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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Controversial Opinion: This... was done a lot better in Rebirth.
Again, reading books deemed "the greatest comics of all time" is always a mixed bag for me. I don't think I've read any one of "the greats" and actually found it to be great. It's like Citizen Kane for me - I feel like a lot of the hype is due to the concepts being fairly new at the time, not so much whether they were done well.
I'll get straight to the point (ironically, something this book doesn't do): this book is too. damn. long..
It just is. I thought this story ended 7 times before it finally did. So much of what goes on here could have been trimmed down or cut out completely. There's way too much of Harbinger gathering everyone. There's too much of Pariah running around being distraught everywhere. There's too much of the Monitor examining Lex Luthor Jr. There's just so much that doesn't feel important enough to go here. Hence me saying that Rebirth did these concepts a hell of a lot better.
I will give props where props are due:
- this is an event that actually matters and was huge. Worlds collided, a few big charactersdie and don't return for quite some time. The universe is forever changed and it can't be reversed (at least for some time). I'm sure a lot of civilians died with some of the chaos going on.
- I didn't hate the art. There were points where I realized there must've been a template for anguished faces because the same 3 versions were used over and over again. However, for the most part, I liked the art
- some of the emotional moments land like Clark with Kara and Starfire and Superman holding each other together over fear of losing another world
- I liked female Dr. Light. She was the only female character that really stood out to me here. Didn't love that she kept doing things thinking she needed to atone for being selfish (I didn't think she was?) but I like her origin
But overall, I got bored quite a bit. This length for an event wouldn't fly this way in today's comics and that's for a good reason. It's just overlong. There was so much that could've been cut out to make this a more succinct and impactful story. Sure, Rebirth wouldn't have had the idea for such a plot were it not for this book, but sometimes newer versions of stories are improvements. I can't help but think how much more effective this story would've been if it'd been about 200 or so pages shorter.
Again, reading books deemed "the greatest comics of all time" is always a mixed bag for me. I don't think I've read any one of "the greats" and actually found it to be great. It's like Citizen Kane for me - I feel like a lot of the hype is due to the concepts being fairly new at the time, not so much whether they were done well.
I'll get straight to the point (ironically, something this book doesn't do): this book is too. damn. long..
It just is. I thought this story ended 7 times before it finally did. So much of what goes on here could have been trimmed down or cut out completely. There's way too much of Harbinger gathering everyone. There's too much of Pariah running around being distraught everywhere. There's too much of the Monitor examining Lex Luthor Jr. There's just so much that doesn't feel important enough to go here. Hence me saying that Rebirth did these concepts a hell of a lot better.
I will give props where props are due:
- this is an event that actually matters and was huge. Worlds collided, a few big characters
Spoiler
(like Kara and Barry Allen's Flash)- I didn't hate the art. There were points where I realized there must've been a template for anguished faces because the same 3 versions were used over and over again. However, for the most part, I liked the art
- some of the emotional moments land like Clark with Kara and Starfire and Superman holding each other together over fear of losing another world
- I liked female Dr. Light. She was the only female character that really stood out to me here. Didn't love that she kept doing things thinking she needed to atone for being selfish (I didn't think she was?) but I like her origin
But overall, I got bored quite a bit. This length for an event wouldn't fly this way in today's comics and that's for a good reason. It's just overlong. There was so much that could've been cut out to make this a more succinct and impactful story. Sure, Rebirth wouldn't have had the idea for such a plot were it not for this book, but sometimes newer versions of stories are improvements. I can't help but think how much more effective this story would've been if it'd been about 200 or so pages shorter.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
The plot throughout the entire book reminded me all too much of a plot from Final Fantasy. You have no idea why the story is jumping around like crazy, don't really understand the plot, and only remotely care about the characters while everything is happening on a grandiose and implausible scale.
A large part of this most-historic comics event (the first of its kind; and the blueprint for the annual blockbuster crossover "nothing-will-ever-be-the-same" events to follow) hinges on using something called a "cosmic treadmill." I feel like I should really stop typing there.
But I obviously won't.
I respect this for trying to creatively solve a problem of an absurdly convoluted continuity, left over from some 45-odd years of comics-making. However, this 12+ issue mini-series could've easily been pared down to about 4 issues, as nothing really happens, no new insights are gained, and nothing is explained in any meaningful way. And I think people want to say that its because of the book's age, but Alan Moore's Swamp Thing and Grant Morrison's Animal Man were happening concurrently with the events in Crisis. They were opening comics up to new readers, and relaunching these characters in groundbreaking ways through great storytelling and perfectly matched artwork. Marv Wolfman makes every hero and villain either unwaveringly heroic (50% of the JLA, et al) or a 1950's-style wry prankster who can't stop cracking shit jokes for two seconds, even if staying silent might mean saving their fellow heroes' lives (the other 50%). Then there's Pariah. A weak Silver Surfer rip-off who calls himself Pariah. ack.
The whole thing serves as a reminder of why I've always greatly preferred Marvel to DC. There are no Aqualads or T.O. Morrows or Psycho Pirates or Uncle Sams in Marvel. And for all of the "space" origins in DC, they've never been much for scientific explanations. And in Crisis, superheroes and demigods are constantly promising to "pray" for one another. It's absurd. George Perez did a great job physically capturing each character, but Wolfman wrote 3 characters, and makes you suffer with them through hundreds of needlessly repetitive pages. Onward and upward, comics. Excelsior!
But I obviously won't.
I respect this for trying to creatively solve a problem of an absurdly convoluted continuity, left over from some 45-odd years of comics-making. However, this 12+ issue mini-series could've easily been pared down to about 4 issues, as nothing really happens, no new insights are gained, and nothing is explained in any meaningful way. And I think people want to say that its because of the book's age, but Alan Moore's Swamp Thing and Grant Morrison's Animal Man were happening concurrently with the events in Crisis. They were opening comics up to new readers, and relaunching these characters in groundbreaking ways through great storytelling and perfectly matched artwork. Marv Wolfman makes every hero and villain either unwaveringly heroic (50% of the JLA, et al) or a 1950's-style wry prankster who can't stop cracking shit jokes for two seconds, even if staying silent might mean saving their fellow heroes' lives (the other 50%). Then there's Pariah. A weak Silver Surfer rip-off who calls himself Pariah. ack.
The whole thing serves as a reminder of why I've always greatly preferred Marvel to DC. There are no Aqualads or T.O. Morrows or Psycho Pirates or Uncle Sams in Marvel. And for all of the "space" origins in DC, they've never been much for scientific explanations. And in Crisis, superheroes and demigods are constantly promising to "pray" for one another. It's absurd. George Perez did a great job physically capturing each character, but Wolfman wrote 3 characters, and makes you suffer with them through hundreds of needlessly repetitive pages. Onward and upward, comics. Excelsior!
Told from the standpoint of Barry Allen (The Flash), it brings a new perspective to this tale.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated