Final Crisis

June 29, 2009
Morrison's big, beautiful mess of an apocalypse is gathered in this deluxe volume, along with one of the spinoff mini-series that took place between issues. Darkseid, one of the New Gods of Apokolips, is taking over the universe, broadcasting his antilife equation—a mathematical spell that drains all hope and emotion from those who hear it—through every mass communication vehicle available. Reality starts breaking down, time itself is collapsing; meanwhile, Batman is taken out of action and Superman can't help out as he needs to stay by Lois's hospital bedside or she will die. To say that there's a lot going on is an understatement; the plot is byzantine, and DC newbies will likely find it confusing and require multiple reads. Fanboys, on the other hand, will relish spotting all of the references to DC canon. There is an awful lot of setup and not much in the way of payoff until the very end, but Morrison-philes will enjoy his characteristic wordplay and fearless invention the whole time. Jones and Mahnke split the main art with skill and vision.

September 1, 2009
Gr 10 Up-This comics event throws in everything from DC but the proverbial kitchen sink. The end result is something that may please longtime readers but will leave those without an extensive knowledge of the DC universe, past and present, in a state of bewilderment. The barely comprehensible plot involves a major threat to the universe (and beyond) from DCs biggest baddie, Darkseid. The story begins intriguingly, when two characters from the late, great Jack Kirbys New Gods pantheon arrive on Earth in ominous circumstances. The narrative quickly gets out of control as the story moves forward in a baffling procession of characters and dilemmas. The intriguing cover and bold artwork may draw readers in, but only the truly dedicated will make it through this flawed epic. It is definitely targeted to an older audience as its characters die, make suggestive comments, and generally behave in ways unlike their earlier incarnations, which will seem fresh to some, but gratuitous to others."Douglas P. Davey, Halton Hills Public Library, Ontario, Canada"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2009
Every few years the two major comic-book publishers essay a crossover project corralling virtually all DC and Marvel characters into a single, extended story line with major implications for future scenarios. Generally, such efforts are more commercially exploitive than well told, but the latest example is better than most because its spearheaded by star writer Morrison, who is as adroit with mainstream superheroes (see All-Star Superman, 2007; v.2, 2009) as with the outr' projects that made his reputation. He hasnt avoided all the pitfalls of the crossover genre. The sprawling plot, in which megavillain Darkseid turns most of humanity into mindless slaves, is all but incomprehensible to readers who arent thoroughly knowledgeable about the obscurest corners of the DC Universe; and deadline pressures have forced a number of lesser illustrators to spell main artist J. G. Jones. Still, Morrison provides the game-changing developments readers expect in these projects. So Batman apparently dies at Darkseids hands, and Barry Allen, the original Flashkilled in an earlier crossover some 20 years agoreturns from the dead.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)