Identity Crisis #1/Michael Turner
This is the fourth part of a four-part series discussing the current "era" of comic books. You can check out part 1 here, part 2 here, and part 3 here.
Identity Crisis was a mini-series written by best-selling Author Brad Metlzer and illustrated by Rags Morales, published by DC Comics in 2004. The seeds first planted by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons in The Watchmen in 1986 finally reach their full fruition here.
Identity Crisis deals with subjects such as rape, murder, human rights violations, madness, corruption and deception in a very frank, adult manner. The Watchmen dealt with all of those themes as well, but Identity Crisis was the first time they were the focus in a title set firmly in the DC Universe. These were not some characters who were created for the sake of the story, they were icons of DC Comics’ Silver Age, they were the Justice League of America.
Whether you thought Identity Crisis was a good miniseries or not (and it was a very polarizing story), you have to acknowledge that it is at least an intellectual descendent of The Watchmen. The morally ambiguous quality of the story has set the general tone in the DC Universe. Since Identity Crisis, we’ve seen:
- A Justice League administrator shoot Blue Beetle in the head, killing him instantly
- Wonder Woman break a man’s neck on live TV around the world
- Batman use (and lose control of) a computer satellite in an attempt to spy on literally everyone in the world
- Even DC’s current crossover event, "Blackest Night," has at its core the mistakes heroes made in their past literally coming back to haunt them
(A personal note: I am not passing judgment on either Identity Crisis or what’s happened since. But it is impossible to argue that the DC Universe isn't a much darker place than it was even 10 years ago).
It’s true that it may seem that super-hero comics are entering their sunset, as sales continue to drift lower each year. But on the other hand, it’s possible that we’re just around the corner from another Golden Age. It’s obvious that super-hero stories on the big screen have been embraced by the masses. Perhaps, with new models of distribution like the iPhone or Longbox platforms, super-hero comics will regain their prominence in the national consciousness.
Also, just today Disney announced the acquisition of Marvel Comics for four billion dollars. So whether we were in the modern age or the post-modern age, it is very possible that we just turned the corner into another era of comics publishing.
Check out the rest of the articles in the Comics 101 series here.
Who just bought Marvel Comics for four billion dollars?
Is Batman: Arkham Asylum worth the money?
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