I thought since it's only three more months until the big event, I'd start a thread for it.

And I know some of you are saying, "Hey, we already have a Countdown thread."

But that's just it, that's a thread for Countdown and not the actual event which is Infinite Crisis.

So unless there are violent objections, here's Jim Lee's full, uncluttered cover to Infinite Crisis #1.



There'll also be another cover by George Perez.

Far as I know, each issue will feature two covers, one by Lee and the other by Perez.

wat is this Infinite Crisis abt? do i need to read any series prior to this series or can i just collect this as a stand-alone?

SDCC - CRISIS COUNSELING
At the DC Comics Crisis Counseling panel at SDCC, more hints at the upcoming Infinite Crisis series were given.

- A unifying effect takes place in INFINITE CRISIS #5 (Feb).

- In IC #6, all of the DC universe and its titles jump a year into the future. Characters will be drastically altered, but no immediate explanations for those changes.

- Unlike "Crisis on Infinite Earths", the events of Inifnite Crisis will be remembered by everyone.

- All titles have a 1-2 year plan for post-Crisis storylines.

- The SEVEN SOLDIERS mini's tie into Infinite Crisis in some manner.

- There are no plans to renumber the titles after Crisis.

- No plans for a SUICIDE SQUAD revamp at present. The focus is going to be on revamping villains, so they don't want to change them to be heroic..instead, they will be keeping them evil.

Infinite Crisis is an eight-issue mini-series right?

2 covers for every issue? this is nuts

No prizes for guessing which cover I'm gonna get.

Synopsis of the first issue:

Written by Geoff Johns, art by Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning, covers by Jim Lee and Sandra Hope and George Pérez

It's finally here: the comics event so massive that it built over the first half of 2005, through Countdown, Day of Vengeance, Rann/Thanagar War, Villains United and The OMAC Project. Prepare for the dawn of the DCU's darkest day in Infinite Crisis, a 7-issue miniseries. Surrounded by their most fearsome enemies, the world's greatest heroes are divided within and without.

DC's icons -- Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman -- are joined by Nightwing, Supergirl, Donna Troy, Superboy, Robin, Wonder Girl, Green Lantern, the Flash and more as they face their most dire hour. What happens next will destroy friendships and lives, dictating the direction of the universe for the next generation!

Years in the making, the greatest event to hit the DCU in over two decades is about to explode. This issue will ship with covers by Lee and Williams (50 percent) and Pérez (50 percent).

40 pages, $3.99, in stores on Oct. 12.

DAN DIDIO SPILLS ON DC'S "52"

In June, we spoke with DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio about possibly the biggest bombshell to come to the DCU post-Infinite Crisis, that is, following Infinite Crisis all titles set in the DCU will jump forward one year in time, as part of something DiDio calls “One Year Later…”

DiDio promised that many, if not all titles would be reflecting significant changes as a result of the move ahead, be it new characters, now established and one year into their careers as heroes; different people under familiar masks; new alliances; new rivalries; new teammates; new cities for some heroes, and a change or tweak in just about everything else you can imagine.

Of course, as Newsarama asked, if you move things ahead one year, you’re left with one year’s worth of stories to tell. DiDio’s answer when asked if DC would be telling the story of the missing year? “Of course.”

And now, he’s able to fill in more of the details, not only about the when the story will be told, but the how.

The last question first: weekly. The working title, 52 - as in 52 weeks.

“The story of 52 begins the week after Infinite Crisis concludes and runs weekly thereafter,” DiDio told Newsarama. “It answers most of the outstanding questions from the missing year, but more importantly it sets the tone for our world and the direction of the DC Universe for the years to come.”

The series will be DC’s first attempt at an intentionally weekly comic since turning Action Comics into Action Comics Weekly between 1988 and 1989. Moreover than just running a weekly series, as DiDio explained, 52 will run in real time (or as close to real time as comics can approximate) – that is, when it’s winter outside your window, it will be winter in the United States of the DCU.

“With each issue one week passes, and yes, we plan to show the change in time as the series progresses,” DiDio said. “We get to show how the life of the DC Universe changes over the course of a year, in real time. With plans like this, it is imperative that we insure that the entire series ships on time. For 52 to ship late it would be like Time Magazine shipping late.

“That said, I wouldn’t go forward if I didn’t believe we were going to hit all our shipping dates. Pre-production is the key to everything and we have the full support of the company to make sure we do this right.”

Key to tackling the specific production and timing problems head-on, DiDio revealed, is through the use of a team of writers and artists. “”Obviously, the process in producing this series will be different than those we take in our monthly books,” DiDio said. “The plan is to go with a core group of writers and artists. But given how intense the process will be as we get deeper into the story, we are prepared to split scripting and dialog, as well as breakdowns and pencils to insure the production moves smoothly for the run of the entire series. The plan also calls for a single cover artist to set the tone for the series, and also help tell the story in covers.”

So, while creators who’ve been in the know on 52 for a while are claiming DiDio has a pair of brass ones for attempting this, who was the madman at DC that thought a weekly comic that absolutely could not miss a week’s shipping would be a good idea?

“52 came from the mind of our publisher Paul Levitz,” DiDio said. “He has seen the one year leap done several times before and the only way he would approve our plan was to find a new and unique way to tell the story of the missing year. He pitched the idea of a weekly comic to Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka and myself, knowing, in advance, that we could never resist this challenge. He reeled us in like fish in a barrel.”

As for trafficking and making sure the trains run on time… “Steve Wacker is the one foolhardy soul who gets to edits this mega-series,” DiDio said, chuckling. “And while he didn't volunteer for this job, he didn't say no when asked, so that’s as good as volunteering to me.”

Joking aside, Wacker’s job will include far more than just trafficking the scripts and art assignments through to the printer. “The challenge in doing something like 52 is obviously maintaining the readers interest week in and week out,” DiDio said. “Loyalty to a character will bring you back from month to month, loyalty to a story will bring a reader back week to week. The toughest part of our job is to tell a story so compelling and so exciting that you can't wait for next week and the next installment. The real difficulty is keeping this going for over a year, we have enough story to keep up that level of excitement, and given the team we are assembling, I know they are up to the task.”

And speaking of loyalty to a character, 52 will be the only place fans will be able to find some of their favorites. “There will be four to six primary characters that will take us through every corner of the DC Universe,” DiDio said. “While I can't mention who they are at this time, one thing I can tell you is that none of the prime characters in 52 will be seen in any of the one year later stories. What happens to them is a mystery only 52 can answer.”

As for the nuts and bolts of what’s important to readers, DiDio declined to name a price point for 52, saying only, “We are well aware of the fan's financial investment in a series like this, and we are all working to find ways to make this as attractive as possible.”

DiDio also said that there are ongoing discussions at DC in regards to collections of 52, as the publisher wants to see healthy weekly sales of the series, but also serve fans who’ve come to collect comics in trade format.

One last tease about the larger story – as being a guy who sees the “functional” side of stories (the miniseries following Countdown to Infinite Crisis were about redefining the various corners of the DCU), what purpose does 52 serve?

“The Countdown minis helped re-establish the corners of the DC Universe, Crisis will bring the Universe together and 52 will layout the ground work for the world to come,” DiDio said. “It repositions and redefines everyone's roles in the DCU.”

And finally…that title?

“In the offices, we've been calling it 52 with an asterisk,” DiDio said. “With the asterisk meaning ‘working title.’ Still, there is something in ‘52’ that takes hold as to what the story is all about. So for now the title is 52, but it’s not like we haven't changed titles last minute before.”

Sound ambitious and I seriously hope they don't get Jim Lee to do the covers or I'd be very tempted to pick up all 52 issues.

major spoilers for what happens to batman after all this

http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=13

geez, that's not a very original storyline....been done so many times before.

Crisis Counselling:

Featuring panelists Dan DiDio, Greg Rucka, VP of Sales Bob Wayne, and editor Joan Hilty, DC’s Saturday evening “Crisis Counseling” panel at WizardWorld: Chicago offered a little in terms of upcoming information, a touch in terms of teases, and more often than not, the phrase, “All will be revealed” to fans’ questions about upcoming stories, endings of stories, fates of characters, and more.

Some highlights from the generally good natured, but occasionally contentious panel…

Newsarama Note: like virtually all convention panels, “Crisis Counseling” contained more laughter than angry words, more good will than ill, and more honest explanations and clarifications being offered by panelists, with virtually no antagonism or ill will towards the audience. Again, the tone in virtually all panels at conventions is light (with occasional rough spots), and any perceived sarcasm, anger, or confrontational tone that readers may feel came across while reading a summary of the panel is often that – more perception than reality.

• Asked about the pricing for the upcoming weekly 52 series, which will fill in the gap between the end of Infinite Crisis and “One Year Later…” in the DCU titles, DiDio said that he would love to see all the issues priced at $0.99, and thinks that is a very good idea. DiDio turned the question over to Wayne who immediately countered with “bad idea.”

DiDio followed Wayne’s answer by saying that he very clearly understood the apprehension of fans who are looking at the coming weekly series, and stated that it’s his (along with the creative team’s) goal to make the series as enjoyable as possible to make readers feel that they’re getting their money’s worth and keeping coming back week-in, week out for the story.

Finally on this issue, DiDio asked the crowd how many were buying all four Countdown miniseries. Once he saw roughly three quarters of the hands in the room go up, he pointed out that effectively, they were buying a weekly series, given that it was four new monthly minis that all launched earlier this year, and that the idea of a adding a weekly series to their regular comic purchases may not be as foreign as they thought.

• In regards to what is coming up in OMAC, Rucka said that he’s heard from many readers wondering just how many OMACs there are across the DCU. “Issue #5 gives the full census,” Rucka said. “And it’s a lot more than you’re thinking.” Rucka and Hilty then commented that OMAC artist Ivan Reis was hard at work on a double page spread in issue #6 which shows a nearly full compliment of OMACS in full attack.

• Asked if there were any plans to bring the Ray Palmer, the Atom back in Infinite Crisis, DiDio said no, joking that “He’s still upset” about the events of Identity Crisis.

• Will the robot L-Ron be making an appearance any time soon? Rucka: “No comment, but I know what you’re thinking.” DiDio: I tought he’d been recycled and was part of like a dozen cars by now…”

• Asked if any books besides Legion of Super-Heroes will be unaffected by Infinite Crisis, DiDio listed Jonah Hex, Brave and the Bold, Plastic Man and the All-Star titles. “There is a group of product not tied into Infinite Crisis, DiDio said, but you have to understand what we’re doing here is world-building, and telling a story that affects the entire DCU, so it makes sense that every DCU title, in one way or another, will be affected.”

That said, DiDio said that he and his editorial and creative teams are being very careful in terms of making any and all tie-ins to the event meaningful, acknowledging that some “Red Skies” issues have slid through the cracks, and that you won’t see OMACs put into every DCU title just to produce a tie-in issue. “Unless it helps the sales,” DiDio joked.

• DiDio was asked to clarify his take on the generational aspect of the DCU and the need for the three icons of the DCU: Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman not to effectively age, however, they’re surrounded by characters who do. DiDio expressed that this aspect of storytelling with these kinds of characters is challenging, and then joked that that was the key of Batman storylines after “One Year Later…” – “Nightwing finally passes Batman, and is three years older than him. That’s the storyline – he’s full on with bring older, and starts calling Batman ‘Little Buddy.’”

Rucka: “And I’m writing the miniseries: Batman: Chum”

Continuing, DiDio expressed how difficult it would be line-wide if the three iconic characters started to age, joking that if the three would age it would be like something as bizarre as heroes becoming villains or “like someone signing an exclusive contract with Marvel after being with DC for two years.” DiDio feigned crying, and was comforted by Rucka, who said, “It’s all right…he’ll be back…he’ll be back” to the laughter of the crowd.

• With a new Crisis looming, would the Anti-Monitor be coming back? “No comment.”

• Asked about the permanence of death in the DCU, DiDio said that no one will see Su Dibny alive again, nor will anyone see Ted Kord. When the latter was met with a smattering of “boo”s, Rucka said, “There was a breeze blowing through his brain, and he was incinerated. How much clearer can it be?”

The crowd got a little contentious at that point, throwing up comments alluding to the “deaths” of Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and others who have since returned to the land of the living. This led Rucka and DiDio into a discussion of the use of death in DC titles, with Rucka saying that characters are never killed capriciously in good stories. In broadening the discussion, DiDio confirmed a fan’s question that Barry Allen would never return to the rolls of active, living heroes in the present day. While the ruling allows for Allen’s appearances in time-travel stories (such as the current Flash arc), DiDio said that with Barry, the Flash has seen a legacy developed, adding that he didn’t think anyone would argue with his assertion that Wally West has proven himself, in the 20 years following the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, to be the Flash much in the same way Barry Allen had for that generation.

• Clarifying the timeline for Infinite Crisis, 52 and “One Year Later…”, DiDio ran down the events: “In February’s Infinite Crisis #4, there is a moment that happens –something happens across the entire DCU. March’s books are then all set ‘One Year Later,’ Crisis ends in April, and 52 begins in May.”

• Asked about George Perez’s upcoming role with DC, DiDio repeated an earlier announcement that Perez would be drawing the alternate covers to all seven issues of Infinite Crisis (Jim Lee will be drawing the regular covers). Asked later about the status of Teen Titans: Games, the original graphic novel by Perez and Marv Wolfman the two began years ago, and were at one time working to complete, DiDio said that the GN is on hold for now.

• Gotham Central #37 will be directly tied to Infinite Crisis.

• Speaking of how the Countdown miniseries and other associated issues leading to Infinite Crisis will be collected, Wayne said that they will be collected in the coming months, and plans will be announced shortly. Speaking directly to a collection of the recent “Sacrifice” arc which ran through the Superman titles and Wonder Woman #219, and why the company opted to return to press on the four parts of the story rather than rushing a trade collection to press, Wayne said that reprinting the individual issues was the fastest way DC could get the material back on shelves and into people’s hands.

• Also in regards to Wonder Woman #219 DiDio said that just as they tried to get the word out to fans and retailers that the issue would be very important and shouldn’t be missed in regards to the build-up to infinite Crisis, neither fans nor retailers should miss JLA #119. “We’d suggest if there are retailers in the room,” Wayne said, “that you order at least as many copies as you do of OMAC or more.”

• When a fan pointed out that they felt that Villains United was missing someone, and asked where the Joker was (he has not been seen in the story, or even as one of the villains the Society approached in regards to membership), both Rucka and Hilty responded that it was a very, very good question. “Wait just a little bit,” Rucka added, “and you’ll be very glad you asked that.”

• Asked the scope of the end of Infinite Crisis and “One Year Later…” on the DCU line in general, DiDio said that there will be cancellations, as well as new series starting, with old series continuing, but with major changes. Wayne added that there won’t be any restarting Action, Detective, Superman, Batman or other long-running DC titles with a #1 just because they could if they wanted.

• In a final anecdote when asked about Max Lord being a Cyborg (revealed in a past issue of Justice League), DiDio said that, in early editorial meetings when DC editorial was beginning to plan out the drumbeats to Crisis, the editors had a meeting, with one of the purposes being to find a new leader for the offshoot of Checkmate shown to be led by Lord in Countdown and OMAC. Several names were tossed out, DiDio said, such as Sarge Steel, King Faraday, Mr. Jupiter and others, and then Max Lord was suggested. Many of the editors thought that the idea made sense, as Lord had been shown to have a mean streak and to have killed previously, but the idea of using Lord was tabled after someone said, in DiDio’s words, “Yeah, but wasn’t he a Cyborg nd wasn’t he taken apart?”

According to DiDio, the focus then shifted to Mr. Jupiter, an old Teen Titans nemesis, but the editors felt “Mr. Jupiter” sounded old fashioned, so the character’s handle was changed to “Mr. J.” This worked for a while, DiDio said, until they were working through the outline of Countdown (months before writing started or plans were finalized), and came to the conclusion.

”And we got to the part where Beetle is killed, and we all said, ‘Mr. J kills Blue Beetle.’” DiDio stopped to roll his eyes as the crowd laughed. “’Mr. J kills Blue Beetle?’ Not only does it have overtones of the Joker, but it just sounded stupid.”

This led the editors to give Lord a second look, and when the mention came again that Lord was revealed to be a cyborg…”We thought about that aspect of the story some more and then asked, ‘Did anyone read it?’ No. ‘Did anyone like the idea?’ No. So we moved ahead with Max as being a human, and having been a human, and not letting that small part of the past stand in the way of this story. We wanted what was best for Countdown, and for us, that meant that Max had to be a human.”

First look at George Perez's cover to issue 1:

I think i like the perez cover better (more epic feel to it)

No contest , Perez cover blow Jim Lee's cover away.

1) i will pick up george perez cover. i've read all his mega events in DC and i just feel its right to pick up perez covers

2) i will definitely pick up 52. i'm used to picking up weekly titles since trained by chinese comics

I would love to see the final, coloured version of George Perez's cover.

I don't think you need to read Crisis on Infinite Earths to understand what's going in Infinite Crisis.

Just read Identity Crisis, the four "Countdown" mini-series and if you want, the Crisis of Conscience arc that's running now in JLA. (That's a whole lot of reading I know).

Oh and the Countdown to Infinite Crisis one-shot as well.

Actually, the Sacrifice crossover is also essential reading.

Confirm old man like me will get Perez cover.

Will you guys get all the covers of the same artist or a mixture of both?

Neither for me, I decides cover by cover. Cos at times, even your favourite artist can churn out a sucky one.

I'm definitely getting all the Jim Lee covers.

Yeah, well said Jeffrey.

The Perez cover is definitely more epic in scope whereas Jim Lee's cover is well... Jim Lee.

on an infinite crisis related topic, anybody read Villains United this week? this series is getting rave reviews for their portrayal of 2nd string villains, and an interesting look at villains in the DC Universe...

also up was this week's JLA with more fighting and bashing and like eminem says controver-SY....

been reading in the shops, yah its good so probably grabbing the TPB out in Dec instead...

VILLAINS UNITED TP

Writer: Gail Simone
Artists: Dale Eaglesham, Val Semeiks, Wade von Grawbadger and Prentis Rollins
Cover artist: J.G. Jones
Collects VILLAINS UNITED #1-6>
$12.99, 160 pages

will wait for the TPBs AND the 20% discounts offered by Kino

so meanwhile, i am gonna renew my Kino membership

I would pick up Villians United just for Dale Eaglesham's art. Is there a TPB for his H-E-R-O series yet?

Another question =P

I read the preview of Infinite Crisis #1, there is a glimpse of Ray. Whats up with him all these while?

Jim Lee's cover to Infinite Crisis #2!!

Boring cover and too image-ish , so far , his infinite crisis covers from the 2 we have seen are lackluste.

it's not that bad, typical jim lee, gorgeous babes and hunky heroes, dig it but it just dont shout "EPIC change the world kinda thing" like Perez's but his heroes always look more super heroic....or cool...

Power Girl

What's hot now is the old justice league issues 167-169 , the 3 parter story with SSOSV bodyswaping with JLA and was reference to in identity crisis as the key factor to the mindswiping thing going on right now with all the villains running amok.

The prices for those 3 issues selling on ebay are ridiculous (and it's not even NM , only VG & F !)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Justice-League-of-Amer...1QQcmdZViewItem

Consider that i have those 3 issues and bought them for a buck each , i might sell them on ebay now.

i dont get it. whats the old identity crisis issue got to do with something now?

any comic lao jiao can explain to a newbie (me) in detail?

i definitely agree, perez puts a lot of details into his covers and it takes a while to scan through everything

its something that i like too

its OK. i dont mind the spoilers and i already know roughly about the ending, but i will buy it for the reading material only

You've gotta get it if only just for the awesome Deathstroke vs JLA fight in issue #3!

Synopsis to issue 2:

Written by Geoff Johns, art by Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning, covers by Jim Lee and Sandra Hope and George Pérez

The biggest comics event of the year is just getting started. The heroes are divided as chaos erupts across the world and the universe -- from Paradise Island to the farthest reaches of space. But what strange new force prepares to help? And, more important, why? Plus, a time-lost hero returns in search of an object that will turn the tide of one of the many wars. Guest-starring Supergirl, Alan Scott, Metamorpho, Animal Man, Firestorm, Power Girl and dozens of others.

40 pages, $3.99, in stores on Nov. 9.

Now in colour.....

http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/InfiniteCri...r1_perez_c.html

Awesome cover...