's writing, Alex Ross's always superb art, (he's even better than Jack Kirby) and some of the great icons of our age combine to make a masterpiece. On a personal note, I want to say that until this book I'd always wanted a hero stronger than Superman. In Captain Marvel, I found him. Now I'm a huge fan of the Captain. Shazam!
Rating:
Summary: Well -
Review: I really enjoyed reading this, but Maggin glossed over what I thought was one of the most, if not THE most, powerful moments of the comic series: when Superman catches Captain Marvel during their one-on-one and causes him to revert to Billy Batson. This scene was described with intensity in the comic, but in the novel, the strength of this act is not emphasized. If you hadn't read the comic, you might not realize what happened! Also, the resolution of the cover image for the paperback was downright awful - hey, I'm a stickler...
Rating:
Summary: Prose paperback review...
Review: This is a very well done adaptation by Elliot S. Maggin of the amazing comic story, one that got me back into comics, briefly. It expands on the minor events in the comic and does an excellent job of fleshing out the main character, Norman McCay. The only problem I have with it is that it's not accessible to everyone. If you haven't read the comic or aren't familiar with the heroes and villains of the DC Universe, you'll probably miss the historical details that made the original series so much fun. Comic characters were designed to be seen, and I feel that they never translate well into prose. Read it as a supplement to the comic, and you'll be okay.
Rating:
Summary: Very good, but too short.
Review: I love reading these Elseworlds story lines, and this had to be the best. I love the artwork, and the storyline ruled. The only problem I had with this book was that it was so good, I wish it was somehow longer. I'm going to be keeping an eye out for Mark Weid.
Rating:
Summary: Restores the Heroic Ideal
Review: In years gone by I read Darknight, Watchmen, et. al. and loved them. However, as time went on, it seemed that all comics had to offer audiences any more were brutal worlds full of brutal villains being fought by "heroes" who don't win until they finally decide to be as brutal as their opponents. Somewhere along the way, something higher was being ignored. It was one thing to LET the heroes make hobsonian choices, but it's quite another to not be able to write stories about them doing anything else. Now that's changed. This comic has a world as dark and desperate as any, but unlike other comics, does not conclude that this means that the heroic ideal is dead, but rather that it is more needed than ever.
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