By: Brad Meltzer Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 288 Publication Date: August 16, 2006 Release Date: August 16, 2006
Product Description: The most talked-about and successful DC Comics miniseries of 2004 is now available in a stunning hardcover volume!New York Times best-selling author Brad Meltzer delivers an all-too-human look into the lives of super-heroes and the terrible price they pay for doing good.
Entertainment at its Best I'll start out by letting you know that I'm huge comic fan, but not really into the DC guys that much. In fact, I don't read any of them if they don't have ties to Gotham City. However, a buddy of mine told me that if I really wanted to read a good murder mystery that I needed to check out Identity Crisis. Some of the best advice that I've ever taken (thanks to Gary, Eric, and Mike). I loved the fact that there were characters in the book who I knew (Bats, Zatana, Supes, Robin) and others that I didn't (Elongated Man, Red Tornado, Dr. Midnight etc.), but no matter what you grew to know how they interacted with each other, and grew to even feel for certain characters. Meltzer is one heck of a writer. This is the first thing that I have ever read by him, by I will have to check out some of his novels. Rags is one of my favorite artists in the industry, having grown to love his work from reading Nightwing. And of course, there are the wonderful covers by the late Michael Turner. RIP. This book is one not to miss. I would even go so far as to call it a must have. Peace and Love, Jake
PREDICTABLE I found this story predictable and very slow paced. The twist is obvious enough that waiting for the characters to catch on is just a little torturous. I only finished it because I hoped I was wrong.
Who benefits? Nobody. Who benefits from reading this? Bard Meltzer? Rags Morales? DC? The reader? Certainly not me. The premise may be believable (and done before...it's like a watered-down, stumbling version of "Watchmen," and if the latter was full of unlikable characters): someone out to get the caped community's loved ones, however the motivation (even the method), once revealed at the end, wasn't. I'll admit there were some good twists, but overall, I found the whole thing laughable: trying to make superheroes seem more like regular folks by having them sit around chatting but never showing them in anything but their tights just looks ridiculous. Probably because these are such forgettable characters (seriously, how many characters are named 'Doctor' or 'Mr' in the DC Universe? Answer: Too many. Which begs the question, why aren't there any female physicians?) whom, without their equally laughable costumes and names, wouldn't be recognizable to your average comic reader. I haven't read Meltzer's thrillers, nor do I plan to; nor do I consider Rags Morales's "muscular naturalism", as the Washington Post gushes, "timelessly iconic and believably human."
Engima and Mystery Really, really good book. This is such a human yet mysterious story that it is tough to put down. There is everything you really want out of a book: character development, a sense of moving the DC Universe forward, great action scenes, plenty of protagonists and antagonists, great artwork, and a mystery that no one figures out until the very end. A+
Identity Crisis So Batman erased the memories of a few people, big deal! The JLA makes it into a huge issue paramount to a far greater wrong, if indeed it was wrong to begin with. I'm collecting a few (okay, more than a few) comics for my son, and I find a rape of all things in these pages. The purpetrator of said rape is one Dr. Light, who is able to generate high temperatures through his skin. The panel in question shows only his hands burning those of the victim; aparently not someone that you want to be raped by. Why is there a rape in a comic book? Why does D.C. need to have so many different realities instead of just allowing for different storylines (It really isn't a real universe, just make-believe)? Truely cutting edge. Bold. Daring.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
