52 was a year-long weekly series set in the wake of Infinite Crisis when Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were taken off the table and the spotlight turned to DC’s B-to-Z list characters for a change. It boasted some of comics’ best writers like Grant Morrison, Mark Waid, Geoff Johns and Greg Rucka, and yet it wasn’t very good. But whyyyy? Well, partly because there are reasons why these characters are unpopular and barely known in the first place and partly because none of the myriad of storyl...

I first read 52 some years back, but for some reason never rated it on Goodreads.I’m rereading the series (volumes 1 through 4) as part of my 2014 graphic novel / superhero binge.In a nutshell: after the events of Infinite Crisis Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Flash (amongst others) are missing, and Earth and the superhero community are in a shambles. The 52 series represents a week-by-week review of a year in the (somewhat unbalanced at this stage) DC Universe before things return to “norma...

THE SERIESThis tale follows a “missing year” in the DC Universe after the groundbreaking “Infinite Crisis” story (see my review for that one) which was one of the bestselling graphic novels for the 2006 year. Note that "Final Crisis" follows after this and was published in 2009.52 asks the questions who takes the role of the most popular superheroes (Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman) when they step down from their roles? There are a list of vying superheroes trying to make a name for themselve

Right after Infinite Crisis wrapped up, the regular DC books apparently skipped forward a year. 52, published at the same time, told the story of that missing year in 52 issues, published once a week yearly. I'm not sure what I expected out of it, but I didn't expect it to be very good. That's a pretty grueling schedule to keep up for an entire year. And what do you know, it is pretty good.Because they were smart when they started. 52 worked on a team approach, with a team of writers and a team

With so many good writers on this book, I almost can't tell where a hack like Waid's writing comes in. This is overall a good concept and a good read, and even where the story seems to jump around a little too much like it was edited by an epileptic, it's also enjoyable to keep seeing the subplots moving forward at a brisk pace.I can't imagine how gruelling it must've been to try to keep this project on schedule. For that feat of coordination and endurance alone I admire this book, and the writi...

I guess I am alone on thinking that this series was near perfect. This review is going to encompass all of the volumes because I only have the back issues. Look, this is a series primarily for smaller characters. I guess that's too mainstream now or something because people keep hating on it. Yes, it has bigger characters in it, too. This was the little guys time to shine.. and they deliver.There are multiple stories running at once. The ones that come to mind immediately are:Black AdamThe Quest...

Until I saw the (amazing) film WATCHMEN, I had never really been much of a superhero fan. Sure, I watched the movies and cartoon shows, but I never really read any comics. After picking up the original graphic novel, I realized what I was missing out on; the world of the DC Universe is a beautiful, exciting, amazing place, and 52 does a wonderful job of portraying that.Picking up directly after the events of Infinite Crisis, 52 shows us a world without Earth's three greatest heroes: Superman, Ba...

The comic version of Renee Montoya is younger, less-competent, more abrasive, sexier and more scantily-clad than the original. Also she's a lesbian. Obviously. Because strong, independent women have to be lesbians. And have chips on their shoulders. And somehow exist in that mythical world fiction insists upon pretending exists, where every lesbian looks like a Victoria's Secret model.

This is one of the best books to come from DC Comics in years.

An incredible storyline that involves almost everyone in the DC universe. Fantastic writing and excellent art. Very recommended.

I started really reading American comics after DC had already moved into the New 52. From there I had a starting point. Many people told me that I needed to read the other, “better” stuff. The original52 is something that has been recommended to me more than once.52 tells the story of what happens in the DC Universe after Infinite Crisis. Um, noob here, right? I don’t know what happens in Infinite Crisis except that all the heroes disappear. I know that because it’s easy enough to figure that ou...

Brilliant and thrilling all in one. Not being a big dc fan this is fast paced and enthralling , now on to vol 2.

I found this an interesting read, particularly as I'd just read "The Dark Knight Strikes Again" just before it, because both books provide interesting alternative takes on popular DC heroes, including Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Elongated Man, and so on. In this one, four esteemed comics writers (Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid and Geoff Johns) collaborated on a year's worth of weekly comics (one reason for the title "52") telling the story of the DC universe's recovery from first "Cris...

Everything I said about Infinite Crisis times infinity. So many storylines, so many characters I have never even heard of or only briefly. Lord, what a tangled long storyline.

Note: I read the individual comic book issues, but seeing as GoodReads does not list all of these issues individually, I rate them using the omnibus and collection editions. This volume collects issues 1 thru 13.(Light spoilers to follow.)I would say that this so far is a 4.5 rating. It's interesting to see how the characters are interacting in a world with no Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman. Booster Gold's arch has been quite feelsy (as with most all the characters, but that's besides the poin...

This was one of the first comic books I ever remember reading, but they only had the first couple editions at my town’s library. Picking it up gain now, i’ve really enjoyed reading it and am looking forward to the other volumes. So far, all of the different stories are very engaging, although it’s difficult to tell where some of them are going. It’s also fascinating seeing how a lot of these plots like Lex Luthor’s Inifinity Inc and the Death of Superboy have been adapted into some of my favorit...

Booster Gold sucks. Like I can't stand him. I started wanting to skip through any section with him after a certain point in the story. I Liked following Rene Montoya's plotline in this. That was really it. The other plotlines didn't grab me much at all. First time encountering Ralph Dibny in a comic was cool to see, though.

So my review of this book is colored by the fact that my comic-collecting heyday was in the decade between 1992-2002. One crossover too many was what ultimately killed off my interest in collecting multiple titles, and these days it is extremely rare for me to buy a single issue of anything. It's cheaper and more convenient to buy trades, especially with the lack of specialty comic stores in my immediate area, and with comic book companies no longer offering subscriptions by post to individual t...

I'm still in shock about how truly amazing this is. This book right here is hands down some of the most addictive shit I have ever laid eyes on. Carrying straight off from the Infinite Crisis event we see a world rebuilding. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are taking a break from being heroes and left the worlds safety in everyone else's hands. This is why this series is so good, we get to see smaller characters shine. The story moves like a TV series, going from plot line to plot line. The ch...

2.5*I really don't know how to properly rate this volume. There were really great parts like Renee Montoya's storyline (and this has to mean something cause I'm usually annoyed by her) and the few funny scenes written by Mark Waid. Nevertheless, for the most part of this, I was bored. Didn't care for Elongated Man, cared even less for Booster Gold and there's probably another storyline I've already forgotten about. Will continue reading, though, because the villain appearing at the end has poten...