Throughout the notes for the CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS issues, and particularly in later issues, I make mention of things – usually the colouring – having been corrected in the Collected Edition.
Unlike the collection of INFINITE CRISIS the Collected Edition of CRISIS made no changes to the story or plot. Had there been an attempt to, it most likely would have ended with the DC offices being stormed by angry fans.
What it did do, however, was give a fresh look to the old pages with an emphasis on the colouring of every panel, managing to add more texture and warmth to them without diminishing the original art by George Perez and his inkers.
As an example, here’s the scene from the original issue #9 where the heroes are planning to travel to Earths 4, S and X to combat the villains that have taken control of those Earths under the leadership of Lex Luthor and Brainiac. They’ve gathered in New York and are about to use Flash’s Cosmic Treadmill to cross over to the Earths:
and now the same scene from the Collected Edition:
The picture above is actually from the digital edition which uses the same re-coloured artwork.
As you can see, not only are the heroes on the platforms coloured individually, but there’s more detail in the street – the cars, the plants, even the traffic lights. Odd, though, that they didn’t choose to do the platform directly below the treadmill.
Another improvement (and one I’ve already used in the notes) is the Anti-Monitor’s speech. When he’s still a mystery figure, his dialogue is white on black and in some cases in the original issues, it’s not easily read. For example:
How is Harbinger meant to understand that? In the Collected Edition, it becomes much clearer:
If you’re a fan of CRISIS (and I can only assume you are if you’re reading this) I’d recommend picking up a copy of the Collected Edition if only so you don’t have to get your original copies out of their bagged and boarded hiding place.
Crisis on Earth-Prime 