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Come, which shows an aging Justice League recalled to a violent, modern world that
they hardly recognize.
DC regularly published stories with the Elseworlds imprint throughout the 1990s,
with 1994 seeing every major superhero annual run an Elseworlds tale for its respec-
tive hero. By 2005, however, the imprint sputtered to a halt; 2000– 4 had seen a steady
stream of Elseworlds tales including JLA: Age of Wonder, JLA: Another Nail (a sequel
to JLA: Th e Nail) and the aforementioned Superman: Red Son. Only a few publications
since then have had the label, most notably Batman: Year 100 published in 2006. Th e
idea of alternity explored in these tales, however, found widespread acceptance and has
become a staple of comics publishing. All-Star Superman, All-Star Batman, DC: Th e
New Frontier, and Superman: Secret Identity, while not true Elseworlds tales, explore
alternative versions of DC characters, DC: Th e New Frontier even winning the Eisner
Awa rd for best limited series in 2005, and All-Star Superman for best new series in 2006,
and best ongoing series in 2007. Beyond these new series, however, is also the general
acceptance of the Elseworlds tales as canon in DC’s 2006 52 and its sequel, Countdown.
In these series several Elseworlds characters, including the Russian Superman from Su-
perman: Red Son and the Vampire Batman from Batman and Dracula: Red Rain, make
appearances as parallel versions of DC’s heroes from alternate worlds, bringing many of
the Elseworlds tales into continuity with regular DC publications.
Jackson Jennings
ENNIS, GARTH (1970–). Garth Ennis was born in Holywood in Northern Ireland.
Although he has written for many established titles like Judge Dredd and Th e Punisher,
Ennis is best known for his original series Hitman (1996–2001) and Preacher (1995–
2000). He has most frequently collaborated with artist Steve Dillon, as well as with
John McCrea, and Glen Fabry.
Ennis began writing comics at the age of 19, beginning with Troubled Souls (1989),
and For a Few Troubles More (1990). His break came with his run on Judge Dredd
(1991–95) and the DC series Hellblazer during the same time. From there Ennis began
work on DC’s Th e Demon (1993–95), in which he introduced Tommy Monaghan, who
would later star in Ennis’s own series Hitman. Ennis has subsequently worked on vari-
ous Punisher miniseries between 1995 and 2006, but his general disdain for superhero
characters has led to his most successful work with his own creations.
His best-known work to date, Preacher, tells the story of Jesse Custer, a reluctant
preacher imbued with the voice of God. Custer teams up with his on-again-off -again
girlfriend Tulip and an Irish vampire named Cassidy to track down God, who has quit
his post in heaven. Th e series is a mixed satire of religion and American culture, as well
as a story of super-powered characters who refuse to be superheroes. Th e religious
satire recalls Ennis’s earliest eff orts, Troubled Souls and For a Few Troubles More, which
turn a darkly humorous eye upon the Troubles of Northern Ireland.
While hearkening to his earlier religious satire, Ennis’s wary portrayal of superhuman
individuals also dovetails with Hitman (which Ennis was also writing while working on
