Grovel

Written by: Geoff Johns
Art by: Phil Jimenez, George Perez, Jerry Ordway, Ivan Reis, Andy Lanning
Publisher: DC Comics (US), Titan Books (UK)
First published: 2006
Originally published as: Infinite Crisis 1-7

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UPDATE: Now available in paperback.

If you’re superhero mad, you’ve probably been following the Countdown to Infinite Crisis series with glee. If not, and you’ve got superhero money burning a hole in your pocket, go ahead and buy those first: this is a book that requires financial commitment.

Having said that, whether purchasing all the books is completely necessary is somewhat debatable. Identity Crisis is a must, as are The OMAC Project and Villains United. Rann-Thanagar War and Day of Vengeance are perhaps less so, except that they help carry the concept that this is a universe-wide event and not just about Earth or the material plane.

After all the goings on in these preludes though, this is the main event. We won’t spoil it for you by going into too much detail, but an evil villain is hoping to create a perfect earth for himself by bringing back the infinite Earths that were supposedly sorted out in the last crisis, and literally and violently blending them until he finds the right mix. Heroes and villains from different Earths end up in one almighty ruck, as others try and sort the mess out.

Perhaps one of the most interesting elements of the series as a whole, and this book in particular, is the bloody carnage. DC Comics clearly has enough characters on its books to shed a great swathe of them and Infinite Crisis is the vehicle to do it in. Heads get lopped off, weapons pierce chests, people explode and heroes that many will recognise join the ranks of the deceased. There’s no pussy-footing around with weak punches and asylums for the criminally insane: extreme force is sanctioned and used.

It’s a little hard to work out what has been achieved at the end of all this. Yes, it’s a ripping yarn, but barely one so very special that’s worth devoting hundreds of pages to. In fact, it’s more like a money pit - once you’ve started down the road of the story, possibly with the quite good OMAC Project, you’ve committed to a path that you may feel you don’t particularly want to abandon.

Superhero nuts, by all means, quench your thirst at this font of superhero worship. If you’re indifferent and perhaps just a bit curious about the fuss, it might be worth turning away now. There are better graphic novels out there you could be investing this amount of money and reading time on.

Other titles in the Infinite Crisis series:

• Countdown to Infinite Crisis: Day of Vengeance
• Countdown to Infinite Crisis: Rann-Thanagar War
• Countdown to Infinite Crisis: The OMAC Project
• Countdown to Infinite Crisis: Villains United
• Identity Crisis
• Infinite Crisis
• Infinite Crisis Companion
• JLA 18: Crisis of Conscience
• Superman: Sacrifice