Here it is - The big news : 52 #52. The story veers dangerously close to “too muddled”, but pulls back before it teeters over the edge, I think. Still leaves me with a few unanswered questions, of course - but I thought they capped the storylines well, and I do like the central plot development.
I’m sure this is being debated like mad on comic forums, but those people scare me. So, am I understanding:
The new Shazam series takes place in Earth-5? But I don’t recall Mary looking the right age.
Earth-5 looks to be the same as Earth-3 or Earth-10 - just a modernizing of the equivalent pre-Crisis Earth. Probably with a few changes - such as the Martian in the Crime Syndicate, or everyone’s changed costumes on Earth-3, and the Nazi Justice League on Earth-10 - but I don’t see anything to suggest it’s as different as Monster Society of Evil (and it most certainly isn’t Trials, which requires quite a bit of New Earth continuity). The Multiverse being back doesn’t require every current out-of-continuity story being inserted into the Multiverse continuity.
On that topic…I’m really happy with the reveal of the 52…
While I think having both the 52 and the Bleed is vaguely overkill…meh. Anyhow, how the pre-Crisis Earths were recreated was pretty clever, and the Earth-S and Earth-X equivalents being redesignated Earths 5 and 10 was cute. And I like that it’s not going to be common knowledge for a while. I wonder what Earth-4’s Blue Beetle being in Dan Garret’s chainmail, rather than Ted’s costume means (if anything).
52 Week 52: I like it. I like it a lot. I do think it would have been a fair bit stronger if Didio had kept his mouth shut, and realized that out of thousands of readers, at least one of them would have been an amateur cryptographer with Internet access. Still, I like the setup and I liked the epilogue vignettes.
I do have to wonder what the point of bringing back the specific old earths is now. I mean, do we really need an Earth with only the Marvel family as well as an Earth with the Marvels as well as everyone else? Earth-1 now has the JSA and its legacy characters, and from the appearance of Huntress, Jay, and Robin, it looks like Earth-2 has flinched from continuing to age the characters in real time, so aside from a single arc where Power Girl is asked to return there, what’s the point?
Welcome to Tranquility #6: The big plot twists still feel pretty jolting, but not as much as last issue. This still feels like the end, rather than just the end of the first arc.
Checkmate #13: Man, the Outsiders kinda went down like chumps, didn’t they?
All-New Atom #11: Strong ending, weak arc.
Astonish X-Men #21: Mmmm… Nekkid Kitty.
Green Lantern #19: Zamarons are crazy, yo. Interesting to see that every emotion has a corresponding color. Really like the Sinerstro backup.
Detective Comics #832: Not as good as Dini but a reasonable facsimile.
Superman #662: Sure, go ahead and spoil the end of the Action Comics Arc. It’s a full year since they started it, no way in hell they haven’t finished it by now! Oops. A reflection and setup issue, but still pretty good.
Teen Titans #46: Pretty shaky. they seem to be trying to step back from making Slade utterly evil, but they just make him look crazier. At leats it looks like they’re not just treating Match like dirt.
Jonah Hex #19: I’ve said it before: it’s a one-note song, but man, what a note!
What are you referring to? I don’t really frequent other comic forums.
A couple months ago, in his DC Nation page, DiDio included a coded message that spilt one of the big reveals of the last issue of 52. ‘The secret of 52 is… that the multiverse still exists.’
The writers have been a little pissy with him, since. (Although since it’d been semi-referenced in other titles, anyway, I don’t think it was quite that big a deal.)
And forget about amateur cryptographers; the “code” was about as subtle as the KIDZ FUN PAGE in the Sunday funnies.
Matt Fraction and Salvador LaRocca turned in a great, mostly quiet story in the Sensational Spider-Man Annual. For all the grousing Quesada does about the limited storytelling opportunities with a married Spider-Man, Fraction (and JMS, while we’re on the subject) are demonstrating exceptional stories about what a healthy, supportive relationship looks like.
That’s not true. The KIDZ FUN PAGE codes are much tougher.
Oh, that! I heard about that when it happened, then forgot about the hoopla. I didn’t know the writers got angry since it had been so obvious, so I thought there had been something else just recently.
Yeah. I don’t see why they’d be upset. They were pretty much broadcasting this revelation, almost from the get-go.
I snagged what will be my last ish of Ultimate Fantastic Four. Not that the title sucks, it’s just… lost my interest.
Detective was solid.
Superman was good, touching on a lot of dangling plot threads, particularly the ‘third Kryptonian’.
Atom - Good wrap up to the second arc - looking forward to the next one!
Checkmate - Damn, they’re good. Damn, he’s better.
Green Lantern - Honestly, this title hasn’t been this good for twenty years. Even so, I am hoping for more traditional art soon.
Welcome to Tranquility does feel like the last issue somehow, but I’m thinking we’ll get more. There is a next issue picture at the end, after all.
The book to beat, besides 52, this week, is Buffy #3.The return of a surprise villain!
Didn’t buy any comics this week – no change from the better part of the last year – but I picked up the new Booster Gold and Animal Man action figures, and they are AWESOME!
52:52 comment:
Earth-10 is Earth-X.
Earth-5 is Earth-S
Ha.
**Robin: ** It’s been quite good and readable, much more so than I expected.
Hey! I haven’t stopping following comics or this thread for that matter. I just haven’t had a lot of time to write about what I read. Anyway…
52 #52: Remember when we all had a good laugh over Superboy prime punching time? Well, the writers of 52 just one upped that.
A time-space devouring moth? WTF?
I love those crazy bastards.
Teen Titans #46: Eh. I don’t know if it was too many hands in the pot or what, but this one left me cold. I’ll give the new guy a shot, but I’m looking for books to drop.
Green Lantern #19: This one left me cold too. I’d skip the next issue, but I’m loving the S-Corps back-ups. Plus I want to see how the Zamoreans fit into the coming war.
52 #52: This would have been better served by being spread across two issues, methinks. One for the throwdown, and one for the aftermath. Rather annoying since some of the issues in the middle of the run kind of dragged in one story or another. Also, I’m mildly peeved that they saw a need to throw in yet another excuse for why the continuity of New Earth might be wonky – they already have Superboy-time-punches!
Superman #662: Yeah, still not interested in the Arion-related story arc. Move on to the New Gods! Also: er, anemones, schooling fish swimming through anemones, and seahorses are not the kinds of critters found swimming around in the Madeira Abyssal Plain (whether or not the Titanic is nearby).
All New Atom # 11: Well, that’s over. Back to the fun and the Giant Haid, please?
Teen Titans #46: Satisfying wrap-up, and I’d agree with the Deathstroke annoyance.
Green Lantern #19: Tales of the Sinestro Corps is the best part of this book lately, although the rest is alright (despite the art). Interesting that GL’s rogues gallery seems to becoming even more unified in theme.
Shazam! tMSoE #3: Still fun, though not quite as wahoo! as the last two. Helen Fidelity checking out Capt seemed a bit out of place for the mood they’ve been going for.
edit: hrm. Wolfian and I seem to have our brainwaves on the same frequency here… 
52 # 52 - Nice wrap-up. I’m glad Batwoman is still alive, cool to see Ralph’s ultimate fate, and Booster and Rip shine greatly. The Ted Kord cameo is perfectly executed.