Comic Info
Comic Name: Cosmic Odyssey
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Jim Starlin
Artist: Mike Mignola
# of Issues: 4
Release Date: 1992
Cosmic Odyssey #1
Reprints Cosmic Odyssey #1-4 (November 1988-February 1989). In his quest for the Anti-Life Equation, Darkseid has uncovered a threat to the entire universe. Forced to go to New Genesis for help, Darkseid and All-Father call upon the heroes of Earth in an attempt to prevent the Anti-Life being from destroying the universe. Starfire, Lightray, Batman, Forager, Superman, Orion, J’onn J’onzz, and John Stewart must stop the aspects of the Anti-Life entity before they can activate doomsday bombs, but Darkseid has plans of his own and it means restoring Jason Blood to the Demon.
Written by Jim Starlin, Cosmic Odyssey is a four issue prestige format bookshelf series. It features art by Mike Mignola and encompassed characters from all over the DC Universe.
Jim Starlin is the master of the space opera story. With his work at DC and Marvel, it is obviously his interest and what he does well. The story of Cosmic Odyssey is pretty generic and standard fare in the world of comic books, but Starlin still makes it interesting.
Cosmic Odyssey #4
The story is the classic “lets split up and solve the problem” situation where characters are teamed with characters they normally wouldn’t interact with. This new interaction is usually part of the thrust of the story and ends with mixed results in most cases. Here, the least interesting combo in my opinion was Starfire and Lightray who’s story (which also involved Adam Strange) seemed to be the least developed. On the best side, Batman and Forager and Green Lantern (John Stewart at this point) and J’onn J’onzz. Superman and Orion had some interesting head butting but for the most part fell flat also. The Demon and Darkseid never really went anywhere and just kind of disappeared in the conclusion involving Doctor Fate. I also like it when writers throw in the obvious little known character to kill…sorry Forager, looks like your number is up!
What I do enjoy in Cosmic Odyssey is Mike Mignola’s unique take on the characters. They all have that chunky, bulky look…He isn’t always the best at drawing faces, but I can forgive that since his whole art style is unique among the comic book world. He takes what I like about Kirby and combines it with a more traditional looking comic book character for a look that appears natural in the course of the story.
Cosmic Odyssey isn’t my favorite DC mini-series, but it is enjoyable. Despite being big prestige format issues with no ads, the comics read quick and don’t bog you down with dialogue or long action scenes. The story did have some big ramifications on John Stewart and Forager (who was always even a second tier New God) got some nice play in this series. If you see Cosmic Odyssey and are a fan of Starlin or Mignola, it is worth picking up.
