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| Slot: |
Kingdom Come Preview nn |
| Item: |
Kingdom Come Preview #nn Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1413437005
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Owner Comments
1996
"Preview"
Mark Waid - Writer
Alex Ross - Pencilers
Alex Ross - Cover Artist
Alex Ross - Inkers
Alex Ross - Colorist
Dan Raspler & Peter J. Tomasi - Editors
Synopsis:
When comic book artist Alex Ross was working on Marvels, published in 1994, he decided to create a similar "grand opus" about characters from DC Comics. Ross wrote a 40-page handwritten outline of what would become Kingdom Come and pitched the idea to James Robinson as a project similar in scope to Watchmen (1986–1987) and Alan Moore's infamous "lost work" Twilight of the Superheroes. Ultimately, Ross teamed with writer Mark Waid, who was recommended by DC editors due to his strong familiarity with the history of DC superheroes
Notes:
-Signed by: Alex Ross on 04/11/2017
-Aquaman (DC)(Earth-22 - Kingdom Come)(01 - Arthur)
-Captain Atom (Earth-22 - Kingdom Come)
-Dolphin (DC) (Earth-22 - Kingdom Come)
-Magog (DC)(Earth-22 - Kingdom Come)
-Norman McCay (DC)(Earth-22 - Kingdom Come)
-Nightstar (Earth-22 - Kingdom Come)
-Nuculoid (Earth-22 - Kingdom Come)
-Red Robin (DC)(Earth-22 - Kingdom Come)
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| Slot: |
Kingdom Come 1 |
| Item: |
Kingdom Come #1 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1413437004
|
Owner Comments
May, 1996
"Strange Visitor"
Alex Ross - Cover Artist
Mark Waid - Writer
Alex Ross - Penciler
Alex Ross - Inkers
Alex Ross - Colorist
Todd Klein - Letterer
Bob Kahan - Editors
Mike Carlin - Executive Editor
Synopsis:
There were voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake...and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood. There fell a great star from heaven, burning as if it were a lamp...and I beheld, and heard an Angel, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, WOE to the inhabiters of the earth.
The story begins with Wesley Dodds speaking with his pastor, Norman McKay, as he is reading from the book of Revelation in the Bible. Dodds has begun seeing visions related to that book and is trying to tell Norman about them. However, he dies before he can explain them.
While walking sometime after the funeral, Norman reflects on Dodds' life. Doods had once been the Sandman. During his later life, Dodds had been worried about the world's current superheroes, who lack the morals of their predecessors. As Norman reflects on this, a fight between some of the modern heroes fight and Norman hopes that mankind can out last these heroes.
These thoughts leaked into Norman's next sermon subconsciously. After the sermon, Spectre appear to Norman. Spectre was supposed to use Dodds for his host as he witnessed the events of the coming armageddon, but has to use Norman because he is now having the visions.
They are first transported to a farm in Kansas (which turns out to be a holographic environment created in the Fortress of Solitude) where an aged Superman lives. Wonder Woman comes and tries to convince Superman that he needs to come out of retirement to help the world. Inside the house, they watch footage of a battle between a team of new heroes lead by Magog battling Parasite. Parasite pulled apart Captain Atom, causing a nuclear explosion that completely destroyed Kansas.
The Spectre than shows Norman that some of the old heroes still remain. The Flash still patrols Keystone City, Hawkman protects the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and the Green Lantern watches Earth from an emerald city in orbit. Others, such as Aquaman, the Amazons, and the Legion of Super-Heroes abandoned the world to its fate. When asked about Batman, the Spectre shows that he's now using robots to patrol Gotham City.
The Spectre takes them to Metropolis, where they see some of the modern heroes having a shoot out on a suspension bridge and a tram full of innocents. The tram's cable was cut, but Superman was able to save it in time. Everyone was thrilled to see Superman save the day once more, but Norman was able to see this was just the beginning of the armageddon.
Notes:
Signed by: Alex Ross on 04/11/2017
Trivia:
- The Japanese graffiti that Norman walks by is the kanji title of the anime series Tenchi Muyo!.
- The Batman costume from the 1960s Batman TV series can be seen hanging in a display case in the Planet Krypton.
- Images of Sugar and Spike appear on the video displays at the Planet Krypton.
- An analog of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids make their appearance in this story as a street gang being pursued and captured by the Batknights.
- In the window of the shop you can see a book titled Under The Hood by Hollis Mason from the Watchmen on display.
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| Slot: |
Kingdom Come 2 |
| Item: |
Kingdom Come #2 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1413437003
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Owner Comments
June, 1996
"Truth and Justice"
Alex Ross - Cover Artist
Mark Waid - Writer
Alex Ross - Penciler
Alex Ross - Inkers
Alex Ross - Colorist
Todd Klein - Letterer
Bob Kahan - Editors
Mike Carlin - Executive Editor
Synopsis:
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer, and the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar...and the seven angels prepared themselves to sound...
Norman McKay is now seeing a vision of "seven angels" bathed in the fire of what appears to be the torch of the Statue of Liberty. He and the Spectre are taken to where the vision leads them: to the Statue of Liberty where the Americommando, a gun-toting fascist, fires upon immigrants approaching Ellis Island with his Minutemen, warning them to leave America or else.
After the successful confrontation, Superman and his Justice League allies appear at the United Nations to address the press conference gathered there that they will deal with the rogue superhumans on the loose. However, the Secretary-General of the United Nations isn't confident of Superman's means to achieve their goals, and neither is Bruce Wayne, who retired his identity as Batman but not the desire to continue working as a hero, willing to join Superman's reformed Justice League for that purpose. Nonetheless, Superman and the Justice League press forward with their intended goal, negotiating with superhumans who are willing to join the cause and using force on those who oppose them.
Meanwhile, Lex Luthor has assembled a team of retired villains, calling themselves the Mankind Liberation Front, intending to use the battle between Superman's Justice League and the rogue superhumans to their own ends and purposes. Among them, Norman McKay and the Spectre see an adult Billy Batson as a servant to Lex Luthor, pleasantly giving Lex a shave. Superman is beginning to see more superhumans choosing to turn against the League rather than join them, so after some failed negotiation talks with Arthur Curry (who has surrendered his Aquaman identity to his former protege to take on his role as the king of Atlantis) and with Orion (who has killed his father Darkseid and has taken his place as the fearsome ruler of Apokolips), he turns to Mr. Miracle and his wife Big Barda for the answers.
Soon they find Magog standing on what's left of the Kansas landscape, futilely trying to rebuild, and Superman confronts him for the disaster he's caused. Magog blames Superman for the disaster, saying it all started when the Joker killed the Daily Planet staff, including Superman's wife Lois Lane. As the Joker was being brought into custody, Magog killed him with a blast from his energy staff. Superman brought Magog into court for his actions, but the judge ruled in favor of Magog, considering his actions "justifiable" and acquitting him. Rather than accepting Magog's challenge to fight him, Superman simply took off and was never seen until the present time. As Superman mockingly says to Magog, "You must be proud", he angrily blasts Superman with his staff before kneeling down in defeat, wanting Superman to kill him or do anything to take away the voices of a million ghosts haunting him.
While Superman and the Justice League are busy building "a stronghold of justice" using plans given to him by Mr. Miracle, Bruce Wayne is seen making an unseemly alliance with Lex Luthor's team of villains.
Notes:
Signed by: Alex Ross on 04/11/2017
Trivia:
- The United Nations building resembles the Justice League's Hall of Justice from the Super Friends cartoon show.
- Phil Sheldon from Marvels, in which Kingdom Come artist Alex Ross has drawn, makes a cameo at the superhero press conference held at the UN building. Sheldon later makes his last appearance in the storyline's final issue.
- In another reference to the Super Friends, one of the superhumans seen taunting Superman at the nightclub is wearing Marvin's T-shirt under his leather jacket. The faces of Zan and Jayna, the Wonder Twins, can also be seen among the crowd.
- A man wearing a mask worn by Steve Miller on the cover of his 1973 The Joker album is seen at the bar in the nightclub playing a pull-my-finger game with the Human Bomb.
- Rorschach of Watchmen makes a cameo appearance in the background of the bar standing next to the Question.
- Superhero analogues of the Village People appears in the bar scene.
- Tokyo Rose, a villainess who appears in this story, is modeled after Chun Li from the Street Fighter game series.
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| Slot: |
Kingdom Come 3 |
| Item: |
Kingdom Come #3 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1413437001
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Owner Comments
July, 1996
"Up in the Sky"
Alex Ross - Cover Artist
Mark Waid - Writer
Alex Ross - Penciler
Alex Ross - Inkers
Alex Ross - Colorist
Todd Klein - Letterer
Bob Kahan - Editors
Mike Carlin - Executive Editor
Synopsis:
...and he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth, and when he cried, seven thunders uttered their voices...
Norman McKay sees yet another vision, this time of Captain Marvel calling down lightning upon himself. These visions he is seeing are what he believes are "dreams of Armageddon". He and the Spectre are now taken to an ominous-looking dome that now stands upon the Kansas wastelands: this dome is Superman's reformation center for superhumans, called the "Gulag". Due to its vast size, it was intended to house prisoners for months to come, but within two weeks of its construction it filled beyond capacity, though due to its architect and warden it was able to contain its numbers. Kryptonian battlesuit robots stand guard watching over the residents in the "Gulag's" beautiful environment. Dissenters among them mock at the Superman holograms trying to educate them of the proper use of their powers and abilities, with Captain Comet dealing with the hard-case types like Von Bach. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor uses White's "eye" to spy on the simmering stew of unrest within the "Gulag".
Outside the Green Lantern's satellite which is being used as the Justice League headquarters, Superman and Wonder Woman have a peaceful discussion as they fling rocks around some asteroids, with Wonder Woman telling Superman that she had been ousted from Paradise Island for failing in her mission as the Amazons' ambassador for peace.
In the heart of an underground lab, Lex Luthor subjects Billy Batson to torture by making him watch gruesome images of him and his friends being slaughtered by superhumans and causing worms to crawl in and out of Batson's ears, keeping him from saying Shazam's name. Luthor later joins with Bruce Wayne in a special war room where Wayne reveals his team of superhumans who are ready to lend their support to the cause of the Mankind Liberation Front. Secretly, though, Wayne speaks with John Jones, formerly the Martian Manhunter but now crippled in his abilities, in the hopes of finding out what his friend had sensed.
As Superman looks down upon the Earth with his telescopic vision checking for superhuman activity, Red Robin speaks with his former Teen Titans members about his growing concerns that Superman's plans would eventually fail. Norman McKay finds himself suddenly pulled from the spirit realm into reality to face a Superman who's wondering why he's here. McKay's only answer comes from Scripture: "...and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up...and the sun and the air were darkened...fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come." While Superman is confused over the cryptic message, Red Robin notices that a riot has broken out in the "Gulag". As McKay vanishes with the Spectre, Wonder Woman sends Flash, Green Lantern, and Power Woman to deal with the situation while she and Superman speak to the Secretary-General of the United Nations about their growing concerns of the "Gulag".
At the Green Lantern satellite, Wonder Woman dresses herself in golden eagle armor and girds her magical sword to her waist as Superman tries to reason with her on how to deal with the rioters. Then suddenly news comes from Green Lantern: the prisoners are now starting to breach the walls, and they have killed Captain Comet. Angered at the loss, Wonder Woman leads a team to go to the "Gulag" and force the prisoners to surrender or else. Seeing that she cannot get Superman to see that her way of dealing with the superhumans may be the right way, Wonder Woman gives him a farewell kiss before she departs.
At that, Superman races to Bruce Wayne's Batcave in a last-ditch effort to have his friend and former ally join him in his cause. All Wayne can tell Superman is that Captain Marvel has been brainwashed and is now heading for the "Gulag" to burst it wide open.
Norman McKay sees that Armageddon has arrived.
Notes:
Signed by: Alex Ross on 04/11/2017
Trivia:
- Superman's reformation center, the "Gulag", resembles a modified version of the Legion of Doom's Hall Of Doom from the Challenge Of The Superfriends cartoon show.
- Analogs of Columbia and Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show appear in this story as superbeings in the "Gulag".
- Luthor's form of torture upon Billy Batson combines elements from both Khan Noonian Singh's use of Ceti Alpha eel slugs in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan and the forced viewings of gruesome ultra-violent acts in A Clockwork Orange.
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| Slot: |
Kingdom Come 4 |
| Item: |
Kingdom Come #4 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC 9.8 |
| Cert #: |
1413437006
|
Owner Comments
August, 1996
"Never-Ending Battle"
Alex Ross - Cover Artist
Mark Waid - Writer
Alex Ross - Penciler
Alex Ross - Inkers
Alex Ross - Colorist
Todd Klein - Letterer
Bob Kahan - Editors
Mike Carlin - Executive Editor
Synopsis:
There were voices...and thunderings, and lightnings...and an earthquake. This was my dream...no more.
As Norman McKay and the Spectre watch, Armageddon has begun. The Justice League is locked in a battle with the rogue superhumans who have escaped the "Gulag" and are now out to wage war with them. Superman is fighting a hopeless battle with his equal Captain Marvel, who has been brainwashed by Lex Luthor. McKay pleads with the Spectre to make it stop, but the Spectre says he cannot take action yet, that there must be "a reckoning". All he can tell McKay is, "fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come."
Meanwhile, at the United Nations general assembly, the Secretary-General decides to take action to deal with the rogue superhuman problem once and for all: nuclear devices that are capable of destroying all metahuman life except for Superman. Back on Earth, Captain Marvel continually pelts Superman with his Shazam lightning bolts as he darts out of the way, until Superman finally grabs Captain Marvel as he calls upon Shazam's name, letting the lightning bolt turn Captain Marvel back into Billy Batson. He grabs Batson's mouth and clamps it shut while he tries to reason with Batson, making him see the urgency of a bomb being dropped. He lets Batson make the decision of what's more important to him as he flies off to intercept the bomb. Batson speaks Shazam's name again and transforms into Captain Marvel, flinging Superman to the ground as he outraces the Man of Steel and intercepts the bomb first. He calls upon Shazam's name three times, and the lightning bolt ignites the bomb, consuming all superhumans in a mushroom cloud except for Superman and whoever was protected by the Green Lanterns' power rings.
Enraged by the massive loss of life by this extreme act, Superman flies off in a rage toward the United Nations and seals the doors shut, terrifying all the people within as he threatens to pull down the whole building on top of them. As the gathered heroes remove their masks and helmets as a symbol of good faith toward that end, Superman hangs the cape of Captain Marvel on a flagpole as a memorial.
At the conclusion of the tale, Batman turns his ruined Wayne Manor into a hospital, using Lex Luthor and most of the members of his Mankind Liberation Front as part of his "staff". Wonder Woman is restored to her rightful place as the princess of Paradise Island and now begins her role as a teacher of superhumans. Superman begins his work restoring the Kansas wasteland into a productive and fertile land for farming. And the Spectre, after showing Norman McKay his once human side as Jim Corrigan, returns the pastor to his church, where he now preaches a message of hope to his congregation.
One Year Later...
Superman and Wonder Woman meet with Batman in their civilian identities at the Planet Krypton restaurant, where they share news with each other about what's been going on in their lives over the past year. However, the real reason for this meeting is the news that Diana and Clark wanted to share with Bruce, whom he easily figures out: she is pregnant with Clark's child. What catches Bruce off guard, though, is that Diana wants him to be the godparent, despite Bruce's record as a parent with his former wards. Both Clark and Diana see that Bruce can teach their child things they themselves cannot teach: lessons about mortality and morality from a man they both trust. As Clark and Bruce make their peace and then leave together with Diana to discuss what a future they will have with the child, Norman McKay is seen with Jim Corrigan talking about "the Spectre Platter".
Notes:
Signed by: Alex Ross on 04/11/2017
Trivia:
- Captain Marvel's use of the Shazam lightning bolt against Superman during their one-on-one confrontation would be repeated in another similar battle between the two heroes in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Clash".
- The T-shirt salesgirl at the Planet Krypton in the "One Year later" epilogue is wearing a Batgirl costume from the 1960s Batman TV series. She is reading a Young Love comicbook.
- In the "One Year Later" epilogue, Bruce Wayne gives the waitress dressed as the Carrie Kelly version of Robin from Dark Knight Returns a once-over look. In the Power Girl Chicken Sandwich item on the menu that the waitress suggests, she says that the cut is breast -- a rather suggestive in-joke referring to Power Girl's physical appearance.
- Phil Sheldon from Marvels makes his last cameo appearance since Kingdom Come #2 sitting in the diner next to the Spectre (in his civilian guise of Jim Corrigan) and Norman McCay in the "One Year later" epilogue.
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