Infamous Marvel DC Crossover Comics Finally Returning
While it may seem odd to modern comic fans, back in the 90s Marvel and DC comics came together for multiple cross-over series. The period where these crossovers were common was short-lived, but made a major impression on the late 90’s comic scene, bringing beloved characters together for the first time in two separate series, DC vs. Marvel and DC/Marvel: Amalgam. Unfortunately, the temporary cooperation didn’t last, and as a result, these series spent decades out of print, but the two comic giants have finally come together to release collections of both series.
The Amalgam Age
For fans of these crossover titles, it’s been nearly impossible to come by official, legal, versions of the comics. A fan who wanted to read them would either have to scour the internet for illegal scans or track down the old comics in comic shops and shell out substantial amounts of money for the increasingly hard-to-find comics. Now the publishers are putting out the collections DC Versus Marvel and DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age in convenient hard-cover books.
Decades Of Crossovers
While these collections are focused on the 90s crossover era, together they collect the broader history of Marvel and DC crossovers, collecting comics dating back as far as 1976 and as recent as 2000. Fans looking for this more historical perspective will want to pick up DC Versus Marvel which features multiple heroes and villains from across both universes facing off across the years. DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age is more focused, on collecting the complete Amalgam line of books published between 1996 and 1997.
DC And Marvel Combined Into One Universe
DC Versus Marvel is a fairly straightforward, if somewhat disconnected, collection of stories pitting characters from each universe against each other in a variety of contexts, including the 1996 four-issue miniseries which served as a bit of a battle royale between the two universes. DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age is a bit different, collecting a series of 12 one-shots featuring hybrid versions of characters. So, instead of seeing Batman and Wolverine in a comic together, there is a comic featuring The Dark Claw, a character that combines various elements from both characters into one.
Hinting At Future Cooperation?
While comic book crossovers have remained a constant even in today’s comic book landscape the big two rivals have always had a tenuous relationship in terms of these crossovers. For fans, this agreement is a huge step towards better cooperation between the companies, even if it’s well short of a reboot of the DC/Marvel Amalgam universe. As small of a step as this is it could lead to further cooperation between the two in terms of comic and possibly even film crossovers.
A Huge Victory For Comic Fans
Even if these collections aren’t don’t lead to any new crossover events between the two comic book titans, it’s a huge win for comic fans. It brings together multiple decades’ worth of rare comics including two iconic mini-series that have become infamously difficult to find all in two neat hard-cover premium collections. Both DC Versus Marvel and DC/Marvel: The Amalgam Age hit store shelves on August 6, 2024.
