Most Wanted Reprints : Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 5

I have strong opinions about certain comics that I would really, really like to see reprinted so they will have a place on my bookshelf. This sounded like a good idea for an occasional feature on the blog, so here we are. And what better way to kick off this "Most Wanted Reprints" series than a book I have been asking for for ages?

Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 5 was originally announced in 2006 for April 2007 release, along with Crisis on Multiple Earths : The Team-Ups Vol. 2 for March 2007. Well, those months came and went and Team-Ups was solicited and arrived, but Volume 5 of the "main" series was M.I.A. It was never even solicited! So I waited and waited. But guess what? This story has a happy ending! Before we get there, let's look at what the proposed contents of this Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 5 would be.

(For those of you coming late to my nerd party, these volumes collect issues that team the Justice League with the Justice Society. Clear?)

Justice League of America #159 & #160 have our two teams taking on "heroes out of time" like Jonah Hex and Enemy Ace. It's all part of a larger plot by the Lord of Time, the JLA's answer to Kang the Conqueror except with a snappy goatee. It's an odd way to get a third "group" into the mix - possibly THE oddest except for that whole pesky Earth Prime story from a few years earlier.

Justice League of America #171 & #172 is the first story to involve solely the JLA and JSA in a few years. It's also a murder mystery, which is not something you usually see in books with this many people in colorful outfits. I'm not sure it plays entirely fair, but I enjoyed it a lot when I was 6, and actually figured out the culprit. No, really.

Justice League of America #183, #184, & #185 is another three-parter, the first since 1976. It brings our heroes together with the New Gods, in battle with Darkseid. If anyone gave a damn about continuity, I'd tell you this follows directly from the New Gods shortlived revival series in the late 1970s. But they don't, so never mind. #183 was the last issue of JLA completed by Dick Dillin prior to his untimely passing. The story was completed by George Perez, no stranger to drawing crowd scenes himself.

In 2007, I wrote the following :

So, there's your contents, more or less. The announced cover for this volume will be by George Perez, whenever it actually comes to pass. Speculation is that some film from this period has gone missing, perhaps more than was originally known, and the art has to be reconstructed. Hopefully, that process will be completed soon, and I can have this book in my greedy paws.

It took far longer than I would've liked, but according to the George Perez fansite and those friendly folks at Amazon, I'll be getting my wish in April 2010!

Perez in 2010: DC Classic Library - JLA by George Perez #2 and Crisis on Multiple Earths #5

Yipee! I'm sure we can thank a healthy reproduction budget for those "Classic Comic Library" books for making this possible. Which does remind me that I need to look into ordering Volume 1 of that series too.

Next time in this series (whenever there is a next time!), I'll likely discuss a reprint project that hasn't been officially announced. I have no idea which one that might be, and there's always the chance that reality could beat me to the punch again!