Crisis on Infinite Earths Paperback – Import, 1 March 2006

Great

This book is excellent, lithe story is one of my all time favorite stories as it follows the flash and his journey through this crisis and when you end the book, you get this feel of sadness and awe of how well the story was written and how it made you feel for Barry Allen

I did like the story. The idea that the universe in which Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and all the other DC Comics characters inhabit is but one of an infinite number of universes (the DC multiverse), is rather interesting. It helps account for why there are different incarnations of these characters (e.g. the silly and camp Batman of the 1960's TV show, as compared to the dark and brooding Batman of the 1980's graphic novels). Each exists in a different universe.By the early-to-mid 1980's the many and various DC comics had become difficult to understand - as there was no single or unifying continuity. And so a story was devised in which a continuity was constructed. Each of the universes was being destroyed, until only a few remained ... and the surviving heroes battled to save these last few 'Earths'. Until only one was left (a blending of a few). And, from this crisis, the one remaining Earth served as the basis for ongoing storylines - in a single universe - that represented 'canon'. (Although occasional deviations occurred, these being known as 'Elseworlds'). And so it was, until DC Comics decided to restructure everything again!This book - a novel based of the various comic books that told the story of 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' - seeks to represent in words what the comics expressed in images. Unfortunately its author is not up to the task. He endeavours to present the story from one particular super-hero's perspective: the Flash. Given that the Flash can run so fast, he's capable of moving between the various universes ... he witnesses the Crisis first-hand. Okay, I can follow that. But the way the story is told is very poor indeed. So much about the comic book series is omitted. And what's left is - strangely - offered in a manner that's so utterly boring.This could have - should have! - been epic. The comic book mini-series of this story was great. But here Wolfman, the author, is out of his depth. He's not a good novelist. He's a good story-maker, and a good comic-book writer. DC should have given the book to someone else to write.

This is a wonderful novelization of the 12 issue limited series. Please read the reviews first before buying this book. It is a book not a comic book. I loved every minute of this novelization of the original DC comic book called, "Crisis On Infinite Earths." If you liked the comic book then i think you're gonna like the book.

While my parents grew up remembering where they were when JFK died, I grew up with a slightly different life-changing memory: where I was when the Flash died. I still vividly remember that spot on the floor in front of the magazine rack at the drug store as I watched my little world crashing around me with the death of my favorite super-hero. But he didn't die in his own series. He was just one of the many casualties of Crisis on Infinite Earths, a comic book mini-series put out by DC Comics in an attempt to "clean up the mess they'd made" by creating hundreds of alternate Earths with different heroes on each one. The mini-series was ground-breaking because it was the first time any comic book publisher had decided to kill off dozens of major characters in one book. Before they were through, heroes like Earth-2's Superman and Wonder Woman, Superboy, Dove, Supergirl (yes, the series was rough on the Kryptonians), and of course, The Flash were all dead just to name a few. Now on the twentieth anniversary of the series, the original writer Marv Wolfman has come up with a novelization of the events that rocked the DC universe. But instead of telling the story linearly and in great detail (as was done with the awesome Kingdom Come novel), he's told the story from the perspective of its greatest sacrifice: the Flash. Barry Allen narrates the story of his death and life during the cataclysmic moments of the crisis. For some unknown reason, the Flash is thrown into an ethereal state and must watch helplessly as worlds and heroes die around him. Told from this perspective, we see how the Flash actually shaped some of the events from "behind the scenes". How in the world does a dead guy get to describe his moment of death in detail and the things that occurred afterward? Time-travel, dimension-hopping, and all the other little quirks that make comics so much fun. The chapters in this book are extremely short (literally one or two pages on average), which makes the flow a little disjointed at times. And since this isn't a blow-by-blow retelling of the story (imagine how thick that novel would have to be!), there are numerous highlights of the comic series that either never get mentioned or are just touched upon briefly. Still, the book could be considered essential reading for a complete picture of what really happened, and why the story truly was a "crisis". There are a few chapters describing events involving other heroes, slowing the breakneck pace otherwise permeating the book. If you've never read the comic book, you'll definitely want to read it first. Some of the major twists and jaw-dropping moments (and deaths) will only get a cursory nod here. Savor the depth of the story in comic form, then read this book for the icing on the cake. The Flash's death has always been considered a sacred moment for DC Comics. He's one of the only major characters who've ever died that hasn't returned (Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Superman, and Supergirl have all come back), showing just how monumental the event truly was. After reading this, you'll see why. Recommended for any true comics fan.