It's finally here... a sequel to DC's landmark Crisis on Infinite Earths. As one can tell from the title of my reviews, I was a major fan of Marv Wolfman and George Perez's Crisis 20 years ago, and I approached this new crossover title with interest. The good news is that Johns and Jimenez deliver an entertaining super-hero story with a real sense of menace, and we get to glimpse some rather obscure characters (before the creators treat them as cannon fodder for the crossover body count). The script goes awry in a couple of respects. Its connection to all of the "Countdown to Infinite Crisis" limited series makes for a muddled start, and the link to its namesake from two decades threatens to alienate newer readers.
The Justice League's Watchtower lies in flaming ruins on the Moon, and the world's three greatest heroes -- Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman -- all investigate. Their encounter in the wreckage, though, leads to recrimination rather tha collaboration, while in the shadows, an enemy watches and waits for a chance to strike. On Earth, the Omacs are eliminating third-tier villains while Donna Troy assembles a team to investigate an anomaly elsewhere in the cosmos. As another team of heroes tries to hunt down members of the Society and a war rages a galaxy away, mysterious figures watch it all unfold from an unseen location, worried the heroes will fail to avert the coming crisis.
Given the strong influence George Perez has had on his style, Phil Jimenez was the logical choice to pencil this crossover title. Thankfully, we get Jimenez in top form. There have been times when his usually detailed work has appeared sketchy and rushed, but this isn't one of those times. He grants the Omacs a more alien, twisted appearance, which makes them seem more menacing and creepy. The colors throughout the comic are crisp and brilliant, even though the book boasts a rather dark atmosphere. It's rather satisfying to see everything click so nicely from a visual standpoint, as the original Crisis series had some significant production problems early on.
Speaking of the original Crisis series, this followup should delight its fans, but man, it should give those who weren't around for the destruction of the multiverse a headache or two. Crisis on Infinite Earths is pretty much required reading in order to fully appreciate not only the tone of this story, but the plot itself. In other respects, the book is quite accessible. The events of the various other series are explained pretty clearly, and Johns establishes quite effectively that the DC Universe is a real mess. I like the notion that these other threats and emotional stresses will make it even harder for the heroes to pull together and face the coming cosmic catastrophe, whatever it may be. In the original Crisis, there was no tearing down of the heroes before the major event, and in that respect, Infinite Crisis has set itself apart. Still, without the shifts in dimensional and temporal settings, this new story doesn't achieve the same sort of scope... at least, not yet.
The "Countdown" titles may be explained clearly enough here, but they also prove to be a liability for this story. The problem here is that there's no clearly defined starting point for the story. The events of The Omac Project, Villains United and others clutter and confuse the core plot. This story feels too much like it's been already underway for a while, not just beginning here. A story needs a beginning, middle and end, after all, and it feels like that first element is lacking.
The first issue is full of action -- most of which has little to do with the main plot, I suspect -- and as a result, it's definitely an entertaining read. Personally, I'd love to see more character cameos and a more diverse array of them as well, but I think we can assume something like that is coming further down the line. Infinite Crisis may very well top the comics sales charts for the next few months, but it's not doing much new. Still, it does what it sets out to do, and it does so fairly well. Crisis on Infinite Earths was special because it was basically creating a whole new sub-genre for super-hero stories. Infinite Crisis doesn't feel special, but it is undeniably fun. 6/10
