This is 52, a four volume collection of the unprecedented, critically acclaimed weekly series of death, danger, romance, terror and the never-ending search for heroism in the DC Universe's most eventful year ever.

The series features the best and brightest writers from the comic-book field: Geoff Johns (INFINITE CRISIS), Grant Morrison (ALL STAR SUPERMAN), Greg Rucka (WONDER WOMAN) and Mark Waid (KINGDOM COME), working together to tell the tale of a world awakening from a nightmare to face a new day. With their leaders gone, which heroes will stand tall? Who will fail at the most critical moment? Who will live -- and who will die?

The story of 52 continues in this incredible second volume as Booster Gold's dubious heroism comes under fire, Lex Luthor's scheme for giving ordinary citizens super-powers explodes, and The Question heads into hostile territory to confront Black Adam
The series combines the brightest and best talents from the comic book writing field: Geoff Johns (INFINITE CRISIS), Grant Morrison (ALL STAR SUPERMAN), Greg Rucka (WONDER WOMAN) and Mark Waid (KINGDOM COME).

The DC Universe's most eventful year continues in this latest volume of the acclaimed series with Booster Gold, Renee Montoya, Black Adam, The Elongated Man, Animal Man, Lobo, Starfire and Adam Strange taking center stage.

We've known of others: The Primal Slayer, who stalked the earth and the forces of darkness in fierce solitude...Nikki, the funky hipster whose demise at Spike's hands lent an urban edge to his wardrobe and a bigger bounce to his swagger. Slayers by nature have a limited life expectancy; for each one who falls, another rises to take her place.

Tales of the Slayer, Vol. 1, chronicles Slayers past who have influenced -- and are influenced by -- the traditions and mythologies of yore. From ancient Greece, to aristocratic Slayers holding court in revolution-era France, to the legend of the Bloody Countess Elizabeth Bathory, to 1920's Munich, each girl has a personal history, a shared moral code, and a commitment to conquer evil, regardless of the cost....

DC shook up Gotham--literally--in its 1999 Batman plot arc: a 7.6 earthquake rocked Gotham City, wreaking enough destruction to bring the broken, crime-ridden, runt kid-brother of Metropolis and New York to its knees. In the story line's most indulgent liberty, those fat cats in Washington decide to write off Gotham, à la Escape from New York, blowing up the connecting bridges, mining the surrounding waterways, and signing into law the Federal Declaration of No Man's Land, which makes it a crime to even set foot in the city. The usual suspects from Arkham Asylum, Two-Face and the Penguin, the Riddler and Dr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Mr. Zsasz, file out to begin running the show, strong-arming and manipulating the block-by-block turf battles that envelop the now-ultraviolent city. A conflicted Batman shows up fashionably late, only to find that these lunatics are the least of his worries: Lex Luthor, Superman's archfoe, has nefarious designs on Gotham too. Could this possibly get any better? Sure, No Man's Land is derivative fiction, but the appeal of Rucka--and, of course, Batman--can make this one worth the read. --Paul Hughes

DC shook up Gotham--literally--in its 1999 Batman plot arc: a 7.6 earthquake rocked Gotham City, wreaking enough destruction to bring the broken, crime-ridden, runt kid-brother of Metropolis and New York to its knees. In the story line's most indulgent liberty, those fat cats in Washington decide to write off Gotham, à la Escape from New York, blowing up the connecting bridges, mining the surrounding waterways, and signing into law the Federal Declaration of No Man's Land, which makes it a crime to even set foot in the city. The usual suspects from Arkham Asylum, Two-Face and the Penguin, the Riddler and Dr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Mr. Zsasz, file out to begin running the show, strong-arming and manipulating the block-by-block turf battles that envelop the now-ultraviolent city. A conflicted Batman shows up fashionably late, only to find that these lunatics are the least of his worries: Lex Luthor, Superman's archfoe, has nefarious designs on Gotham too. Could this possibly get any better? Sure, No Man's Land is derivative fiction, but the appeal of Rucka--and, of course, Batman--can make this one worth the read. --Paul Hughes

Even before she can get through the front door of her house, Mim is kidnapped at gunpoint, forced into a truck and told to strip, then driven around for a while before being dumped back where she started, bewildered but unmolested. Shortly thereafter, nude photos of her turn up on the Internet, and her drug-dealing brother, Mikel--whom Mim fears helped make this pornography possible--is shot to death. The musician is quick to blame Mikel's murder on their father, Tommy, who's just won release after spending 15 years in prison for killing Mim's mom; yet she concedes that such premeditated violence is probably beyond him. "He wasn't a planner," Mim says of the hated Tommy. "He was like me; life happened to us, we didn't do things to life." But then, who else would want to hasten the destruction this woman has already been bringing on herself? To find out, the petite and pissed-off Mim will have to elude police, confront a blackmailer in Portland's "shanghai tunnels," and stay sober long enough to stay alive.

Rucka brings the same cinematic storytelling, sharp plot twists, and quirky characterizations to A Fistful of Rain that have won his Atticus Kodiak novels praise. His portrayal of Mim Bracca is thoughtfully nuanced, her credibility as a heroine drawn from her weaknesses, rather than cobbled together from unexpected strengths. Too bad he wasn't as conscientious with other players here, such as Tailhook diva Vanessa Parada, who's given barely enough dimension to anchor her competitive claws; or Detective Tracy Hoffman, whose lesbian attraction to Mim is more the product of male fantasy than a significant addition to this yarn. Although readers can solve many of Rucka's puzzles before Mim does, the fraught relationship between this guitarist and her dad, as well as a turnaround ending, prevent A Fistful of Rain from ever seeming dry. --J. Kingston Pierce