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The DC Comics Encyclopedia
Brilliant, fun idea
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May 5, 2005
By Theresa Smith
The DC Comics Encyclopedia
Edited by Alaistair Dougall
Over the past 70-odd years DC Comics have created thousands of characters, each with their own histories and foibles.
Though there was never an intention in the beginning for characters like Batman and Adam Strange to be linked in any way, it just kind of happened.
The first time there was a crossover was when All American Comics (a DC Comics sister company) gathered its greatest heroes to swop stories at a monthly meeting of the Justice Society America.
The All Star Comic #3 was the first time DC characters got together and in the next issue they formed a group and a new series was born. However, there was little character development and the stories didn't really move.
Rival comic publishers Marvel changed the scene at the beginning of the 1960s. Spiderman creator Stan Lee allowed the webslinger, the Fantastic Four, Thor and other characters to refer to each other. Crossovers offered a multitude of possibilities and the Marvel Universe was spawned.
DC got the hang of linking storylines by the late 1960s. Plots became more convoluted and as DC took over more comic companies, more characters were added to the mix. Every now and then a character would be "rebooted" as new artists wanted to add their own stamp, creating even more complications.
By the mid-1980s confusion reigned and DC decided to amalgamate all the storylines to limit characters and action to one earth and one timeline - hence the Crisis on Infinite Earths story arc that spanned all DC comics
. Several characters were killed off or re-introduced to a new generation. Since then some of the storylines have been even further refined.
This particular encyclopedia is an attempt to codify and in some ways redefine DC's stable of characters. The team who put it together has painstakingly researched the characters and noted details such as history, power, allegiance and costume changes.
Characters like Hawkman merit an entire page while superheroes like Green Lantern get a double page spread since there are technically several of them.
Die-hard comic fans are going to get a little confused when their memories don't necessarily gel with some of the entries, but that's the whole point. Storylines have morphed and some circumstances have been "retrofitted" to work within the current DC Universe framework to such an extent that we need a reference book.
Comprehensively indexed, chronologically laid out with colour pictures and themed double page entry features such as vehicles or team-ups, this was a brilliant idea. This is the kind of encyclopedia that never dates and is actually fun to read.
Now if only Marvel would follow suit ...
  
 
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