The Kingdom: Planet Krypton # 1 1999 VF

The Kingdom: Planet Krypton #1 (February 1999) is a pivotal standalone comic book published by DC Comics. Written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Barry Kitson, this issue serves as a critical tie-in chapter to The Kingdom—the official sequel to the industry-defining 1996 masterpiece Kingdom Come.

Core Plot & Synopsis

The issue, titled "Haunted," moves away from traditional superhero battles to focus on a supernatural mystery set inside Planet Krypton, a highly popular, superhero-themed restaurant in Metropolis owned and operated by Booster Gold. The restaurant is famous for displaying authentic superhero artifacts and using advanced holograms to entertain guests.

The story follows Rose d'Angelo, a young waitress who works at the restaurant while dressed in a Supergirl costume. Rose begins experiencing terrifying phenomena: she starts seeing genuine ghosts of dead superheroes wandering the dining room, and several of the restaurant's decorative props suddenly transform into actual, dangerous artifacts. [1, 2]

Rose's concerns are validated when Batman arrives at the restaurant to investigate. He reveals that he has been tracking identical, reality-warping anomalies. Together, they discover that the timeline itself is fracturing. The ghosts they are seeing are not spirits of the deceased—they are temporal echoes of heroes from alternate timelines bleeding into their world.

This issue marks a monumental turning point for DC Comics lore, as it officially introduces the concept of Hypertime. Unlike a rigid multiverse, Hypertime is a vast, interconnected web of shifting timelines where alternate realities branch off and occasionally drift back together, explaining why characters and events across DC history sometimes contradict one another.

Key Comic Information

• Release Date: December 30, 1998 (Cover Date: February 1999)
• Storyline Context: Part of The Kingdom crossover event, bridging the gap between The Kingdom: Kid Flash #1 and The Kingdom #2.
• Creative Team: Written by legendary Kingdom Come co-creator Mark Waid, with art and cover illustration by Barry Kitson.
• Key Character Cameos: Features brief timeline-glimpse appearances by future-universe characters like Nightstar, Ibn al Xu'ffasch, and Offspring.