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Genesis (1997) #1
Genesis (1997) #1
Somehow, certain heroes start to lose their powers, while others are unaffected or find their abilities augmented in 'Resonance.'
- GenresComics
23 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 6, 1997
1 person is currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
John Byrne
2,955 books359 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.
Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 28, 2021
#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. From the January 1998 edition with a theme of "Worst of '97 & When Worst is Good":
INTRODUCTION
I thought about doing a best-of-'97 year-in-review this month. Looking back though, I realized my column is generally positive (the lowest grade I've given out is a single D), and I've already told you about the books I've liked this year. Meanwhile, this week, my back's bothering me, "Riven" won't work on the computer, the modem is playing mindgames with me, the car is broken, and too much was spent on Christmas presents. In other words, I'm feeling cranky. So let's look at the worst of '97. Here are a few items which bothered me. Keep in mind, many more awful comics exist than you'll find listed here; these are only the ones I had the misfortune of reading.
p.s. I couldn't help it. I had to slip in some positive reviews. Skip on down to QUANTUM & WOODY and MILK AND CHEESE if you want to find the good stuff.
THE WORST COMICS I READ IN '97
GENESIS #1-4 (DC Comics)
GENESIS was the worst crossover event in a year of many awful crossover events. Marvel's "Heroes Reborn" universe actually had the gall to perpetrate three major crossover events in its closing months. "Heroes Reunited" was passable only because of the audacity of the heroes' failure resulting in the destruction of the Earth not once -- not twice -- but three times! -- with Dr. Doom and his time machine pulling their fat out of the fire each time. "World War 3" and its crossover with the heroes of Jim Lee's WildStorm Universe was inoffensive and forgettable. HEROES REBORN: THE RETURN was acceptable only because it finally put an end to the whole farce and returned the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Captain America to their regular continuities. Bad as they were, all the Marvel crossovers look like Shakespeare when compared to the atrocity which was DC's GENESIS.
How could such talented creators go astray? I've been a longtime member of John Byrne's "Faithful Fifty" -- the fifty thousand readers who follow Byrne from title to title. I've found him to be one of the most consistent writer/artists working in comics. Yet with GENESIS, Byrne's writing bottomed out. Despite the individual talents of penciler Ron Wagner and inker Joe Rubinstein, their styles failed to mesh in GENESIS, resulting in a rough, sketchy mess that sent the book even lower in my esteem.
GENESIS was sound and fury, signifying nothing. A "God wave" which had rolled through the universe at the beginning of time creating all the gods of mythology, was sweeping back through the universe depressing everyone. Yes, that's right, it made everyone depressed. Oooh, catastrophic! Allegedly, it forever altered the powers of many DC Universe superheroes and could have resulted in the end of the universe or somesuch. I can't remember a single change, however, except a bunch of DC Comics in which everyone sat around acting mopey. Actually, I'm hard pressed to remember much else about GENESIS. For my own protection, I seem to have blocked it from my memory. Of course, that's probably for the best.
To close off this rant, I want to take time to make a gratuitous slam: I despise the work of Jack Kirby. GENESIS and JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD are only the most recent failures to feature the brainchildren of Kirby. The late Kirby's blocky art was barely tolerable, but his writing was the epitome of bad. The New Gods, Mr. Miracle, and the Forever People were lousy creations. Lousy! I can't believe DC keeps trying to revive the characters year after year with new creative teams, only to cancel their comics every time. DC, catch a clue and let these characters fade away. Or perhaps . . . kill them off in an crossover event???
Grade: F
INTRODUCTION
I thought about doing a best-of-'97 year-in-review this month. Looking back though, I realized my column is generally positive (the lowest grade I've given out is a single D), and I've already told you about the books I've liked this year. Meanwhile, this week, my back's bothering me, "Riven" won't work on the computer, the modem is playing mindgames with me, the car is broken, and too much was spent on Christmas presents. In other words, I'm feeling cranky. So let's look at the worst of '97. Here are a few items which bothered me. Keep in mind, many more awful comics exist than you'll find listed here; these are only the ones I had the misfortune of reading.
p.s. I couldn't help it. I had to slip in some positive reviews. Skip on down to QUANTUM & WOODY and MILK AND CHEESE if you want to find the good stuff.
THE WORST COMICS I READ IN '97
GENESIS #1-4 (DC Comics)
GENESIS was the worst crossover event in a year of many awful crossover events. Marvel's "Heroes Reborn" universe actually had the gall to perpetrate three major crossover events in its closing months. "Heroes Reunited" was passable only because of the audacity of the heroes' failure resulting in the destruction of the Earth not once -- not twice -- but three times! -- with Dr. Doom and his time machine pulling their fat out of the fire each time. "World War 3" and its crossover with the heroes of Jim Lee's WildStorm Universe was inoffensive and forgettable. HEROES REBORN: THE RETURN was acceptable only because it finally put an end to the whole farce and returned the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Captain America to their regular continuities. Bad as they were, all the Marvel crossovers look like Shakespeare when compared to the atrocity which was DC's GENESIS.
How could such talented creators go astray? I've been a longtime member of John Byrne's "Faithful Fifty" -- the fifty thousand readers who follow Byrne from title to title. I've found him to be one of the most consistent writer/artists working in comics. Yet with GENESIS, Byrne's writing bottomed out. Despite the individual talents of penciler Ron Wagner and inker Joe Rubinstein, their styles failed to mesh in GENESIS, resulting in a rough, sketchy mess that sent the book even lower in my esteem.
GENESIS was sound and fury, signifying nothing. A "God wave" which had rolled through the universe at the beginning of time creating all the gods of mythology, was sweeping back through the universe depressing everyone. Yes, that's right, it made everyone depressed. Oooh, catastrophic! Allegedly, it forever altered the powers of many DC Universe superheroes and could have resulted in the end of the universe or somesuch. I can't remember a single change, however, except a bunch of DC Comics in which everyone sat around acting mopey. Actually, I'm hard pressed to remember much else about GENESIS. For my own protection, I seem to have blocked it from my memory. Of course, that's probably for the best.
To close off this rant, I want to take time to make a gratuitous slam: I despise the work of Jack Kirby. GENESIS and JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD are only the most recent failures to feature the brainchildren of Kirby. The late Kirby's blocky art was barely tolerable, but his writing was the epitome of bad. The New Gods, Mr. Miracle, and the Forever People were lousy creations. Lousy! I can't believe DC keeps trying to revive the characters year after year with new creative teams, only to cancel their comics every time. DC, catch a clue and let these characters fade away. Or perhaps . . . kill them off in an crossover event???
Grade: F
August 29, 2020
I've always been interested in the "Old Gods" and the cosmology of the DCU, particularly the unfulfilled promise of the Fifth World.
As such, this is the story of heroes temporarily losing their powers due to the "Godwave" allegedly the source of superpowers (kind of like a solar flare of sorts). It's an interesting "crisis", and I liked it. The ending allows some stealth retcons but doesn't suppose a lot of changes at the conclusion.
As such, this is the story of heroes temporarily losing their powers due to the "Godwave" allegedly the source of superpowers (kind of like a solar flare of sorts). It's an interesting "crisis", and I liked it. The ending allows some stealth retcons but doesn't suppose a lot of changes at the conclusion.
January 10, 2021
This hasn't been collected as a TPB, so I've reviewed issue #1 here as a proxy for the four-issue limited series. It's a typical crossover event: a threat from space, erratic powers, perfunctory crossovers and a rushed conclusion. Making this weirder is the point in time that this arrived in. Superman is blue, a story arc that lasted for such a brief period of time that I missed it the first time around. Superboy was hanging about with the Ravers. There was a romance superhero comic called Young Heroes in Love. At one point Catwoman quotes Hitler. (Yes, she really does). The thing is, this should (or at least could) have been a great story. The Godwave, The Source Wall screaming, and the New Gods all make for great elements in a story. It's just a shame it all feels so inconsequential. Anyways, enough of this small change stuff. After this it's Day of Judgment and straight onto Infinite Crisis.
NB: Read as part of my DC Crisis and Beyond Journey: #15
NB: Read as part of my DC Crisis and Beyond Journey: #15
July 2, 2019
Late 90s DC. A veritable cacophony of stories, each tugging away from each other, even when they were supposed to be moving as a unit within a line-wide event.
I couldn't find this series in a combined volume, so I scored this issue as though it was the first 6 issues of Genesys.
There is no reason to read this folks. Not even if you are a diehard DC aficionado.
Blech.
I couldn't find this series in a combined volume, so I scored this issue as though it was the first 6 issues of Genesys.
There is no reason to read this folks. Not even if you are a diehard DC aficionado.
Blech.
August 7, 2020
This was disappointing in 1997 and it still is today. It has never been reprinted, as far as I can tell.
September 7, 2024
I guess this isn't considered a DC staple story?
October 20, 2024
3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️
April 13, 2023
A major DC crossover event so misbegotten that it doesn't appear they ever bothered to release it in a collection. And who could blame them? This is shockingly uneventful. It takes one potentially interesting new piece of lore (the "Godwave") and uses it as a springboard for... nothing, as far as I can tell. I only finished this a couple of weeks ago and I can barely tell you what the conflict was. Each issue just kind of re-explains the Godwave and then nothing happens. Part of the threat is that people feel really sad. The heroes win by, like, thinking (praying?) in unison really hard.
Closely tied to John Byrne's Jack Kirby's Fourth World, which I'm finishing up, and while that series has its problems, it is nowhere near this asinine or lacking in action. No idea what went wrong.
I think there might have been a tie-in or 2 where something fun happened because the Godwave changed or took away the hero's powers, but I can't recall anything specific.
D
Closely tied to John Byrne's Jack Kirby's Fourth World, which I'm finishing up, and while that series has its problems, it is nowhere near this asinine or lacking in action. No idea what went wrong.
I think there might have been a tie-in or 2 where something fun happened because the Godwave changed or took away the hero's powers, but I can't recall anything specific.
D
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews