52 #1
© DC Comics
Exploding Heads: My Thoughts on 52
By: Kurt AmackerDate: Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Greetings, Maniacs, and welcome to another weekly web of Comicscape wonder. For the past couple of weeks, we talked about Spider-Man 3 in lieu of discussing the end of DC’s weekly maxiseries, 52. The film came out the same week as the final issue of that series and, given the larger pop culture significance of the former, I chose the more renowned subject. But, I haven’t heard many complaints, because everyone seems to agree that 52 lost its way several weeks ago and petered out at the end. Having just completed a start-to-finish reading of the series and the first two issues of Countdown, I’m afraid I have to agree.
When last year’s Infinite Crisis mega-event wrapped, all of the main DC Universe titles jumped forward under the heading One Year Later . Several unexplained character developments had occurred during the missing year. Wonder Woman had assumed the mantle of “Diana Prince” and accepted a job with the Department of Metahuman Affairs. Donna Troy had taken her place as Wonder Woman. After a year-long absence, Batman returned to protect Gotham City again, having left Harvey Dent in charge of controlling the super-villain population. Superman still lacked most of his powers, but they gradually returned. While never explaining the events of the missing year, Batman and Robin discussed a great catastrophe in hushed tones. As the One Year Later event began, 52 launched on a weekly basis. At $2.50 an issue and written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, and Mark Waid, it seemed like a fantastic, if ambitious, premise.
The book started off well, showcasing DC’s huge roster of B-list heroes operating in a world with no intervention by Batman – traveling the world to find himself – Superman – still without his powers after Infinite Crisis – and Wonder Woman – barely mentioned. Renee Montoya and the Question worked to thwart an invasion of Gotham by the crime cult Intergang. Ralph Dibney investigated a mysterious cult dedicated to the memory of Conner Kent – Superboy – that promised to resurrect his murdered wife, Sue Dibney. Starfire, Animal Man, and Adam Strange found themselves on a hostile alien planet after a teleportation accident. Lex Luthor decided to sponsor his own team of superheroes with gene-treatment. Booster Gold worked to fill Superman’s absence in Metropolis, while making a few dollars via corporate sponsorship. Black Adam – enemy of the Marvel Family – assumed control of the Middle Eastern nation of Kandaq as a benevolent dictator, while rallying the rest of the world against overseas interference by the United States and its heroes. It started out really well. In fact, when I wrote about the series at the halfway point, I commended DC and the writers for presenting a surprisingly clear, organized story in an admittedly unconditional fashion. Placing a weekly series during a missing gap in continuity sounded convoluted and unnecessary. When it started, I assumed the book would fall behind schedule and face a host of other calamities, besides. But, DC and the stable of writers on the book proved me wrong. The future looked bright. Unfortunately, at the series’s end, the schedule seems to have been the only thing that has stayed on the mark.
Frankly, the ending of 52 feels so convoluted that it nearly defies explanation or concise summary. If you really want a point-by-point explanation, Wikipedia has one that explains it more clearly than I ever could. It all kind of makes sense, but only if you accept the hugely rushed storytelling, the extra four issues needed for World War III (all released in a single week, no less), and the relentless use of obscure plot devices from DC’s long and complicated history. In the last issue, Rip Hunter, Booster Gold, and the latter’s ancestor, Daniel race through space and time to prevent Mister Mind (giant worm) from eating the Multiverse, which spawned from the energy stored in the main universe after Infinite Crisis (long story). That double-sized issue practically splits at the seams with a rushed, abbreviated story that, along with the last couple of issues and World War III, tries to tie the events of 52 into One Year Later. In the end, of course, we learn that the Multiverse has returned, though Booster Gold, Daniel, and Rip Hunter agree to keep it a secret. I doubt that will last long.
For new readers, DC created the Multiverse years ago to explain the fact that its characters didn’t age. The publisher revealed that the Golden Age heroes occupied a parallel reality as their then-Silver-Age counterparts. Readers could then see Earth 1 and Earth 2 Superman meet and take on Lex Luthor together. As DC acquired smaller publishers, such as Fawcett Publications, it usually assigned that continuity a parallel Earth of its own to explain the sudden introduction of new characters. After years of crossovers within the Multiverse, DC used the original Crisis on Infinite Earths to consolidate and streamline its sprawling continuity into a single, coherent world. Most readers could understand it without an in-depth knowledge of DC’s history. And, besides the logistical reasons that necessitated it in the first place, Marv Wolfman also wrote a compelling story in its own right. I read Crisis on Infinite Earths for the first time in 2005 and I really enjoyed it. Last year’s Infinite Crisis briefly resurrected the idea of the Multiverse, only to do away with it in the same event in an effort to fix a few continuity problems that had arisen since the original Crisis. Granted, Infinite Crisis collapsed under its own weight and Superboy’s “reality-altering punches” served as an equally half-assed excuse for continuity problems as Hypertime. But, the One Year Later books seemed to start in a place where new readers could jump on without many problems. And, given the relatively lucid and accessible storytelling in the first half of 52, I really thought DC had learned its lesson. But, the end of 52 and the start of Countdown have made it abundantly clear that DC only wants to target fans with an encyclopedic understanding of its history and continuity.
I like complex, involved stories. I’ve read Watchmen several times since I first picked it up at 14 years old. I appreciated Grant Morrison’s Seven Soldiers, even though I realized that some of it went over my head (along with everyone else’s). I really have no great yearning to read a bunch of Golden-and-Silver Age rehashes with simple stories of heroes thwarting bank robberies over and over again. I don’t want the big guns and big breasts of the early 1990s to come back, either. But, DC has drowned in its own history. When writers introduce ideas like the Phantom Zone, the Emerald Eye of Ekron, and the bottled city of Kandor with little in-story explanation, they shouldn’t waste a breath complaining about the dearth of new comic book readers. Absurdly complicated, convoluted storytelling hardly covers bad ideas. And, at the end of the day, I more or less understood the conclusion of 52, but I see it for the mess that it is. You can complain all you want about Marvel and Civil War, but I can probably explain it to someone only passingly familiar with Marvel without having to pull up Wikipedia. And, while that publisher certainly has continuity issues of its own (yes, Brian Michael Bendis, I’m looking at you), it manages to keep the essence of its characters in focus while offering alternatives for new readers – Marvel Adventures and the Ultimate universe, for example. But, the absurd setup of Infinite Crisis a couple of years ago showed that DC really doesn’t get it. Try to follow: Identity Crisis laid some of the groundwork with an interesting murder mystery. Then, a one-shot called Countdown to Infinite Crisis came out. After that, five miniseries (if you count The Return of Donna Troy) launched out of that issue. Next, Infinite Crisis hit the stands, followed by a collage of scenes from earlier books called Prelude to Infinite Crisis. But wait – four one-shots tied into the aforementioned Countdown miniseries came out. Finally, the entire timeline jumped ahead a year with One Year Later and Brave New World, leaving 52 to fill in the gap. Please tell me who in the hell thought all this was a good idea.
DC launched 52 with an ambitious, if ass-backwards, premise and defied explanations with its competent writing and amazing adherence to its publishing schedule. Then, it became clear that the writers had steered the series away from its preordained conclusion. DC Universe Executive Editor Dan Didio admitted as much in his column in Week Fifty of the series. He confessed that they figured that World War III could serve as a catch-all explanation to tie the end of 52 to the One Year Later event. This has the efficacy as that bit in Dallas where the preceding season turned out to be a dream. The series ultimately answers most of the questions, but in a rushed, half-assed manner more concerned with covering all the bases than telling a quality story. The series’s conclusion only foretells more problems. With the Multiverse back, we can expect another several years of stories with scads of exposition and obscure plot angles. It’ll feel kind of like watching the latter two Matrix films (which I liked better than this, by the way). I doubt DC realizes it, but its main continuity has become convoluted and fractured beyond repair. We can only hope that Countdown is headed towards one thing – a complete reboot.
The Spinner Rack
By Ben Johnson and Kurt Amacker
DARK HORSE COMICS
Berserk Vol 17 TP (MR) $13.95
Outer Orbit #4 (of 4) $2.99
Star Wars Legacy #12 $2.99
Ben: To release as much half-hearted crap as possible, soiling the memory of our love of the original trilogy.
Kurt: You can take a lot of my complaints about DC and apply it to the Star Wars expanded universe stuff. It seems like Lucasfilm and Dark Horse want to take every single angle they can and turn it into a miniseries. Like, “Remember that wipe in A New Hope when they pick up C3PO’s pieces from the Sand People attack, right before they show all of them in Obi Wan’s hut? What happened in those few seconds off-camera? I smell a miniseries.”
DC COMICS
Action Heroes Archives Vol 2 HC $75.00
American Virgin #15 (MR) $2.99
Kurt: Most of my complaints about DC don’t apply to Vertigo, which remains one of the best things ever to happen to comics.
Birds Of Prey #106 $2.99
Cartoon Network Block Party #33 $2.25
Ben: Hey DC, check out the Marvel Adventures line if you want to see how comics for younger readers should be done.
Countdown 49 $2.99
Ben: The first (51st?) issue was meh, last issue, however, shows promise. This could be great.
Kurt: I’m reading this series because I’ll be expected to write about it when it finishes. And remember, I like Paul Dini a lot.
Empty Empire Vol 4 $9.99
Ben: Echo..cho…o…o
Encyclopedia of Comicbook Heroes Vol 1 Batman TP $19.99
Hellblazer #232 (MR) $2.99
Kurt: Andy Diggle’s run continues in one of my favorite series ever.
Megatokyo Vol 5 $10.99
Ninja Scroll #9 $2.99
Other Side TP (MR) $12.99
Robin #162 $2.99
Shadowpact #13 $2.99
Ben: I don’t think I’ve ever written a comment for this book.
Kurt: The miniseries by Bill Willingham was pretty good, outside of being part of the Infinite Clusterf—ks event.
Spirit #6 $2.99
Ben: A movie is now in the works.
Supergirl and The Legion Of Super Heroes #30 $2.99
Ben: Proof that Supergirl doesn’t have to suck.
Kurt: Eh, this series isn’t bad, but I think I’m finished with it, along with most of Mark Waid’s stuff. It’s not terrible or anything, but it lost me a few issues ago.
Superman Batman #35 $2.99
Kurt: This series, however, has pretty much always sucked.
Superman Batman Vs Aliens Predators TP $12.99
Ben: Lame.
Testament #18 (MR) $2.99
Wetworks #9 $2.99
Wonder Woman #9 $2.99
Wonder Woman Lynda Carter Statue $195.00
Ben: I usually delete the statues, but it’s a statue of Lynda Carter, object of millions of pre-pubescent lustful fantasies, and it is worth twice the asking price.
Kurt: The statue doesn’t show her doing laundry or anything, does it?
Young Magician Vol 8 (MR) $9.99
IMAGE COMICS
Casanova Vol 1 Luxuria HC (MR) $24.99
Coyote Vol 5 TP $12.99
Dynamo 5 #3 $3.50
Ben: Lame.
Elephantmen #9 $2.99
Fell Vol 1 Feral City Ltd Ed HC $24.99
Kurt: I love this series. I just wish it came out a little more frequently.
Fell Vol 1 Feral City TP $14.99
Godland #18 $2.99
Gutsville #1 (of 6) (MR) $2.99
Loaded Bible 2 Blood of Christ (One Shot) (MR) $4.99
Ben: With the amount of people that have been killed using this book as an excuse it must be loaded with Nukes.
Kurt: Dude, Loaded Bible is about Jesus fighting vampires in the post-apocalyptic future.
Madman Atomic Comics #2 $2.99
PVP #33 $2.99
Savage Dragon Archives Vol 2 TP $19.99
Unique #3 (Of 3) $2.99
MARVEL COMICS
Black Panther Civil War TP $17.99
Captain America #26 $2.99
Ben: About damn time. I’ve been up nights waiting for this one.
Kurt: Damn right. Thankfully, the delay gave me time to catch up on the series. Still, it was a bad idea to drag this one out.
Criminal #6 (MR) $2.99
Ben: And if I’d pay $400 for a Lynda Carter statue, I’d gladly pay a grand for a Brubaker one.
Kurt: Dude, I love Ed Brubaker’s stuff, but I don’t think I’d want him staring at me from the bookcase or anything.
Doctor Strange Oath TP $13.99
Ben: If you haven’t read this, buy it now and see how cool the good Doctor can be.
Kurt: This was really damn good. I really like Dr. Strange, and it’s nice to see a guy like Vaughan write him so well.
Fantastic Four #546 CWI $2.99
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Annual #1 $3.99
Ben: And the horse it rode in on.
Hellstorm Son of Satan Equinox TP (MR) $17.99
Ben: Good show for a very underutilized character.
Kurt: I like Daimon Hellstorm a lot, but this series could’ve been better. But, I held on to it after I cleaned out my collection last week. So, I might reread it someday.
Heroes for Hire #10 $2.99
Iron Man Hypervelocity #5 (of 6) $2.99
Ben: Lame.
Irredeemable Ant-Man #8 $2.99
Kurt: This book is really damn funny. But, I’m sure the low sales mean that it’s on its way to cancellation. Please, for Christ’s sake, give it a chance. It’s Robert Kirkman, guys!
Marvel 1602 Fantastick Four TP $14.99
Ben: The thing I love about trade paperbacks is the opportunity to not purchase something more than once.
Kurt: After that first 1602 series not written by Neil Gaiman, I avoided this like the plague.
Marvel Adventures Iron Man #1 $2.99
Marvel Spotlight Fantastic Four Silver Surfer $2.99
Ben: Silver Surfer? Why would they be doing a Silver Surfer spotlight?
Kurt: For anyone unaware, the Spotlight books are just comic-sized magazines about their respective characters, usually released to hype a movie. I was suckered in by the Ghost Rider one, but you don’t have to make the same mistake I did.
Newuniversal #6 $2.99
Kurt: Warren Ellis once answered an e-mail I sent him. He only said, like, three words, but still.
Red Prophet Tales of Alvin Maker #7 (of 12) $2.99
She-Hulk 2 #18 CWI $2.99
Silver Surfer Omnibus Vol 1 HC $74.99
Ben: I’m sure it’s just a coincidence the movie arrives soon.
Silver Surfer Omnibus Vol 1 HC Var Ed $74.99
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Vol 3 My Secret Life Digest TP $7.99
Wisdom #6 (Of 6) (MR) $3.99
Ben: Any good?
X-Men #199 $2.99
Kurt: #199 for $2.99? That sounds like an annoying-as-hell radio jingle or something. Somebody stop me before people get hurt. I’m off like a prom dress.
Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at comicscape@mania.com.
(rolls eyes)
OooooooKAY, Kurt. Whatever you say.