Synopsis
Published by DC Comics as part of their premium archival banner, this definitive standalone Elseworlds masterwork explores the complete macro-narrative of a timeline where Superman never existed. Because this comprehensive edition packages both major legs of Alan Davis's alternate-reality epic into a single hardcover, it acts as an essential dual-tracking repository for the character's appearances. The collection traces the global reach of the reality-shifting timeline anomalies, allowing readers to track how Hans von Hammer is seamlessly woven into the deep fabric of this alternate world—retaining his custom-drawn WWI timeline montage appearance from the 1998 debut issue, while simultaneously archiving his physical temporal-displacement aerial dogfight sequences from the 2004 sequel.
Collector Notes
This deluxe hardcover presentation compiles both the original 1998 JLA: The Nail trilogy and the 2004 JLA: Another Nail sequel series into a single volume, making it a dual tracking node for the character's Elseworlds appearances. For this comprehensive master edition, DC's restoration team cleanly re-spliced the original production film line boards, shifting the digital color matrices onto crisp, heavyweight matte paper stock to preserve Alan Davis's intricate line weights and sprawling, densely crowded ensemble pages. Because the book is completely written, drawn, and visually designed from the ground up by Alan Davis, he did not use any vintage stock art or clips from co-creator Joe Kubert; every line of Hans von Hammer's crimson Fokker Triplane in that specific cameo was custom-sketched by Davis himself to match his signature, dynamic widescreen aesthetic.
Creative Team
Writer Alan Davis
Penciler Alan Davis
Inker Mark Farmer
Colorist Patricia Mulvihill; John Kalisz
Letterer Patricia "Pat" Prentice
