52 Part II (Dc Comics) [Audio CD]

Greg Cox (Author)

Book Description

Series: DC Comics | Publication Date: February 1, 2008

A year without Superman. A year without Batman. A year without Wonder Woman. But not a year without heroes... Earth's most revered heroes have vanished. In their absence, the cities of Metropolis and Gotham have fallen prey to the machinations of super-villains and the criminal activities of Intergang. Booster Gold, a hero from the future, has stepped into Superman's boots only to find them too big to fill, especially when rival hero Supernova arrives on the scene. Recruited by the mysterious crime fighter known as the Question, detective Renee Montoya investigates an even more mysterious vigilante prowling the streets: Batwoman. These and other veteran and rookie heroes around the world must unite against a vast conspiracy of evil about to usurp control of the Earth once and for all... (Part 2 of 2) Copyright (p) © 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. 52 and all related titles, characters, and elements are trademarks of DC Comics.

GraphicAudio...A Movie in Your Mind is a unique audio entertainment experience that features a full cast of actors, sound effects and cinematic music.

Publisher's Weekly says "Graphic Audio delivers an action and sound effect loaded audiobook that lives up to its tagline, A movie in your mind."

Audiofile Magazine says, GraphicAudio sets the gold standard for full-cast dramatizations, and new listeners will become instant fans.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With a five-minute recap of Part 1, this audiobook forges ahead with the three dominant story lines of the series. Renee Montoya desperately attempts to save her dying friend, Vic, while Black Adam wrestles with his inner demons as he tries to become the hero his new wife wants him to be. Booster Gold has returned from the dead with full knowledge of the impending threat to Earth. While story lines previously jumped around from track to track, now much longer periods are devoted to particular story lines (Booster Gold's disappears for a large chunk of the story). This audio production has a great formula mix of sound effects, music and character voices. The sound effects and music are top-notch and smoothly integrated. Actors' voices genuinely reflect the characters, and Richard Rohan's deep and animated voice drives the narrative and works phenomenally for action adventures. An Ace paperback. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile

This wonderfully rich and layered recording is a sheer delight to be enjoyed over and over by comic book fans and other listeners searching for an escape. A sprawling cast of 25 actors, each as wonderful as the last, is guided by director Dan Smith, who captures a theatrical atmosphere replete with stunning sound effects that are wisely underplayed, an upbeat score that creates tension from the get-go, and a deep-voiced narrator who guides listeners through this adventure--which calls itself ³a movie in your mind.² As if that weren't enough, the story itself features some of the most original and engaging superheroes coming together in this tale--Superman, Batman, Catwoman, Wonder Woman, the list goes on and on. Thrilling! L.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Graphic Audio; Unabridged edition (February 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1599503697
• ISBN-13: 978-1599503691
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #581,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For what it has, It's great, April 1, 2010

By 

Tyler Vance "Comic Readan" (NH, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 52 Part II (Dc Comics) (Audio CD)

52 has got to be one of my favorite things from DC. So when I bought this, I was excited to listen to it when I drive or just need something to listen to. It really is what it's advertised as: "A Movie in Your Mind." There's a recap at the beginning of this set which should be enough to let you know what's going on, so if you are only interested in the second half (this set), you'll be caught up. Or just buy the 52 comics, but this is a totally different experience.

There are a few things I wasn't too happy about. It skips over three story lines from 52. Steel and his niece's story are completely vacant. There's only one mention of Luthor during this set that comes to mind and it was a part that, in the comic, Luthor himself was there for. The story of Adam Strange, Starfire, Animal Man, and Lobo's space adventure is also missing. However, I felt this was the weakest story of the six or so contained in 52. The one that I really wish wasn't cut was Ralph Dibney's story. This was perhaps the most touching of the story lines, second only to the Question's. It fully deserved to be on this and we are the poorer for it. However, I do realize that there is only so much you can put in these without it being too long.

Another problem I had was the labeling of the CDs. Each CD had a different label, such as the artist being the audiobook company, DC, or 52. Other times the CD wouldn't be labeled at all, and the way all of it worked out I had to go through and edit them all because some weeks were split into two or three parts but were recognized as their own individual weeks (The last few discs only comprise of a few weeks, but contain six tracks). I believe there were some overlap on the discs as well with some tracks having the same name (Disk one: 37,38,39. Disk two: 38, 39, 40. Wasn't the case with these but just an example)

Even with the lack of storyline and the lack of proper labeling, the contents are great. You could really listen to these over and over again and feel for the characters each time. If I could rate on that alone, I would give it a 5. However, due to the problems above (namely the labeling) it gets a 4. If it looked like they put any effort into labeling the contents, it would easily be a 5.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well Done, Graphic Audio, September 27, 2009

By 

B. Smith (Houma, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 52 Part II (Dc Comics) (Audio CD)

I love these graphic audio books. For a 6 hour audio book, I found myself replaying the entire book over and over again. The cast and sound effects really get the story across. If you are not familiar with the comics, then 52 part 2 really moves the story to a interesting conclusion. I would purchase the first part, but I suppose someone only getting part 2 could get most of the story since the first 10 minutes is really a recap of part one.

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, January 30, 2011

By 

Big Dogg - See all my reviews

This review is from: 52 Part II (Dc Comics) (Audio CD)

While this AudioBook's sequel, "Countdown to Infinite Crisis" was probably a bit better, this was great as well. Funnily enough, only one of the six characters on the cover was among my favorites in the story.

I don't follow the actual comic books, so I wasn't familiar with many of these characters. And though I do normally enjoy Booster Gold, he wasn't my favorite here. Booster was very interesting in the beginning, but toward the end of the Booster/Supernova arc, the finale didn't really live up to the buildup. It was still good though.

Now, the two plots which really showcase character-driven writing here were Black Adam & Renee Montoya's stories. Black Adam's journey was somewhat unexpected, especially when the Famine Hourseman appeared, the whole thing was just very well done, and not predictable as so many superhero tales are. Renee Montoya's quest with the Question was just great, this wasn't as unpredictable, but her denial being juxtaposed with Vic's (The Question) eagle-eyed focus was kind of the whole point of the story.

Batwoman's oddly in front on the cover, maybe she had a bigger role in the comic version, but in the novel she was not much of a protagonist. She's a Jewish Lesbian who is rich and can handle herself in a fight. That may sound like it would make for an interesting character, but she honestly doesn't accomplish much on her own in this book.

Overall, I highly recommend this book for someone looking for character-driven superhero stories. Though, like most people, Batman's my favorite hero, he's not really missed here. This GraphicAudio adaptation really lives up to the "movie in your mind" slogan. The only criticism I have is that they use the same actor for Commissioner Gordon and Superman, not a problem for this story, but odd in the ones that use both characters, especially since they use several dozen different actors...