World Famous Comics: The Rann-Thanagar War (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
The Rann-Thanagar War (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
By: Dave Gibbons Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 144 Publication Date: January 01, 2006 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: January 01, 2006
Solid followup to Planet Heist This story is a direct follow up to the events that took place in the fantastic Planet Heist mini featuring Adam Strange, and the ramifications that arose from it. At first one may think they need a scorecard to keep track of all of the diverse pieces in this cosmic chess match. There are more involved here than just the two main opponents of Rann and Thanagar. Every major faction of this sector of the universe has chosen sides, with Thanagar itself being divided into two separate and opposing forces, along the lines and directly related to the Seven Devils religious cult, and in the process creating major loyalty problems for Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Shayera. The question often asked is "Whose side are you on?" The strategic element also comes into play on two fronts, first with the search for the powerful Nth metal and its' significance to the cult and the revival of their proposed savior Onimar Synn, and also the military and practical importance of Rann's highly coveted zeta beam device. Of course it was the omega beam device, a more advanced version of the zeta beam, that apparently initiated this war in the first place, or did it. The prominence of Synn originally seemed overdone, until one understands the relevance of fanatical religion and the major role it plays in Thanagarian culture and to its' recent past history. Dave Gibbons does a superb job of juggling the large and varied cast of characters while keeping the somewhat complex happenings quite cohesive and rational. The story fortunately does not just resort to a series of pointless action scenes. The ones contained here, and the art in general, are fantastic thanks to the superb pencils of Ivan Reis, whose artwork has never looked better. This story was a natural extension of the aforementioned and highly recommended Planet Heist mini, and itself led directly into Infinite Crisis; plus it still has current relevance with the new R-T Holy War series that just started. Kudos to Gibbons and Reis for combining to create this entertaining space opera and their continued solid contributions afterwards on Green Lantern Corps and GL respectively.
Boring... and not really necessary for the "Countdown Series" Nice to read, but it has a lot of text explaining all the war background and it becomes boring. The storyline doesn't really add to the Crisis storyline either, so I recommend it only if you're a fan of Hawkman or Adam Strange (a TRUE fan).
Graphic SF Reader The space part of the whole Infinite Crisis saga, as manipulations and supervillainry have led the inhabitants of the Polaris system to erupt into violent conflict.
Adam Strange, Hawkman, Hawkgirl and others get to try and sort that whole thing out, while staying alive and trying to keep a lot of people from both planets the same way.
The most disappointing of the Infinite Crisis lead-up's Of the four mini-series' that lead up to DC's mega event Infinite Crisis, the Rann-Thanagar War was the most promising. A massive, interstellar war written by the artist of Watchmen and creator of the the Originals? Needless to say, this was the mini I was looking forward to the most. That's what's so disappointing when you pick up this TPB and start reading, realizing just how much potential got wasted and lost in translation. Rann, the home planet of space hero Adam Strange, gets involved in a brutal war with Thanagar; home planet of heroes like Hawkman and Hawkgirl. In between all this is Strange, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern's Kyle Rayner and Kilowog; all of whom are trying to make sense of the whole thing, which you'll be doing too. What really kills Rann-Thanagar War is the convoluted storyline and weak dialogue, with the best moments coming in the concluding chapter, which sets the stage for Infinite Crisis. The book's saving grace is definitely the artwork by rising star Ivan Reis, which is excellent. Other than that though, unless you absolutely need every Infinite Crisis tie-in TPB, the Rann-Thanagar War is better left on the shelf.
Not Neccissary for the "Infinite Crisis" story arc This book was a little to busy and hard to follow. I'm not a fan of Adam Strange and only a fan of Hawkman and Hawkgirl because of their connection to the JLA. I bought this book because of its connection to "Infinite Crisis" but I think you could get by without it unless you are like me and just want to have the complete story line.
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