As the comic book industry navigated the fallout of a sprawling multiverse, DC Comics executed a total publishing reboot with 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, subsequently publishing the two-issue prestige format series The History of the DC Universe by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez to map out the newly consolidated canon.
DC Published The History of the DC Universe as a Roadmap
- DC spent years planning Crisis on Infinite Earths to prune decades of alternate Earths and streamline its continuity.
- Following the event, creators Marv Wolfman and George Pérez released The History of the DC Universe to serve as a definitive roadmap for readers.
- The Prestige Format project established a new standard for comic book publishing by replacing traditional panel-to-panel storytelling with full-page artwork and historical captions.
Planning the 1985 Multiverse Reset
Long before the first issue of Crisis on Infinite Earths arrived in 1985, DC began planning the 12-issue series years in advance. Marv Wolfman, George Pérez, Dick Giordano, and Jerry Ordway worked for years behind the scenes to restructure the publisher’s continuity. To ensure accuracy across decades of storytelling, DC even hired a researcher to read every single DC comic ever published.
The publisher faced a daunting challenge. Across nearly half a century, DC had introduced numerous alternate Earths populated by thousands of heroes and villains. Pruning down Earths-One, Two, S, X, and Four meant figuring out which events remained canon to the singular new universe while keeping readers satisfied.
Establishing Reference Material During Crisis
During the same era, market competitors influenced how publishers handled continuity data. In 1982, Marvel Comics began publishing The Official Encyclopedia of the Marvel Universe, a monthly series filled with character biographies that acted as essential reference material for new fans. DC followed suit in 1985 while Crisis was actively printing, launching Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe.
These directories provided readers with the background needed to understand the restructured landscape. DC would later revisit the format, putting out another volume of Who’s Who in 1990 featuring removable pin-up pages. In the mid-1990s, the publisher released Zero Hour: Crisis in Time to address remaining continuity snags, attaching a complete timeline of events at the conclusion.
| Publication Title | Release Year | Format & Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Crisis on Infinite Earths | 1985 | 12-issue event series to collapse the DC Multiverse |
| Who’s Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe | 1985 | Monthly reference guide for character biographies |
| The History of the DC Universe | Prestige Format | Two-issue narrative roadmap detailing the new canon |
Shaping the New Canon With Art and Text
To solidify the post-Crisis landscape, Marv Wolfman and George Pérez crafted The History of the DC Universe. The narrative conceit utilized Harbinger, Lady Quark, and Pariah—three characters introduced during Crisis—traveling across the universe while Harbinger recorded the history of the new Earth.
Rather than adopting traditional sequential paneling, Wolfman and Pérez designed each page and double-page spread as a standalone piece of art accompanied by descriptive captions. The project traced humanity from the creation of all things up to the modern era, successfully framing Golden Age mainstays like the Justice Society, Freedom Fighters, Blackhawks, and the original Suicide Squad within a unified history.
