Comics' Greatest World was the official name of the first superhero universe from Dark Horse Comics.
|
Comics' Greatest World
| |
|
| |
|
Publisher
|
Dark Horse Comics
|
|
Notable Characters
|
|
|
First Appearance
|
Dark Horse Comics #8 (March, 1993)
|
|
Creators
|
Mike Richardson, Randy Stradley, Barbara Kesel, Jerry Prosser, Chris Warner
|
|
Aliases
|
Dark Horse Universe
|
Description[]
This comic book universe was launched at the height of the early 1990's superhero comic book boom, although the founder of Dark Horse Comics has stated it had been in the works since 1990. It was a deliberate effort, structured around 4 fictional locations: Arcadia, Golden City, Steel Harbour, and Cinnibar Flats. The Cinnibar Flats area includes the city of Hoyo Grande, and also 'The Vortex', an inter-dimensional rift created in 1947 that is the main source of metahuman powers in this reality (aliens are another source).
In general, there is a theme of conflict between heroes and the authorities. Arcadia is corrupt, Steel Harbour is controlled by gangs, the government fears Vortex, and the leader of the Golden City, Grace, wants independence from the USA.
Publishing History[]
The first story for this universe appeared in Dark Horse Comics #8 (the introduction to X, March 1993). At around the same time, a sourcebook was released giving descriptions and previews for most of the heroes in this reality. In mid-1993, a set of 4, 4 issue miniseries launched the world, with a miniseries for each city, an imprint, and special logos for each city. These sold reasonably well. There then followed the Out of the Vortex miniseries later that year.
In 1994, the ongoing title for X started, and new miniseries and series were added over the year. However, the comic book boom was already fading, and only a a handful of titles were issued per month. In 1995, The monthly for Ghost started. despite this late start, this series lasted for almost 3 years, making Ghost the breakout hero of this reality.
In 1996, X came to an end in April, while 2 miniseries ended in September. Ghost was left as the only title until it was finally cancelled in 1998, 2 years after X was cancelled. This was not a complete end, however, because Ghost was relaunched. Her origin was rebooted, but guest stars included King Tiger, X, and Vortex. The second cancellation of Ghost in mid-2000 marked the end of Comics' Greatest World.
Legacy[]
A Batgirl/Ghost crossover was published hard of the heels of the cancellation in 2000.
In 2012, Dark Horse rebooted Ghost and X, and began to put together a new superhero reality. The Project Black Sky Universe that resulted is not really a reboot of the Comics' Greatest World however, being without Vortex, Golden City, and most of the heroes. In mid 2013, a 9 issue miniseries called Catalyst Comix came out, from Joe Casey. It re-imaged the heroes of the Golden City, but this was unconnected to Project Dark Sky, and did not lead to anything else.