Has anyone read 52 by Geoff Johns and Morrison?

[Jekyll]

As others have stated 52 is a very interesting read and actually good story telling for a big company wide event.

As for Final Crisis, if you have ever wondered what it would be like to drop acid then read Final Crisis. It makes no sense, it’s extremely bizarre, and it jumps all of the place. There is no way Grant Morrison was sober when he wrote this. The only reason I was even interested in it and picked it up was for the return of Barry Allen.

[married guy]

52 was brilliant, and I honestly think something that will NEVER be achieved again.
(See Countdown for proof of this)I found Final Crisis as a bit of a chore. The tie-ins were more enjoyable than the main book for me.
If you get the chance, get your hands on Zero Hour. It's another really good read that attempts to clean up the leftover mess from the original Crisis.
The only thing I disliked about it was the treatment of the JSA. That aside, it's a ton of fun.

[SiegePerilous02]

52 was great, easily the best weekly series they ever did, and it's all down to the talent involved.

It is unlikely, but I would be overjoyed to hear that Morrison, Johns, Rucka and Waid were working on another series together. If not a weekly, then a bi-monthly/monthly book.

[BatmanJones]

I wouldn't even consider them the same thing. Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis are two stories where the latter is clearly meant as a sequel to the other. The term Crisis in DC has existed long before those two stories and merely meant "DC crossover that concerns the multiverse". Final Crisis follows in the tradition of those.

Agreed. Crisis on Infinite Earths is pretty much a prerequisite to Infinite Crisis. At the least one should read a sturdy recap of CoIE before reading Infinite Crisis because it's totally a sequel.

Final Crisis is not part of either of those stories. It's one of many universe-wide events and at DC those events are commonly tagged with the "Crisis" label. It's a callback to the first JLA/JSA team-ups when some "Crisis" would cause them to team up though they existed on parallel earths.

There are also lots of events in DC history that were "Crisis"-level, line-wide events, like Zero Hour (too old and dated to really enjoy now) or Blackest Night (highly recommended), but didn't include the word "Crisis."

In fact, publisher Dan Didio wanted to name the very recent line-wide crossover event, METAL, as a "Crisis."

And then there's Identity Crisis which deeply touched all corners of the DCU (highly controversial - people love or hate it - I love it) but which was a much more intimate story than the other "Crises" in terms of the way it was told. The others are all pretty cosmic. Identity Crisis was an emotional story that included personal trauma and crises but it doesn't at all belong with the mega-events like CoIE or Infinite Crisis or Zero Hour or Final Night.

For purpose of this post I went searching for a comprehensive list of DC's major event stories and this is a pretty thorough one. I'd give it a look if I were you, OP. Hope it's a help.

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Major_Event...he_DC_Universe

[Graphic Autist]

Was it a good read and worth getting? Cheers!

Overall, I did not like it. I hated the Ralph Dibny and Renee Montoya storylines, which was roughly half the book.

However, I enjoyed the Black Adam storyline. Weighing the pros and cons, I’d go with thumbs down. Only an opinion...

Edit: I also liked the Mad Scientist Island storyline.

[Graphic Autist]

Infinite Crisis was pretty good, and I did enjoy it. However, I also feel many hold it in much higher regard than I do.

At times, I wonder whether people like stuff because they are expected to. I thought 2001 was a garbage movie, but seems sacrilege to those I say it to.

[MajorHoy]

. . . There are also lots of events in DC history that were "Crisis"-level, line-wide events, like Zero Hour (too old and dated to really enjoy now) or Blackest Night (highly recommended), but didn't include the word "Crisis."

Even though people don't always say it, Zero Hour did include "Crisis" in its title.

[DrNewGod]

It was probably one of the best "event-type" series that DC has printed.

However, it does follow the events of Infinite Crisis, so you may want to look into first.
(Infinite Crisis may not be quite as good as 52 was, but it does set the table for some of the things that happened in 52.)

I liked it a lot. Honestly, I think you can read it in isolation and lose very little.

Perhaps most interesting to me is (as I understand it) it was originally concieved as a connection between the fallout of other events and WW3. It perhaps benefits from having no expectations put on it, and having taken on a life of it's own.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Reading the big collected editions is great because it becomes just one big soap opera. You can skim over the storylines you don't care for and stick with the great ones because it was obvious which writers were handling which characters. For some, the Montoya stuff Rucka was doing was great. It completely bored me. I liked hard-boiled Ralph Dibny swigging compulsively on his flask. That was all Waid & Morrison. Mad Scientist Island was Morrison at his most gleeful. Steel was Johns, Waid & Morrison. Booster was Johns & Waid. Black Adam was Johns.

However, the ideas and styles of all of these guys, including creative titan Keith Giffen, are clearly percolating everywhere in each of the storylines.

It's a fascinating book.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Agreed. Crisis on Infinite Earths is pretty much a prerequisite to Infinite Crisis. At the least one should read a sturdy recap of CoIE before reading Infinite Crisis because it's totally a sequel.

Final Crisis is not part of either of those stories. It's one of many universe-wide events and at DC those events are commonly tagged with the "Crisis" label. It's a callback to the first JLA/JSA team-ups when some "Crisis" would cause them to team up though they existed on parallel earths.

There are also lots of events in DC history that were "Crisis"-level, line-wide events, like Zero Hour (too old and dated to really enjoy now) or Blackest Night (highly recommended), but didn't include the word "Crisis."

In fact, publisher Dan Didio wanted to name the very recent line-wide crossover event, METAL, as a "Crisis."

And then there's Identity Crisis which deeply touched all corners of the DCU (highly controversial - people love or hate it - I love it) but which was a much more intimate story than the other "Crises" in terms of the way it was told. The others are all pretty cosmic. Identity Crisis was an emotional story that included personal trauma and crises but it doesn't at all belong with the mega-events like CoIE or Infinite Crisis or Zero Hour or Final Night.

For purpose of this post I went searching for a comprehensive list of DC's major event stories and this is a pretty thorough one. I'd give it a look if I were you, OP. Hope it's a help.

http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Major_Event...he_DC_Universe

There are only two reasons to read Zero Hour

1. It’s the only notable thing Hal as Parralax ever does
2. If you are a James Robinson’s Starman fan

[MajorHoy]

There are only two reasons to read Zero Hour

1. It’s the only notable thing Hal as Parralax ever does
2. If you are a James Robinson’s Starman fan

There were many changes made to the DC universe by Zero Hour, and I actually prefer that to some of DC's later efforts (despite the fact that Zero Hour wound up killing off several Golden Age JSA members).
It is still something that should be read to see how DC tried to "correct" many mistakes/confusion caused during the period between Zero Hour and Crisis on Infinite Earths.

[theboychild]

Reading the big collected editions is great because it becomes just one big soap opera. You can skim over the storylines you don't care for and stick with the great ones because it was obvious which writers were handling which characters. For some, the Montoya stuff Rucka was doing was great. It completely bored me. I liked hard-boiled Ralph Dibny swigging compulsively on his flask. That was all Waid & Morrison. Mad Scientist Island was Morrison at his most gleeful. Steel was Johns, Waid & Morrison. Booster was Johns & Waid. Black Adam was Johns.

However, the ideas and styles of all of these guys, including creative titan Keith Giffen, are clearly percolating everywhere in each of the storylines.

It's a fascinating book.

Great! Bought the book! Will have to read CoIE first. Cheers!

[byrd156]

Everyone should read 52.

[HandofPrometheus]

I really need to read this now. I keep putting it off.

[DrNewGod]

I really need to read this now. I keep putting it off.

First issue in, you'll have no problem finishing it. I especially loved Booster's story