Customer Reviews

52, Vol. 2

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

DC's innovative, weekly mini-series 52 reaches it's halfway point with this second TPB, which finds the cadre of characters the series focuses on in some dire situations indeed. Black Adam is happy for the first time in, well, maybe ever; and is looking to marry his newly beloved Isis and expand his Black Marvel family while the Question and Renee Montoya stop in Khandaq to make unlikely allies for him. Meanwhile, Booster Gold sulks as his hero days are apparently over; Starfire, Adam Strange, and Animal Man continue their interstellar adventures with Lobo playing a vital role; Steel mourns the departure of his neice, and the identity of the mysterious Supernova is hinted and teased with as the seeds of future, devestating events are planted even more so. While 52 is supposed to bridge the gap for the rest of the DC universe being fast forwarded one year after the cataclysmic events of Infinite Crisis, there feels like there is so much going on that it is easy to get lost in the action. Despite that though, 52 stil manages to be plenty compelling, and there are plenty of great surprises throughout to boot. Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid are a formidable team indeed; and there's another solid list of art talent including Keith Giffen, Phil Jimenez, Ken Lashley, and more. All in all, 52 remains one of the most compelling and innovative mainstream comics you'll read right now.

In my review of volume one I wrote that I was hooked. And now? Not quite as much. Some of the storylines have increased my interest particularly the Doc Magnus/T.O. Morrow/Oolong Island thread but most (I'm looking at you Question/Montoya) have grown rather stale. My favorite from the first volume was the Booster Gold story and that one takes a MAJOR swerve but it gets kind of short shrift here. My least favorite storyline was anything to do with Kahndaq and that one is the centerpiece of volume two even getting prominence on the cover. This was my experience throughout the book. Wishing the story would get off of ponderous ones like the Steel/Luthor story and onto the more interesting ones like Ralph Dibney (who is now collection powerful magic items including Fate's helmet).

One of my favorite features of the 52 collection is the author/artists notes at the end of each issue. They give the reader a glimpse into the mind of the creators including revealing information like the chronological error in the Kahndaq storyline where Intergang began plotting to disrupt Black Adam/Isis's wedding even before he proposed to her. Speaking of Intergang, that is one of the storylines that is really picking up steam and seems to be the thread that may bind together the entire series. Intergang has already touched on at least three storylines and in volume two we get to peer into the inner workings of their top echelon include the introduction of a truly creepy Chang Tzu (Egg Fu).

Hopefully volume two was just an aberration. It wasn't bad it just was a letdown after the first volume. I had hoped that as the storylines progressed the intrigue would increase but instead... Oh well, I'll still be ordering volume three the week it comes out.

The '52' series slows in this second volume that collects issues #14-#26 of the weekly DC serial. The better subplots from Volume 1 are less prominent here while lesser characters like Luthor's new team Infinity Inc. are overexposed. I especially disliked the segment with Lobo. Despite these qualms I still enjoyed reading most of this, hence the four stars.
I lack the perspective of hardcore DC fans as I'm familiar with most of these characters only through '52'. To echo previous reviewers, I'm less excited about the series but still planning to order Volume 3 as soon as it is released. Is the '52' novelty wearing thin or will the series regain its original energy? Were my expectations too high after the first 13 issues?

52 made history as the first comic ever to cover one week at time, while published on a weekly schedule, for a full year. Written by a dream team of top writers (Johns, Morrison, Rucka, and Waid) with layouts by Keith Giffen, the book definitely had the talent assigned to be a success. This volume is the second of four (the latter two will both be out by the end of this year) and covers issues 14-26. The storylines all continue from 52, Vol. 1 and you should certainly read that first as this is not a series that should be picked up in the middle!

The story follows Black Adam as he marries and builds a family for himself somewhat similar to the Marvel Family. The Question and Renee Montoya follow a quest that makes them Adam's temporary allies. Doc Magnus is kidnapped and learns what happened to all the scientists that have gone missing in recent months. Adam Strange, Starfire, and Animal Man meet the main man himself. Lobo, as they try to find their way back to Earth, and... well, if you're getting the idea that there are a lot of little stories woven together in 52 then you just might be on to something.

52 is a project that was extremely ambitious both in scope and scale. Gathering four top writers could have been a disaster but in this case it seems as if we get the very best out of all of them. Grant Morrison has always been known for his big ideas but left on his own he tends to lose focus and not know which ideas to use and which to lose. But the other writers seem to have picked up on his best concepts and left the rest. Each writer seems to have his best aspect represented in 52 and Keith Giffen was at the top of his game providing layouts and ensuring that the story would be told exceptionally well with the art. There are aspects of 52 that some fans objected to, but overall it earned a great amount of respect and is a great read. Buy all four volumes and enjoy the ride.

I really was surprised how much I enjoyed volume one of 52. Here, I got what I thought I would in the first collection. There was a little too much of the wacky weird unrelatable and unrecognizable corners of the DC Comics universe. The overall story, I think, is still on track, but a lot of stories in this veered way off, for me to follow. It might be just me. The art was really good, especially with the addition of Phil Jimenez. I am still planning to read the next volume but I hope for it to be less like this and more like the first trade.

I'm only halfway through 52, having finished the first and now the second volumes of the series. But, the suspense and action of the first seems to take a back seat in the second. There are lengthy Black Adam sequences (which don't go anywhere, really, at least yet), goofy sequences with mad scientists, Lobo and cosmic dolphins, and even Egg-Fu as a character. It seems the authors were really trying to push the envelope a bit and include almost every DCU character, sometimes to the story's detriment.

Still, there are a lot of good things about the story (Question and Renee, Ralph Dibny, etc.) and the included authors' notes. I read it excitedly and am looking forward to volume three, which I hope resolves some of the seemingly unnecessary and odd elements of this one.

While the first volume of this series was full of suspense, tight plotting, and revelatory scenes, this volume meanders through a lot of humdrum situations and doesn't really go anywhere. All the story lines barely move along the continuum of storytelling, with Ralph Dibney's tale and that of the space-trio of Animal Man, Adam Strange, and Starfire getting even shorter thrift than the others. The artwork isn't as sharp, either, which puts a supreme damper on some of the activity.

The saving grace of this volume is the John Steele storyline detailing Lex Luthor's plan to enable anyone to become a superhero.

I already have Volume 3, and will read it since I bought it. I hope I like it as much as Volume 1!

52 Volume Two picked right up where volume one left off. The Black Adam story line continues to disappoint in this volume. The Question/Montoya wa salso rather stale but, some good character interaction saved it from being a complte bust. The Ralph Dibny storyline was far and away the best point in the whole book. It is still a solid book building up for volume three.

second installment of DC 52 comic adventure, story still building, alot of heroes enterwined in the events. Some will rise, some will fall.

52, Volume 2 isn't quite as good as Volume 1. I'm aware though that I only think this because my favorite plots don't get much of the focus here. I'm OK with that, it's still a very good read and I'm sure my favorites will get more focus later.

I do have to say though that while I found the Animal Man/Adam Strange plot entertaining at first, it really lost me in this volume. It just features too many characters I know nothing about. Also, it doesn't overlap with any of the other stories at all, since they are lost in space and no one else even knows they are alive.

On the other hand, I didn't find Black Adam very interesting at first, but his story has grown on me a little. It especially helped that Renee Montoya's adventures crossed into it. I'm anxious for Renee to get back to Gotham though, having her gone for so long feels strange.

Once again, the best part of this collection is the writer notes after each issue. Those little insights into how the collaborative writing process worked, or in some case didn't work, make the collection well worth it.