In 1999, Geoff Johns was not the DC superstar writer we know now, yet. Day of Judgement was the first event he had the chance to write, one that was going to open the way for his famous Green Lantern run a few years later.
This event is centered around The Spectre and involved the heroes and a few magical anti-heroes of the DC Universe. Here is the official presentation of Day of Judgment:
The story begins when Etrigan the Demon offers the fallen angel Azmodel freedom from captivity in Hell. If the fallen angel agrees to let the Demon rule Hell, Etrigan will give Azmodel access to the power to claim the ultimate prize: the destruction of Heaven itself! And the power in question? That of the Spectre who, without a human host, is ripe for Azmodel’s picking.
As humankind faces the ultimate threat and people’s long-lost loves and hates return to torment them amid demonic hellfire, DC’s heroes split up to wage a war on three fronts. While Superman, Green Lantern, and Zatanna lead a mission into Hell to reignite the underworld’s fires, Batman and an army of DC’s mystical heroes—Zatanna, the new Dr. Fate, and others—try to protect the Earth from the Spectre, Etrigan, and the horde of demons and risen dead.
But the ultimate hope lies in Heaven, where Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Zauriel lead another group of heroes in an attempt to persuade the Spectre’s former human host, Jim Corrigan, to give up the rest he’s earned and reunite with the Spectre. But when Corrigan refuses, another deceased hero must take up the challenge … a hero whose ultimate decision will determine the fate of the Spectre and the DC Universe!
What to read before Day of Judgement?
Day of Judgement is building on the foundations laid by two previous events: Underworld Unleashed and The Final Night. The first one works as a prequel to Day of Judgement, if you want to know more about DC’s version of Hell and its demons; and the second one is about Hal Jordan as this new event is, in the end, about his redemption.
Day of Judgement Reading Order:
Day of Judgement Reading Order: Collected Edition
- Day of Judgement
Collects Day Of Judgment #1-5 And Day Of Judgment Secret Files.
Day of Judgement Reading Order: Issue by Issue
- Day of Judgment #1
- Anarky (vol. 2) #7
- Batman: Day of Judgment #1
- Green Lantern (vol. 3) #118
- Martian Manhunter (vol. 2) #12
- Young Justice #14
- Day of Judgment #2
- Azrael: Agent of the Bat #58
- Hourman #8
- Impulse #54
- Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. #4
- Day of Judgment #3
- Aquaman (vol. 5) #61
- Superboy (vol. 4) #68
- Titans #9
- Day of Judgment #4
- Supergirl (vol. 4) #38
- Day of Judgment #5
- Day of Judgment Secret Files and Origins #1
- Superman: Man of Tomorrow #15
- JLA #35
What to read after Day of Judgement?
As far as events go, Day of Judgement is a very minor one. In fact, it was a flop to the point that DC didn’t publish one event the following year (the flop that was The Kingdom didn’t help either). DC Comics must have thought that it was mostly forgotten by 2005 because the event Day of Vengeance told a similar story.
Anyways, Day of Judgement reintroduced Hal Jordan in the DC Universe as the new Spectre. Geoff Johns came back to that with his Green Lantern: Rebirth that put back Jordan in the Lantern Corps. More about that in our Green Lantern by Geoff Johns Reading Order.