Review: Tales from the DC Dark Multiverse

Quick Summary

Pros: The majority of this book’s stories are unique and interesting. The stories here are even better if fans have read the original stories they are based on. The majority of the book’s artwork is positive.

Cons: A few of this book’s stories are just average. Fans may not appreciate some of the stories if they have not read the original stories they are based on.

Overall: This is a unique collection of comics that tends to trend positive. The majority of the book presents unique twists on famous moments from DC’s history. The stories derived from these twists are compelling and involve some creative concepts. However, a few of these stories are just alright and some of them are not as good without knowledge of these famous moments from DC’s history. In the end, this is a book for readers who want to see a dark subversion of a few DC stories.

Story

In Tales from the DC Dark Multiverse, readers are presented with several “What if?” scenarios that present dark twists on famous stories from DC’s history. Several of these stories are great. They examine a darker take on Batman’s loss in Knightfall, a depressing version of Superman’s death, and a unique Infinite Crisis story centered around Blue Beetle. These stories are all compelling but are even more so when backed by the knowledge of what happens in the original stories. However, this collection also gathers two more stories that are just average and don’t really reach the level of quality present elsewhere in this book.

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The majority of the stories in Tales from the DC Dark Multiverse are good. The dive into an Azrael-controlled Gotham is immediately compelling, as it pits familiar and somewhat familiar characters against one another, and is centered around a world that feels wonderfully fresh and unique. Meanwhile, watching Lois Lane take on Superman’s role but do it with far more violence and destruction, functions as a heartbreaking twist on a traditionally inspirational story. Plus, Blue Beetle’s descent into the “power corrupts” trope works as a way to put this typically lower-tier hero as the centerpiece of a major crisis while also criticizing the actions of most heroes of the time. These are the stories that makes this collection worthwhile.

The downside is that each story requires some knowledge of the original story in order to be effective. Readers will not appreciate how Lois is specifically subverting Superman’s legacy if they are unaware of that legacy and will be unable to understand the depth of Blue Beetle’s discoveries if they are unaware of the stories behind those discoveries.

In addition, some of the stories in Tales from the DC Dark Multiverse are just average. The return to Blackest Night feels like a pretty generic zombie story, rather than the deeply emotional adventure seen in the original event. Later on, Terra’s rage against the entire world simply feels very one-note, as it essentially just revolves around rage and no other emotion. These stories still have some appeal if readers care about the concepts they represent but are not worth picking up the entire collection for.

Finally, Tales from the DC Dark Multiverse closes by collecting a few of the original stories that this volume references. Their inclusion does not add a lot to the collection as a whole, as none of them are long enough to detail the entire event they represent. However, I could definitely see some readers enjoying seeing these after reading the “dark” takes on them.

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Art

The artwork in Tales from the DC Dark Multiverse has plenty going for it. The volume opens with what may be its best chapter, a wonderfully stylized take on Gotham from Javi Fernandez. Then, it shifts to a detailed chapter from Brad Walker that manages to capture the feeling of 90s comics while also heavily emphasizing emotion. This is followed by Kyle Hotz’s dark take on the DC cosmos, which is not quite as aesthetically pleasing as other chapters but still manages to successfully capture the tone of the story. Next, Aaron Lopresti presents a crisp, clean, and detailed take on the heroes of Infinite Crisis that looks even better thanks to colors from Romulo Fajardo, Jr. Finally, the volume closes with a Judas Contract chapter, from Tom Raney, that looks alright but is not quite as visually impressive as the rest of the book. Overall though, the artwork in this volume is positive and complements each story being told.

Continuity

Tales from the DC Dark Multiverse is a standalone collection of independent stories from DC’s Dark Multiverse. In a way, this continues the general exploration of the Dark Multiverse, which was introduced in Dark Nights: Metal (Review) (Reading Order), but does not directly relate to any specific comic.

As of now, the stories in this collection do not continue in any specific comic.

This volume also references other comic books, detailed below:

• Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Batman: Knightfall #1 references Batman’s battle with Bane and the rise of Azrael. This was originally shown across Batman: Knightfall, Batman: Knightquest, and Batman: KnightsEnd.
• Tales from the Dark Multiverse: The Death of Superman #1 references the death of Superman, from Superman: The Death of Superman; the rise of other Supermen, from Superman: Reign of the Superman; and Superman’s return, from Superman: The Return of Superman.
• Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Blackest Night #1 references what happened in the Blackest Night event.
• Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Infinite Crisis #1 references what happened in the Infinite Crisis event. It also references The OMAC Project, Rann–Thanagar War, Day of Vengeance, and Villains United, all of which precede Infinite Crisis.
• Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Teen Titans: The Judas Contract #1 heavily references the Judas Contract story arc from the New Teen Titans series.