''History of the DC Universe'' is a two-issue

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

created by writer

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's '' The New Te ...

and artist

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (co ...

which was published by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

following the end of ''

Crisis on Infinite Earths "Crisis on Infinite Earths" is a 1985 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics. The series, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Pérez, was first serialized as a 12-issue limited series from April 1985 to March ...

''.

Publication history

''History of the DC Universe'' was an attempt to summarize the new history of the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

to establish what was

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...

after ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' reformed the

multiverse The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The di ...

into a single universe. In the original planning of ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'', the ''History'' would have formed the final two issues, following the destruction of the Multiverse at the beginning of time, but this was changed. ''History of the DC Universe'' had been one of the working titles for ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''. The loose plotline of the series involves the character

Harbinger A harbinger is a forerunner or forewarning, but may also refer to: Companies * Harbinger Corp., an Internet-oriented business * Harbinger Capital, a hedge fund * Harbinger Knowledge Products, an eLearning products and content services compan ...

chronicling the past, present, and future of the post-''Crisis'' DC Universe. The history is mostly told through one- and two-page splash pages, accompanied by brief prose. At the end of the series, Harbinger places the history in a capsule and launches it into space. In the subsequent series ''

Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

'', this history is intercepted by the Manhunters and used against Earth's

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

es.

Portfolio

The ''

Next Men ''John Byrne's Next Men'' (also known as ''Next Men'' or ''JBNM'') is an American comic book series written and drawn by John Byrne. The first volume of the series was published by Dark Horse Comics between 1991 and 1995. A nine-issue miniseri ...

'' characters made a prototypical appearance as "Freaks" in a lithography plate that was published within the ''History of the DC Universe Portfolio'' in 1986. Writer/artist John Byrne had originally pitched the series to DC Comics but it never surfaced there. With some changes, Byrne changed the concept to fit in with his work on the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

''2112'', to become the ''John Byrne's Next Men'' series. Two characters from the "Freaks" artwork somewhat retained their physical looks and became the lead characters of the ''Next Men'' series: heroine Jasmine and villain Aldus Hilltop. The other plates in the portfolio included art by Stephen R. Bissette,

Brian Bolland Brian Bolland (; born 26 March 1951)Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' (Titan Books, 2000) , p. 11 is a British comics artist. Best known in the United Kingdom as one of the definitive Judge Dredd artists for British comics anthology '' 2 ...

José Luis García-López José Luis García-López (born March 26, 1948) is a Spanish-Argentine comics artist who works in the United States, particularly in a long-running relationship with DC Comics. In addition to his storytelling art, he has been responsible for produ ...

Keith Giffen Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952) is an American comics artist and writer. He is known for his work for DC Comics on their ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Justice League'' titles as well as for being the co-creator of Lobo. Biography K ...

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Early li ...

Joe Kubert Joseph Kubert (; September 18, 1926 – August 12, 2012) was a Poland, Polish-born Americans, American comic book artist, art teacher, and founder of The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkm ...

Steve Lightle Steve Lightle (November 19, 1959 – January 8, 2021) was an American comics artist who worked primarily as a penciller. He was best known as the artist of DC Comics' ''Legion of Super-Heroes (1958 team), Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Doom Patr ...

Jerry Ordway Jeremiah Ordway (born November 28, 1957) is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books. He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining ''Crisis on Infinite Earths' ...

, George Pérez,

Curt Swan Douglas Curtis Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996) was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 195 ...

, and

John Totleben John Thomas Totleben (born February 16, 1958 in Erie, Pennsylvania) is an American illustrator working mostly in comic books. Biography After studying art at Tech Memorial in Erie, Totleben attended The Kubert School for one year. He then spent se ...

. The cover was painted by

Bill Sienkiewicz Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''New Mutants'', '' Moon Knight,'' and '' Elektra: Assassin''. Sienkiewicz's work in the 198 ...

Collected edition

The series was reprinted in hardcover by Graphitti Designs in 1988 with a painted cover by

. It featured additional material not included in the original series including an introduction by Wolfman and the following: * essay and

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

illustration by

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...

* essay by

Julius Schwartz Julius "Julie" Schwartz (; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various t ...

* essay by

Jerry Siegel Jerome Siegel ( ; October 17, 1914 – January 28, 1996)Roger Stern. ''Superman: Sunday Classics: 1939–1943'' DC Comics/Kitchen Sink Press, Inc./ Sterling Publishing; 2006 was an American comic book writer. He is the co-creator of Superman, in ...

with Superman illustration by

Joe Shuster Joseph Shuster (; July 10, 1914 – July 30, 1992), professionally known simply as Joe Shuster, was a Canadian-American comic book artist best known for co-creating the DC Comics character Superman, with Jerry Siegel, in ''Action Comics'' #1 (c ...

* essay by

Bob Kane Robert Kane (born Robert Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator and artist who co-created Batman (with Bill Finger) and most early related characters for DC comics. He was inducted into the comi ...

with

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

illustration by

Dick Sprang Richard W. Sprang (July 28, 1915 – May 10, 2000)Richard Sprang
United States

* essay and Sgt. Rock illustration by

* essay by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

with

Marvel Family The Marvel Family, also known as the Shazam Family (or "Shazamily"), are a group of superheroes who originally appeared in books published by Fawcett Comics and were later acquired by DC Comics. Created in 1942 by writer Otto Binder and artist Ma ...

illustration by

Kurt Schaffenberger Kurt Schaffenberger (December 15, 1920 – January 24, 2002) was an American comics artist. He was best known for his work on Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family during both the Golden Age of comic books, Golden Age an ...

* essay by

Paul Levitz Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...

with

Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st c ...

illustration by

* essay by

Len Wein Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ( ...

with

Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental List of swamp monsters, creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or mo ...

illustration by Stephen R. Bissette and

* essay by

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...

with

New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...

illustration by Kirby and

Steve Rude Steve Rude (born December 31, 1956) is an Americans, American comics artist. He is best known as the co-creator of ''Nexus (comics), Nexus''. Early life Steve Rude was born on December 31, 1956, in Madison, Wisconsin. He attended the Milwaukee Sch ...

* essay and

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...

illustration by

Ramona Fradon Ramona Fradon (born October 2, 1926) is an American comics artist known for her work illustrating Aquaman and Brenda Starr, and co-creating the superhero Metamorpho. Her career began in 1950. Early life Ramona Fradon was born in Chicago and mov ...

* essay by George Pérez with

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

illustration by

Trina Robbins Trina Robbins (born Trina Perlson; August 17, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first female artists in that movement. In the 1980s, Robbins beca ...

and Pérez * an afterword by

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...

* a gatefold poster featuring 53 characters drawn by Arthur Adams, Neal Adams,

Murphy Anderson Murphy C. Anderson Jr. (July 9, 1926 – October 22, 2015) was an American comics artist, known as one of the premier inkers of his era, who worked for companies such as DC Comics for over fifty years, starting in the Golden Age of Comic Books in ...

Jim Aparo James N. Aparo (August 24, 1932 – July 19, 2005) was an American comic book artist, best known for his DC Comics work from the late 1960s through the 1990s, including on the characters Batman, Aquaman, and the Spectre, along with famous stories ...

, Stephen R. Bissette, Bret Blevins,

Pat Broderick Pat Broderick (born November 26, 1953) is an American comics artist, known for his work on the ''Micronauts'' and ''Alpha Flight'' for Marvel Comics, and ''Legion of Super-Heroes'', ''Captain Atom'' and ''Green Lantern'' for DC Comics. Broderick a ...

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker. Early life ...

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

Ernie Colón Ernesto Colón SierraColón in English translation of Via (July 13, 1931 – August 8, 2019) was a stateside Puerto Rican comics artist, known for his wide-ranging career illustrating children's, superhero, and horror comics, as well as mains ...

Denys Cowan Denys B. Cowan (born January 30, 1961) is an American comics artist, television producer, media executive and one of the co-founders of Milestone Media. Early life Denys Cowan was first inspired by superheroes as a child from reruns of the 1950s ...

Jan Duursema Jan Duursema (born October 27, 1954) is an American comics artist known for her work on the ''Star Wars comics, Star Wars'' comics franchise. She is the creator of Denin and Vila from Naldar, the Twi'lek Jedi Aayla Secura and the Kiffar Jedi Quin ...

, Ramona Fradon,

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...

Michael T. Gilbert Michael Terry Gilbert (born May 7, 1951) is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked for both mainstream and underground comic book companies. Education Gilbert attended the State University of New York at New Paltz, graduating i ...

Mike Grell Mike Grell (born September 13, 1947) is an American comic book writer and artist, known for his work on books such as '' Green Lantern/Green Arrow'', '' The Warlord'', and '' Jon Sable Freelance''. Early life Grell studied at the University of ...

Irwin Hasen Irwin Hasen (July 8, 1918 – March 13, 2015) was an American cartoonist best known as the creator (with Gus Edson) of the ''Dondi'' comic strip. He also had a significant run on DC Comics' original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, in the 1940s as well ...

Gilbert Hernandez Gilberto Hernández (born February 1, 1957), usually credited as Gilbert Hernandez and also by the nickname Beto (), is an American cartoonist. He is best known for his ''Palomar''/''Heartbreak Soup'' stories in '' Love and Rockets'', an alterna ...

, Jamie Hernandez,

Carmine Infantino Carmine Michael Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creat ...

Michael Kaluta Michael William Kaluta, sometimes credited as Mike Kaluta or Michael Wm. Kaluta (born August 25, 1947), is an American comics artist and writer best known for his acclaimed 1970s adaptation of the pulp magazine hero ''The Shadow'' with writer De ...

, Bob Kane,

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...

, Jack Kirby,

Andy Kubert Andrew Kubert (; born February 27, 1962) is an American comics artist, letterer and writer. He is the son of Joe Kubert and brother of Adam Kubert, both of whom are also artists, and the uncle of comics editor Katie Kubert. He is a graduate of an ...

, Joe Kubert, Steve Lightle, Frank McLaughlin,

Jim Mooney James Noel Mooney (August 13, 1919 – March 30, 2008) was an American comics artist best known for his long tenure at DC Comics and as the signature artist of Supergirl, as well as a Marvel Comics inker and Spider-Man artist, both during wh ...

Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001).e., the Gilberton Company, publisher of the ''Classics Illustrated'' comic-book series of literary adaptations], and I was given a script. One thing led to another and I was soo ...

Martin Nodell Martin Nodell (November 15, 1915 – December 9, 2006) was an American cartoonist and commercial artist, best known as the creator of the Golden Age superhero Green Lantern. Some of his work appeared under the pen name Mart Dellon. Biography E ...

Paul Norris Paul Leroy Norris (April 26, 1914 – November 5, 2007) was an American comic book artist best known as co-creator of the DC Comics superhero Aquaman, and for a 35-year run as artist of the newspaper comic strip '' Brick Bradford''. Biography ...

Joe Orlando Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of '' Mad'' and the vice president of DC Comics, ...

, George Pérez,

Mike Royer Michael W. Royer (; born June 28, 1941) is an American comics artist and inker, best known for his work with pencilers Russ Manning and Jack Kirby. In later life Royer became a freelance product designer and character artist for The Walt Disney C ...

P. Craig Russell Philip Craig Russell (born October 30, 1951) is an American comics artist, writer, and illustrator. His work has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards. Russell was the first mainstream comic book creator to come out as openly gay. Biography ...

, Kurt Schaffenberger, Bill Sienkiewicz,

Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned w ...

Dan Spiegle Dan Spiegle (December 10, 1920 – January 28, 2017) was an American comics artist and cartoonist best known for comics based on movie and television characters across a variety of companies, including Dell Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Comi ...

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, and ...

Joe Staton Joe Staton ( born January 19, 1948) is an American comics artist and writer. He co-created the Bronze Age Huntress (Helena Wayne), as well as the third Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Kilowog and the Omega Men for DC Comics. He was the artist of t ...

, Jim Steranko,

Dave Stevens Dave Lee Stevens (July 29, 1955 – March 11, 2008) was an American illustrator and comics artist. He was most famous for creating ''Rocketeer, The Rocketeer'' comic book and film character, and for his pin-up style "glamour art" illustrations, ...

Frank Thorne Benjamin Franklin Thorne (June 16, 1930 – March 7, 2021
at the Matt Wagner Matt Wagner (born October 9, 1961) is an American comics artist and writer who is best known as the creator of the series ''Mage'' and ''Grendel (comics), Grendel''. Career Matt Wagner's first published comic book work was ''Comico Primer'' #2 ( ...

Al Williamson Alfonso Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy. Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in ...

, and

Mary Wilshire Mary Wilshire (born 1953) is an American comics artist best known for her work on ''Red Sonja'' and '' Firestar'' for Marvel Comics. Early life Mary Wilshire graduated from the Pratt Institute with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting. Career ...

The series was reprinted as a trade paperback in 2002. It had a new cover painting by

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...

but did not include the bonus material from the 1988 hardcover edition. In October 2015 the series was collected once again when it was included as an extra in the ''Crisis on Infinite Earths Deluxe Edition'' hardcover collection.

''History of the DCU''

After the events of ''

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, a ...

'', DC included a backup feature titled "History of the DCU" in '' 52'', running in issues #2–11 and written by

Dan Jurgens Dan Jurgens (; born June 27, 1959) is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw and Booster Gold. Jurgens ...

. In this version,

Donna Troy Donna Troy is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is the original Wonder Girl and later temporarily adopts another identity, Troia. Created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani, she first appeared in ''The ...

, now in possession of Harbinger's orb, tells the story of the history of the DCU up to ''Infinite Crisis''.

''History of the Multiverse''

The backup feature, ''History of the Multiverse'', appears in issues #49–38 of ''Countdown'', as told from the perspective of the

Monitors Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...

. It was written by Dan Jurgens as well.

References

External links

*
''History of the DC Universe''
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics * {{DC Crisis Anthology, state=collapsed 1986 in comics 1988 in comics Comics by George Pérez Comics by Marv Wolfman DC Comics limited series Defunct American comics Fictional history