One Year Later or 52?

[J Sin]

Hello everyone!

I just finished reading Infinite Crisis. As I mentioned in another thread, I've been reading the entire DC Crisis chronology and trying to catch up to real time.

Having just finished IC, I am wondering if I should read some/all/any OYL stories/issues, since those were made before 52 was published (I think), or if I should read 52 before any OYL issues/stories, since I read that 52 takes place between IC and OYL. I'm also looking to avoid spoilers ;)

What would you suggest?

Thanks!

[Will.S]

Hello everyone!

I just finished reading Infinite Crisis. As I mentioned in another thread, I've been reading the entire DC Crisis chronology and trying to catch up to real time.

Having just finished IC, I am wondering if I should read some/all/any OYL stories/issues, since those were made before 52 was published (I think), or if I should read 52 before any OYL issues/stories, since I read that 52 takes place between IC and OYL. I'm also looking to avoid spoilers ;)

What would you suggest?

Thanks!
What were your favorite aspects or characters of Infinite Crisis?

[umbc8]

It depends. If you want to see what happens to Booster Gold, the Dinbys, Supernova, Steel, the Metal Men, Lex Luthor, the Question, Renee Montoya, Wonder Girl or a few other minor characters, then follow 52.

If you're more into Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman or any other of the major superheroes, you'll want to follow One Year Later.

Keep in mind though, some characters such as Luthor do appear in the Superman books. To see how they get to where they are OYL, you may want to read 52, but it really isn't necessary

[Hellstormer]

I'd say start with the first couple OYL issues then read 52 then continue with the OYL issues.

[J Sin]

It depends. If you want to see what happens to Booster Gold, the Dinbys, Supernova, Steel, the Metal Men, Lex Luthor, the Question, Renee Montoya, Wonder Girl or a few other minor characters, then follow 52.

If you're more into Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman or any other of the major superheroes, you'll want to follow One Year Later.

Keep in mind though, some characters such as Luthor do appear in the Superman books. To see how they get to where they are OYL, you may want to read 52, but it really isn't necessary

I loved Identity Crisis, so I'd love to see what happens to the Dibnys. I also am mostly a fan of the Trinity (particularly Batman). I intend to read both 52 and OYL really, I just wasn't sure of the order I should read them in, or which OYL stories/issues are important for 52 and OYL to jive well.

[Brack360]

52 is mostly self-contained from OYL. The main characters of 52 (Ralph Dibny, Booster Gold, Black Adam, Question, Renee Montoya, and Steel) are all more minor characters who did not have their own books and were not appearing in any OYL books at the time, so as not to spoil the end of 52. I would recommend getting 52 first, especially if you like the Dibnys, and then checking out the OYL runs of the characters that interest you.

[4thHorseman]

OYL was pretty much a complete failure. I would read 52 first, not only because it was better, but because a lot of what were OYL issues had little to no connection to 52.

[Flycatcher]

I'd start with Face the Face and Up Up and Away, the two biggest and probably best one year later stories, staring Bats and Supes. After that I would read 52, and when you've finished that pick up other one year later books for any characters that interest you (JSA and Green Lantern are both great OYL).

[J Sin]

Thanks guys! I think I'll take this advice and start it up! I can't wait to catch up to real-time. I hope to be able to get into Countdown to Final Crisis (I assume that follows 52) before Final Crisis starts!

[Choppa]

Yeah seriously. 52 and OYL could have happened at the same time and I doubt anything would have been that different. I didn't notice any explanations for anything that happened during 52 except for quick one liners like Gordon saying,

"Oh by the way Batman, I'm commisioner again and all the progress that we made up until now has been undone since you left. Welcome back."

Or Robin suddenly having a new costume and being like

"What? New costume? Oh yea, it's er... cause you know Conner died, and you know, I'm sad and whatever. Oh yea and I'm honoring him."

Cassie: "But you didn't change your costume when your father died, or when Steph-"

Robin: "Hey look over there! It's conner!" *Does Bat-dissapearing thing*

[Will.S]

Yeah go with 52.

If you want the best OYL books "Superman: Up, Up, and Away" and "Batman: Face The Face" like Flycatcher said are among the best. Blue Beetle is also a good book that comes out of Infinite Crisis as well since he had a big role towards the end.

[Laughing Mask]

52.

its classic.

[Shellhead]

OYL was a neat idea, but it mostly resulted in arbitrary changes for the worse that were soon wiped away. 52 had several of DC's top writers collaborating on several overlapping storylines. It's a great tour of the DCU, with some amazing plot twists and good characterization. The artwork is mediocre at best, but it gets the job done, and they were never late with an issue. However, I would recommend skipping the four-issue WWIII mini-series that spun out of one of the big events in 42. WWIII was rushed into print with sloppy writing.

[shaxper]

Having read literally every title that was published for the first two months of OYL, I can tell you that none of it contained any information that is relevent to the larger DC Universe. The changes only affected the individual characters if and when there were any changes at all. Working from memory, the ones with the longest lasting ramifications seem to have been Aquaman, Catwoman, Teen Titans, and Batman/Detective and Green Arrow (the last two were far more subtle than the others).

[Choppa]

And as my hilarious example showed, most of the big changes weren't even explained.