Infinite Crisis Companion

Infinite Crisis (Collected Editions)

by Bill Willingham, Dave Gibbons, Greg Rucka

In the aftermath of the universe-shattering events of 'Infinite Crisis', the new heroes and new alliances forge ahead in their very distinct missions. Written and drawn by a host of talented comic creators, this is a companion to the brave, new post-Infinite Crisis universe!

This volume collects the one-shots DAY OF VENGEANCE: INFINITE CRISIS SPECIAL, RANN-THANAGAR WAR: INFINITE CRISIS SPECIAL, THE OMAC PROJECT: INFINITE CRISIS SPECIAL and VILLAINS UNITED: INFINITE CRISIS SPECIAL.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Fiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

In the late 1970s to early 1980s he drew fantasy ink pictures for the Dungeons & Dragons Basic and Expert game rulebooks. He first gained attention for his 1980s comic book series Elementals published by Comico, which he both wrote and drew. However, for reasons unknown, the series had trouble maintaining an original schedule, and Willingham's position in the industry remained spotty for many years. He contributed stories to Green Lantern and started his own independent, black-and-white comics series Coventry which lasted only 3 issues. He also produced the pornographic series Ironwood for Eros Comix.

In the late 1990s Willingham reestablished himself as a prolific writer. He produced the 13-issue Pantheon for Lone Star Press and wrote a pair of short novels about the modern adventures of the hero Beowulf, published by the writer's collective, Clockwork Storybook, of which Willingham was a founding member. In the early 2000s he began writing extensively for DC Comics, including the limited series Proposition Player, a pair of limited series about the Greek witch Thessaly from The Sandman, and most notably the popular series Fables

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

These specials put a cap on the Countdown to Infinite Crisis miniseries that DC put out. Day of Vengeance, The OMAC Project, Villains United, and The Rann-Thanagar War. They are all by the respective creative teams of those books and all of them but the Rann-Thanagar War are pretty good. Editorial wise, I'd rather have seen these released with their original miniseries as far as collections go.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Infinite Crisis Companion is something that should be read during or before you read Infinite Crisis to avoid spoilers. It collects four tales and puts them all into one volume. There is a nice prologue section which attempts to catch readers up on the other spinoffs taking place as well as IC events.

I will break the tales up individually as I particularly enjoyed this piece.

DAY OF VENGEANCE

Written by Bill Willingham of FABLES and artwork by Justianiano, Walden Wong, Wayne Faucher and a few others

The tale opens with several of our heroes (Zatanna, Stranger and some others) consulting with Madame Xanadu to deal with the obvious problem (tracking down and containing the spirits of the Seven Deadly Sins). There are a ton of introductions of heroes here. One of my favorite, funky ones being Detective Chimp.

While this is transpiring, Nabu goes toe to toe with Spectre, knowing he doesn't have much of a chance.

B to B plus for the story.

HANDS OF FATE

Written by Dave Gibbons and artwork by Joe Prado, Oclair Albert, John Kalisz and several others.

As two competing galactic nations fight Adam Strange calls forth several heroes to assist him which includes the Green Lantern Corps. There's a big fight and somebody of some importance in the DC world bites it. Hey, who told you being a superhero wasn't dangerous?

B grade for the tale.

THE OMAC PROJECT

Written by Greg Rucka and artwork by Jesus Saiz, Jared Fletcher and a few others.

For those who know them the OMACs are back. Booster Gold, Green Arrow, some of the Outsiders and a host of others face this opposition. Cameo by Batman but it isn't what you think.

I'd give this one a B grade in story, too, but “Hands of Fate” is a tad better.

VILLAINS UNITED

I liked the artwork in this one the most. Written by Gail Simone and artwork by Dale Eaglesham, Guy Major, Art Thibert and a host of others.

Gotham is in trouble and guess what? Luthor is involved. The Bat Family takes this one on with extended help. It's a bit of a spoiler but not a lot so I'll say the little short in which Black Adam meets a Nazi villain was oh so cool.

ARTWORK PRESENTATION: B to B plus; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B; TORY/PLOTTING: B; DC MYTHOLOGY: B plus; WHEN READ: end of September to early October 2012; OVERALL GRADE: B.

[Rylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories themselves were good and worth reading if you read any of the Infinite Crisis minis that lead to the event because these are the conclusions. My issue with this is that it exists when these stories should’ve been collected with their respective minis, because they tie up all the loose ends of those stories.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Infinite Crisis Companion collects four one-shot comics published during the Infinite Crisis event. Each is a sort of epilogue to one of the Countdown miniseries, and wraps their storylines up to varying degrees. Each one is as good as the miniseries they wrap up, which means that Rann-Thanagar War is still the weakest of the lot and Villains United is still my favorite. So why are they being published here as a sort of hodgepodge instead of in their respective trades? Well, obviously to make more money by selling more trades, yes. But it honestly does make more sense to read them this way. Most people who bother with the Countdown trades are going to read them before they read Infinite Crisis, which means that they would be getting massive spoilers in the last issue of each trade for Infinite Crisis. Really, the Companion should be read just before you read the last issue in the Infinite Crisis collection. It's not necessary by any means, but it does add to the story, and I'm glad I read it.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic Premise: A collection of one-shots relating to the Infinite Crisis event in the DC universe.

This volume is intended to draw together the events of the Crisis and help readers understand their connections. It does the job well. Read it during or after other books in the Crisis series or you will see spoilers in these pages.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was such an awful contrivance, neither placing this stories with the mini-series that they completed, nor with the Infinite Crisis that they interweaved with. Thank goodness that there's now an Infinite Crisis Omnibus that puts them in their correct places. Still, the stories tend to be overbloated sideshows in the Infinite Crisis story whose best feature is highlighting the miniseries that flowed into the Crisis.

Day of Vengeance. It feels like this finale gives us the full scope of Day of Vengeance, as the end of the Ninth Age of Magic and the beginning of the Tenth comes across as truly epic, full of sacrifices (though the Shadowpact are certainly reduced to supporting roles in this finale) [4+/5].

The Rann/Thangar War. So we get more of the chaotic fighting that made the Rann/Thangar War so tedious. It's helped by the fact that we get some context, and there's one dramatic status-quo change ... but after that we still don't get an ending for this interminable battle! [2/5]

The OMAC Project. This finale nicely wraps up the current status of Checkmate and gives a great conclusion to Sasha Bordeaux, but is a bit long in its mindless fighting with OMAC [3+/5].

Villlains Unite. A big bash that nicely connects Villains United to Infinite Crisis #7, but neither has enough story nor enough Secret Six. [3+/5]

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's probably worth reading if you read Infinite Crisis (and particularly if you've read the lead-in books, which are worth it to varying degrees). Some of these stories wrapped up, and some didn't, but they added to the story, and might best be read interspersed in an IC read rather than on their own.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was kind of pointless. Loved main story line but really didn't care for this. Kind of confused how most of this tied in to be considered a companion to main story.

[Guido]

Anexos a la Crisis Infinita.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good stories that helped connect what was happening in Infinite Crisis.m

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the title says "Companion" this graphic novel is more of a companion to Prelude to Infinite Crisis then to the actual Infinite Crisis mini-series, as it takes place prior to to it. We get four stories that help to set the foundation for Infinite Crisis: Day of Vengeance - The Ninth Age of Magic, which sees The Spectre on a mission to eliminate all magic from the universe, even that wielded by heroes such as Phantom Stranger, Zatanna, and Doctor Fate; Rann-Thanager War - Hands of Fate, Green Lanterns Kyle and Kilowag teaming up with Alan Scott and his daughter, Jade, to keep the peace between the Rann and the Thanagers; The OMAC Project - The Lazarus Protocol; an eyeball thing lands in the desert and every nation wants its secrets; and Villains United - A Hero Dies but One, which shows Lex Luthor executing a world-wide prison break to grow his ranks. Day of Vengeance was a little too text oriented for me, but I like seeing The Spectre again. I had to read the Wikipedia pages to even vaguely understand what was going on in the Rann-Thanager War and The OMAC Project. Even after that, OMAC was confusing and I'm not sure what it's setting up in the Crisis. Rann-Thanager was fun, but too busy. As much as I love Green Lantern, Villains United was easily the best of the four. After the destruction of the Justice League, Oracle must assemble a new team to take on Luthor’s . For her, this means getting retired heroes back into costume. For me, this means even more people I’m unfamiliar with (though I did finally get to see Plastic Man!). I’m sure hardcore/longtime fans will enjoy seeing some of DC’s third and fourth tear stars get some spotlight. Infinite Crisis Companion is another crash course to prepare for Infinite Crisis.

[Richard Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book consists of four specials corresponding to the four Countdown to Infinite Crisis miniseries, each down by the same creative teams as those series. The reason they aren’t included in the respective trades for OMAC, Rann-Thanagar War, Day of Vengeance, and Villains United is because these issues take place after Infinite Crisis itself. Each special is basically as good as the mini it spins out of, and if you’re looking for a complete Infinite Crisis experience, these issues are important to the big picture.
That said, if you haven’t read Infinite Crisis and the four respective Countdown miniseries, I’d say this companion would be endlessly confusing. So make sure you read it at the right time, and then you’re gonna enjoy.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries