Final Crisis [Hardcover]

Grant Morrison (Author), J.G. Jones (Illustrator), Carlos Pacheco (Illustrator), Doug Mahnke (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: June 16, 2009

Best-selling writer Grant Morrison (BATMAN, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, JLA) and critically acclaimed artist J.G. Jones (52, Wanted) redefine what it means to be a modern day Super Hero in this cosmic epic.

What happens when evil wins? That's the question Superman, Batman, the Justice League and every being in the DCU have to face when Darkseid and his otherworldly legion of narcissistic followers actually win the war between light and dark. Featuring the deaths and resurrections of major DC characters, FINAL CRISIS is more than your average multi-part event - it's a deconstruction of Super Hero comics and a challenging, thought-provoking take on the modern, four-color icons..

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Book Description
Best-selling writer Grant Morrison (Batman, All-Star Superman, JLA) and critically acclaimed artist J.G. Jones (52, Wanted) redefine what it means to be a modern day Super Hero in this cosmic epic.

What happens when evil wins? That's the question Superman, Batman, the Justice League and every being in the DC Universe have to face when Darkseid and his otherworldly legion of narcissistic followers actually win the war between light and dark. Featuring the deaths and resurrections of major DC characters, Final Crisis is more than your average multi-part event&mdash:it's a deconstruction of Super Hero comics and a challenging, thought-provoking take on the modern, four-color icons.

A Look Inside Final Crisis
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From Publishers Weekly

Morrison's big, beautiful mess of an apocalypse is gathered in this deluxe volume, along with one of the spinoff mini-series that took place between issues. Darkseid, one of the New Gods of Apokolips, is taking over the universe, broadcasting his antilife equation—a mathematical spell that drains all hope and emotion from those who hear it—through every mass communication vehicle available. Reality starts breaking down, time itself is collapsing; meanwhile, Batman is taken out of action and Superman can't help out as he needs to stay by Lois's hospital bedside or she will die. To say that there's a lot going on is an understatement; the plot is byzantine, and DC newbies will likely find it confusing and require multiple reads. Fanboys, on the other hand, will relish spotting all of the references to DC canon. There is an awful lot of setup and not much in the way of payoff until the very end, but Morrison-philes will enjoy his characteristic wordplay and fearless invention the whole time. Jones and Mahnke split the main art with skill and vision. (June)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics; First Edition edition (June 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401222811
• ISBN-13: 978-1401222819
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.9 x 10.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (170 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #466,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Grant Morrison is one of comics' greatest innovators. His long list of credits includes Batman: Arkham Asylum, JLA, Seven Soldiers, Animal Man, Doom Patrol, The Invisibles and The Filth. He is currently writing Batman and All-Star Superman.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars TIPS FOR READING 'FINAL CRISIS' December 5, 2012

By lux

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've thought long and hard about this book. If you have not yet read Final Crisis, I really think you would benefit from reading my review.

SUMMARY
Final Crisis is an epic, layered story with several running narratives and many surprises, so it's difficult to synopsize. At its center are the 'New Gods', involved in the last stages of their vast and mysterious war. It looks as though the BAD side has won. The story goes from there and involves dozens of characters, major and minor, some of whom actually die. Aside from alternate dimensions, cosmic technology, and many far-out concepts, there is a lot of battle action and some really classic superhero situations, with dialogue in a 'high' style reminiscent of cosmic '70s writers like Jack Kirby, Steve Englehart, and Len Wein. The writing can be dense, and at times a LOT happens on a single page. The art is detailed, brightly colored, merging a very realistic style with psychedelic effects. The story is long and rather convoluted, including a grand mystery and scifi surrealism, to name just two of its many styles (neither specifically known for offering immediate clarity, take note).

WHO WOULD LIKE THIS BOOK?
An open-minded superhero fan willing to give the book some time, attention, and thought.

WHO WOULD NOT LIKE THIS BOOK?
People who hate experimentation in superhero comics. People just looking for a simple, easy read. People who must know exactly what's going on at all times. People who think all ambition is pretension.

FIVE TIPS FOR READING FINAL CRISIS
1. It's Not for Newbs
I hate to say it, but if you're not already a DC fan, don't bother.... I don't mean that you have to be a super-nerd with an encyclopedic memory of a couple lifetimes' worth of comics, just that you've been around the block a couple times. Pop quiz: what do Green Lanterns do? What's "shazam"? Who is Barry Allen? How are Darkseid and Orion related? If these questions stumped you, Final Crisis is going to be pretty rough going. I'd suggest reading Morrison's Seven Soldiers or maybe JLA instead.

2. Final Crisis Stands Alone
Two parts to this one:
2a. Do Not "Prepare"
Don't read anything specifically in order to better "understand" Final Crisis before going in. It won't help, because Final Crisis was written to stand alone. If anything, "preparatory" material will just distract you with irrelevant details, confuse you with continuity discrepancies, and mislead your expectations. It may also provide too big of a build-up to a story with its own arc, resulting in feelings of anticlimax when you finally get to the good stuff. So don't read Countdown, and don't replace that with a 'countdown' of your own. You don't need to know anything special to get in to Final Crisis.
2b. Do Not "Expand"
Forget the tie-ins. If you want to read them for their own sake and on their own terms, because you like a certain writer or character or whatever, by all means go for it... some other time. As with "preparations", these will only clutter your head and distract you from an already convoluted narrative, to the disservice of each story. This includes Morrison's Batman books, a twisty epic of its own that intersects Final Crisis at one tiny point. Efforts to conflate these two giant labyrinths WILL be unsuccessful. Everything you need is included in the Final Crisis TPB-- no more, no less-- and it's best just to focus on that without any extra baggage.

3. No Expectations
Forget what you've heard. Don't go in assuming it's going to be an unreadable maze of obscure references. Don't expect a transcendent, life-changing experience, or the best comic book ever. Don't expect it to tie up all the loose ends of the past 20 years of DC continuity, or assume it's full of errors and problems. Don't assume you won't understand anything. Don't expect to understand everything. Just read it, see for yourself.

4. Think
Take your time. Pay attention. Flip back and review. If you don't understand what's happening, reflect for a moment and see if you can figure it out before proceeding. Unlike most superhero comics, Final Crisis requires focus and conscious thought while it's being read. Trust me, it's worth it.

5. Read It Again
Take a look at my summary again... There's NO WAY you're going to take all that in the first time. If you truly hated it, don't put yourself through it again... but if you followed my advice this far, you'll probably want to.

Enjoy Read more ›

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ABSOLUTE FINAL CRISIS November 10, 2012

By Bruno Marisi

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

* * * * * INTRO * * * * *
Final Crisis is one of the most polarizing events ever published by DC, as well as one of the most controversial works by Grant Morrison for that publisher, generally regarded as a love-it-or-hate-it book. Since there are almost 150 reviews right here in Amazon discussing Final Crisis' story and art, I decided to just focus my review on the edition itself of this new Absolute presentation.

Absolute Final Crisis is an outstanding, high-quality, great-value edition, with a very generous page count, full of extras and material not included in the old HC and TPB editions, and all this makes it a much better reading experience.

* * * * * CONTENTS * * * * *
This volume includes, in the following order:

- A 2-pages introduction by Jay Babcock (originally published for the first time in the Final Crisis HC edition, 2009)

- The last 5 pages from DC Universe #0, pencilled by Dough Mahnke (NOT included in the 2009 HC edition. This are very relevant pages for the overall story and I'm extremely happy they were finally collected this time. The rest of DC Universe #0 pages are a kind of sampling/advertising of other DC storylines, mostly unrelated to Final Crisis, so they were not included).

- Final Crisis #1 to 3 (exact same contents as the 2009 HC edition).

- Superman Beyond #1 and 2 (printed with 3-D effect, the Absolute edition includes a set of blue/red 3-D cardboard glasses. The 2009 HC edition DOES NOT feature this 3-D presentation, it was printed without the 3-D effect, with standard coloring).

- Final Crisis: Submit (exact same contents as the 2009 HC edition).

- Final Crisis #4 and 5 (exact same contents as the 2009 HC edition)....

- Batman 682 and 683 (NOT included in the 2009 HC edition, this issues are a vital part of Final Crisis and they were only available in Batman R.I.P.).

- Final Crisis #6 (exact same contents as the 2009 HC edition).

- Final Crisis #7 (includes 6 COMPLETELY NEW pages and 2 re-drawn/expanded pages, all by Doug Mahnke. These new pages give a much better flow to the climax of the story, so I'm really glad DC decided to include them. Also, some panels and pages from this issue feature slight changes in the coloring, specially done for this edition).

- Final Crisis Sketchbook (the Absolute edition includes the COMPLETE Sketchbook, plus sketches from Final Crisis: Secret Files, making a total of 30 full pages of sketch material. The 2009 HC edition only included 8 pages from the original Final Crisis Sketchbook)

- Final Crisis #1: Director's Cut (NOT included in the 2009 HC edition. A total of 29 pages featuring the complete script of Final Crisis #1, all of that issue pages by J.G Jones presented in black and white, plus commentaries by both Morrison and Jones, DVD style).

- Variant Covers Gallery (all variants were included in the 2009 HC edition, except the ones from the Batman issues)

- Page 29 from Final Crisis #7, as originally illustrated by Doug Mahnke.

- A 1-page explanation of the Anti-Life Equation by Grant Morrison, originally published in Final Crisis: Secret Files (NOT included in the 2009 HC edition)

* * * * * EDITION * * * * *
The quality of the edition is truly outstanding:
- The volume features sewn-binding, so the gutter loss is almost non-existant.
- The paper stock is of the highest quality, glossy and very heavy weight, the kind of stock you find in art-books.
- The printing quality is also excellent, with sharp lines and vibrant colors that simply put the 2009 HC edition to shame.
- The slipcase is strong and well-build.
- The overall design of the book is beautiful and elegant.

* * * * * CONCLUSION * * * * *
If you are interested in reading Final Crisis for the first time, this Absolute edition can be an expensive risky buy: as I said before, it's a very polarizing book, so maybe you are better off getting the TPB edition. However, if you LOVED Final Crisis, this is the best presentation available and you should make it a top priority to get it. I own the 2009 HC edition of Final Crisis, and I was quite happy with it, but seeing both of them together is like watching an old VHS next to a brand new Bluray. I couldn't be happier with this book, this is everything an Absolute edition should be and stand for. Read more ›

51 of 64 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Wild, dense, confusing, and mind blowing. August 17, 2009

By Sebastian

Format:Hardcover

Let's get something straight: no matter what author Grant Morrison says, this book is NOT for the uninitiated.
If you are:

Sick of the typical slugfest event comic-
Fairly well versed in current DC universe continuity-
Multiverse literate-
A fan of Grant Morrison's previous DCU work-
Not afraid to be confused sometimes-
A fan of a good mind screw-

Then this book is for you!
I don't pretend to know everything that went on in this book. The Super Young Team was particularly cryptic to me. I can also understand others' frustration, because this book assumes a lot of previous knowledge, not only of aforementioned current continuity, but also of everything Morrison's ever contributed to JLA, Seven Soldiers, and Doom Patrol. You also have to have read Morrison's Batman, especially his R.I.P. epilogue.
I know i'm flogging a dead horse now, but if your average comic book was a 100 level college course, than consider this a post-grad dissertation.

HAVING SAID ALL THAT, This book is full of wild and fantastic moments that have never seen before in any book anywhere. The heroes overcome feats they've never imagined, and Morrison writes variations on classic comic book themes that no one else could possibly touch. There's more story packed into each issue than many events have in their entire run. It gets messy sometimes, but overall it was a thrill of a ride that leaves you breathless in its wake.

96 of 129 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I'm Still To Figure Out What Happened June 22, 2009

By E. David Swan VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Comic sales have been in a slump for decades. Even in the midst of a golden age of superhero movies the printed material has continued to sag prompting the big two publishers to increasingly fall back on the `LOOK AT ME' tactic. DC and Marvel both learned that big events sell but at what cost. You can only have so many monster events before they become commonplace. The death of Superman was huge, the death of Captain America not quite as much and when Batman died last year the media hardly took notice. It was 22 years between Crisis on Earth Two and Crisis on Infinite Earths and then 20 years until Infinite Crisis was published but then just 3 years before Final Crisis. At this point there seems to be no gap between events with a large lead in to Infinite Crisis followed by the series 52 and Countdown to Final Crisis. One need only look at the greater than 35% reduction in sales between the first issues of Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis to see that the real crisis is in the viability of the comic industry. But putting aside the commercial success or failure of Final Crisis how did it fare artistically?

I was a huge fan of Infinite Crisis. Right from the start it felt like a big event with Bizarro pummeling the Human Bomb to death and Mongul attacking Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, harkening back to the legendary story by Alan Moore. It brought back feelings I hadn't felt since the mid 80's when DC was cranking out five star material like the Watchmen, Crisis on Infinite Earths and Swamp Thing. The return of Alexander Luthor and the corruption of Superboy-Prime were moments I won't forget. I felt none of this in reading Final Crisis. Somehow Grant Morrison was able to make the death of The Martian Manhunter seem bland and forgettable.... At first I wasn't even sure it was The Martian Manhunter since his death occupied a total of two small frames meaning that it undoubtedly occurred in another issue and this leads into perhaps the biggest problem with Final Crisis. I never read Countdown to Final Crisis because it got very bad reviews and it appears that it's a mandatory read because I found myself completely lost. Personally I felt that Infinite Crisis worked as a standalone story that was augmented by reading the leadup stories. Final Crisis on the other hand is all over the place. It's clear that the seven issue series picks up in the middle of a story. Why is Darkseid and crew living on Earth as humans? How did Libra reconstitute himself after being obliterated IN 1974 and?!?!? When did Mary Marvel become a murderous punk and how come Frankenstein is fighting with the superheroes? Final Crisis asks WAY too much of the readers.

It seems these days that Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns write half the stories that DC Comics publishes and although I consider Morrison to be the better writer in this instance I think that Johns did a much better job. Morrison wrote, "I wanted to do the biggest crossover there's ever been" Instead I found it to be by far the weakest of the three big Crisis storylines. What I found most interesting was that Final Crisis #3 was the highest selling and highest rated book of the Crisis tie-ins while Superman Beyond #1 was the lowest (based on reviews by IGN). Personally I found nothing that interesting in issue #3 whereas the Superman story was the first moment that actually attracted my attention so this is clearly a subjective topic. As much as the first half of the series disappointed me the later half particularly the final issue was a complete mess. The worst element had to be the final villain who never even previously appeared in the Final Crisis series. You had to read the tie-in Superman Beyond 1 and 2 to find this character and to call him/it disappointing would be highly generous.

The art is sufficient but inconsistent and sometimes bland. It was nice that they included three tie-in issues, including the aforementioned Superman Beyond, to try and fill in the gaps but I think you would need an encyclopedia to figure out what's going on. DC Comics is going to milk this one for awhile before gearing up for the next big event but stories like these are just going to turn off rather than attract new fans. The series is inaccessible to anyone accept the most ravenous DC reader and even then I wonder if Final Crisis would be considered anything better than average. In the end it felt like Grant Morrison was indulging himself which is a shame because you only need to read All-Star Superman and Batman R.I.P to see that he is an extremely talented writer. From my perspective Final Crisis is a major misfire and as time goes on I suspect the history will not be kind. Read more ›