I was going to make a pretty significant post about the comics I read nowadays. But I realized I have to write something about a particular series before I can really get into that. So, without further ado, I'm going to talk about one of my favorite comic book series ever, 52.
A little backstory is needed. In 2005 to early 2006 DC Comics published a major line-wide event called Infinite Crisis. In January of '06, all of DC's titles jumped ahead One Year in continuity after Infinite Crisis, before we even knew the ending to it! Needless to say, there were a lot of changes to the status quo of these titles. When the ending to Infinite Crisis was published, Superman was left powerless (so he'd be Clark Kent exclusively for a year), Wonder Woman decided to reconnect with humanity (so she wouldn't be such a bitch), and Batman started to travel around the world re-learning how to be Batman (so he wouldn't be the gigantic prick he's been for years). But One Year Later, they all came back.
But what happened during that missing year? That's where 52 comes in. It was a comic series that was supposed to tell the story of the year without Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. But here's the catch. It was a weekly comic.
Publishing a weekly comic has been attempted before, but not successfully. In the 80s, Action Comics Weekly made it to 11 issues before it caught up to itself. In 2001, Marvel Comics tried it with a mature War Machine comic, but that too faltered. So comic fans, doing what comic fans do best, expected the worst. They didn't think it would succeed. In an industry filled with delays, 52 was destined to have at least one. There's bound to be an artist that will fall past the deadline! But the editors thought this one through. The publishing plan was drafted, the writers were gathered. Those writers were Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid. Four top-notch writers. Four writers working together? There was bound to be some sort of conflict, right? They drew up a storyline, went over plot elements, and planned everything out. Several C-list heroes would basically serve as tour guides for the drastically changing DC Universe during this missing year.
Everything was set to go. They started writing it... Then they threw those plans out the window.
It was clear at around issue 3 that the story was becoming it's own beast. It was not going to be a "tour" of the DCU. It was going to be something much, much more.
The series follows the same planned C-list heroes, but each would have their own story, a lot of them intersecting with one another. Black Adam's efforts to police the world without mercy, but finds his life forever changed when he discovers love. Steel tries to connect with his rebellious niece, who is being drawn to Lex Luthor. The Question helps Detective Renee Montoya to find a purpose after being kicked out of the Gotham Police. Some of the world's smartest scientists, including the evil ones, start disappearing without a trace. Animal Man, Starfire, and Adam Strange needs to find a way home, being lost in space after Infinite Crisis. Elongated Man desperately seeks a way to resurrect his wife, who was murdered during Identity Crisis (I wrote about that here). Booster Gold, with his robotic buddy Skeets, seeks fame and fortune after his part in saving the world in Infinite Crisis, but finds that there's more to being a hero than a shiny costume and a cat in a tree.
Even though people expected it to fail, each issue came out on time. The artists chosen to illustrate the series were relative unknowns, with a few exceptions. They didn't use big name artists known for their delays too much. But I assume when they did, they were sure to have the pages ready to publish well enough in advance. Sure enough, every week a new issue came out. For a whole year. 52 weeks. It was like watching a new episode of your favorite TV series every week. There were issues where nothing much happened, especially in the middle issues, but they were by no means boring. As the weeks went by, each character became their own. These weren't big name heroes here. This wasn't Superman (though Clark Kent appeared a few times), Flash, or Green Lantern (he does make a couple appearances). But I still cared about them. I read about them every week. And by the end of the series, I thought these guys SHOULD be big name heroes.
52 was comics done right. It brought me into the story and didn't let go. When I get new comic books on Wednesday, I usually put the comic I'm most looking forward to on the bottom of the pile. Saving the best for last kinda stuff. As you can imagine, 52 was often at the bottom of the pile. The fact that it came out every week was even better. It also proved many comic readers wrong, coming out on time and being much more than just a gimmick. I also enjoy the fact that the original plan was scrapped so the writers could tell a great story.
The reason I made you read all this is because 52 spawned a few titles I read now, and I can't really talk about them without referencing the series. So hopefully I won't have to go into too much backstory. I really do miss this title, and I doubt there will be anything like it anytime soon.
It was also kinda funny. After the first week, I started noticing the number 52 in almost everything. I felt like Jim Carrey's character in that movie. Of course I'd shout "52!!!" every time, with odd glances in my direction immediately following. Hey I was excited. I still do it. Really.
"A year without Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. But not a year without heroes."
