Customer Reviews

52, Vol. 3

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

 

 

52, DC's innovative real time weekly comic series that fills in the events between Infinite Crisis and One Year Later, continues to go strong in this TPB, which collects weeks 27-39. In this collection, Black Adam and his Black Marvel family attempt to convice the world he's a changed man, while his new brother Osiris attempts to join the Teen Titans. The JSA disbands in the wake of Lex Luthor's young super heroes, and soon enough his true intentions are revealed. Also revealed in this collection, the identity of the masked Supernova, and it's quite a well done shocker. In the meantime, Ralph "Elongated Man" Dibny goes on a journey with the helmet of Doctor Fate, Renee Montoya learns a hidden secret from The Question, and Adam Strange, Starfire, and Animal Man learn of Lobo's true intentions. The final pages appear that things are about to come to a head, which all together make this the best collection of the series so far. With the writing tandem of Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid; would you really expect anything less? Each writer shines through in specific moments in each issue, and fans of Morrison's Animal Man run will love the delicious cliffhanger twist as Buddy Baker finds himself left behind. We also once again have a variety of pencilers and inkers as well; featuring Keith Giffen doing breakdowns, as well as Phil Jimenez, Dan Jurgens, Joe Bennett, Keith Champagne, Rodney Ramos, and Prentis Rollins. All in all, the third collected volume of 52 is where the series really hits it's stride, and with one more volume to go, the best is yet to come.

Just on its scope, this is a huge success. What an unbelievable undertaking a year long weekly comic. That being said, this series has gotten worse with each trade. Part of that is the focus on the plotlines that I hate (Lobo & crew, Sobek) or plotlines that have drug out too long (Question, Ralph Dibney). The art is also a step down from the last two volumes but it was churned out so fast its still impressive. Overall, I like many aspects of the book (Black Adam's family, Batwoman, Everyman Project, Booster Gold) but I really want all the stories to end also. Maybe its just my impatience but this was just a decent book but I have high hopes for the last volume.

I gave the first two volumes of 52 five stars each, and I still think they deserve it. However, this is by far better than the first two volumes. While Volume 1 focuses on introducing us to all of the plots and Volume 2 just fills them out a little, Volume 3 is where we start seeing the payoff. Supernova's identity is revealed, Luthor's nefarious motivation behind the Everyman Project is exposed, and the Animal Man/Adam Strange lost in space story finally gets interesting.

Other positives from this volume include Green Lanterns getting something to do, as they play almost no part in the first two volumes. The Black Adam story line also takes a back seat for much of this volume, which is nice, since I feel it got far too much attention in the first two. Volume 3 also finishes at a better moment than the first two volumes. I couldn't wait to dive into Volume 4 after finishing this, while after finishing the first two it was nice to take a little break before starting the next one. I know what issue each volume ends with is really luck since it wasn't originally designed to be in four volumes, but when reading something so large and time consuming it's nice to end a volume with suspense just to keep your motivation up.

Once again the commentary between each issue makes this collection well worth it. If you are at all interested in how the comic creation process works this is a great addition with tons of insight.

I haven't even begin Volume 4, but I gotta tell you, this volume is quite amazing. So many great things happening... revelations, massive loss of lifes, the shape of a tragedy to come.

I feel chills just to think on what will happen next.


Can't wait, and you should either. Get this now and you'll have a better understanding on Final Crisis.

This is the best volume so far in the series, and I was highly impressed by the tight plotting and narrative flow. The artwork is a little busy at times, but overall is excellent. I still think the series would have benefited from not having the Starfire, Adam Strange, Animal Man plot line, but as that arc is barely touched upon here, the whole series prospered.

Highly recommended.

For anyone who wants to keep up on what's going on in the DCU, 52 is sort of a necessity. It's the bridge between Infinite Crisis and Countdown to Final Crisis which will be followed by Final Crisis. 52 is perfect for people who suffer with attention deficit disorder or perhaps fans of soap operas. Issues came out weekly and storylines jumped around so much that readers could quickly become bewildered. My understanding is that the much of the series was written as it progressed and it shows. Some of the storylines started off with a lot of promise but withered as the series went on while others lost focus and just wandered aimlessly. The Question/Montoya thread is an example of a story that started off tight with the two of them hunting down Intergang. Next thing you know they're in Kahndaq preventing an assassination and then The Question gets brain cancer and Intergang is completely forgotten as Renee Montoya tries to get him to Nanda Partha for a cure. It just seemed sloppy and unfocussed.

For me, the highlight of this book was without a doubt the big reveal of Supernova's true identity. It wasn't just the highlight of the book it was the highlight of the entire series because it restarted the storyline that got me into 52 in the first place. The second best thing about the third book was how little attention was given to Kahndaq which has been my least favorite storyline. The Intergang thread is really heating up but Ralph Dibney's quest for powerful magic items is starting to grow tiresome and this had been one of my favorite parts of book two. Booster Gold's time travel story is moving again and I couldn't be happier because that was the storyline that originally got me intrigued by 52.

When it gets right down to it the second and third book have not lived up to the promising start in book one and I think it has to do with the way 52 was produced. Without fully plotting out where the stories go they often fall apart. The Luthor/Everyman storyline definitely has that `making it up as we go along' feel to it. Book four is really going to have to hit it out of the ballpark to make up for the drag in book two and book three. I can't say I regret buying 52 but it's unlikely that it will go down as one of my favorite series unless the final book has a total stellar ending.

DC's 52 was highly ambitious, which made me more than a little nervous, since projects as big as these usually fall flat. With the big three missing, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, DC picks up some acilliary characters and kind of turns them into the modern age superheroes. Really DC is trying to kick start some other books. But they do a good job, especially since there is a book a week. Bravo gentlemen.

This is probably my favorite of all three of the volumes. All of the stories really come to ahead and prepare for the final push. The Supernova story is probably the best story in the book as you finally find out who he is. The Black Adam story hasn't quite got to the climax but, it is close. The story of Dr.Magnus continues to get better. The Question and Montoya storyline really sends you down a sad path but, a very well written story and the art while nothing amazing is good enough.

If you missed the weekly editions, this is a great way to catch up.
There are a lot of different story lines and it seems that some of them get forgotten for a while. I am looking forward to vol. 4 to see how it all gets tied together. Of course you must remember that this is followed by 'Countdown'