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The DC Universe by John Byrne
Your favorite DC characters, written and drawn by the incomparable John Byrne!
In addition to John Byrne&;s classic character-defining arcs of SUPERMAN and WONDER WOMAN, the writer/artist also created a trove of lesser-known DC Comics tales, starring characters from every corner of the DC Universe.
In these one-shot stories spanning more than 20 years, Batman thwarts a contest of wits between his greatest villains, an alternate-timeline ancestor of Superman helps the British win the Revolutionary War, and the Guardians of the Universe reveal their untold history.
With more than 300 pages of material never before printed in a collection, THE DC UNIVERSE BY JOHN BYRNE brings you the battle of the Teen Titans versus robot dinosaurs, the poignant Christmas tale of bygone hero Enemy Ace, the modern adventures of the Silver Age Hawkman and much more!
Collects NEW TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #2; OUTSIDERS #11; BATMAN #401, #433-435; VIGILANTE #35; BATMAN ANNUAL #11; HAWKMAN #10; LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #36; SECRET ORIGINS ANNUAL #1; TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #81; CHRISTMAS WITH THE SUPER-HEROES #1-2; POWER OF THE ATOM #6; BATMAN 3-D; GREEN GANTHET&;S TALE; ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #6; BATMAN ADVENTURES ANNUAL #1; THE WEDDING ALBUM; SPEED FORCE #1; 80-PAGE GIANT; GOTHAM KNIGHTS #2; HAWKMAN #26; DC COMICS PRESENTS HAWKMAN #1; ACTION COMICS #827-828; DCU INFINITE HOLIDAY SPECIAL; SUPERMAN THROUGH THE AGES; THE COLLECTION
In addition to John Byrne&;s classic character-defining arcs of SUPERMAN and WONDER WOMAN, the writer/artist also created a trove of lesser-known DC Comics tales, starring characters from every corner of the DC Universe.
In these one-shot stories spanning more than 20 years, Batman thwarts a contest of wits between his greatest villains, an alternate-timeline ancestor of Superman helps the British win the Revolutionary War, and the Guardians of the Universe reveal their untold history.
With more than 300 pages of material never before printed in a collection, THE DC UNIVERSE BY JOHN BYRNE brings you the battle of the Teen Titans versus robot dinosaurs, the poignant Christmas tale of bygone hero Enemy Ace, the modern adventures of the Silver Age Hawkman and much more!
Collects NEW TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #2; OUTSIDERS #11; BATMAN #401, #433-435; VIGILANTE #35; BATMAN ANNUAL #11; HAWKMAN #10; LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #36; SECRET ORIGINS ANNUAL #1; TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #81; CHRISTMAS WITH THE SUPER-HEROES #1-2; POWER OF THE ATOM #6; BATMAN 3-D; GREEN GANTHET&;S TALE; ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #6; BATMAN ADVENTURES ANNUAL #1; THE WEDDING ALBUM; SPEED FORCE #1; 80-PAGE GIANT; GOTHAM KNIGHTS #2; HAWKMAN #26; DC COMICS PRESENTS HAWKMAN #1; ACTION COMICS #827-828; DCU INFINITE HOLIDAY SPECIAL; SUPERMAN THROUGH THE AGES; THE COLLECTION
432 pages, Hardcover
Published December 19, 2017
45 people are currently reading
43 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.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 4, 2018
Most of the work Byrne just penciled, but didn't write. The annuals are probably the best of the books contained. The book also contains a lot of fantastic cover art by John Byrne. The Teen Titans Annual, Superman Elseworlds and Batman 3-D (even though it's no longer 3-D) were standouts. I particularly like how he draws Batman in the black and white Ego Trip from Batman 3-D.
February 5, 2024
This is a fun collection for those who are fans of John Byrne's art. The stories themselves are a grab bag of oddball stories. Most of them just OK. However, there is one that features the Guardian Ganthet who takes Hal Jordan along with him to find the missing distant cousins of the Guardians that have been hiding out on Earth, the Leprechauns! They then recruit a Leprechaun lantern and go into space to fight a renegade Guardian who is trying to rewrite the timeline. Good, goofy fun!
March 25, 2022
Byrne's artwork is always a treat, but this collection of unrelated stories really proves that his real talent lies in doing a long run of a title, where he has time to develop the subplots and supporting characters that he is so good at. See his runs on Superman or Wonder Woman for much better examples of his work.
July 11, 2019
Disappointing. John Byrne has done some amazing work at both DC and Marvel, as both writer and artist, and this collection doesn't do it justice; my rating reflects the quality of this collection, and not of his career. This is a disjointed slog of context-less stories that reminds me of when, as a child, I'd pick up whatever comics I could find and read them without any really context or continuity. It includes some fairly generic Batman stories, forgettable single issue tales, covers that often don't match the stories that follow, and issues that are clearly part of larger arcs. The Green Lantern works and a Superman "Elseworlds" tale are the high points here, but much of this could have been honed down, or better work included.
May 23, 2019
I was little disappointed with this collection. For the most part, this is all good stuff. The problem is that some of the material is a little weak on substance and the stronger selections are not able to really offset them. Still, it was enjoyable and this is certainly something that every Byrne-victim should have on their shelf.
July 25, 2018
Some great material here. Some key moments in the DCU captured in the book. Seems odd this isn't a Vol. 1. Surely this isn't all of Byrne's DCU work, not counting the big runs on titles.
July 6, 2020
A collection of odds 'n ends, single issue stories and shorts that Byrne illustrated and in some cases wrote for DC that don't fit into a larger "run" of his. Most are enjoyable, a few aren't so good, and a couple pieces are filler for the completist. Among the best are "Ganthet's Tale," an epic Green Lantern story written by legendary science fiction writer Larry Niven, and a Batman story (originally presented in 3-D, but here in simple black & white), a murder mystery featuring four of his greatest foes. There is also an origin story that sets the stage for the revival of the long-lost Doom Patrol, a possibly imaginary Teen Titans bedtime story, a trip through the Atom's life provided by his arch-enemy Chronos (which unfortunately ends on a cliffhanger), and a touching tribute to venerable DC editor Julius Schwartz following his death.
December 4, 2021
For years, John Byrne was known as purely a Marvel artist, due to heralded runs on titles such as "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four". When DC lured him away with the opportunity to revamp Superman, Byrne began a flirtation with DC that would carry on for the next couple of decades. This book contains a sampling of scattered irregular tales for which Byrne provided art and sometimes writing.
I've always enjoyed seeing John Byrne apply his skills to the stable of characters at DC. This collection contains some prominent ones I'd read when they came out, also exposing me to ones I wasn't aware of.
As with many collections, this one is a mixed bag. I enjoyed revisiting tales of the New Teen Titans and the Doom Patrol, but found the Larry Niven-written "Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale" to be too clinical and flat for my liking. Of the other stories, perhaps my favorite was "Laughter After Midnight", an animated Batman story written by Paul Dini and featuring the Joker, with Byrne adopting a much more cartoonist style than usual.
Artistically, the book is nice in presenting Byrne's evolving art style over the years. I'm not as particular to some of his later art, but found the Titans and Doom Patrol artwork to be to my liking. It's also interesting to see how an array of different inkers worked over his pencils, with a range of results, all unmistakably Byrne but with each inker bringing different inking perspectives to the work.
Overall, I found this an enjoyable volume and would certainly recommend it to those who enjoy 80s and 90s DC as well as to fans of John Byrne.
I've always enjoyed seeing John Byrne apply his skills to the stable of characters at DC. This collection contains some prominent ones I'd read when they came out, also exposing me to ones I wasn't aware of.
As with many collections, this one is a mixed bag. I enjoyed revisiting tales of the New Teen Titans and the Doom Patrol, but found the Larry Niven-written "Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale" to be too clinical and flat for my liking. Of the other stories, perhaps my favorite was "Laughter After Midnight", an animated Batman story written by Paul Dini and featuring the Joker, with Byrne adopting a much more cartoonist style than usual.
Artistically, the book is nice in presenting Byrne's evolving art style over the years. I'm not as particular to some of his later art, but found the Titans and Doom Patrol artwork to be to my liking. It's also interesting to see how an array of different inkers worked over his pencils, with a range of results, all unmistakably Byrne but with each inker bringing different inking perspectives to the work.
Overall, I found this an enjoyable volume and would certainly recommend it to those who enjoy 80s and 90s DC as well as to fans of John Byrne.
December 30, 2017
É curioso reparar que quase esqueci John Byrne, apesar do trabalho gráfico dele ter sido o que, quando adolescente a descobrir os X-Men escritos por Chris Claremont, me despertou o interesse para os comics. A razão para isso está bem patente nesta colectânea. Apesar do rigor formal, estética própria e de um olho especial para a iconografia da tecnologia, Byrne não tem um daqueles estilos visuais que ultrapassa o convencional no género. Se bem aproveitado na Marvel, onde ilustrou os X-Men e Alpha Flight, entre outros títulos, não parece ter tido a mesma sorte na DC. Esta antologia reúne histórias claramente menores, apesar do esforço visual colocado por Byrne em dar vida a argumentos medianos. Boa parte do livro é composto por capas, mostrando que este ilustrador, apesar de ter trabalhado para a DC, não foi aí que se tornou um dos nomes clássicos, embora menores, dos comics.
March 9, 2018
I love John Byrne - always have - so my five-star rating is probably quite biased. But some of Byrne’s great lesser-known work is on full display here, including the secret origin of the Doom Patrol, a 2d monochromatic Batman mystery, Ganthet’s debut, a “revolutionary” Superman Elseworlds, and a few Hawkman tales... and more! Byrne has a way of tapping into the infectiously awesome core of each character he handles, and so I’m glad DC is collecting a lot of his harder-to-find work like this lovely hardcover.
January 3, 2018
Awesome
I am more of a marvel fan I do love Batman and Wonder Woman and Superman and a few other dc characters I love these stories written by John Byrne and those he just pencilled
I am more of a marvel fan I do love Batman and Wonder Woman and Superman and a few other dc characters I love these stories written by John Byrne and those he just pencilled
December 28, 2020
É um boa edição? Eu diria que não, não é a melhor maneira de apresentar o Byrne para alguém.
Os pontos altos são uma história dos Lanternas Verdes - bem parecida com o Mogo do Moore -, uma história silenciosa do Ás Inimigo na noite de Natal, uma história em P&B do Batman de enganação e "hustle" - do Batman 3D - e as capas. O resto é bem meia boca, mas deve-se destacar uma história profundamente perturbadora dos Titãs.
Na época, a Donna Troy tava de rolo com o professor, o professor tinha uma filha e a filha pede para ela contar uma história dos Titãs que envolve-se dinossauros-robôs e alienígenas. Como ela é uma super-heroína que já enfrentou dinossauros, robôs, alienígenas e todas as combinações possíveis, ela conta uma história que começa no deserto, envolve a Nova Doutora Luz, e não faz muito sentido, mas a parte perturbadora é que a Donna Troy faz questão de contar para a menininha de 11 anos todas as piadas infames e trocadilhos sexuais do Mutano, lembrem que o Mutano dos anos 80 fazia uma piadinha sexual a cada 2 quadrinhos. Acho que esse tipo de detalhe poderia ser deixado de lado.
Ainda que eu seja muito fã do Byrne, admito que tá longe do melhor momento dele.
Os pontos altos são uma história dos Lanternas Verdes - bem parecida com o Mogo do Moore -, uma história silenciosa do Ás Inimigo na noite de Natal, uma história em P&B do Batman de enganação e "hustle" - do Batman 3D - e as capas. O resto é bem meia boca, mas deve-se destacar uma história profundamente perturbadora dos Titãs.
Na época, a Donna Troy tava de rolo com o professor, o professor tinha uma filha e a filha pede para ela contar uma história dos Titãs que envolve-se dinossauros-robôs e alienígenas. Como ela é uma super-heroína que já enfrentou dinossauros, robôs, alienígenas e todas as combinações possíveis, ela conta uma história que começa no deserto, envolve a Nova Doutora Luz, e não faz muito sentido, mas a parte perturbadora é que a Donna Troy faz questão de contar para a menininha de 11 anos todas as piadas infames e trocadilhos sexuais do Mutano, lembrem que o Mutano dos anos 80 fazia uma piadinha sexual a cada 2 quadrinhos. Acho que esse tipo de detalhe poderia ser deixado de lado.
Ainda que eu seja muito fã do Byrne, admito que tá longe do melhor momento dele.
May 30, 2018
This was a bit of a let down. Obviously I bought this for the Byrne art BUT it comes from later in his career when his care to detail and effort was going down hill. The ones inked by him at least look pretty good but still not the quality from his earlier work at Marvel (X-men, Iron Fist being my two favs, With Fantastic Four coming in a close third). The ones NOT inked by him are usually pretty bad (exceptions being the ones inked by José Luis García-López) mostly due to the fact John Byrne's "pencils" at the time were not well fleshed out (this according to inkers I talked to at comic conventions).
The stories themselves range in quality from the fun to the lame. Mostly forgettable.
Even as a big Byrne fan I would suggest giving this a miss and just stick to his early Marvel work.
The stories themselves range in quality from the fun to the lame. Mostly forgettable.
Even as a big Byrne fan I would suggest giving this a miss and just stick to his early Marvel work.
August 30, 2022
As the title suggests, this volume collects stories that John Byrne wrote for the DC Universe between 1986 and 2007. There are stories featuring Teen Titans, Halo, Green Lantern, Doom Patrol, Batman, The Atom and Hawkman, among others. A number of the stories are substantial, including 30 or more pages.
I especially liked 'A Stranger with My Face' that featured both the original Jay Garrick Flash and the Silver Age Barry Allen Flash; and 'Time Time Time' featuring The Atom. I also liked the Doom Patrol story, which I assume was written as a reboot. I hadn't read any Atom or Doom Patrol stories before, so I enjoyed finding out more about them. I ended up reading 75% of the book, as some stories didn't appeal to me as much (e.g., Hawkman).
A good introduction to some of the characters in the DC universe, with interesting storytelling and a good variety of artwork.
I especially liked 'A Stranger with My Face' that featured both the original Jay Garrick Flash and the Silver Age Barry Allen Flash; and 'Time Time Time' featuring The Atom. I also liked the Doom Patrol story, which I assume was written as a reboot. I hadn't read any Atom or Doom Patrol stories before, so I enjoyed finding out more about them. I ended up reading 75% of the book, as some stories didn't appeal to me as much (e.g., Hawkman).
A good introduction to some of the characters in the DC universe, with interesting storytelling and a good variety of artwork.
August 6, 2020
Largely fine and also forgettable.
The most notable story was the Batman story that captures this weird crossroads in Batman tone. It very much has that Adam West feel but it's about a murder. Everyone's clowning around but there's a dead body!
They also made a silly choice to include covers in the middle of the book unrelated to the story so it's never actually clear what you're reading until you've read a few pages and confirmed that the cover is irrelevant.
The most notable story was the Batman story that captures this weird crossroads in Batman tone. It very much has that Adam West feel but it's about a murder. Everyone's clowning around but there's a dead body!
They also made a silly choice to include covers in the middle of the book unrelated to the story so it's never actually clear what you're reading until you've read a few pages and confirmed that the cover is irrelevant.
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May 4, 2021Material misceláneo dibujado por John Byrne para DC. Recopila NEW TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #2; OUTSIDERS #11; GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #3; SECRET ORIGINS ANNUAL #1; POWER OF THE ATOM #6; CHRISTMAS WITH THE SUPER-HEROES #2; BATMAN 3-D; GREEN LANTERN: GANTHET'S TALE; ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #6; BATMAN ADVENTURES ANNUAL #1; SPEED FORCE #1; FLASH: 80-PAGE GIANT #1; BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #2; HAWKMAN #26; DC COMICS PRESENTS: HAWKMAN #1; DCU INFINITE HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1 y SUPERMAN THROUGH THE AGES.
February 28, 2021
There is an eclectic mix from John Byrne's non-Superman work at DC. (There is a sampling of Superman stories in the collection, but they are separate from his 1980s Man of Steel-era reboot.) My favorite stories are the ones featuring Jay (original Flash) Garrick and Enemy Ace.
April 26, 2018
Quite a few of the listed items are just covers, but even those are great to see again. Byrne has always been one of my favorite artists so I enjoyed this DC sampler.
May 5, 2021
Includes Ganthet’s Tale, many non-Superman stories
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews