Comics this week

52: Week 50- WWIII (aka Black Adam vs the world) is finally here. After 49 weeks of a surprising well-made weekly series, 52 is closing with a bang. The epic battle has Black Adam facing almost all the heroes from JSA, the Marvel Family, Doom Patrol, Teen Titans, the Great Ten and many others. Battles raged from the Middle East to China, it is a issue packed with battles from front to back.
So, did it work? My feeling was mixed. First the bad things; the issue was too short. DC should have put it in a longer length book as there was almost too many battles for the writers to go through. One normal-length book just wasn't enough when the battles were like the slugfests from Infinite Crisis. The art wasn't good enough. The last battle where Captain Marvel throw down the lighting was very confusing. Only after I read the WWIII tie-ins, then I understood what happened. The good stuff; Black Adam maintained his A-list villain status. After 49 issues of building up the character, I would be one piss off reader if the writers didn't keep him as the enthralling character he has become. They managed to do that. The battle also has a sense of importance to it. I mean it is the battle to stop WWIII right? It should be important and it was. 2 more weeks to the end, here's hoping Countdown will be just as good.

World War III, Part One: A Call to Arms-
World War III, Part Two: The Valiant-
World War III, Part Three: Hell is for Heroes-
World War III, Part Four: United We Stand-
I'm doing all 4 of the WWIII tie-ins (yes, I bought them all. Great marketing DC) as they are about Week 50 of 52. The books go on 2 tracks. Part One and Four was about the battles with Black Adam. Whereas Part Two and Three was about the many changes that happened during One Year Later. On that front, we see why Jason Todd became Nightwing. The beginning of the relationship between Firestorm and Firehawk when they are both part of Firestorm. Why Supergirl is both in the 31 st and 21st centuries (I still don't get it). Donna Troy taking up the Wonder Woman costume. The return of the Suicide Squad. Why Batgirl became a villian. How Aquaman became the insane and hated hermit of the seas. Yes, there is a lot for the writers to go through and they failed! Outside the Aquaman story, the rest were crap. Batgirl became a villian after a talk with Deathstroke? Deathstroke? Does that make sense to anyone? You can skip Part Teo and Three as it has almost nothing to do with 52.
What saved the tie-ins were Part One & Four. The first battle between Black Adam and the Martin Manhunter was too short but it was there and it was the closest anyone got to beating Black Adam one-on-one. In fact, it was the Martin Manhunter's presence that saved the tie-ins. J'onn's internal struggle is part of what made 52 so great. Changes. His changes wasn't forced (unlike some others) and felt very natural. And if you want to know exactly how World War III came to an end, you need to read Part Four. As I've said earlier, reading the main book will not be enough. Jack Jadson did what the 52 pencilers couldn't. Explained what the hell happened! WWIII is over, long live Black Adam!