52! - 52 finished
luke52
Posts: 1,392
Hi Guys,
I need help! I'm currently buying up tpb's of @Pants favorite, 52.
I'd really like to make this my 'reading project' for the year. As such I'd like to extend the story and my reading either side of 52. I've seen additional trades like the 52 Companion and the Four Hourseman, which either add to the reading experience or the story respectively. I know Infinite Crisis procedes 52 and I've heard WW3 follows.
What I really want is some sort of reading list, using 52 as the central point. Ideally this would be a list of trades I can pick up rather then individual issues.
Can you help? Where would you start? Where would you end?
Any help would be appreciated as usual.
Thanks in advance!
I need help! I'm currently buying up tpb's of @Pants favorite, 52.
I'd really like to make this my 'reading project' for the year. As such I'd like to extend the story and my reading either side of 52. I've seen additional trades like the 52 Companion and the Four Hourseman, which either add to the reading experience or the story respectively. I know Infinite Crisis procedes 52 and I've heard WW3 follows.
What I really want is some sort of reading list, using 52 as the central point. Ideally this would be a list of trades I can pick up rather then individual issues.
Can you help? Where would you start? Where would you end?
Any help would be appreciated as usual.
Thanks in advance!
Comments
The story of 52 is such a consequence of Infinite Crisis that you should start there. However you need an overview of the state of the DC universe at the time so that means reading the set-up mini-series from before Infinite Crisis first.
Luckily, in my opinion all this stuff was some of the best DC comics in years, so I don't mind recommending the extra cost of these books.
So, to list them:
The OMAC Project (Read this first as it includes Countdown to Infinite Crisis - the main starting point to the whole story)
Day of Vengeance
Rann/Thanagar War
Villains United
JLA: Crisis of Conscience
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis: Companion
52
Booster Gold
Black Adam: The Dark Age
52 Aftermath: The Crime Bible: Five Lessons of Blood (The Question/Batwoman)
Detective Comics (Batwoman/The Question)
If anyone can add to that (maybe Adam Strange: Planet Heist should go first, maybe even Identity Crisis?)
Couple more questions...
After Infinite Crisis is there any books to bridge the gap between that and 52 or does it lead right in?
I also keep seeing The Four Horsemen as a 52 aftermath book. Worth getting?
@Marathon thanks for the list, really helpful.
@Chuck_Melville thanks for no spoilers.
I'm really excited to get into this part of the pre-new 52 universe.
In addition, though this isn't something you absolutely need to follow up on, all of the DC titles that came out the month following Infinite Crisis jumped ahead a year with each title showing surprising character situations, some of which were only explained through 52 (and a lot more which, though they were supposed to be, weren't.) 52 itself was unique in that it was a weekly comic that covered the story in real time -- that is, each issue told a week's worth of events.
World War III is a good addition to 52, though, as mentioned elsewhere, the important stuff is covered within 52 itself -- it just makes for some interesting additional material.
World War 3 looking pretty interesting too.
To add to the advice you already have, I would say that 52 could totally be read on its own. I didn't to it this way, but having read it a few times, the story really is very well self-contained Even the separate WW3 miniseries (and at the time I hated that they strayed from the main book for an extra bit of cashing in) is not something you actually have to read. Sure, there are things you see in more detail in WW3, but to my memory there are no story beats you need that are not also covered in 52.
But you did say you wanted to make it the reading project for the year, so I will echo others that you can read the lead-up. And this was a time when DC had a series of- to me, others may disagree- really excellent big stories in a row. I was never a big DCU person growing up, but this series of stories started right around the time I was getting back into reading a lot of comics, and so it was perfect timing for me.
If some of the longer lists posted above seem daunting, you could also just narrow it to the big touchstones that lead up to 52. Like those miniseries that supported Infinite Crisis are some great reading, but I think you could read Infinite Crisis without it. And I would recommend starting back at Identity Crisis. It set the tone for where the DCU was going (to be fair, much to some of the readers' dismay), and it is a story that impacts one of the main cast members of 52. Also? It is fantastic. (Again, I know others hated it.)
So a shorter list could be-
Identity Crisis
Countdown to Infinite Crisis (you could probably still find the floppy issue cheap, or else get it in the OMAC Project trade)
Infinite Crisis
52
And then, as long as you don't mind doing some things out of order, you could see what characters or elements from 52 were your favorite, and use that to decide what you want to read more of, either going forward (e.g. 52 Aftermath The Crime Bible, Black Adam), or that preceded (e.g. if you enjoyed the magical elements of 52, go back for Days of Vengeance).
And, enjoy! Let us know what you think. And the episodes about Infinite Crisis and 52 that CGS did might make for some fun time capsules now, if you want to feel like you've got some enthusiastic people to read along with.
@luke52 after you are done with the main story, the hardcover of JG Jones' covers is also worth getting. Every two pages shows the cover and then he has a blurb about his process on what he did for that cover. Personally, I think the 52 covers are just as impressive as the story itself.
So far I have or have ordered...
The Omac Project
Infinite Crisis Companion
52 vol1
52 vol2
52 vol3
What I am definitely going to get...
Identity Crisis (reading up on this after reading these posts, I'm interested)
Days Of Vengence (@David_D I am into the magical side of things so this is a must I think)
Infinite Crisis
52 vol4 (this has been the biggest challenge to find and are pricey on amazon or eBay, but I'm pulling the trigger and getting this)
As far as the post-52 books go, I think I have a little longer to decide with.
I will also be sure to get this thread up to date as to how I'm getting on.
Also, if you haven't bought any of the 52 trades yet, think about splashing out on the omnibus edition. It might work out cheaper considering the crazy prices on vol 4.
I'll take look at the jla book.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/52-graphic-novel-volume-4-Grant-Morrison-Booster-Gold-Animal-Man-Geoff-Johns-/111313529141
I have got...
Identity Crisis
The Day of Vengence
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis Companion
52 vol1
52 vol2
52 vol3
52 vol4
World War III
I've also decided to go all out so I'm also still looking to pick up...
Rann/Thanagar War
Villains United
JLA: Crisis of Conscience
I'm going to look into the 52 aftermath stuff a little further down the line.
A lot if reading coming up and u can't wait to get into it!
Planet Heist
Identity Crisis
JLA: Crisis of Conscience
The Omac Project
Rann-Thanagar War
Day of Vengeance
Villains United
Infinite Crisis
JLA: World Without a Justice League
Infinite Crisis Companion
52 vol1
52 vol2
52 vol3
52 vol4
World War III
This going to be quite a task, but I'm excited to finally read this story. I'll post my thoughts as I go. Feel free to join me in commenting as I go with your thoughts of the books, but please please please no spoilers on what I haven't read yet. I'll update the name of this thread to include the book that I'm currently reading.
Wish me luck! First up, Adam Strange: Planet Heist.
Adam Strange is a character I've never read before, so Rann and everything else is new to me. I think this was a perfect introduction to the character for me. Adam and his backstory was a good one. A sort of reverse Superman in a few ways. I really liked the Omega Men too, a little humour for the story. Knowing a little about Thanagarians from my JLA reading it was cool to find out they are long term enemies of Rann. It'll be good to see how that plays out in the Rann Thanagar War trade.
The story was a real page turner and the art fit in well. I'm looking forward to getting to the Rann Thanagar War trade now, as well as seeing what happens to Adam Strange in the new JLU book.
Good start, now onto Identity Crisis.
@Marathon and @Chuck_Melville thanks for the heads up on this one!
Following the Crisis On Infinite Earths. when the entire multiverse got a makeover -- actually, in Hawkman's case, it was a couple of years afterwards -- Thanagar was reinvented as a kind of intergalactic Rome which had fallen into degeneration, corruption and strife, standing on the brink of its own collapse. What you see in Planet Heist is a further development of that Thanagar.
I've always loved Adam Strange, though his heyday really was during the Silver Age, with great sci-fi adventure stories written by Gardner Fox and drawn by the great Carmine Infantino. If you get the itch to explore some of those early works, there's a couple of volumes of Adam Strange Archives to look into.
So I have just finished off Identity Crisis. This felt like a classic 'who done it'. It had me guessing right until the end. I particularly liked the family oriented slant on this, and quite nicely tied into Planet Heist before with that feel. It was very well written, heartbreaking and touching.
I like that Green Arrow got lot of play here and the fact that the 'A' listers played a very withdrawn role, but we're still critical to the story.
One question I do have though, and something that had me scratching my head. Hal Jordan, The Spectre, how did that happen? Although he played a very minor role in the story, when he cropped up as The Spectre it did have me wondering how that came to be.
Two books down and I've really enjoyed both. I hope the quality continues! Next up, JLA: Crisis of Conscience.