REVIEW: ‘Tales From Earth-6: A Celebration of Stan Lee,’ Issue #1

Tales from Earth-6: A Celebration of Stan Lee #1 is an anthology one-shot published by DC Comics. True to its name, it pays homage to the version of the DC Universe that the venerated comic book creator developed back in 2001. It also happens to feature an all-star roster of creators who expand upon the original stories while presenting other DC icons in a mighty and marvelous manner. And like any good Elseworlds story, it presents a fresh new take on the inhabitants of the DC Universe.

There are ten tales in total. “Choked” focuses on Batman; it’s written by Michael Uslan, illustrated by Lee Weeks, colored by Trish Mulvihill, and lettered by Clayton Cowles. “Make War No More” focuses on Superman; Mark Waid is the writer, with Kevin Maguire illustrating, Rosemary Cheetham coloring, and Troy Peteri lettering. “To New Beginnings” is written by Stephanie Williams, illustrated by Belen Ortega, colored by Jordie Bellaire, and lettered by Becca Carey. The Flash stars in “Palindrome,” written by Becky Cloonan & Michael W. Conrad, illustrated by Pablo M. Collar, colored by Dee Cunniffe, and lettered by Steve Wands.

“Contingency” focuses on Shazam; it’s written by Jackson Lanzing & Colin Kelly, with Juan Ferreya illustrating & coloring and Carey on letters. “Toiling in the Titan’s Tempest” is written by Zac Thompson, illustrated by Hayden Sherman, colored by Nick Filardi, and lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou; as its name suggests, it features Aquaman. Catwoman stars in “The Cat and the Canary,” which is written by Meghan Fitzmartin, penciled by Anthony Marques, inked by Mark Morales, colored by Dave Stewart, and lettered by Pat Brosseau.

Rounding out the anthology is “Not Only In Dreams,” written by Steve Orlando, illustrated by Max Dunbar, colored by Sebastian Cheng, and lettered by Wands; it stars the Sandman of Earth-6. Finally, the Justice League unites in “Trust,” which is written and illustrated by Jerry Ordway, colored by Glenn Whitmore, and illustrated by Brosseau. But for my money, the best story is the Green Lantern tale “Behold Nekron,” written by Kenny Porter with Karl Mosert illustrating colors by Romulo Farjado Jr. and letters by Dave Sharpe.

The Green Lantern tale is a key example of what makes Earth 6 work. Not only does the creative team present a new take on a DC character, in this case, the embodiment of death itself, Nekron, who Mosert illustrates as a massive beetle, but it also feels like a tale Lee himself would have written. Porter writes a story about the strength of the human spirit, which has been a key element in most Green Lantern tales; the difference here is that it doesn’t just extend to the titular hero. And thanks to Farjado’s colors, it looks immensely vibrant and eye-catching.

The rest of the stories are fairly solid. “Contingency,” in particular, takes some dark turns as Earth-6’s Shazam is essentially a demonic figure, and “Make War No More” hearkens to Superman’s early adventures. The Batman story is somewhat of a head-scratcher, though. While Uslan is perhaps well known for being a producer on all of the Batman movies, his writing leaves much to be desired. Case in point: the villain Batman is fighting is named the Choker. Yes really. It’s not good when a Robot Chicken sketch beats you to an idea. But Weeks and Mulvihill give Earth-6’s Gotham City the dark, gritty look one would expect from a Batman story, and this Dark Knight looks nightmarish thanks to his more realistic costume.

Tales from Earth-6: A Celebration of Stan Lee #1 serves as both a tribute to one of the most influential comic book creators and a peek into a DC Universe brimming with promise. Hopefully, this isn’t the last we’ve heard of Earth-6, as I’d love to see this world’s take on icons like the Teen Titans.

Tales from Earth-6: A Celebration of Stan Lee #1 is available now wherever comics are sold.