DC Comics and Madefire have come together to create the Infinite Crisis Motion comic; a tie in to the new MMORPG, which itself is based on the second of three big DC events which saw their whole universe get retconned. However, does the Infinite Crisis motion comic bring a refreshing new take on this classic event or will it need to be retconned itself?

Publisher: DC Comics via Madefire
Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Carl Potts, Larry Stroman, Trevor Scott (Issue 1), Szymon Kudranski, John Kalisz, Wes Abbot (Issue 2)
Price: £1.49 per issue via in-app purchase

Infinite Crisis, while sharing it’s name with the universe changing mega event released in 2005-06, certainly comes across as a very different beast, despite some similarities. This version, brought to the (digital) page by Dan Abnett and a host of  talented artists sees Nix Uotan, the last of the Monitors responsible for protecting and maintaining the various realities which make up the Multiverse, set about forming an army of superheroes and villains from throughout the 52 worlds to stop a new multiverse destroying evil from accomplishing their goal.

Nix’s first task: To recruit the Harbinger to travel through the bleed to recruit these unwitting soldiers and to acquire rare artifacts the enemy intends to weaponize. Meanwhile, on Earth Prime, Batman is investigating a recent spate of stolen antiquities…..

Despite their connection in attempting to tell a linear story, both of these issues are certainly very different from one another. Dan Abnett, who along with Andy Lanning has written some epic stories in the last ten years, has a severe struggle with issue 1 to tell an engrossing story as much of the book is bogged down in extensive (and possibly unnecessary) exposition. Fortunately, the art helps to make for this with a generally consistent style which displays incredibly rich colours to help them stand out. Sadly, as much as it helps, it isn’t enough to make up for the bogged down pace.

That said, though issue 1 is a struggle, issue 2 is a much better installment which truly shows what the writer can do and what the series can be. Abnett’s second issue is a lot tighter on plot and the story develops with much more fluidity, allowing it to be a more engrossing read. And once again, the art makes this issue greater than it could be as Szymon Kudranski’s style is such a tremendous compliment to the story. His, dark, very pulp sci-fi style is such a great fit for both the character of Batman and the environment he finds himself in. The art here is truly the stand out of this title and should be considered the bar for all subsequent issues to meet.

Of course, both issues, despite both their good and bad qualities, are greatly enhanced in quality as a result of the motion book element, which works really well within the title as it contributes to the story’s pacing as well as making the reader appreciate more the contribution of the various artists. Nowhere is this more evident than during issue 2’s Batman fight scenes which, with the help of the motion comic aspect, look very much like a well choreographed action movie, only much more atmospheric due to the art. The motion comic aspect of these issues make for an excellent reading method, which seems to do better in keeping the reader invested the story with this almost cinema like method.

“Comic book tie in’s to video games have a tendency to be hit or miss; from the good (Injustice: Gods Among Us) to the not so good (Mass Effect comics). However, despite the shaky start of its first issue, Infinite Crisis is a really good read which certainly comes off as being a much better video game adaptation than many others that have come before. It remains to be seen where the series will go from here, but if it can continue to improve as much as it did between the first two issues, then it will undoubtedly be a fantastic read.”