molena's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
reademandweep's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
sisyphus_dreams's review
2.0
...what the &*(# was that?!?
I've enjoyed Grant Morrison's work in the past, but Final Crisis feels like an experiment gone wrong. It's incoherent and lacks even one memorable scene. Call me stupid (you won't be the first), but I couldn't make any real sense of it at all. Reading it felt like work, but there was no payoff. All it did was make me feel that the entire superhero genre is tired and outmoded.
Basically, Grant seemed to feel it necessary to try to amp up the tired old "heroes save the universe" plot into "HEROES save the MULTIVERSE!!!!!!", but ended up creating a confusing mess. Maybe it's time to stop trying to save the universe, and move towards a storyline a little less full of s---. Something that relates a bit more to the human condition.
I mean...it seems to me that Final Crisis is a good example of a real problem with the comics industry, or at least with the Big Two. The stories just don't have any connection to the real world any more. It's just the same old stuPENDOUS, tiTANIC WORLD-SAVING!!! And seriously who gives a f--- any more?
The fantastic is integral to superhero comics, just as sugar is integral to ice cream. But a comic book that consists of nothing BUT the fantastic, with the same old fantastic plot that has been done to death a million times over, is like ice cream made of nothing but sugar.
It'll rot your teeth. And the only people who'll like it are those with very simple tastes. Since TV serves the simple-tastes market cheaper and better than comics can*, this isn't an approach that bodes well for the future of comics. And frankly, Grant Morrison is capable of better.
If there's nothing that connects a story to the reader, if there's no actual human element in the story, only rabid fanboys with undiscriminating tastes will buy your books. And where's the future in that? That's not an audience that's going to grow. It's not like fanboys have a high reproduction rate! And I should know - I was one.
---------------
* See "Minimum Wage and the Prices of Comics" - http://www.vonallan.com/2011/08/minimum-wage-and-prices-of-comics.html
I've enjoyed Grant Morrison's work in the past, but Final Crisis feels like an experiment gone wrong. It's incoherent and lacks even one memorable scene. Call me stupid (you won't be the first), but I couldn't make any real sense of it at all. Reading it felt like work, but there was no payoff. All it did was make me feel that the entire superhero genre is tired and outmoded.
Basically, Grant seemed to feel it necessary to try to amp up the tired old "heroes save the universe" plot into "HEROES save the MULTIVERSE!!!!!!", but ended up creating a confusing mess. Maybe it's time to stop trying to save the universe, and move towards a storyline a little less full of s---. Something that relates a bit more to the human condition.
I mean...it seems to me that Final Crisis is a good example of a real problem with the comics industry, or at least with the Big Two. The stories just don't have any connection to the real world any more. It's just the same old stuPENDOUS, tiTANIC WORLD-SAVING!!! And seriously who gives a f--- any more?
The fantastic is integral to superhero comics, just as sugar is integral to ice cream. But a comic book that consists of nothing BUT the fantastic, with the same old fantastic plot that has been done to death a million times over, is like ice cream made of nothing but sugar.
It'll rot your teeth. And the only people who'll like it are those with very simple tastes. Since TV serves the simple-tastes market cheaper and better than comics can*, this isn't an approach that bodes well for the future of comics. And frankly, Grant Morrison is capable of better.
If there's nothing that connects a story to the reader, if there's no actual human element in the story, only rabid fanboys with undiscriminating tastes will buy your books. And where's the future in that? That's not an audience that's going to grow. It's not like fanboys have a high reproduction rate! And I should know - I was one.
---------------
* See "Minimum Wage and the Prices of Comics" - http://www.vonallan.com/2011/08/minimum-wage-and-prices-of-comics.html
the_graylien's review
5.0
I'd heard many, many talks, interviews, debates, etc. about "Final Crisis" before I'd read it.
I've heard somewhere that it split all of comic book fandom in half.
On one side there were those (who were presumably not fans of Morrison) saying, "This is crap! It's not fair! He's out of his mind and on drugs and he just writes down whatever craziness comes into his head and AAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!"
On the other there were those who said it was pure genius.
This almost made me afraid to read it. I only did so because I've been reading Morrison's entire Batman run lately and most folks listing that run on the ol' interwebs included "Final Crisis" as sort of an apocryphal work. I thought, "Why not? I'll include it."
While I can't really tell you how this ties into or compares to the other big "Crisis" stories of the DCU (having never read any of the rest of them), I can say that from what I've heard about them, it seems to be hinged on the same subject matter: All the heroes of the DCU, multiple Earths, multiple timelines, parallel universes, and the like.
What the book boils down to in a sentence and what is almost a paraphrase of one of the one-liners used to advertise the series is: What if evil won?
Having said that and not wanting to spoil too much, I'll say that I liked this one... a LOT. The book has almost every active character (at that time) in the DC Universe. There are things as simply entertaining as good ol' mash-it-up comic book superpowered fistfights, yet things as complex as, well, MANY parallel universes. The book had AMAZING ART. It at once defines Superman as few other books have and ennobles Batman as NO other book I've ever read has.
This one's a real treat.
If you haven't guessed, I'm on the side that thinks Morrison wove pure genius here. I hope you'll pick this one up and enjoy it as much as I did.
I've heard somewhere that it split all of comic book fandom in half.
On one side there were those (who were presumably not fans of Morrison) saying, "This is crap! It's not fair! He's out of his mind and on drugs and he just writes down whatever craziness comes into his head and AAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!"
On the other there were those who said it was pure genius.
This almost made me afraid to read it. I only did so because I've been reading Morrison's entire Batman run lately and most folks listing that run on the ol' interwebs included "Final Crisis" as sort of an apocryphal work. I thought, "Why not? I'll include it."
While I can't really tell you how this ties into or compares to the other big "Crisis" stories of the DCU (having never read any of the rest of them), I can say that from what I've heard about them, it seems to be hinged on the same subject matter: All the heroes of the DCU, multiple Earths, multiple timelines, parallel universes, and the like.
What the book boils down to in a sentence and what is almost a paraphrase of one of the one-liners used to advertise the series is: What if evil won?
Having said that and not wanting to spoil too much, I'll say that I liked this one... a LOT. The book has almost every active character (at that time) in the DC Universe. There are things as simply entertaining as good ol' mash-it-up comic book superpowered fistfights, yet things as complex as, well, MANY parallel universes. The book had AMAZING ART. It at once defines Superman as few other books have and ennobles Batman as NO other book I've ever read has.
This one's a real treat.
If you haven't guessed, I'm on the side that thinks Morrison wove pure genius here. I hope you'll pick this one up and enjoy it as much as I did.
rabbithero's review
4.0
While definitely a little hard to follow at times, this is an opus really worthy of the attention. A vast superhero epic, so immense in scope and vision that it dwarfs everything before it, Final Crisis succeeds because it looks upon the heroism of the DC Universe as being something pure, transcendent, and vaguely mythological, creating out of this narrative a new pantheon of four-color gods for our modern American society.
That is a feat, I think, worth championing.
That is a feat, I think, worth championing.
booknooknoggin's review against another edition
3.0
An okay story. I'm not really a big DC fan, but I enjoyed seeing the multiverse Supermen.
ipacho's review against another edition
3.0
A very tough read for a superhero tale, incredibly grandiose in scale snd full of gnostic symbolism. Incredibly, it's even harder to read than Morrison's Doom Patrol or The Invisibles. Nevertheless, it contains amazong plotlines and concepts.
saphirablue's review against another edition
2.0
Well, that was confusing.
I got the general gist of it but sometimes. Sometimes you turn the page and suddenly have different characters in a different setting/arc doing something even though on "action" from the previous page with different characters/setting hasn't finished yet. o.O That made some things very difficult to understand.
Also, where are all the "sidekicks"? For example, Robin/Nightwing? Batgirl. Wondergirl. Superboy. We get to see Roy in one or two scenes, but the others?
I mean, I know that I'm missing some things because I don't know everything leading up to this and some background on the various characters and that that doesn't help, but, still. o.O
I realy, really like the art however. It's great.
I got the general gist of it but sometimes. Sometimes you turn the page and suddenly have different characters in a different setting/arc doing something even though on "action" from the previous page with different characters/setting hasn't finished yet. o.O That made some things very difficult to understand.
Also, where are all the "sidekicks"? For example, Robin/Nightwing? Batgirl. Wondergirl. Superboy. We get to see Roy in one or two scenes, but the others?
I mean, I know that I'm missing some things because I don't know everything leading up to this and some background on the various characters and that that doesn't help, but, still. o.O
I realy, really like the art however. It's great.
inlibrisveritas's review
3.0
know this is not a traditional book but I felt that it is worth reviewing since it's so big, both in size for a graphic novel and in the DC universe.
This is an epic and chaotic DC crossover graphic novel dealing with the rise of an evil power by the name of Darksied. The superheros are, of course, trying to stop him but some of them succumb to his Anti-Life germ which in turn makes them turn into the bad guys. (While others are simply killed off for the time being). I thought the use of a germ to take control of the heroes was a pretty cool touch, but it's not totally originally when it comes to superheros. Someone is always getting mindjacked and having to fight their friends or lovers. You would think they'd get use to it, then again maybe they are with the amount of speeches they have to try and bring the person around. That aside, it is visually pleasing, fast past and long.
However...being fast paced it also brings in a sort of chaos that makes it somewhat hard to follow at times. While I enjoyed it, it confused the hell out of me at times to the point where the internet was needed for explanations and timelines. In truth I only wanted to know what happened to Batman...but I ended up with much more. There are a tremendous amount of characters brought in and maintained in sections, and while it's one main overall storyline there are smaller story lines within that must be remembered. DC chooses to crossover multiple character stories and universes, so you get everything from 6 different Superman types to a rabbit hero (at the end). The list of heroes is vast and you can easily keep up with the main ones but all of the smaller ones will become sort of confusing until about halfway through. The chaos of the story was almost overwhelming until about halfway through as well and then it finally becomes a manageable sort of chaos.I did get to find out what happened to Batman, and I do finally feel set up enough to move and start Return of Bruce Wayne and the Blackest Night arc...but boy was it somewhat of an ordeal to get to that part.
Overall it's good for any DC universe fan who's familiar with a vast amount of heroes and possibly stories...however I wouldn't recommend it to those who know little of either and just want to read it for fun.
This is an epic and chaotic DC crossover graphic novel dealing with the rise of an evil power by the name of Darksied. The superheros are, of course, trying to stop him but some of them succumb to his Anti-Life germ which in turn makes them turn into the bad guys. (While others are simply killed off for the time being). I thought the use of a germ to take control of the heroes was a pretty cool touch, but it's not totally originally when it comes to superheros. Someone is always getting mindjacked and having to fight their friends or lovers. You would think they'd get use to it, then again maybe they are with the amount of speeches they have to try and bring the person around. That aside, it is visually pleasing, fast past and long.
However...being fast paced it also brings in a sort of chaos that makes it somewhat hard to follow at times. While I enjoyed it, it confused the hell out of me at times to the point where the internet was needed for explanations and timelines. In truth I only wanted to know what happened to Batman...but I ended up with much more. There are a tremendous amount of characters brought in and maintained in sections, and while it's one main overall storyline there are smaller story lines within that must be remembered. DC chooses to crossover multiple character stories and universes, so you get everything from 6 different Superman types to a rabbit hero (at the end). The list of heroes is vast and you can easily keep up with the main ones but all of the smaller ones will become sort of confusing until about halfway through. The chaos of the story was almost overwhelming until about halfway through as well and then it finally becomes a manageable sort of chaos.I did get to find out what happened to Batman, and I do finally feel set up enough to move and start Return of Bruce Wayne and the Blackest Night arc...but boy was it somewhat of an ordeal to get to that part.
Overall it's good for any DC universe fan who's familiar with a vast amount of heroes and possibly stories...however I wouldn't recommend it to those who know little of either and just want to read it for fun.
nigellicus's review
5.0
Am I required to attempt to break down the plot of this? This doesn't have plot this has, I dunno, multiplots, living sentient narratives slugging it out on the pages and between the pages, it has a black hole hiding under the text distorting structure, it has secret chapters lying adjacent to the other chapters in meta-symbiotic relationships which basically means they're collected elsewhere and you're outta luck if they aren't handy. It's honestly hard to tell if bits of this are disjointed because of the mad flood of ideas from Morrison's brain or because of those missing chapters, probably both. I don't think this was designed to be a self-contained story with a beginning middle and end but that Morrison went with the fundamentally fragmented and incomplete nature of big mega-crossovers and wrote it as a river of stories in a moment of flash flood rushing past furiously, clogged with flotsam and jetsam and to read it is to swim or drown. Any other writer and this would be fanciful apologism, but with Morrison, you never know.
As far as I can tell, there's a plot by evil gods to take over the Earth by infecting and inhabiting human bodies, thereby concealing themselves from superhuman detection until it's too late. There's a murdered god and celestial Monitors watching over an orrery of creation being infected with the stories they're observing and a monster emerging and superhumans turned evil and Superman on a mission to Limbo and more superhumans from all over being collected to resist, prefiguring The Multiverse and trying to make coherent sense of it all is exhausting, it seems to consciously defy coherence, running on comic book physics and comic book narrative rules and comic book logic, distilled to their essence. Go with the flow, or find something a bit calmer to read. There is nothing remotely calm about any of this.
As far as I can tell, there's a plot by evil gods to take over the Earth by infecting and inhabiting human bodies, thereby concealing themselves from superhuman detection until it's too late. There's a murdered god and celestial Monitors watching over an orrery of creation being infected with the stories they're observing and a monster emerging and superhumans turned evil and Superman on a mission to Limbo and more superhumans from all over being collected to resist, prefiguring The Multiverse and trying to make coherent sense of it all is exhausting, it seems to consciously defy coherence, running on comic book physics and comic book narrative rules and comic book logic, distilled to their essence. Go with the flow, or find something a bit calmer to read. There is nothing remotely calm about any of this.