When Marvel and DC announced plans to do another crossover in the 90's, we had the experience of the late 70's and early 80's to give us a sense of how it would go. The series Marvel Versus DC (or DC Versus Marvel if you prefer) was produced by some of the best talent available at the time, a time admittedly wrought with stylistic limitations.
What we get is a massive competition with reader participation as some of the more famous heroes of both companies clashed with their most analagous counterpart.
The battle raged for three issues as faces we knew battled one another. Some of the costumes of the time were somewhat adrift from the iconic, but in the broad scheme the heroes were themselves...at least for a while.
The conceit of the series was that two impossibly massive cosmic brothers existed side by side, apart from one another and then they come into conflict. Each brother embodies one of the comic book universes, one brother the DCU one for the MU.
And then suddenly the two cosmic brothers have a meeting of minds as well as fusion of bodies and the two mighty universes they embody are abruptly blended.
Out of that merging came the Amalgam Universe, a weirdo off-kilter mix of Marvel and DC as two heroes were suddenly blended into one, their look and histories merged and altered. The Amalgam Universe event came out of nowhere, at least as far as this reader was concerned. I was completely taken by surprise, a very pleasant surprise as I was informed that instead of one comic to finish off the crossover, I would be greeted by a dozen which gave a glimpse of this new Amalgamated universe. Amazing! Loved it!
Here are the first dozen comics from 1996.
And then in 1997, the two companies did it again giving us another twelve comics from the Amalgam Universe.
Out of the original crossover two four-issue limited series emerged. The second of those gave us another peek at some new Amalgamated heroes.
But back in 1996 we see the two brothers separate and that which had been one again becomes two. The DCU and MU move back to their original settings.
Aside from the two times already alluded to, this was the last we'd see of some very intriguing heroes, made possible for a time because the "Big Two" as they are known cast aside their differences and worked together for the benefit of the fans of both. It was very very cool.
The Amalgam Universe titles have been collected, in volumes from both DC and Marvel, that period of detente is fondly remembered by this fan at least.
I'd been planning on doing a cover gallery on this series myself once I'd remembered where I've stored them, but I think I only ever bought the first run of comics. They certainly look interesting, but you know what? I can't remember one single story from any of them. When I find them, I'll have to re-read them to refresh my memory.
ReplyDeleteIt was my original intention to read them again this past month, but I had a hard time finding them in the chaos that passes for my collection these days. I did eventually but the time to read never materialized. Maybe later.
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