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  • Countdown to Final Crisis trade paperback reading order
    6 May 2008 at 3:02pm
    OK, this is by no means complete, but here's a beginning, tentative attempt at creating a Countdown to Final Crisis trade paperback reading order. I would appreciate anyone who's been reading these books, with as few spoilers as possible, chiming in if you think you see something that needs to be reordered.

    The overarching logic here is that, since one reads a full story in a trade, we place full stories side-by-side to be read in a way that hopefully spoils neither one. To that end, for example, Death of the New Gods ends about the same time Countdown to Final Crisis does, so maybe it needs to be placed after Countdown to Final Crisis Volume 4, or maybe not. It's that kind of thing I'm still working on, and could use help with.

    Updates will be made as we go along. As such:

    Countdown to Final Crisis Volume 1

    - Teen Titans: Titans East

    The Lightning Saga:
    - Flash: The Fastest Man Alive: Full Throttle
    - Justice League of America: The Lightning Saga (Countdown 50)
    - Superman: Camelot Falls Vol. 2

    - Superman: 3-2-1 Action (between Countdown 42 and 41)

    Amazons Attack:
    - Wonder Woman: Love and Murder
    - Wonder Woman: Amazons Attack
    - Catwoman: Catwoman Dies
    - Outsiders/Checkmate: Checkout
    - Outsiders: Five of a Kind

    Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding:
    - Green Arrow/Black Canary: Road to the Altar
    - Green Arrow/Black Canary: The Wedding Album
    - Justice League of America: The Injustice League

    - Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War Vol. 1

    - Metal Men

    Countdown to Final Crisis Volume 2

    - 52 Aftermath: Black Adam (Countdown #49)

    - Countdown to Adventure

    - 52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen

    - Suicide Squad: From the Ashes

    Teen Titans/Blue Beetle/Eclipso:
    - Teen Titans: Titans of Tomorrow
    - Blue Beetle: Reach for the Stars
    - Countdown to Mystery

    - Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters: Brave New World

    - Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer

    Death of the New Gods:
    - Death of the New Gods
    - Birds of Prey: Metropolis or Dust
    - Teen Titans Presents: Wonder Girl
    - Titans: Old Friends
    - Superman/Batman: Torment

    Sinestro War (Finale):
    - Green Lantern: Tales of the Sinestro Corps War
    - Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War Vol. 2
    - Superman: Escape from Bizarro World
    - Blue Beetle: Endgame (between GL Corps 17 and Superman-Prime)

    - Countdown Presents: Lord Havok and the Extremists

    - The Question: Five Books of Blood

    Countdown to Final Crisis Volume 3

    Salvation Run:
    - Justice League of America: Sanctuary
    - JLA: Salvation Run
    - Gotham Underground

    - Countdown Presents: Arena

    - Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer (updated)
    - All-New Atom: The Hunt for Ray Palmer (updated)

    Countdown to Final Crisis Volume 4
    - Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes (updated)

    I'd love any help or suggestions anyone could send, and if you want to reprint this, I'd appreciate your linking back. Of course, eventually we'll move this over to the DC comicbooks Trade Paperback Timeline when it's done. Thanks!---

    This post was syndicated from Collected Editions, the chronicles of a "wait-for-trade-er" -- the new breed of comic book book fans who forgo monthly "floppies" for trade paperbacks and collected editions -- reviews, commentaries, low price alerts, news, and the occasional scoop. Visit collectededitions.blogspot.com.


  • Comic Reviews: Jack Kirby's Fourth World Ominbus Volume Two collected hardcover (DC ...
    5 May 2008 at 3:02pm
    I remembered what Orion's dark secret was in all of this ... but I'd forgotten about Scott Free.

    Much as I enjoyed the second volume of Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus, I get the sense the third volume is where the action's really at. What I was looking for from the Volume One Omnibus was more interaction between the various series, and while we got that here (Lightray in the initial chapters of Jimmy Olsen, and Superman's mention of his meeting with the Forever People later on), I still remain eager for the full, whole-hog crossover.

    Of course, the more I read the Fourth World Omnibuses, the more I see just how much Grant Morrison was riffing on Jack Kirby in his recent Seven Soldiers miniseries. Indeed, part of the fun is how close, but not quite, all the characters come to meeting, and how the various stories interlock, almost more than the reader realizes. Case in point is that little secret Orion and Mister Miracle share, binding the two disparate series together.

    Also of great use here is Walt Simonson's introduction to the volume, where he positions New Gods, Mister Miracle, Forever People, and Jimmy Olsen as four perspectives on the same battle: that of the warriors, the contentious objector, the young adventurer, and the citizen bystanders. This perspective really illuminates the way the stories are related, even without the characters meeting. I admit I haven't been a fan of Simonson's Fourth World material, finding it too overwrought and heady, but this exposure to the original Kirby material makes me eager to give Simonson another try.

    In his introduction, Simonson praises Kirby's New Gods story "The Glory Boat," and it's a fine story indeed. For every cookie-cutter story in the omnibus -- no matter how wondrous, most of the stories deal with the hero of the moment fighting a random Apokolips creation -- there's ones like "Glory Boat" and the initial Forever People arc, where Kirby's walk-on supporting characters are just as strong and rich as his heroes, that shows the power of Kirby's creations.

    Frankly, I think the Fourth World has become distilled -- witness the generic grumpiness of Orion in Grant Morrison's JLA series, versus Kirby's initial three-dimensional hero -- and the Omnibuses are a nice reminder of the power these characters once had. I was especially struck by the scene in this volume, for the first time ever, of Metron flying to the Source Wall and gloating over those trapped there. We seen this sequence so many times (at least thrice, I'm sure, in Superman/Batman) that it's become tired, but just something about seeing Kirby do it for the first time makes me say "Oh, now I get it."

    Jack Kirby brought a sheer, unmitigated wildness to his stories, and more than that, you can tell reading these stories that they contain not just Kirby's writing, but his personality. I've enjoyed the first and second Fourth World Omnibus far more than I thought I would -- I don't have the third and fourth yet, but no question they've gone on my wish list.

    [Contains full covers, introduction by Walt Simonson, afterward by Mark Evanier, Jack Kirby sketch pages.]

    On now to a Superman trade, and then the sky's the limit! ---

    This post was syndicated from Collected Editions, the chronicles of a "wait-for-trade-er" -- the new breed of comic book book fans who forgo monthly "floppies" for trade paperbacks and collected editions -- reviews, commentaries, low price alerts, news, and the occasional scoop. Visit collectededitions.blogspot.com.


  • Movie Comic Reviews: Iron Man Marks the Return of First-Rate Superhero Movies
    4 May 2008 at 11:14pm
    Iron Man breaks the three-year drought of quality superhero films, kicking the 2008 summer blockbuster season off with a bang.
    Thank you, Marvel Studios. Thank you, Jon Favreau. Thank you, Robert Downey Jr. Thank you for not only making the first good comic book book superhero movie since 2005's Batman Begins, but also for restoring my dormant enthusiasm for what had become a favourite sub-genre of mine. I grew up reading comic book books, so once they started coming out with...

  • Graphic Novel Comic Reviews: Zombies vs. Robots vs. Amazons by Chris Ryall and Ashle...
    26 Apr 2008 at 3:59pm
    Do you need more than the title?
    Because zombies and robots just aren't enough, this new graphic novel ups the ante with Amazons, too. And not prim and proper Wonder Woman Amazons. Oh no, these are some fierce, nekkid, primal biotches with a laser focus on survival. This new story is a sequel to the earlier Zombies vs. Robots that seemingly ended with a nuclear holocaust, but...

  • Essential Batman Encyclopedia
    21 Apr 2008 at 2:52pm
    Essential Batman EncyclopediaBuy this book I got a chance to see a preview copy of the Essential Batman Encyclopedia at the NY Con, and it looks fabulous. I was impressed by the sleek layout and ease of use, like a “real” encyclopedia. It’s due out in June at a reasonable $30 US price. But I’m posting [...]