52 | |
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Cover of 52 Week 1 (May 10, 2006). Art by J. G. Jones.
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Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
Schedule | Weekly |
Format | Limited series |
Genre | |
Publication date | May 2006 – May 2007 |
No. of issues | 52 |
Main character(s) |
Adam Strange Animal Man Batwoman Black Adam Booster Gold Ralph Dibny Lex Luthor Will Magnus Bruno Mannheim Renee Montoya The Question Starfire Steel |
Creative team | |
Written by |
Geoff Johns Grant Morrison Greg Rucka Mark Waid Keith Giffen |
Artist(s) |
Joe Bennett Covers: J. G. Jones Alex Sinclair (colors) |
Collected editions | |
Volume 1 | ISBN |
Volume 2 | ISBN |
Volume 3 | ISBN |
Volume 4 | ISBN |
Joe Bennett
Chris Batista
Eddy Barrows
Todd Nauck
Keith Giffen
Ruy Jose
Jack Jadson
Darick Robertson
Ken Lashley
Phil Jimenez
Dan Jurgens
Justiniano
Mike McKone
Jamal Igle
Dale Eaglesham
52 is a weekly American comic book limited series published by DC Comics that debuted on May 10, 2006, one week after the conclusion of the seven-issue Infinite Crisis. The series was written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid, with layouts by Keith Giffen.52 also led into a few limited series spin-offs.
52 consists of 52 issues, published weekly for one year, each issue detailing an actual week chronicling the events that took place during the missing year after the end of Infinite Crisis. The series covers much of the DC Universe, and several characters whose disparate stories interconnect. The story is directly followed by the weekly limited series Countdown to Final Crisis. It was the first weekly series published by DC Comics since the short-lived anthology Action Comics Weekly in 1988–1989.
The use of a weekly publication format is unusual in the North American comics industry, traditionally based upon a monthly publication. 52 and Batman Eternal (2014/2015) both hold the top position, of being the longest-published serialised weekly comic, published by a major North American publisher. The record was previously held by Action Comics Weekly. The story was originally conceived as being a chronicle of what happened in the "missing year" between the end of Infinite Crisis and the beginning of One Year Later. It would especially focus on how the world dealt with the disappearance of the "big three" heroes in the DCU, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. As the series went on, it became more of a platform for which to set the stage for upcoming storylines in the DC Universe.