Rating:  -
While the creative team involved has made every effort to echo the themes of the original mega-crossover, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis reads less like a multiverse spanning epic and more like just another Superman story, albeit with more guest stars than usual. To explain why this story could have easily fit into the monthly Superman or Action title would be to give away too much of the plot. Suffice to say, that the major antagonists are all "Super"-related as is much of the action.
Yes, Superman is the "first and geatest hero of all". And the original Crisis on Infinite Earths certainly gave Superman and his 'family' their due. But the scenes in CoIE spotlighting the other denizens of the DC Universe didn't seem like filler as they do in Infinite Crisis. The Flash scenes are nice, for example, but they seem to this reader like the sort of action given to a guest star in someone else's story. "Yes, guys, thanks a lot. But I'll still need to finish him off," I can almost here Supes saying.
When Infinite Crisis was announced, I had such high hopes. For Heaven's sakes, look at that creative team! And the final product is good. But it should have been great. Therefore, it's only mediocre . Y'know what i mean?
Rating: -
You can try to retcon me out of existence, but I'll show you!!! I'm in it for the long-haul. No hack comic book churners can get rid of a long-time fan favorite like myself. Not as a token death, not as a reimagining! I yam that I yam!
That said, I enter this series with some trepidation. On can clearly see that as
Rating:  -
Infinite Crisis had the longest build up of any story ever in the history of comics. It started in 2003 with Superman/Batman #5 and flickled throughout various issues and storylines in many other DC comics series.
The build up was absolutely phenominal and for a while it felt like DC could do know wrong. Sales were out the roof and everyone was happy. Then finally Infinite Crisis came and all eyes were on DC.
Unfortunately, they repeated the same errors they had done 20 year prior in C.O.I.E. and that was try and shove too much in too little number of issues. This story was told in 6 parts but felt like it would have fit better in 8 or even 10 issues. Again, much like C.O.I.E. you felt you were missing things due to poor editing which caused the reader to get lost.
To be honest the ending had some really lame parts but still was entertaining. Are you going to get the story? Not fully unless you read some of the build up to Infinite Crisis. Really, if they are going to make a trade paperback of Infinite Crisis, they should also make a trade paper back of the pre-Infinite Crisis. Still, I recommend it.
Rating:  -
For some reason this series was crammed into six issues. I know there's other miniseries tacked on (Omac, Villains, etc.) that you can read to get a better idea of what's happening...but to be honest they don't help much either. The storyline is just too condensed. You'll see someone die, and wonder who it was. You'll see someone disappear, and wonder what happened.
Specifically, the ending. The last few pages to this story are so amazingly clipped, I don't know how everyone reached their decisions on what they were doing.
I can't deny that this story is obviously of great importance to the DC Universe, and that momentous events take place...but there's too much going on to fit in just six issues. And to a casual reader of DC comics, like myself, you may end up scratching your head. Maybe you're supposed to be reading all of the comics that tie into this story...but that's not really possible unless they all get printed, and even then how on Earth would you know the order to read them in?
Rating: -
I hate cross overs, I really do. For so many years, there have been so many cross overs that promise to change the status quo of the universe they take place in and they hardly ever deliver. They all follow the same formula: a horde of heroes either face off against a horde of villains in a "final" battle, or a horde of heroes unite against a common threat that wants to wipe out said universe. Now, last year's Identity Crisis set the stage for things to come, as Elongated Man's wife Sue was murdered by someone in the JLA circle, and it was revealed that certain JLA members were involved in mind-wiping villains throughout the years, and even some of their own as well. Infinite Crisis picks up after the events of Identity Crisis and a number of lead-in mini-series', and comes on the 20th anniversary of Crisis on Infinite Earths, which was one of the few cross overs that actually delivered on it's promise and changed everything about the DC universe at the time. Fan favorite writer Geoff Johns, best known for his long run on the Flash as well as JSA and Green Lantern, is at the helm here with the great Phil Jimenez (New X-Men) providing the art; as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the heroes unite as those thought long gone make a stunning return to make the universe what it once was: no matter the cost. The sacrifice of a hero and the tragic descent into insanity for a golden/silver-age icon are just two of the highlights of this collection. Now as I said before, I hate cross overs. But the way that Johns balances everything going on in this collected edition of the seven issue mini-series is simply amazing. The art by Jimenez isn't half bad either, actually, it's spectacular. The only real downsides to Infinite Crisis are that if you are in no way, shape, or form familiar with Crisis on Infinte Earths or the lead-in mini-series', well, you might be a little lost. Not to mention that you can tell Johns and Jimenez and co. tried to pack so much material into these seven issues that it just cries to be longer. If this was twelve issues, like the first Crisis, much more of the story would be more coherent. As it is however, Infinite Crisis is a rare treat in mainstream, superhero comics that tells an epic story, racks up the body count, and makes good on it's promise that the universe will never be the same.
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