It used to be far easier to read and follow your favourite comic book super heroes years ago – they barely every changed. Dick Grayson was at school for the better part of thirty years. Same with Lois Lane, ever the snoop trying to figure out Superman’s identity, despite sitting at the desk opposite Clark Kent’s. Crisis on Infinite Earths changed all that in the mid-eighties. Timelines changed, multiverses obliterated, decades of continuities wiped out.

Infinite Crisis later changed some of it back again, and thus we have the current trend of reinventing characters and their back stories every few years for a new generation of readers. Those of us who’ve been both confused and bemused by all the changes over all the years can thank our lucky stars for Dorling Kindersley’s efforts in continually updating their invaluable DC Ultimate Character Guide. The latest version takes onto account the changes to the DC Universe introduced in the 2016 company-wide crossover event, Rebirth (which was a huge improvement on their previous effort, the lamentable New 52).

The format is simple, one character per page with background, vital stats covering civilian identity, occupation (as in day job – not the ‘saving the world on a regular basis’ one) height, weight, base of operations, allies and main foes.

So, if you’re wondering just exactly how many Justice Leagues there are now, and what their line-ups are, it’s all here. What’s the difference between the Titans and the Teen Titans? Whatever happened to the original Aqualad? We all know about Superman – but who’s Super-Man and how did he come about if Kal-El is the last son of Krypton? How many partners has Batman trained to be Robin, and where are they now? These are all questions that you need answered if you have any hope of jumping into the current continuity, either as a past reader who strayed, or as a newcomer.

For DC Comics fans, this is pretty much a must-buy and will be a volume to be turned to time and time again – at least until there’s another Crisis that changes everything again. But we’re sure DK Publishing will be there when that happens with another updated volume to save the day.

DC ULTIMATE CHARACTER GUIDE – NEW EDITION / AUTHOR: MELANIE SCOTT / PUBLISHER: DK PUBLISHING / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW