The other history of the DC universe, I.

The other history of the DC Universe, vol. 1. 

I - 1972 - 1995: Jefferson Pierce. 

- John Ridley, et. al. 

The history of the extended DC Universe as told through the eyes of minority, and often neglected, characters. Herein, Black Lightning. From his rise through the turbulent 70’s and the dawn of heroes to his quest for revenge in the guise of justice and the ultimate toll it has on his family. Yet his tale is not just that of a man or even a super-man —it’s the tale of those who had to fight tooth and nail for everything in a willfully blind nation…

One of the most interesting comics in decades, a provocative book that confronts deeply ingrained prejudices and oversights both editorial and cultural. Merely shifting the point of view often asks us to interrogate the way we read certain stories and the assumptions we carry with us. 

Setting the story in the actual DC comics is something of a double-edged sword. It serves to directly confront iconic characters (“Superman’s weakness wasn’t just irradiated rocks from his home planet. What made him human was a desperate need to be liked and admired”), but it sometimes feels jarring (juxtaposing real-life events with the over-the-top shenanigans typical of the sub-genre). Quite a few readers seem to have missed the point, obsessing more over the story’s exact continuity or the sneering at certain characters' ideologies (there is a very “How dare you!” tone to a lot of fan comments. Not at all surprising, to be honest).  More interesting are those who do get the point: To reconsider the way we’ve viewed certain tales for years and years. 

As such, even narrators are confronted with their own prejudices —Pierce is both a hard-working teacher and a man often unaware of his own biases (“When you can’t see yourself in others it’s just bigotry by another name”). Of particular interest is a subplot of a student that Pierce believes is helping with ‘though love’ —years later Pierce’s daughter will discover that the only thing he managed to do is make a gay student feel constantly harassed. Pierce, too, is forced to re-evaluate his own stances every so often. 

A very recommended comic, worth of several careful re-reads. The amount of details both explicit and subtle packed into each page is notable. Consider the simple secret message in a newspaper or the homaging of several famous comic covers and panels. A strong start to a fascinating five-volume mini-series. 

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