By: Jeff Mariotte Publisher: Grand Central Publishing Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Grand Central Publishing Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 368 Publication Date: February 01, 2007
Product Description: Clark Kent is living in a dark world where he has no powers, no memory of ever being anything other than human. His world is controlled by mystical forces no one can challenge, with the triumvirate of Vandal Savage, Mordru, and Felix Faust calling the shots. The Demon and Phantom Stranger approach Clark and tell him that he is really Superman, that alterations made more than a hundred years ago to the time stream are causing space-time fluctuations that will result in this particular reality becoming the sole reality, unless something is done. Since Superman is powerless in this reality, and since the alterations were made in the past, the three heroes have to travel into the past, specifically into the American Southwest of the 1870s, where Jonah Hex, Bat Lash and other DC Western heroes help them set things right again.
The Full DC Universe Hey, any superhero fiction is fun, but this book truly is remarkable. Is it action adventure? SF time travel? Historical fiction? Magical fantasy? A western?
Yes, all of the above.
What makes this book truly unique out of all the superhero tales I've read over the years is the immense cast. My hat is off with a whooping congratulations to the author and editors who let this gem slip through. This book truly exposes the depth and width of the DC universe and introduces a wide arrange of characters over the course of the story.
Though a diehard fan of superheroes, I sometimes get tired of the main heroes always hogging the spotlight. Book after book focuses on just the well-known superstars, like Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, or Iron Man. Hey, we have entire universes here, so let's give some of the other thousands of characters a break. The only series to date that has attempted to expose some of the wider crowd is the X-Men.
I hope this book will serve as a lessson to both Marvel and DC as to what is possible. Let's see some of those other, perhaps lesser known characters in action! They deserve an adventure today.
Super Reader Superman, The Demon, and The Phantom Stranger.
One of the odder team-ups to come down the line, particularly in a novel.
This story opens with Clark Kent in a dystopian, scared future, with tight media control, and Lois pretty much a reporter with a double life, illegally investigating reports of a shadowy overlord known as Vandal Savage. It doesn't go to well for her. This world also has a red sun.
The Stranger and Etrigan turn up, tell the Clark of this world of a dual-world timestream plot involving Mordru, Felix Faust and Vandal Savage.
Into this story we add Jonah Hex, Bat Lash, El Diablo, Scalphunter, and Johnny Thunder in separate interludes, as the heroes from modern times try and work out how to stop the plot, which from the aforementioned group of gunslingers is likely to end up in the Old West.
There's also a Lois Lane investigating people smuggling subplot, not sure why that was added - whether to have a significant female character, or to juxtapose the free-world Lois with what happens to the three overlord controlled variety, not sure, but it is the only part that doesn't seem to fit as well.
There are also cameos by Zatanna and Dr Occult.
So, barring the old Challengers of the Unknown or Blackhawks novels, this is likely the DC novel with the most obscure characters that may ever appear.
Didn't care for the ending For being a fan of Superman, I decided to take the plunge and buy this book. "DC Universe"- from the title, I thought it was going to be another boring comic book novel. Boy I was wrong. Couldn't put the book down. Great storytelling. But 2 things I didn't particulary care all that much for- the Western elements- overplayed in comic book lure, and the ending. Overall It is a good book and I'd recommend it to anyone who is facinated with Supes. Shane Lindsley, author of Enemies Among Us
A BIG GULTCH The one thing you'll keep thinking time and again as you turn the pages in TRAIL OF TIME is: I REALLY WISH THIS HAD JUST BEEN A WESTERN.
It's very (very) rare for DC to spotlight their Western heroes these days (although HEX is back in print and in current DCU continuity again), and having not only Jonah Hex here, but Bat Lash, Scalphunter, El Diablo and Johnny Thunder - it's almost overload. But, it's what saves the book from a being complete waste of time.
There's a terribly fo-complex plot involving a trio of magic heavy hitters in the DCU all jamming together to take over the Earth by splitting it into two (one sporting a red sun to help avoid creating yet another Superman), and then kicking back in their REAL WORLD style para-super-extra-dimensional pad for a couple hundred years, waiting to have all their plans foiled (curses!) by Superman, the Phantom Stranger and the Demon at the Very. Last. Second.
In the meantime there is a waste of space plot involving two Lois Lanes (one of which is bumped off early on) on a story that has nothing to do with the main story at all, and then there is our gallery of DC's best Western heroes... which clearly is the cast and story Jeff Mariotte wanted to write, but for some reason DC would not let him. At least not without Superman, magic, Camelot, Hell and a near complete run down of all the major moments of genocide in human history. It's a heady mix, and brutal struggle between THE BLAND (everything dealing with Superman and magic) and the THE BOLD (our aforementioned Western heroes).
But, you'll happily slog your way through Superman in the grip of tentacles and what style of haircut the Phantom Stranger sports (seriously, BIG MYSTERY SOLVED!) to get to everything Hex and Company bring to the table - which, apart from some good background deatil and immersion into their world, is very little. They're not up to fighting Gods with what amounts to nothing more than cap guns - so, even though they're there for the showdown, they're just mops to the brooms that Superman and Company are.
It's a shame that this book had to ride side-saddle all the way through, because if Mariotte would have(or could have?)cut out the Superman selling point, this might have gone down as one of the best, and most original of the DC UNIVERSE series of books. Worth the read for the best of the West, but as for the rest, feel free to head them off at the pass and leave them in the dust.
DC Universe: Trail of Time I have read all four of the DC Universe books published so far. They are all worth reading but Trail of Time is by far the best. To have Jonah Hex, Bat Lash, Scalphunter, El Diablo, and Johnny Thunder together helping Superman, Phantom Stranger, and the Demon (Jason Blood)against Vandal Savage, Mordu and Felix Faust was magnificent. I never have seen a text adventure featuring the DC western heros before. This novel also has Dr Occult, Lois Lane, and Zatanna guest starring.
I hope that Warner publishes more of the DC Universe series as having the lessor known heros featured was a real trreat,
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
