Cosmic Odyssey                           Trade Paperback Lot

Darkseid is forced to team up the New Gods and Earth's heroes to stop a galaxy destroying threat greater than himself.

Writer: Jim Starlin

Artist: Mike Mignola

Inker: Carlos Garzon

Colorist: Steve Oliff

Letterer: John Workman

Editors: Renee Witterstaetter, Mike Carlin, & Dick Giordano

All Covers by: Mike Mignola & Steve Oliff

Since time immemorial, the forces of New Genesis and Apokolips have stood at odds for control over the universe. Nothing less than the threat of total cosmic destruction could forge an alliance between Highfather and Darkseid...but that time has come and the story is told in the Cosmic Odyssey. Metron has at last unlocked the secret of the mysterious Anti-Life Equation, the very meaning of life itself...throwing the fate of the entire universe into question. The only chance for salvation is a hastily assembled team of the universe's greatest heroes, consisting of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Starfire, Orion and others...operating under the joint supervision of Highfather and Darkseid.

Story/Spoilers:

In “Book One: Discovery”, A quiet street of Gotham City suddenly explodes with the sound of a boom tube as a militant group of Apokoliptian storm troopers mobilise quickly, attempting to set up a forcefield generator to secure their first line of defence. Their plans are abruptly ruined as Superman and Lightray appear and force the invaders to retreat back from whence they came. The two heroes leave, failing to notice one trooper did not make it back through the boom tube. Above a barren planet on the rim of Alpha Centauri, a boom tube opens and the Mobius Chair crash lands on the wasteland carrying the unconscious Metron. Very little time passes before another thunderous gateway announces the arrival of Darkseid who sets his four of his Techno-Chiefs to gather all the information the chair holds. On Apokolips, after researching the data, Darkseid ponders the imminent threat the universe faces and begrudgingly admits the need for outside help. Back in Gotham, Batman meets with Commissioner Gordon regarding a spate of disappearances, including the most recent, officer Joe Bester. The Dark Detective uses himself as bait before heading into the sewers, where he follows a trail to a makeshift lair and the grisly "meat locker" of human corpses. In the confines of the tunnels, Batman hides as he hears a sound approaching from behind. The Apokoliptian trooper is a much larger and more powerful foe, but ignoring common sense, Batman kicks the gun from its hand. The alien his too strong for the human, throwing him aside before drawing a blade. In desperation, Batman picks up the alien weapon and blasts a hole through the lunging enemy's torso. By the time Batman returns to the scene with Gordon, the alien corpse has vanished. Lonar arrives as an emissary at the White House requesting a list of Earth heroes to act as ambassadors to New Genesis. With Superman's help, Batman, the Martian Manhunter, Starfire, John Stewart and an elderly man named Jason Blood gather at the capital where Lonar transports them to his homeworld. They are greeted by Highfather, Orion, Lightray and more disturbingly, Darkseid. Highfather explains that they must all work together to avert a terrible crisis. In the Garden of Tranquillity, Highfather regales the heroes with the history of the Anti-Life Equation, and how trying to harness it for war set off a chain reaction that nearly destroyed all existence. Only two worlds orbiting a single star survived the ravages of the Anti-Life before it imploded, New Genesis and Apokolips. J'onn asks how it concerns them specifically, allowing Darkseid to explain that Metron's lust for knowledge has unleashed the threat once more, but with Metron's catatonic state many details are missing. J'onn understands his role in the selection of heroes and reaches out to Metron's mind, uncovering the shocking revelation that the Anti-Life is a sentient entity trapped in a pocket dimension. Metron was unable to reverse the equation in time and four aspects of the Entity escaped into their realm. Using data from the Mobius Chair, Darkseid tracks the course of the four aspects, tracing them to Earth, Rann, Thanagar, and Xanshi. Darkseid calculates that if only two of the four planets should be destroyed, the entire Milky Way Galaxy will collapse in on itself, a cosmic upheaval that would potentially allowing the Entity to cross over. Darkseid splits the heroes into teams of two and provides each a special device designed to disrupt the energy of the aspects. Superman and Orion leave for Thanagar. Starfire and Lightray head for Rann. J'onn and John are allocated to Xanshi. Batman and Forager are sent to Earth where Batman immediately makes a phone call to a friend, asking him to keep an eye on Darkseid. On New Genesis, the aged Jason Blood hobbles up behind Highfather and Darkseid to inquire why he has been involved. Darkseid reveals Blood's partner, Etrigan, as equally ravaged by time as his former host.

Next in “Book Two: Disaster”, On Thanagar, Superman and Orion soon discern that the Anti-Life Aspect is influencing the Thanagarians to attack any intruders. Superman uses just enough of his power to fend them off, while Orion revels in the battle, slaughtering the forces until they retreat. Superman suggests he tone down his excessive force in the future. The Martian Manhunter and John Stewart find that the Aspect on Xanshi has infected the population with a deadly plague. John manages to synthesise an elixir with his ring, giving it to a local. He explains that if he drinks it, he will be able to transfuse his blood as a cure. John then finds a native computer console to scan it for information, discovering a weather control station in the Arctic using ten times the normal amount of power. Further examination reveals the station is now controlling the planet on a greater scale. On Earth, Batman introduces Forager to the Batcave. The reports from the other teams have been collected by the Batcomputer, and analysing the data, Batman has a hunch that the Aspect will target the Batcomputer. Meanwhile, Lightray leads Starfire to Ranagar, where J'onn told him he may find an ally to aid them in finding the Aspect. The entire Rannian population has been afflicted with madness as unbridled chaos fills the streets. They find Adam Strange who has resorted to restraining Alanna and Sardath for their own protection. Adam dons his jet pack and accompanies the pair to a manufacturing centre called Peltex 5. On New Genesis, Jason Blood is faced with an unthinkable proposal — being reunited with the Demon. Highfather regrets asking Blood for such a sacrifice, but he assures he would not ask Blood of such a thing were it not essential. Darkseid concurs, warning Blood that the threat of the Anti-Life Entity crossing over is still a threat, even if the heroes succeed in neutralising the Aspects. The barrier between dimensions must be strengthened, but even the combined power of Highfather and Darkseid is not enough. Only by using an elemental being like Etrigan as a conduit can they harness the unbridled power of nature, but the Demon must be whole, not the withered shell of his former self. Begrudgingly, Jason accepts the burden. Back on Xanshi, the two heroes race to find the Aspect, only to encounter a stormy atmosphere to slow them down. While evading a tornado, J'onn is struck by lightning but recovers, whereas the ant-life catcher is not so lucky. Fortunately, John scanned the device with his ring and recreates a construct replica. Shielding themselves from the elements in a cube of light, the pair journey on. Batman's research has uncovered a suspicious amount of exotic deliveries to Moosejaw, Arizona. But it it the fact that the recently deceased Joe Bester is listed as the receiver which leaves little room for doubt. Upon reaching the vast factory outside of Ranagar, Adam leads Lightray and Starfire to the basement where they discover a gargantuan doomsday bomb. The trio separates to try and locate the Aspect. Soon after, Lightray and Starfire hurry to the sound of a scream and find Adam unconscious on the ground. They continue down the hall until they reach a dead end, failing to notice a black substance leaking from the ventilation grate. The violent weather recedes on Xanshi, unable to penetrate Green Lantern's box, but John is taken off guard as they are assaulted from below by a volcanic eruption. The ring protects the partners, but frustrated, John arrogantly accuses J'onn of holding him back and he restrains the Martian in a bubble before leaving to stop the Aspect alone. John reaches the weather station where, to his dismay, he finds the doomsday bomb has been entirely painted yellow. Completely ineffectual, John's mind wanders to J'onn as the last six seconds of the countdown. The explosion engulfs half of the planet before the Aspect changes the polarity of the core, and Xanshi propels itself into its star which is destroyed in turn. Amongst the debris floating where a the Pegaron system formally existed, J'onn finds the thoughtless Green Lantern huddled in regret and rebukes him for his unforgivable act before leaving. As knowledge of the failure spreads to New Genesis, Highfather insists now is the time Blood merge back with Etrigan. The two decrepit adversaries meet face to face once more, embracing their destiny and one another until the union is complete, and Etrigan in all his malevolent glory stands alone.

Next in “Book Three: Decisions”, With Adam Strange unconscious, Starfire stays with him at the doomsday device while Lightray continues his search for the elusive Aspect. As soon as he leaves, Kory notices a trail of liquid on the ground. She examines the substance which smells like gasoline, failing to notice the green ooze take form behind her, attacking her with a piece of heavy machinery. On Thanagar, Orion is discontent with Superman's cautious approach of investigation. Observing a city swarming with mind-controlled soldiers from a distance, Superman instructs Orion to draw attention above ground while he locates the Anti-Life Aspect by boring a tunnel beneath the city. Back on Rann, Lightray uses his electromagnetic spectrum vision to track the Aspect, returning him to the stellar disruptor where Starfire lies as unconscious as Strange. Lightray flies to her aid but is blindsided by a piece of machinery slamming into his back. He scrambles for the Anti-Life catcher which was knocked loose, but the Aspect, possessing a protoplasmic life form, destroys it. Superman crashes into a basement below the city and uses his x-ray vision to locate the doomsday device beneath him. He breaks into the chamber housing the device but is ambushed by a towering robot possessed by the Aspect which punches him across the room. Lightray's photon blasts are too slow for the unbelievable speed the shapeshifter utilises. It escapes into a drainage grate to then creep up behind the New God, launching him into the ceiling. As Lightray falls limp, the Aspect initiates the primer countdown of 120 seconds. Starfire opens her eyes and surreptitiously flies Adam Strange and Lightray to safety before returning to face the Aspect. The shapeshifter evades her starbolts with effortless fluidity before grabbing hold of her, which comes as no surprise to the warrior princess. In Moosejaw, Arizona, Batman and Forager survey a desert butte from the roadside where they have traced the deliveries addressed to deceased officer Joe Bester. Forager assumes the Aspect has possessed Bester's corpse, but Batman believes the Apokoliptian storm trooper he faced in Gotham City is a more likely candidate. Superman strikes hard, but the attacking robot is unrelenting. When the automaton is crippled, Superman aims the Anti-Life catcher towards it, containing the Aspect and rendering the machine inert. The Man of Steel destroys the weapon of mass destruction with his heat vision and informs New Genesis of his victory. Highfather relays the report to Darkseid who in turn insists the risk is too great to not face the Anti-Life Entity head on. Highfather rejects such a hasty decision, and leaves to ponder the matter. His thought is interrupted by an ally sent by Batman who informs Highfather that Darkseid's schemes service only his wants. Superman bursts upwards, hoping to find that the Thanagarians have been released from the Aspect's influence, but what he faces is sheer horror as the streets are strewn with the dead as Orion hovers over the carnage. Disgusted by Orion's bloodthirsty massacre of innocent victims, Superman punches Orion from his Astro-Harness in a rage. Orion shrugs it off and departs for home alone, leaving Superman to bury the dead. Lightray recovers in a storage room next to Strange and rushes to find Starfire. He arrives to see her limp body suspended in the grasp of the Aspect as the timer ticks down. With only second until detonation, Lightray prepares a photon blast but Starfire flies into action to get him out of harm’s way. According to her plan, Kory's fiery flight path ignites the petroleum-based creature the Aspect possessed which explodes violently, destroying the doomsday bomb. Adam Strange emerges from the rubble and joins the others, thanking Starfire for saving Rann, but his gratitude is interrupted by the Aspect, in its true form, escaping into the sky. Lightray and Starfire attempt to chase it, but the entity moves faster than the speed of light and vanishes. Their success reaches Darkseid, yet the dark tyrant expresses his doubts about the loose Aspect to Etrigan and how the need, more than ever, to face the Anti-Life Entity at the source. The Demon senses the evil in Darkseid but concedes that the universe is in true peril. A boom tube opens before Highfather and he welcomes back Orion who has also recovered the Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern. Highfather chides Orion for being so hard on their failure, but John agrees with him, wallowing in self-pity after his cocky bullheadedness and reliance on the ring led to the destruction of a solar system. As John walks away in shame, Highfather kindly suggests that J'onn watch over his friend. Inside the lab, Darkseid straps Etrigan and himself into a dimensional harness, and without consulting the others, flips the switch, distorting reality and displacing them in the dark void where they face the Anti-Life Entity. Highfather and Orion enter the lab to discover Darkseid has recklessly gone after the Entity. Highfather's consternation is somewhat assuaged as the ally Batman sent addresses the two and offers them a hand, which they take knowing the risk they must face to try and stop it from consuming all. The three vanish in a burst of light. The lab is not empty for long, as the Aspect that escaped Rann arrives and attaches itself to the cable of the dimensional harness. In Moosejaw, hidden in a cave beneath a butte, the possessed corpses of the Apokoliptian storm trooper and Joe Bester activate the primer charge of the stellar disrupter, leaving Earth and the Milky Way Galaxy 120 seconds of existence.

Finally in “Book Four: Death”, Hidden within a cave beneath a butte in Moosejaw, Arizona, the timer on a the last remaining stellar disruptor counts down to the destruction of the universe. The Apokoliptian storm trooper possessed by the fourth Anti-Life Aspect fails to notice busy hands removing wires from the circuitry. The trooper an his accomplice, the deceased officer Joe Bester, stand in confusion as the timer reaches 0 with no result. Part of the heavy machinery suddenly topples over on top of the storm trooper, pushed by Batman and Forager. The pair run at Bester but the formerly departed cop swats Batman away like he's nothing, whereas Forager decapitates the man from behind with his shield to discover he's really a robot duplicate. They have no time to reflect on the machine as the inhumanly strong trooper frees himself from the two ton weight. The brute fractures the Caped Crusader's leg with ease and wraps his hands around Batman's throat until he starts to black out. In a dark pocket dimension, Darkseid and Etrigan stand before the imposing Anti-Life Entity. The ruler of Apokolips activates the switch on his dimensional harness, funnelling enormous cosmic energy through the demonic conduit into himself and onward to ensnare the Entity. In mere moments Darkseid realizes the power of Anti-Life is unparalleled, and the Entity reaches out for them. Darkseid is wise enough to know when to retreat and calmly attempts the dimensional recall, but to his aggravation, one of the four Aspects has corrupted the harness from the other side. The Aspect destroys the only tether to their dimension and the two are left suspended in aether at the mercy of the Entity. On New Genesis, the returned heroes scour the laboratory for the missing others, all worried about betrayal from Darkseid. Only Green Lantern has deeper concerns, and skulks away from the others consumed by guilt over the destruction of Xanshi. Before Batman loses all consciousness, he falls to the ground, saved by Forager whose shield is embedded in the trooper's back. The victory is small as he, too, is brushed aside with one hit, breaking his ribs. With his adversaries lying broken on the ground, the Aspect repairs the stellar disruptor. Incredulous that he faces his end at the hands of Anti-Life itself, Darkseid stands motionless as the Entity tries to envelope him, but within the darkness a light rescues both he and Etrigan from nothingness. They find themselves before their savior, Doctor Fate, who has brought Highfather and Orion with him. Fate gathers the five of them together to form a cinque of cosmic power, pooling all of their mystic energies to hold back the relentless Entity, but even Fate knows this near omnipotent power can't hold back Anti-Life. With no other options, Doctor Fate is forced to resort to a mystic firebreak, destroying the bridging dimension entirely, stopping the Entity's advance into their own. Back on New Genesis, the heroes are surprised by the sudden appearance of Doctor Fate and company. Furious at what Fate has done, Darkseid threatens the mage for ruining his ambitions, but quickly humbles himself when he assesses how outnumbered he is. With one tension defused, Highfather reminds everyone that the fate of the galaxy still rests in the hands of Batman and Forager. The doomsday clock creeps down as Batman crawls desperately across the ground towards the device only to be kicked away by the Aspect's hulking pawn. With precious 23 seconds left, Forager wills himself up and charges the enemy. He distracts the thug by throwing his shield between its legs before diving through the gaping cavity in its chest. He fends off the beast with no time to spare and smashes the control panel with his shield the device explodes. Batman is astounded to be alive and quickly mobilises to locate Forager in the debris, only to be shocked by what he uncovers. Batman reports back to New Genesis requesting a new aspect catcher. Lightray and Superman leave to aid Batman, whereas J'onn J'onzz slips away to find the absent Green Lantern. Sitting alone, wallowing in regret, John Stewart takes an alien firearm from a display cabinet. He removes his ring and gives it strict instructions to travel twenty light years away and wait for him to call it back. If he doesn't contact it within an hour he orders it to locate Hal Jordan. The ring departs, and with it too far away to instinctively protect him, John raises the gun to his temple. From behind the corner, J'onn morbidly watches the Green Lantern struggle with his conscience. When John lowers the weapon, the Martian enters the room and seemingly goads the wretched man into committing suicide, but J'onn knows exactly what Steward needs to hear. The belittling only fuels the Green Lantern's defiant will and he summons his ring back before storming out of the room, leaving a content J'onn behind him. A thunderous BOOM announces the return of Batman, Superman, and Lightray, carrying the body of Forager. Everyone gathers around the corpse as Batman explains how Forager gave his life to save Earth and the universe. Orion makes a snide, backhanded compliment to the "bug" and Batman angrily lashes out and punches him in the face, causing a moody Orion to turn his back on them all. As the heroes prepare to return home Lightray notices Darkseid has sneaked away, with Highfather adding that the Aspect catchers are also missing. On Apokolips, Darkseid makes peace with his failures, congratulating himself on the smaller victory of obtaining a fragment of pure Anti-Life. On New Genesis, Highfather approaches Orion, asking him to accompany Forager's remains back to the Insect Empire. Upon inquiring why, Highfather quite plainly explains that it may teach him some tolerance.

Trade Paperback Lot contains: Cosmic Odyssey (1988) Issues #1-4.  DC Comics

Trade Paperbacks are bagged & boarded and will be carefully / securely packaged then shipped via USPS Priority Mail to insure that it arrives to you perfectly and quickly.

First Printing

Publisher: DC Comics

Publication Date: 1988

Format per TPB: FC, 48 pages, TPB, 10.25" x 6.5"

ISBN: None Stated

Collectible Entertainment note: Trade Paperbacks 1,2,3,4 are Like New. Very Fine + condition.  Beautiful Set!!  Please See Scans!!  A must have for any serious Cosmic Odyssey collector / enthusiast.  A fun & entertaining read! Recommended!!

Please read return policy.

Please check out all my other Batman or Superman or Green Lantern or Infinity or Marvel Secret Wars or Crisis on Infinite Earths or Spawn or Venom or Carnage or Toxin or Kolchak or Mad Max or Star Trek or Starship Troopers or Science Fiction or  Horror or James Bond or Adventure Time or Movie Adaptations or Spider-Man or Flash Gordon or Richard Corben or Indiana Jones or Star Wars or Jurassic Park or Dinosaurs Attack or Mars Attacks or Planet of the Apes or Godzilla or Starship Troopers or Thing or Robocop or Aliens or Predator or Terminator listings by visiting my store and typing Batman or Superman or Green Lantern or Infinity or Marvel Secret Wars or Crisis on Infinite Earths or Spawn or Venom or Carnage or Toxin or Mad Max or Kolchak or Star Trek or Starship Troopers or Science Fiction or Horror or James Bond or Adventure Time or Movie or Spider-Man or Flash Gordon or Richard Corben or Indiana Jones or Star Wars or Jurassic Park or Dinosaurs Attack or Mars Attacks or Planet of the Apes or Godzilla or Starship Troopers or Thing or Robocop or Aliens or Predator or Terminator in the store search engine.