This book should be read after final crisis: submit, if you plan on reading that one shot, which isn't essential.

I read this right after Secret Invasion #7, and i couldn't help thinking about the similarities in plot between the two events - infiltration, subversion, domination by fascist alien invaders.  Both Bendis and Morrison are clearly comenting on very contemprary and timely paranoias in these securitized times of shoe bombers, orange alerts, indefinite detention, and Sarah Palin.  (I can see Granny from my front porch.)

Bendis is a wonderful writer, but Grant Morrison's so much better at this kind of thing, not just the broad, conceptual mindf**k that he did so well in Animal Man, but also the stakes-raised, cosmic, big picture sort of crisis that we saw, for instance, in some of his JLA work, or in Seven Soldiers.  Final Crisis, so far, is much better than the former but has yet to equal the latter.  We'll see how it ends, i guess.  After nearly three months we finally get the fourth issue of this series, delayed by J.G. Jones' artwork woes - which is sad, because his pencils on the first three issues were terrific.  In this installment, Barry and Wally talk, Ollie Queen gets anti-lifed, the heroes start mounting a counter-offense, and Darkseid is.  The sense of terror, or failure, of hopelessness here is palpable in Morrison's words and Jones and Pacheco's artwork.  Green Arrow and Black Canary's separation is heartwrenching. and we get a glimpse of what (anti-)life on final crisis earth-1 is like.  The wait was worth it.  I'm glad this title's back and i'm excited to see where Morrison's taking us.