Illustrators: Scott Kolins, Andy Kubert, José Luis García-López, George Pérez, Jerry Ordway, Dan Jurgens, Jesus Saiz, Tom Derenick, J.G. Jones, J.H. Williams III, Dave Gibbons, Joe Kubert, Walter Simonson, Keith Giffen, Brian Bolland, Frank Quitely, Bill Sienkiewicz, Gary Frank

This book takes a walk through the history of the DC universe (at a course level) through the eyes of a retired Metropolis detective, and tracks the transition of tales from the Golden Age (when it was all fun and games) to the more recent grimy and dark stories and characters of the last several decades. The first couple books deal with the Golden Age, and the transition period to the more recent era. What I found interesting was the campiness of it all, from plot devices like revolving door incarcerations to strange villains like “The Fiddler”.

The second half was more familiar for me, and we get to see huge DC events from the eyes of the common man such as the Final Night, Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Death and Return of Superman, Blackest Day/Brightest Night, Identity Crisis, and the Killing Joke. I enjoyed glimpses at some of these events I haven’t read about, and will follow up with some of them.

Finally, the compilation ends with very short stories, almost vignettes. While I found some boring, others are interesting and feature characters I especially enjoy like Orion, Etrigan, and Black Adam.