Crisis Time! - Favorite Crisis to Least Favorite Crisis

Now that I’ve looked at Final Crisis, I think it’s time to see which of the four Crisis events is my favorite one. I’m including Zero Hour in this as well. After all, it was a “Crisis in Time,” and it should be here. As you can tell, Identity Crisis isn’t on here. I haven’t completely read it and it’s not really a cosmic story like these are. Before I made this list, I decided to re-read the other three events. I also went and looked at what I wrote about them. One thing can definitely say is that my writing is much better than it was back then. I’m looking for which one was not only good (they all are by the way) but also which one just hit the spot for me. What had the best story, the best use of characters, best villains, and best art? I might as well start off with the one about that mad Green Lantern.

Crisis Time! - Final Crisis #7

Well, here it is. It’s the final issue of this pretty weird event. I have to say that it’s been interesting. It’s been cool going through this event with a more critical eye. I may need that eye for this issue.

The creative team has gone through some changes for this final issue. Morrison is still the writer while Doug Mahnke is penciling the whole issue. The issue also houses a lot of inkers and I mean a lot. I don’t even think I know most of these folk. The main cover has Superman flying toward us while the variant shows the Multiverse being destroyed. The covers are okay this time around with both feeling pretty lackluster for a final issue. Now, excuse me as I try to recap this loopy issue.

Final Crisis #7
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciller: Doug Mahnke
Inkers: Tom Nguyen, Drew Geraci, Christian Alamy, Norm Rapmund, Rodney Ramos, Doug Mahnke, and Walden Wong
Colors: Alex Sinclair, Tony Avina, and Pete Pantazis
Letters: Travis Lanham

Crisis Time! - Batman #682-683 and Final Crisis #6

Well, I’ve gotten to the penultimate issue of Final Crisis. It’s been an interesting ride, I’ll give it that. I’ll be also briefly looking at Batman #682-#683. Both issues tied into what Batman was doing or not doing in this case. Remember that he was kidnapped in Final Crisis #2 and he’s been off the board since then. The creative team for Final Crisis is the same but more people have been added. Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy have come in to do some pages. We also got another colorist along with Alex Sinclair this time around. Morrison also wrote the Batman issues. The art for those was done by Lee Garbett, Trevor Scott, and Guy Major.

The main covers for the Batman issues were drawn by the always awesome Alex Ross. The covers for #6 are cool as usual. The main one features Batman and the variant features Darkseid holding a disheveled Superman. While the Batman cover is fine, I have to say that the variant is the more interesting one this time around. What’s weird (and kind of sad) is that scene NEVER happens in the event. This is actually the last time we see that new suit of Darkseid’s. I’m a little disappointed by that. Oh well… Let's see what the Dark Knight was up to!

Batman #682 and #683

Writer: Grant Morrison

Pencils: Lee Garbett

Inks: Trevor Scott

Colors: Guy Major

Letters: Jared K. Fletcher

Crisis Time! - Final Crisis #5

Well, I’ve gotten pass the midpoint for this event. This time around I’m just looking at one issue: Final Crisis #5. The covers have some of that “Girl Power” this time around. Wonder Woman graces the main cover while a fight between Supergirl and Evil Mary Marvel is on the variant cover. I’ll have to go with Wonder Woman’s awesome image this time around. If Evil Mary Marvel wasn’t looking “toe up from the flo’ up,” I might actually go with the variant. The creative team is pretty much the same with Marco Rudy coming in to handle some artwork along with the other three. I don’t have much to say, so let’s hit it.

Final Crisis #5

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artists: J.G. Jones, Marco Rudy, Jesus Merino, and Carlos Pacheco

Colors: Alex Sinclair

Letters: Travis Lanham

Crisis Time! - Final Crisis: Submit and Final Crisis #4

After some universe-traveling hijinks with Superman in his Yellow Submarine, it’s time to get back to Earth and its “little” predicament. At the end of Final Crisis #3, Barry Allen and Wally West went ahead a few weeks in the future. They find their home looking pretty bleak. Some tie-ins like Final Crisis: Rogue’s Revenge and Final Crisis: Revelations looked at what happened during that time. Another book, written by Morrison, was Final Crisis: Submit. Since it was included in the trade, I’ll be looking at that as well as the fourth issue of Final Crisis.

Final Crisis #4 is still being written by Morrison. J.G. Jones is not the only artist this time around. He’s joined by Jesus Merino and Carlos Pacheco for those duties. Alex Sinclair still provides the coloring for the issue. The covers to the fourth issue are pretty cool this time around. One shows Darkseid and another shows some heroes taking on Darkseid’s forces. The main cover wins with Darkseid looking pretty cool in his new design.  As for Submit, it was penciled by Matthew Clark and inked by a few inkers. It came with two covers with the cover featuring Black Lightning being my favorite of the two.

Crisis Time! - Final Crisis: Superman Beyond

Well, it’s another day and another post about "Final Crisis." This post is a bit different since it’s not part of the main series… more on that towards the end of this event. Final Crisis: Superman Beyond was one of the tie-ins released during the event. In a move that still perplexes me, it was printed in 3D. You had to have 3D glasses on in order to get the full effect. Since it was written by Morrison, it was included in the trade paperback. Luckily, the trade didn’t do the 3D thing and left it as regular print. 

Of course, Morrison penned the two-issue tie-in. Both issues were penciled by Doug Mahnke. The coloring was handled by David Baron in both issues. The inking was handled by a lot of folk this time around. Just know this carries into the main series as well. The covers were okay. They’re just images of Superman looking cool and that’s pretty much it. With all of that out of the way, let’s see what happens when Superman goes universe-hopping. If you thought the New Gods invading Earth was weird, you’d be wrong.

Final Crisis: Superman Beyond #1

Writer: Grant Morrison

Pencils: Doug Mahnke

Inks: Christian Alamy, Rodney Ramos, Tom Nguyen, Walden Wong and Doug Mahnke

Colors: David Baron

Letters: Steve Wands

Crisis Time! - Final Crisis #3

Greetings and salutations. I only have one issue for today: #3 of Final Crisis. I don’t have any tie-ins for this segment. The creative team is still the same for the issue. The covers to issue three do look a little weird. What is Supergirl doing? Is she shocked, is she trying to sensualize herself to the audience, is she hungry, or is she trying to strike a weird pose? I don’t get it. The variant is not as weird but a little spoiler-ish. I actually prefer the variant this time around.  That’s all I got to say, so let’s get to it.

Final Crisis #3

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artist: J.G. Jones

Colorist: Alex Sinclair

Letters: Rob Leigh

"Know Evil"

We start out in Gotham City. An organization called SHADE busts into the Dark Side Club. Frankenstein (I’m not kidding) and SHADE operatives find the Question (Renee Montoya) over the mummified remains of Boss Dark Side. After a little banter, the Question escapes the building and changes back into her civilian clothes. As SHADE investigates the remains, they mention that Bludhaven is getting worse. Suddenly, something falls out of the sky. Renee is one of the first to find a blond woman wearing some sort of military garb at the center of the crater. She’s also speaking German. Before Renee can do anything else, SHADE operatives find her and take her away. Elsewhere, Nix Uotan gets fired from his job for being nuts. On the street feeling dejected, he sees a news report about Metron’s symbol. Unbeknownst to him, a Monitor watches him from across the street.

Frankenstein (The Monster) is a character in the DC Universe. Figures.

Crisis Time! - Final Crisis #2

Hello and hello. I’m back with the second issue of Final Crisis. I don’t have any tie-ins for this post. The creative team is still the same for this issue. As for the covers, There’s not really much to say about them. All of the covers to the event look good in my opinion. The cover to issue 2 is a bit spoiler-ish if you know who that really is. Let’s just say that it isn’t Jay Garrick. The variant is also really spoiler-heavy. With that said, let’s go to Japan!

Final Crisis #2

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artist: J.G. Jones
Colorist: Alex Sinclair

Letters: Rob Leigh

We start out in Japan at a dance club. It’s here where we meet the Super Young Team. We got Superbat,  Atomic Lantern Boy, and a couple of other young heroes. They’re sitting around living it up while watching the big screen. Suddenly, a man named Sonny Sumo walks in. The team’s starstruck by the guy. A guy called Megayakuza attacks Sumo, so Sumo retaliates by straight-up killing him. When Sumo heads into the bathroom to clean up, a well-dressed man follows him in. His name is Shilo Norman and he is Mister Miracle or at least the new one. Norman heals Sumo with his Motherboxxx and they talk as the Super Young Team spy on them. Norman tells Sumo that there was a cosmic war that he needs help in building a team to face the evil ones.

Well, he's dead.

Crisis Time! - Final Crisis #1 and Final Crisis: Requiem

It seems like this is the year of Grant Morrison, isn’t it? I looked at most of his run on Batman, All-Star Superman, and some of his stuff from Action Comics. Well, it’s time to dip back in the weirdness as I jump into the event known as Final Crisis. I’d be correct in saying that this was a weird event. It didn’t tie into a lot of books like events of the time did. It had a prelude (Countdown to Final Crisis), but that 52-issue weekly series is rarely mentioned in the event itself. There’s also the fact that Countdown apparently sucked. Just look at Linkara’s review of the series. “52 done right?” I don’t think so.

I remember some of the tie-ins sort of tied into the event while others really didn’t. Why did Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds (something I’ll look at in the future) get included with that anyway? It really didn’t tie into that story. Anyway, I did get the first issue to Final Crisis when it was released, but that was it for me since I was on a college budget (food, clothes, and gas).  I kept up with the event via Internet. I actually ended up reading the whole event (main series and a couple of tie-ins) through a hardcover at the library in Pulaski. I acquired the paperback a while back on Amazon.

My plan is to go through each issue and some tie-ins this month. Today’s issues are Final Crisis #1 and Final Crisis: Requiem. Grant Morrison is the writer the first issue as well as the whole event. J.G. Jones does the art for #1 and for most of the event. He has mostly done covers and some interior work. He’s most known for Wanted, a Mark Millar penned series. For Requiem, Peter J. Tomasi writes the issue. Doug Mahnke pencils the issue and Christian Almany inks the issue. The covers for Final Crisis #1 were both done by Jones. While the one with Green Lantern is okay, the variant is actually the better of the two.

Random Pics For The Month - October

Well, here's something I haven't done in a while. Here are some of the things I've got planned for later on. 

More Grant Morrison? Yep, yep, and yep.

It's another "old vs. new" project that similar to the one I did for Superman a long time ago. I can safely say that it won't take two months to do!

Yeah, I'll get to this franchise eventually.

Well, it took me a couple of months to do it, but I finally finished the Mass Effect Trilogy. I might talk about it.

Graphic Novels - Crisis on Infinite Earths

It’s my first trade in about a month, so I might as well do a story that ended a universe. As you can tell by the title and side photo, it’s another Crisis event. It’s not just another Crisis event, it’s “The” Crisis event. Crisis on Infinite Earths was one of DC’s first major crossovers. It was a 12-issues maxi-series that started in 1985 and ended in 1986.  It was actually the event that helped DC get some things straight continuity-wise. It also led to most heroes getting their entire histories rewritten. Characters like Batman and Green Lantern essentially remained the same while characters like Superman and Wonder Woman underwent major changes… I’m sensing some déjà vu here.

The creative team for was essentially a team of all-stars. The writer was Marv Wolfman who’s known for his work on this book, The New Teen Titans, The Adventures of Superman, and many other books. The penciller for the interior art and covers was George Perez. Perez is also known for doing art in books that include The New Teen Titans, Avengers, Action Comics, and JLA/Avengers. I can easily say that he’s one of my favorites. The inkers on this series were Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo, and Jerry Ordway. Their names are also well known. The colorist was Tom McCraw and the letterer was John Constanza.

For a while, I actually thought about going into detail with all 12 issues. I did it with Infinite Crisis and Zero Hour (hey, it’s a Crisis event in my eyes). I’ve decided not to do it with this one for a couple of reasons. First, this thing is DENSE. It’s 12 extended issues. It may even be too dense for me to really give it a good, thorough look. The other reason is that I really don’t want to spend too much time on this one. Besides, I got to save October for something (hint, hint).

I’ll just be doing a simple synopsis… well, as simple as something that involves time travel, multiverses, and over 100 characters.  I’ll give my opinion on the story. Finally, I’ll list some highlights and favorite moments. With that said, let’s jump on the Cosmic Treadmill and see what’s out there… I just used “cosmic treadmill” in a sentence… ‘Bout time, I say!

Crisis TIme! - Zero Hour #0 and Green Lantern #0

This installment of Crisis Time is brought to you by the makers of The Shredder. He slices, he dices, and last but not least, he's adaptable! He can be a ninja crimelord that makes teenagers do his bidding, a ninja crimelord who teams up with an alien from another dimension, or an alien thing that decides to disguise himself as a ninja crimelord. Last but not least, he can come in the form of an immortal crime lord with blood of kings inside him. Prices start at $3.99!

Well, I'm at the end of this short but confusing event. It's been a tough ride, but it's about to be over. Today's issues are Zero Hour #0 and Green Lantern #0. The creative team for this last issue is still Jurgens and Ordway. For the Green Lantern issue, Ron Marz is writing, Daryl Banks is pencilling, and Romeo Thangal is inking. ZH #0 was the other issue that I used to own back in the day. Unfortunately, it got torn up eventually. I do remember seeing a page or two around the room before it got thrown away. I never owned the GL issue. The only reason I recently got it was to see what happened to our new GL and former GL. Since it literally continues from this event book, I thought I would talk about it here today.

Well, without further adue (?), let's see if Zero Hour #0 and Green Lantern #0 is worth it.

Crisis Time! - Action Comics #703 and Zero Hour #1

This installment of Crisis Time is brought to you by the one and only: Bruce Lee.

"Boards... don't hit back."

Hmm... I see what he meant there.

Well, we're still in the crisis event known as Zero Hour. So far, it's been a rough ride. Will it get any rougher? I guess I'll be finding out today. Today's issues are Action Comics #704 and Zero Hour #1. I know I didn't read this Superman issue back then. I don't know if I owned Zero Hour #1, but I know I had to have read it because I remember someone getting punched at the end of the issue.

We still have the same creative team for the ZH issue. Wow, remember when an event book used to have only one (or in this case two) penciller? COIE, which I have finally gotten in trade format, has only one penciller. Infinite Crisis had probably six pencillers in those seven issues and Final Crisis had about four  to six pencillers. Oh well... Anyway, the creative team for the Superman issue is a Michelinie/Guice/Rodier production. With all of the intro out of the way, it's time to look at this Superman issue.

Crisis Time! - Adventures of Superman #516 and Zero Hour #2

This installment of Crisis Time is brought to you by Dwayne Wade: the newest fighter in the next Mortal Kombat game!

(by the way, if you haven't seen the teaser for Season 2 of Mortal Kombat: Legacy, go see it because it was Glorious!!!)

Welcome back to my look at the Zero Hour event. Today's issues are Adventures of Superman #516 and Zero Hour #2. I did not own these issues back in the day though I do vaguely remember reading Zero Hour #2 at some point in a store. In those days, the only places I would hang out in stores were either the toy section or the books section. This time, I'm switching up the order this time because ZH #2 literally takes place after ZH #3.

The creative team for Zero Hour #2 is the same as it was before. For the Superman issue, the credits for the creative team is pretty funny.  I'll just show ya.

• Karl "Claudius" Kesel
• Peter "Caesar" Krause
• Jackson "Ausgustus" Guice
• Glenn "Galerius" Whitmore
•  Albert "Abionis" DeGuzman
• Chris "Croesus" Duffy
•  Frank "Petronius" Pittarse
• Mike "Caligula" Carlin

If they only had a "Longinus"...

Crisis Time! - Superman #93 and Zero Hour #3

Today’s installment of Crisis Time is brought to you by Snape: the potions master.

Hmm…Learning how to “pickle victory” would be good.

Welcome back to this event segment. Today’s issues are Superman #93 and Zero Hour #3. As I have said before in other posts, I did own Zero Hour #3 for a while. I don’t know why I got it. At that time, the only characters I would have recognized were Superman, Batman, Robin, and maybe Wonder Woman. Recently,  I'm beginning to think I might have actually owned this Superman issue. I’m really not sure. I know I had to have read it at some point when I was younger, but I don’t know if I bought it. All I know is that I have it now.

The creative team for the Superman issue is Dan Jurgens (…I know that guy!) and Josef Rubinstein. Jurgens did both the story and the pencils while Rubenstein did the inks. Zero Hour #3 is still done by Jurgens and Ordway. So with that out of the way, let’s get to it!

Crisis Time! - Superman: MOS #37 and Zero Hour #4

Crisis Time.....well, at least it's better than "Crisis Talk" or "Crisis Stuff". This segment is pretty much geared toward the big events or the many crises that DC (or Marvel, they have them too) will have from time to time. This month is going to look at the crossover event, Zero Hour. Today's issues are Superman: Man of Steel #37 and Zero Hour #4. Now, I originally owned the Superman tie-in long ago, but it pretty much got shredded. When I got into college, I was able to find the issue. Now, I never read this issue of Zero Hour. My time with the event started with #3.

The creative team for the Superman book is Louise Simonson and John Bogdanove (?). If you want more info on this creative team and this series in general, I'll point you to a little podcast call From Crisis to Crisis: A Superman Podcast. The cover is...pretty freakin' awesome. I think I know why I got this way back when. My only complaint is that we don't get to see the B: TAS version in the book and that sucks.

Zero Hour was written and drawn by Dan Jurgens with Jerry Ordway providing additional art and inking. Jurgens and Ordway are known for being on the Superman books during this era. Also, if there's anything to say about this series, it is this: the artwork is pretty awesome. The art as a whole is good. The cover is pretty good. It kinda spoils something, but I'll get to that later.

Well, here...we...go.

Graphic Novels - Infinite Crisis: Part Seven - Finale

Greetings. This is arw1985, and I’m back with the last part of this long crossover event called Infinite Crisis. I have to admit, it’s been a task doing this, but it’s also been fun. I got this issue on May 2nd (?), 2006. It was test week and then after the tests, I headed home for the summer. I remember hearing that this issue would be delayed another week, which peeved my off to no end. First, there was no comic book store (well, at the time anyway) in my area, I had no car, and I really wanted to see the end. Luckily, the book came out on schedule, and I was able to get it.

Anyways, back on topic. The creative team is the same, with George Perez, Jerry Ordway, Ivan Reis, and Jeff Bennett doing pencils alongside Phil Jimenez (man, there were a lot of cooks in this kitchen.). The covers are both cool, with the Lee cover showing the Green Lantern Corp, the Supermen, and Power Girl taking on PRIME, and the Perez cover shows all of the heroes fighting the Society in Metropolis. I guess I like the Perez cover more because it shows Robin taking on Bizarro (Ha, just noticed that). Well, here we go with the conclusion to Infinite Crisis:

Graphic Novels - Infinite Crisis: Part Six - Touchdown (sobs...)

Graphic Novels is brought to you by the makers of the Phantom Zone Arrow….Yes, I’m still on that. WTC?

I’m back with the 6th issue to the event known as Infinite Crisis. Right now, it’s Wednesday, I just got off work and I’m not ready to sleep yet. I sort of remember when I got this issue. It was a Friday in March or April 2006, and I decided I was going to walk and get this issue. One problem: there was rain in the forecast. So, I decided to head out in the morning before all of the rain came. Before I left, I prayed to God the He would hold back all the rain till when I got back (Yeah, I prayed for that. So what? I always prayed before I did a walk like that.). Well, it worked, I got the issue and got back before all sorts of rain AND hail fell down. It was nuts. Everyone in Nicks Hall was watching that stuff fall. The creative team for the issue is pretty much the same, with Jerry Ordway, George Perez, and Ivan Reis doing pencils along with the main artist, Phil Jimenez. The covers are well done, with one being awesome and one being okay. Guess which one. Well, here we go…

Graphic Novels - Infinite Crisis: Part Five - Faith

Well, it’s another day and another post of the mega crossover event: Infinite Crisis. As I write this, it’s Friday, the 18. It looks like that I’ll be heading home this weekend with no plans whatsoever (will be having lunch with someone Monday though). Anyway, this issue marks the return of the Multiverse, so it’s going to be interesting. The creative team remains the same, with legendary writer/artist Jerry Ordway and artist Ivan Reis providing some nice pencils. The covers are also well done. Lee’s cover has two Wonder Women in the background, while Booster Gold, Batman, and some dude (lol) run toward the reader (So, get out of the way, Dang it!!). Perez’s cover shows Supes-2 punching out Superman. Perez’s cover is definitely cooler for me. So, let’s get to this good issue.

Graphic Novels - Infinite Crisis: Part Four - Homecoming (aka The Real @*#* Happens Here!!!)

Greetings and salutations! It’s me again, going through this mega crossover event called Infinite Crisis. We’re at the midpoint of the series finally. It’s been tough for these heroes, but now it’s about to get tougher. We have the same creative team, with George Perez and Ivan Reis doing some penciling. The issue’s covers are okay. I mean, they’re drawn well, but nothing really calls out ‘COOL’ to me, ya know? Lee’s cover has the two Superboys fighting, and Perez’s cover has all of the heroes from space involved in …getting sucked into a big white hole? I like the Lee cover, since Krypto is looking awesome. Anyway, let’s get on to the issue!