The Crisis Companion

In 1985, DC Comics launched the most ambitious crossover event in comics history: Crisis on Infinite Earths. Four decades later, filmmaker and lifelong comic book fan Kevin Miller unpacks the tangled web of continuity, creators, and corporate pressures that gave rise to this multiverse-shattering epic. The Crisis Companion is both a personal love letter to the series and a deep dive into its history, from the classic 1961 Gardner Fox "Flash of Two Worlds" story that introduced the concept of multiple Earths, through the annual Justice League/Justice Society team-ups that led to the complicated DC continuity that Crisis aimed to fix. This book features original interviews with Marv Wolfman, Paul Levitz, Jerry Ordway, Bob Greenberger, Mike DeCarlo, Peter Sanderson, Roy Thomas, Cary Bates, Dan Jurgens, Mike Gold, and others who helped shape the series and the DC Universe itself. It explores how Crisis transformed our perception of comics continuity, redefined superhero storytelling, and introduced the multiverse concept to mainstream culture. This richly layered volume includes a full-color gallery, and a detailed, issue-by-issue commentary and examines the event's far-reaching consequences, from the rise of endless reboots to the dominance of event-driven publishing. Whether you're a casual fan or a full-fledged "Crisisologist," this is the definitive companion to one of the most influential comic book series ever published.