As the name suggests, the DC Universe according to Mike Mignola collects comics from the DC Universe on which Mike Mignola worked on. Is it worth seeing how the line of the creator of Hellboy has evolved?
Ghostly newcomer
According to Mike Mignola, DC Universe is a collection of over a dozen notebooks focused on various characters and events, and the element that binds all the stories is Mike Mignola. The collection starts with The Newcomer’s Heart from 1987. I must admit that reading this comic made me feel very disappointed. Perhaps communing with this story would not be so troublesome if it did not occupy almost a quarter of the volume of this volume. As for the heroes, the Ghostly Przybysz is tragic. The lines he says are so pompous and unnatural that at times I would rather focus only on the pictures than on the content he says. I am very reluctant to reach for another notebook on his adventures. The plot is average, and so is Mignola’s line. The Phantom Stranger covering four notebooks is a complete story, but unfortunately not very interesting.
Birth of Superman
Fortunately, the rest of the stories are on a much better level. Later in the volume you can find a lot of items devoted to Superman. But what’s much more interesting, they actually focus on the history of Krypton. Not only can we find out why civilization was destroyed, but we can also learn about an alternative variant of this story, i.e. what would happen if more Kryptonians left the planet. Only Curse of the Banshee and Memories of Krypton’s past focus on the character of Superman. In the first case, he will face the Silver Banshee, and in the second, Clarky Kent will become a gladiator. Somehow I never really liked Superman, but I must admit that I really liked these comics. As for Krypton’s past memories, it is worth emphasizing that this is the only story whose ending will not be known. At the end we have a link to another volume. It is a pity that there is no sequel to this volume, especially since it is a really very addictive story.
Batman et al
At the end you can find the latest notebooks on which Mike Mignola worked on, so in them you can especially see the evolution of his line to the one known from Hellboy . The best example of this is the Sanctuary . An intriguing and dark, though short story about Batman’s fight with a madman in the cemetery. In addition, there is a story drawn in black, white and scarlet, the plot of which may not be ambitious and unforgettable, but the unusual convention and graphic design should be appreciated. If the clay man were to be made, it would be nothing more than a description of Batman and Robin’s battles with Clayfac, plus a humorous twist. It ranks worse than Sanctuary , but still a hundred times better than The Phantom Stranger. In addition, there is also an intriguing comic about the Swamp Monster.
What was the Superman cape made of?
The edition is really solid – chalk paper, hard cover, large format. According to Mike Mignola, the DC Universe is pleasant to read, and the comic book looks nice on the shelf. Unfortunately, without the dust jacket, it resembles a regular notebook, not a collection of comics. Besides, I would stick to the posted covers created by Mike Mignola. They look great, but they’re scattered throughout the volume, and I’d rather have most of them at the very end. As for the graphics, I like that you can see the evolution of Mike Mignola’s line. Some comics look better, others look worse, but it is enough to look at the brilliant covers or even Sanctuary and I can easily put the full eight in this category.
Is it worth delving into the comics drawn by Mike Mignola?
I like superhero comics, be it from DC or Marvel, but the truth is I don’t read much of them. The huge selection of different series can be overwhelming. On the other hand, I also prefer to avoid longer cycles. The DC Universe according to Mike Mignola allowed me to explore a variety of classic DC stories. I would love to come back to this volume because I had a lot of fun with it. Even though I got tired and disappointed with the comic book devoted to the Ghostly Newcomer, I am still delighted with this position. According to Mike Mignola, the DC Universe consists of great stories and interesting heroes (Phantom Stranger at least looks intriguing), and at times it is even a brilliant line.
