While I am more excited for Final Crisis, I think the scope is a little scattered.
Also, it assumes a greater understaning of past occurrences across multiple titles. Which is fine for me, not so much for those less vigilant in their back study.

We all know where I stand. Secret Invasion.

Yes, Grant Morrison is a better writer, but maybe I'm just a Marvel Zombie, but I've been systematically disappointed in everything DC has been putting out recently (except for All-Star Superman, of course).

Everything from Identity Crisis onwards just seems DC trying to recapture the success of Crisis of Infinite Earths.

What it boils down to is I like the feel of the Marvel Universe, and the "events" they been putting out recently usually derive from not cosmic entity, but from the rug essentially being pulled out from under the characters.

I'm not sure if "evil wins" can bare any resonance in a world like the DC universe, because we all know that duh, the Heroes will eventually win. The Marvel heroes will eventually win, yeah, but that doesn't mean they be able to trust each other ever again.

I am amazed that people can keep up with this stuff. Don't jobs and family and other inconveniences get in the way?

Meh, I'll wait and catch it in the graphic novels.

@danwaterhouse: It's really no different than reading a book on the train. Except these books come out weekly and with pictures.

They are both different degrees of mess, but Morrison has an exception imagination, while Bendis is using one of the oldest ideas, not just in science fiction, but even in comics this was done twenty years ago in Rom The Spaceknight and ten years ago in one of the X-books where Skrulls pretend to be heroes. I've been off Marvel since Civil War and this is not changing a thing. The DC "Crisis" books at least tend to be fun rides before you look back and realize it really didn't make anything better and probably made them worse.

While I'm definitely reading both, I've gotta say I'm more excited for Secret Invasion. I love Grant Morrison as much as the next New X-Men/Batman/We3/Seaguy fan, but Countdown left a really bad taste in my mouth. No doubt, it'll be a solid mini, but it's second to Blackest Night as far as DC anticipation goes right now.

Well, Secret Invasion #2 was total poop, so right now, the mystery of Final Crisis wins for me.

@danwaterhouse: Oh, Dan. *affectionate sigh*

It wouldn't be a SF fandom blog without a resident curmudgeonly buzzkiller, so gripe on, Mr. CrankyPants. Gripe on.

I've never really been a Morrison fan. Marvel had so much more potental to squeeze from Civil War then threw it all out the window. I'm a Marvel guy so S.I. goes without saying, but outside of SI itself and the Avengers books I'll read everything else in trades.

I'm excited for neither. I like me some Cable, except I hate the art direction in it.

Also I want the end of 'Astonishing'...

@Macloserboy: Also, actually, while were at it--didn't Grant Morrison do a bit in JLA when the White Martians show up pretending to be heroes, so that they can take over the world?

I'm a wanna-be DCU fan who spends too much time on Marvel, so I just typically end up confused when I read DC's stories.

I like DC's promise that everything is contained in the mini - but the problem is that they do not do a good enough job of explaining all of the outside references. I remember trying to read Infinite Crisis and just giving up by issue 4 out of frustration because I just didn't understand what was going on - and this was after collecting almost everything that came out from back to Identity Crisis and trying to follow along with it. After that experience I have a full long box full of DC comics with no sentimental value that were all collected in like, one year.

On the other hand, with Marvel, I get frustrated because I feel as though they tie-in crap just to make money, when it's not entirely relevant to the story. So, in this sense it's actually contained in the mini, even when they don't necessarily intend it to be.

I will say, though, that Secret Invasion so far has actually been FUN, and it has made me WANT to go buy a couple of tie-ins - just a couple...

I hope that all made sense.

Great writing by the OP btw!

@braak: Yep! It was the first arc of his run on the JLA monthly ("New World Order").

@danwaterhouse: Which is why wikipedia is key. Also for financial issues try reading the comics at the store so that you don't have to buy them.

:)

However I gotta say Final Crisis, for a Marvel fan, was very difficult to understand just reading it on wiki. I had some of my friends try to explain it and even though "Evil wins" its still DC and hence still very campy.

Fortunately, I live with a walking DC encyclopedia, so any plot points on Final Crisis I don't get can be easily explained without buying a zillion backissues.

And as much as I love Marvel, they've been losing my dollars for years with these events because I don't see the point in having to buy 8 new comics a month just so I know what's going on in the Universe. And if they don't get Joss to kick out some more Runaways soon, they'll lose my dollars completely.

@braak: And this "Evil Wins" was already a storyline in JLA under him. But it was great.

@JennaW: I thought Plague was Mr. CrankyPants. But if I can be Speedy to his Green Arrow count me in.

I'm not trying to be crankly, but am genuinely curious. I read a lot, a couple of books a week usually, plus a newspaper every day, plus way too much time here (and a few other places), and the thought of adding a couple of dozen comic series to that load seems beyond impossible. I tend to narrow my comic choices to titles that get good recommendations from people I trust, then wait for the tpb's (example: Y: Last Man). The two series referenced here just seem like an inordinate amount of work to keep up with.

@Josimba: Yes, thanks. I have found that people who work in comic shops are most kind and accommodating and will not bother you at all if you loiter without a purchase.

@jennstar: I guess that's my main gripe. You need a companion to understand what's going on in DC's Crises.

And yeah Civil War was a little messy, but it made the world unsafe again.

@Macloserboy: I suppose I distinguish between DC and Marvel's events by their fallout and I LOVED the fallout of Civil War and hated the fallout of Infinite Crisis.

Marvel "big event" storylines are (generally) far more accessible than DC storylines. I'm not saying that this is always a great thing, but I do tend to enjoy reading the Marvel events more than the DC events, in part because I can actually talk to people about them, instead of saying "Well, it kind of started in the last "infinite crisis," and then at some point Superboy Prime - um...yeah, don't ask - punches reality...look, never mind. Hey! Fables!" Even though the DC books might be more technically complex and innovative, I just don't think they're any fun anymore. Marvel all the way!

I was severely put off by civil war. bland bland uninteresting bland. I've actually completely given up on the mainstream marvel universe (apart from runaways), and frankly don't care at all what's happening in it now.

While I devoured infinite crisis and 52 (and spinoffs). I'm looking forward to the countdown trades to be published so i can collect those. (i only collect trades).

So infinite crisis for me all the way.

@Anxiety: "Well, it kind of started in the last "infinite crisis," and then at some point Superboy Prime - um...yeah, don't ask - punches reality..."

EXACTLY!!!

Say what you want about Secret Invasion being one big ret-con (yeah it kinda is) but at least it directly affects how the heroes view the world and the people around them.

DC explained away everything with "Superboy punching a wall!"

How is that good writing?!

Yeah, I'M the crankypants!

I'm not really looking forward to either of these- Invasion really effs with continuity and Final Crisis just feels like deja vu.
I still have Infinite Crisis to read anyway, so I'll catch up when it hits TPB.

Plus, Fables and YTLM is better than either of these, I'm sure.

@danwaterhouse:

Seems to me you have plenty of extra time, dude. I regret that the time I spend reading comics prevents me from reading blog posts about things I'm not interested in, posting, refreshing, responding, refreshing, responding, refreshing ... Nice time management.

@Loserface: What's amazing, of course, is that Grant Morrison had already done the same thing in One Million, when Future Superman has to PUNCH THROUGH TIME in order to get the JLA back.

But that time, it was AWESOME.

@Plague: No, sir. YOU are Curmudgeon Prime.

@braak: So what you're saying is, it isn't just comics as a whole that are cyclical, but Morrison's own writings are cyclical?

Duuuuuude...

I think what helps is that comic book companies are all staffed by men with the inability to form longterm memories. Every idea is always new and shiny to them!

@JennaW: No, I just think that Grant Morrison is so appealing a writer to steal from that he ends up stealing from himself.

Only, when he does it, it can still come out okay.

Woe to the writer that tries to hold one of Grant Morrison's ideas in his head. The power will destroy him!

@daviddonne: Nope, the time I have fits in exactly with what I need to do, dude. If I read every Crisis comic I wouldn't have time to read such insightful comments as yours. Crap, maybe my time management does suck. Dude.

I'm a lil' worried about "Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle" being the series you're supposed to read before FINAL CRISIS, since it was easily the weakest of Morrison's (generally outstanding) Seven Soldiers minis.

@Daniel Wallace: Right! But you only think that because you haven't read all the rest of Final Crisis!

See, once you read the whole thing, the self-transforming machine elves will crack your fucking skull open, scoop out your brain, and replace it with a ten-dimensional Aztec star engine that will let you see the end of time.

@braak: I am so reading this miniseries!

Me, I tend to like my events clean, contained, and thematically straightforward. Thus, for me, the best of recent years was 'World War Hulk'.

Well, I'm one of those guys who only reads Batman and anything that relates to his world (Robin, Nightwing, etc.), so anything outside of that I could care less about. Sorry, but I grew up a Marvel guy, and I've always felt Marvel's second tier characters were just cooler than DC's.

Which is why this whole "Countdown" stuff just didn't appeal to me cuz it was all about DC's JV heroes and villains. Anyhoo, I'm only gonna pick up "Final Crisis" cuz Morrison's writing, and yeah I'm kinda geeking out on "Secret Invasion" right now.