The first collection of some of the greatest DCU stories EVER

books:


	• 52: v. 1 Geoff Johns; Greg Rucka; Grant Morrison; Mark Waid Titan Books Ltd, 2007 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 24 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A year without Superman or Batman Part one

After Dc Infinite Crisis, Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman vanished...was the world defenseless--NOT AT ALL. This 52 week maxi series divided in 13 issue arcs is what great comics are about.

DC did some housecleaning, but brought heros from ages ago and modern day together. It is good work. It is told over 53 weeks that the Superman, Batman,etc are missing.

However, at this books 13 issue division point, you crave for more and more... and the next volume is a month away-I got this first week in june, next volume is mid july-IT is Depressing

Now what DC comics did is better than the mess Marvel Comics calls the Civil War-It is not Civil, nor it is really intriguing, just a hype to spread over all its lines. This 52 week series uses characters and makes the readership involved-a trick Marvel has done for years. It is also One series of books, rather than millions-BRAVO

I can not wait until volume two--or three--or four...and then its 52 series sequal Countdown..OKAY I AM HOOKED

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

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DC's second tier stars shine

It seems that DC and Marvel have decided that `major events' should happen on a continuous rather than occasional basis thus `Countdown to Crisis' begat `Infinite Crisis' which begat `52' which begat `Countdown' which begat who knows what. Essentially 52 is just a bridge between Infinite Crisis and whatever follows Countdown. It's all becoming very confusing... or exciting... depending on your perspective. The series is somewhat groundbreaking in that it ran every week for exactly one year hence the name 52. Packing 13 issues into one book isn't really the way it was intended to be read. It was meant to be episodic but so be it. The series consists of multiple threads that develop, swerve and occasionally collide.

The storylines revolve around lower level DC characters like Booster Gold, Ralph Dibny (Elongated Man) and The Question with occasional appearances by bigger stars. The pacing is fairly well done although I often found myself wishing they would favor some storylines (e.g. Booster Gold) over others that tend to drag (Black Adam). In some cases a storyline will simply be ignored for several issues. The art is good but not really spectacular. What really drives the series forward is the anticipation of where each storyline will lead. Is Mr. Mind trying to recreate the Monster Society of Evil? Has Booster Gold broken the universes timeline? Will Ralph Dibny really resurrect his wife Sue and what the heck is Luthor plotting?

Alright, I'm hooked. Unfortunately I have to wait more than a month for the next installment. In my opinion 52 pales in comparison to Infinite Crisis although that could change as things progress. It's also inferior to many of the Countdown to Crisis storylines but it's still pretty darn good. Since I don't know how the series ends the jury is still out for me on whether or not it's a success because a few lousy endings will kill it. Its success or failure is all dependent on how they resolve the stories. Here's hoping for the best.

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A great read

If you know who all the characters are in this series and what has previously happened in the DC universe, you will really enjoy this first volume.

Read the crisis books before this one.

The first collection of some of the greatest DCU stories EVER

52 was, according to all the comic book podcasters that I have ever listened to, one of the best series ever to grace the DC universe, and after reading the first volume I found myself heartily agreeing with them. One of the reasons why it is such an monumental achievement is that the writers, artists and editors had to put the book out on a weekly basis, and any sane person would think that the story and art would actually get worse as time goes by because of deadlines and added pressure. In 52's case the reverse is true; the writing and art actually became better as the issues went along, and by issue #6 I really started loving the book rather than just enjoying it. Another reason why 52 succeeded is because of the four core writers: Rucka, Waid, Morrison and Johns. Just look at their earlier work, then its safe to say that they could be considered as the Travelling Wilburys of comics. My favorite storyline in the series started with the Rene Montoya/Question tale, but eventually became the Black Adam story after we started seeing more of Kahndaq. The only reason why I give this collection 4 stars and not 5 is because it takes a prior knowledge of the DCU to fully enjoy these comics, and if you didn't read Infinite Crisis or any of the recent DC crossovers then it's kind of hard to get into the flow of the stories in the first volume (I know because my friend read it without having read any DC for 10 years and he found it confusing). That having been said, I enjoyed this collection much more than I thought I would. Bless you, DC, for a captivating series, and I can't wait to have all 4 volumes in my bookshelf.

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A Creative Work of Passion, Collaboration, and Quality

I'll admit it, I read every spoiler of this series on a weekly basis. I know how it ends, but even that did not diminish the sheer pleasure I derived in reading 52: Volume I. Reading the collected edition of this series cannot possibly mimic the experience of reading it on a weekly basis, but let me just say that the work most definitely holds up as a collected volume. It progresses smoothly with little to no breaks in consistency, and considering that the men writing it were working as a team and cranking this monster out for an entire year, AND never missed a deadline, well, that just makes me appreciate the work even more.

Make no mistake: Volume I is mostly setting up things to come. Even so, I am fascinated with the characters they're focusing on. They've chosen to spotlight characters that are not in the upper echelon of the DC pantheon because, after all, 52 is supposed to take place during a year without Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman. I love them using lesser-known characters because the reader realizes anything goes, which obviously lifts the level of suspense. But even by the end of Volume I, these lower-tier characters had already won me over.

I also need to tell you that while the writing is rock solid, the art changes from issue to issue (as you can surely understand). I found the art more than adequate, but for some people it may be distracting.

I truly believe you have to put yourself in the shoes of the creators with this work and keep an open mind on some of the production issues that they had no control over. They pulled off an amazing feat, and best of all, the quality is superb!

~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5

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