Flashback Friday: Rann-Thanagar Holy War, Tradepaperback volumes 1 & 2

I had trouble sleeping last night and grabbed these two books from the shelf.  I had read Mystery in Space about the newly reborn Captain Comet and The Weird.  It was really cool, so when I saw these at the used bookstore I grabbed them.  Many cosmic characters involved in this story.  One of the pluses is that while mired in DCU history, one does not get lost in the story.  What will lose you is the few pages in the first volume that are placed wrong.  Not sure if it is just my issues or if this was a trade collected problem.  I figured it out and many astute readers should as well.


One thing that this story does is draw the Lady Styxx character and the religious group from Mystery in Space into direct conflict.  Both the Rannians and the Thanagrians have adopted the religions.  Thanagarians are being duped by the Eternal Light Corporation Church for nefarious means and the Rannians follow Lady Styxx because of the remnants of her virus that made them follow her.  They have a rose colored glasses view of this monster that kills and eats her followers.


Seeing Bizarro was a neat surprise.  Away from Superman it provided a different perspective on the weird copy of the Man of Steel.  All the various characters are well represented.  The roll call is Starman, Tigor, Tyrone, Comet, The Weird, Starfire, Animal Man, Adam Strange, and Hawkman.  This mixes some interesting personalities to play with as the tale progresses.  Bad things happen.  Worlds are decimated and genocide occurs.  All the while a cosmic entity struggles to see a plan to fruition.


The Nameless or Demiurge is a complicated character filled with pseudo-theology and mythology while wrapped in time paradoxes.  Make your head hurt yet?  Like Miles O'Brien always said, "I hate temporal mechanics."  Just go with the flow in volume two when the time flux stuff kicks in.  The action makes it worth it.  All the battle and sacrifice makes for a new status quo in the end and a place where some future DC writer can play with some characters in new and exciting ways.


A good read all around.


BDS