When I read this novel before Vol 2. The Tower of Fate months ago, I was like "Wow! Many things have been altered, but this is still very epic. One of the most epic DC graphic novels I have read since The Death of Superman Trilogy, Knightfall, Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, and Flashpoint. So right now, I'm reviewing this awesome comic not only because I loved it, but also I am looking forward to Earth 2 Vol. 3. Let us begin! Enjoy the show!
Plot. Five years ago, the creatures from Apokolips known as Parademons came from these energy tubes of light known as a Boom Tube. Fighting this threat are Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman who fight to repel the invaders off of Earth. Batman however has a plan to win the war, which is to implant a virus into one of the Parademons towers, which will destroy it and spread to all the other towers. Awesome plan Batman! That's very smart there! A monologue is saying that "if they only knew in their hearts, this was going to be their last battle". We are also introduced to Supergirl and Helena Wayne (Robin) who are also fighting against the Parademons. Although Batman's plan worked, it was a tragic cost to all three heroes as Superman is killed by a swarm of Parademons, Wonder Woman is killed by Steppenwolf, and Robin and Supergirl go through a Boom-Tube. Then in the present, we are re-introduced to Jay Garrick, a 21 year old college graduate whose life seems to be going nowhere and reflects upon all the mean things that his girlfriend Joan has told him, until he sees Mercury, the messenger of the gods who grants him the power of super speed. Then there is Alan Scott, an openly gay media mongul who arrives in Hong Kong to spend time with Sam in a retreat, but tragedy strikes on their way to their destination. Then a green flame known as The Green gives Alan powers to fight against a coming evil worse than Apokolips. Joining the two are Al Pratt (The Atom) and Hawkgirl, and they must fight against an evil entity known as The Grey, who is draining the life of the planet.
Writings. James Robinson is the writer of Earth 2. Most of the dialogues were very well written and also had strong words from characters as well. As you all know, what shocked me is that Joan was telling Jay Garrick all those mean things saying that he's a loser, his life is going nowhere and her job at Tyler-Chem is a huge one for her. We all know that Joan in the original comics is the wife of Jay Garrick. And then that night Mercury tells him "If you don't have a future, I can give you one". Awesome writing there Mr. Robinson, really awesome and epic there. The re-imagining of the origins of the heroes of the Justice Society were ok, although some people think negatively about the changes.
Panelings. Nicola Scott who is well known for the drawings of the Blackest Night storyline did an amazing job at the re-designings of the superheroes of this graphic novel. We see that Wonder Woman wears a skirt in this one, and that her gods are not the Greek gods of mythology, but the Roman gods. As mentioned when Mercury descends to help her in battle, he mentions the gods Bacchus, Dionysus, Jupiter and so on. The looks of Steppenwolf in this story reminds me of Hades in the Justice League cartoon series.
Storyline. When Earth 2 #1 was first released on May 2012, the tagline of the comic is The Epic Begins, and it actually did. The storyline was really good, and there were of course things to rant about. For example, many people ranted when Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman were killed at the end of the Apokolips War. But nevertheless I believe that Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman can't be the main heroes all the time. To me, it was awesome to see old superheroes take the lead of the storyline.
Impressions. Now, many people were impressed with the story, the changes, the panelings and so on. However, when Earth 2 #2 was released, it was all over the news when they discovered that Alan Scott was rebooted into a homosexual. I at first did not like this idea because in the old comics, Alan Scott had kids (Jade and Obsidian), but one of them was actually LGBT of course. But at least it was cool, to tell the truth I'm actually very friendly towards the LGBT community. Now as for the new suits, I really loved them, they looked so cool.
Overall. Earth 2 Vol 1. The Gathering is a great beginning to the Earth 2 franchise. The history for Earth 2 starts when a few New 52 comics such as Blackhawk, Static Shock and others were cancelled because they weren't selling so well, but at least this awesome story made up for it. I highly recommend New 52 newbies to read this. My final score is an A+
God Bless, Play Hard Gamers and Read Hard Comic Book Fans!