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OK, this may be cheating, but my second book of 2011 was the trade paperback of the seminal DC Comics miniseries Final Crisis. 

I’m still not sure what I think. Penned by brainbending writer Grant Morrison, this series originally ran from July 2008 to March 2009. I kept up with the basic outline of the story and knew it was the genesis of Morrison’s brilliant resurrection journey of Bruce Wayne through time, but hadn’t ever sat and read it all in one take.

I’ll save you the gory details, there’s always Wikipedia for plot summaries, but I have to admit some of it was Morrisonesque and therefore impenetrable. 

The best parts?

• The idea of the Apokolips Gods possessing existing heroes, from Granny Goodness to DeSaad to the strange, Darth Vaderish transformation of Dan Turpin into Darkseid.
• The Supermen of different worlds teaming up. Looking at the group shot made you wonder what all the twists and turns of their origins were. 
• The strong grounding that the Tattooed Man character provides. His wife, kids and problems gives a human perspective to the superhero antics on the watchtower.

The worst parts?

• The 11th hour appearance of Batman. Sure, this set him out on an incredible journey through time and space, but he just kind of comes out of the shadows in the final act, missing most of the action. 
• Same deal with Captain Carrot. Nothing says climactic battle like a giant bunny. One guesses he’s just shorthand for “you want multiple universes, you got multiple universes.”
• Wonder Woman’s scary mask.
• The young Japanese superhero team. Meh.
• Morrison’s tendency of free verse in place of narrative exposition. I loved it during The Invisibles, but during hardcore, men-in-tights superhero business, there’s nothing wrong with clarity. 

Next up, a biography of U.S. Grant. No Batman cameos as far as I know.