Rating: 
Summary: A "Comic" Story that Transcends Comics.
Review: What's wrong with "truth, justice, and the American way?" This graphic novel provides you with that answer: NOTHING! In a world where super-powered violence and self serving heroes are the order of the day, nothing is really sacred. Especially not human life. Real heroes seem long gone, and there is apparently no salvation in sight. It takes the bigger part of the Midwest being wiped out in a super-powered battle led by one of the new generation of "heroes", Magog, for Superman to decide he's seen enough.
This remarkable story by modern masters Mark Waid and Alex Ross is beyond compare.
Alex Ross illustrates heroes so real and life-like, you can almost reach out and touch them! Just like the old Christopher Reeves movies provided the definitive vision of Superman for the previous generation, Ross's Superman is the current standard. Like the cliche says, "accept no substitutes."
Waid proves here why REAL, true good triumphs over gloom-and-doom, grim-and-gritty fad heroes ANY day. If you're a Superman fan, or a fan of comics in general, then you OWE it to yourself to buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Graphic Novel
Review: This story covers some of the key issues in graphic literature: What would the world be like if superheroes really existed?...and, What happens when superheroes get old? The answer to the first question is that life would be pretty lousy for us humans if we had to compete with "metahumans". The very concept of "human accomplishment" has been abandoned and humans openly resent their superiors. And when superheroes get old...the world changes, but they do not. In Kingdom Come, the world has turned its back on the values upheld by Superman and the Justice League. So, the old heroes have gone away - to be replaced by new metahumans who now fight amongst each other not for good or evil, but simply to fight. The situation deteriorates to a point when the Old Heroes have to come back and force their values on a younger generation of super-beings who clearly don't want them. In the end, the question is, Is this planet big enough for all of us?Even though this book covers some familiar territory - especially if you are familiar with Frank Miller or Alan Moore - it's still a great read. The best point for me is that Alex Ross has brought back one of my favorite DC characters - Captain Marvel - and he's bigger and badder than ever. For all the fans of Marvels who wanted Alex Ross to take a crack at the DC Universe, this is it. The art in this book is amazing and it is worth buying for that sake alone.
Rating:
Summary: Truly magnificent graphic novel...
Review: First of all, I do not read comic books, I am simply familiar with many of the more famous ones and enjoy the superhero mythos portrayed in comic books.
I generally hesitate in considering most comic books as anything other than pulp fiction with graphics, but "Kingdom Come" is on a level all its own. The main story is a struggle between the 'old guard' of DC superheroes (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and many, many others) and a new group of superheroes who are far more violent and far less principled than their esteemed forebears. This struggle brings up a host of issues, which I will not delve into, because of the length of time involved in such a discussion.
But what makes this superb story even better is the unbelievable artwork of Alex Ross, which looks like sculpture on canvas, vividly painted and beautifully realized. The characters are gorgeously rendered and the artwork alone makes this a worthwhile purchase for the average comic book reader and even the casual fan of the superhero mythos.
Highly reccomended.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent graphic novel writing by an excellent artist.
Review: What can I say about this? Its just an excellent story that leaves a great feeling after it is over. With a strange approach towards the religious beliefs in superheroes Waid and Ross demonstrate how superheroes are, after all, living beings. For so long have we seen these characters as larger-than-life beigns with no weaknesses and flaws. Suddenly we realize they too have their sins and are afraid of what might come in the future. A top story all the way, highly recommend! Highlights: Superman's realization that all along he had been nothing but a over grown boy scout. Batman's sarcastic remarks and bastardly humor. Wonder Woman's attempt to smack some sense into superman.
Rating: 
Summary: Shhhh... This is the DC Temple.
Review: My opinion of this book is somewhat mixed. The pictures are good to be sure. But unlike such venerable creations as Will Eisner's "The Spirit" or Jack Cole's "Plastic Man" these characters are fun to make fun of and so here goes.
At first glance these pages elicit the excitement one derives from the well painted covers of old pulp magazines, except these pictures are spread out through the entire comic novel. It's like, "omigosh that really looks like so and so." But reading through it is more like being assaulted by obnoxiously preachy billboards, which are passed off as serious McLiterature for adults.
In Squadron Supreme, the first deconstructionist superhero book, the characters were forced to examine the root causes of societies ills, rather than continue reacting to them and always fight a losing battle. The old fashioned heroes in Kingdom Come, sporting a new jaded attitude, have no time for thoughts of any kind as they rush around from place to place reacting to threats that come from everywhere.
In one early scene we are introduced to the mean streets of gotham, where armed ethnic youths run from the scene of some mischief, and are seized by a bunch of scary looking Bat Robots. It seems Batman has turned Gotham into an effective police state. But what does billionaire Bruce Wayne plan to do about the epidemic of poverty in Gotham that is the root cause of such lawlessness? An absurd question of course.
Dark these characters may be, Humphrey Bogart they're not. In one flashback scene the sort of evil supervillian Magog kills the Joker after the Joker had killed everyone at the Daily Planet. His reason for this was that he didn't see why the Joker should be captured and thrown into a mental institution, just so he could escape again and kill hundreds of more people all over again before being captured again..... I don't think Dick Tracy would disagree with this logic. Tracy killed every villain he ever went up against, never bothering to arrest them. So does it give us a sadistic pleasure to see badguys killed. Not really. Not unless they are convienently killed by "accident" in self defense, after the goodguy tried to save him, and the badguy plummets to his doom after trying to drag the good guy with him, thus easing the conscience of the goodguy. Magog simply walked up to the Joker and calmly shot him, which is not classy or suspenseful.
Looking at a cover of one of the stories, which shows a panorama of DC heroes, I am struck by their appearance. They are all white, the females have ample bosoms, and the males have no lips. Then there is the cover which shows the neo punk Superabnormals in contrast. Throughout the story I could not discern a plot through all the mishmash.
The Superfolks are free to unleash their powers on each other (which must be lots of fun) without much fear, since their powers will also shield them and the heroes aren't likely to use deadly force. But they always fight in the middle of an crowded city intersection. In one panel we see Superman kindly helping an old lady out of a pile of rubble, unscratched of course. Old ladies are also invulnerable in comics.
So how do the DC moneymakers deal with the new Superabnormals if they can't kill them? They beat them up, then capture them and herd them into Reeducation Camps! In these camps these creatures are tortured by having to listen endlessly to a hologram of Superman, (which looks like an enormous Big Boy statue) lecture them day after day about the difference between goood and bad. The Superabnormals complain about this constantly, and start to get rowdy, when a Superhero I cannot identify, confronts them and begins to lecture, before opening a can of wupass on a particularly rowdy g-thug. He looks at them menacingly before departing with a few extra tips. And the lipless wonder has struck again! The Superheros complain that the Superabnormals only understand force, and so force must be used (quoting Lenin I'm sure).
In making these characters more realistic, reverential, and jaded something seems to be lost. Like fun. In comparison the old DC comics, though crudely drawn, seem clever in comparison. When the artist quickly defines character roles with a few strokes of his pen, and the colorist applies the bright primary colors of the costume in seconds flat. This poor artist seems to labor endlessly just to make the bystanders seem appropriately sucky. In the old comics' world a pair of glasses transforms Superman into Clark Kent. In this comic the glasses make Superman look like Superman wearing glasses, and the plot device seems idiotic.
Rating:
Summary: Comics you MUST have
Review: This isn't the grand-daddy of graphic novels, that honor belongs to Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns, but this is one of the ones that you need. A sort of "What would happen if there really were as many superheroes roaming around as there are in comics," the answer is, "nothing we're going to be happy about." Mark Waid shakes the "I can't tell an epic story" albatross and Alex Ross' paintings are nothing short of spectacular, which is what we've come to expect from him. The added pieces that weren't part of the original four issue series are also wonderful. If you don't have this, get it. If you have someone you know who likes comics but is a little fuzzy on what's actually good, get this for them. The little details make it a total joy. Keep an eye open for the appearances of, The Monkees, The Super-Beatles from Yellow Submarine, Spider-Man, and a whole bunch of other things that let you know that even though this is a great story, it still remembers its "funny-book" roots. If it gets better than this, I want it!
Rating: 
Summary: FUTURE PERFECT
Review: The future is streamed in morally ambiguous shades of grey and buckets o' blood crimson in this tale set in the not too distant future. With a new, brutal brand of superhero running amuck in the world, some old classics decide it's high time for a comeback. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and a somewhat befuddled Captain Marvel dust off the cobwebs to try and restore order...the only problem is, each has his own aganda, and different demons to exorcise. From a characterization standpoint, Mark Waid's work is right on target, presenting us with a reluctant, almost self-doubting Man Of Steel contrasted against the physically hobbled but curmudgeonly and assertive Dark Knight. Add in a scorned Wonder Woman and the latent inner struggle brewing within Marvel, and you've got yourself a five-dollar ticket to the fireworks! Alex Ross' artwork, while vivid, somehow manages to make all our heroes look related; Ross seems to give every last one of them the exact same Michael Keaton-esque smoldering intensity. Note to Alex: part of Superman's appeal lies in his country-boy aw-shucks sort of charm. Leave those intense eyes and tightened jaw to Bats. All in all, a great read capped with a sweet, hopeful ending that proves that even Super-Heroes need a little warmth and friendship sometimes.
Rating:
Summary: It is past time...
Review: ...that the general public goes beyond the campy surface of comic books and embraces the full potential of this (almost) pure medium. It is fortunate for the schooled reader that so much of the Kingdom Come story is self-referencial. However, much of what the image conveys can be glossed over by the casual reader while the power of the narrative is not lost to the comic/graphic novel neophyte. What resonates is an archtypical conflict that has a healthy taint of the zeitgeist. The dicussion, the conflict, the dialogue are so perfectly rendered that it would not be surprising to revisit the story a generation from now and not be struck by the agelessness entirety. Make no mistake, this is pure literature. And perhaps it is for the best that quality of this type is few and far between in the mainstream world of comic publishing.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant illustrations! A must own!
Review: Kingdom Come is the first graphic novel I have purchased in well over 20 years (note that I did not say comic book). I found myself completely enthralled by Alex Ross' absolutely brilliant illustrations. Ross is a visual artist who's work gloriously recalls the great illustrators from the past. With this work, Ross proudly joins the ranks of folks like Frazetta, Wyeth(!) and maybe even Fredric Remington in his sense of drama, framing and colorful rendering. Waid's script is full of all the wonderfully geeky self important and self conscious hyperbole and ploting that makes illustrated novels so fun to read. I especially appreciated Waid and Ross' full realization that America's canon of superheroes is very much a part of world mythology and legend. Superman, Wonder Woman (I love Ross' depiction of this uber-Tuetonic sex goddess. Gone are the overtones of lesbianism and all too present is WW's athletic sexuality) are depicted here as gods on earth, worthy of addition to Valhalla and Mt. Olympus. Warner Brothers would be wise to employ Ross and Waid as screenwriters and designers to resurrect their moribound Batman franchise. Part of a graphic novel, or escapist film's lure has always been its ability to serve as a ticket to another place. Kingdom Come successfully transports the reader to an often frightening, ultimately heroic and always colorfully exciting and captivating alternative universe. Kingdome Come is the graphic novel for folks who don't usually read graphic novels.
Rating:
Summary: Especially important in these times
Review: There is no doubt in my mind that this novel is great literature. The fact that the key characters of this book happen to be Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Captain Marvel should not dissuade anyone from reading this or the equally compelling graphic novel by Waid and Ross. That's because on the surface, this book is about superheroes (or meta-humans as they're called here), but in reality, this book is about us. And as I was reading it, the message of this book took on added significance because of the events of September 11, 2001. Indeed, there's an almost prophetic scene that takes place at Ellis Island. But as you read the book, you understand the reason for Superman's banishment from society was not just a self-imposed exile. We have cast aside the message of Superman in our times. Now the fight for "truth, justice and the American Way" is either castigated, minimized, or prone to cynical interpretations of each word of the phrase. But by rejecting this simple yet not simplistic philosophy, the world has, as we've seen, become a troubling place. We've seen people do terrible things in the name of good causes, both in this book and in our own society. They key line to this book belongs to Superman, who once he's coaxed to come out of exile and face this new troubling wave of "meta-humans", tells the imprisoned new generation, "In this world there is right and there is wrong. And that distinction is not hard to make." Indeed, as events have shown, it is not.
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