Identity Crisis

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

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+

I used to be a DC comic addict, and in the mid-'80s spent more than I should have buying issue after issue of all that DC and First Comics could put out. As I got older, I stopped buying the mags (I was spending my money on dates, then marriage, now kids...) and lost touch with the genre. But sometimes, while browsing in a book store, my legs would take me to the graphic novel section. My eyes would scan the titles, and from time-to-time I'd let temptation get the better of me. The Ultimate Spider-Man for instance,and the new JLA comics in particular caught my eye. And just last month, I bought this book. I was attracted by Brad Meltzer's name on the spine. I like the guy's thrillers. They're usually mindless fun, perfect for a quick read. I thumbed through the book and liked what I saw of the art. I bought it. And I'm glad I did. This is one of the best graphic novels I have ever read, and it will hold a place of honor on my bookshelf, next to my Dark Knight Returns and Ultimate Spider-Man collection. This will be reread time and time again, and I'm glad I got around my aversion to buying comics again.

Pros ----- - great story line IMHO, sparked my interest in reading more comics - surprised by the detail in the drawings, characters faces were pretty expressive Cons ------ - as a first time reader, the way the comic book lays out the story was a bit confusing (compared to a novel, it reads like movie or cartoon script might be like), but I into the style quickly enough. Does take getting used to though.

This story single-handedly led me to pay attention to DC's mainstream superhero fare after years of, justifiably, considering the publisher to be the stumbling dinosaur of the Marvel/DC dichotomy. Who cares about continuity when you've got a story this compelling that makes even the most dust-choked DC relics seem new and fresh and gives modern purpose to the most anachronistic of characters. It's too early to say whether this represents a serious turning point for the publisher, but for seven edge-of-your-seat issues, Meltzer and Morales fleshed out a tale as entertaining and relevant as anything DC has ever produced.