Review:
With this fourth and final volume, the audacious and ambitious weekly series 52 by DC Comics comes to its end. Four top-rated authors and more than two dozen artists teamed up to tell the tale of the year with no Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman in the DC Universe.
Not like those big three heroes never existed, they just stepped back for a time after the shocking events of the Infinite Crisis crossover series. And in this final volume, they begin to reappear, never costumed, never swooping in to save the day. But Diana / Wonder Woman appears in a couple chapters, Clark Kent leads the authorities to one of Lex Luthor's secret hideouts, and Batman's deep vision quest nears an end.
Not that the world stood still, waiting for them, as recounted in this amazing series. With a weekly schedule to fit the year into a calendar year, a dozen separate storylines all unfolded in "real time" making this a high-flying acrobatic act without a net for these creators. And in this final book, they mostly stuck the landing.
In the early days, each issue or chapter touched on four, six, even eight of the many plot threads, such as Elongated Man's quest to restore his dead wife to life, or Black Adam's diplomacy, or the Question's battle with Intergang, or Booster Gold and Skeets encountering unexpected hiccups in the historical record, or three heroes lost in space, and many more.
But here, at the end, the sub-plots get issue-length treatment as they come to their conclusion. The extra space lets these gifted storytellers build more drama and tension, and it works! The reader feels almost compelled to keep flipping these pages to get more of the story and all of its beautiful art.
The Lex Luthor / John Henry Irons / Natasha story is the first to wrap up. Luthor finally figures out how to give himself his Everyman genetic power enhancement. But after studying it for a year, Irons / Steel knows how to short-circuit it - if he can survive long enough, that is!
Luther's tale is big and loud and filled with casualties. Yet it is no contest compared to Black Adam's. Upon losing his beloved Isis and brother-in-law Osiris to the Four Horsemen created by a cabal of mad scientists, he begins a rampage that quickly escalates into what some call World War II, as he wipes out millions single-handedly. The dark side of Black Adam's godlike powers had seemed conquered by love, but we meet them in full display here. His tragic tale is gut-wrenching, his rampage truly horrifying yet always tastefully rendered.
Once Renee Montoya accepts the mantle of the Question, can she save Batwoman from Intergang's overly literalistic interpretation of the prophecies of their Crime Bible?
Ralph Dibney puts his renowned detective skills to work unravelling who has been manipulating him behind the scenes, setting up a fantastic confrontation with those demons and at last a reunion with his wife Jean, in a sweet and poignant conclusion.
And Booster Gold caps it all. He was front-and-center back in week one, and here at the end he helps to reveal the mastermind behind Evil skeets - Mister Mind, who mysteriously disappeared waaay back near the beginning. The fully grown and mutated Mister Mind butterfly / dragon goes on a time rampage, altering the 52 copies of the multiverse one by one and setting up the DC Universe for a set of well-defined alternate realities for the future. Brilliant! He would, of course, have consumed them outright, though, if not for the work of Rip Hunter and Booster Gold. And who will know of this great and heroic deed accomplished by the glory-hound Booster? Not a soul in any of the 52 universes!
The 52 issues collected into these four volumes have given us a tremendously entertaining ride. The covers collected in these volumes were often stunning in their own right, and the notes and commentary by the writers and peeks at Giffen's rough layouts gave us some tasty extra features too.
4 Capes for this highly recommended series!
Description:
The story of the DC Universe's most eventful year concludes in this final action-packed volume in the series featuring an epic WORLD WAR III between the planet's super-powered beings. Discover the final fates of the stars of the series - Booster Gold, Renee Montoya, Black Adam, The Elongated Man, Animal Man, Lobo, Starfire and Adam Strange - from 52 #40-52!
Authors: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid
Artists: Keith Giffen (Layouts) and two dozen others
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Nov. 7, 2007
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN: 978-1401214869
Pages:
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