CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #8: When Death Still Mattered in Comics

Posted By Dan Greenfield on Dec 1, 2019 | 1 comment

An INSIDE LOOK at the Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 Facsimile Edition — out this week…

After nearly 35 years of comics events, you’d be forgiven if you no longer quite grasped just what an enormous impact DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths had in 1985 and 1986.

Now, we can debate its merits three and a half decades later — click here for 13 QUICK THOUGHTS on that — but that’s not a discussion I’m looking to have here.

No, with the Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 Facsimile Edition out Dec. 4, I’m reminded of one important aspect of that story: Death. Real, believeable death.

Because of the unprecedented nature of Crisis, you believed it when Supergirl died in Issue #7 and you believed it when the Flash died in Issue #8. Such was the power of Marv Wolfman, George Perez and Jerry Ordway’s storytelling and such was the way DC presented this groundbreaking maxiseries. (Hell, it was so huge, it changed the industry’s timeline: Crisis marked the end of the Bronze Age and signaled the start of the Modern Age.)

These days, death in comics is a waiting game. Resurrection is inevitable, especially if a character is beloved, marketable and easily translated to the screen big and small. And I’ll have more thoughts on that soon.

Instead, now it’s time to dive into the Crisis on Infinite Earths #8 Facsimile Edition — spotlighting a landmark issue deserving of this popular treatment, with ads and all.

And why is this issue coming out this week? Because The CW’s version of Crisis on Infinite Earths starts Dec. 8 on Supergirl, of course.

Here’s a trailer:

And here’s your INSIDE LOOK at the $3.99 Facsimile Edition — including some memorable ads (Super Powers!) and a Meanwhile column devoted mostly to the state of the DC Bullets softball team and its showdown with, of all publications, The Nation. (No letters this issue. Oh, well.)

Rad.