"52: Volume One" by Grant Morrison and a Bunch of Other Guys

I'll be damned if I can figure out where "52" fits into the DC continuum.  I feel fairly confident that it occurred after "Infinite Crisis," somewhat confident that it occurred after "Countdown to Final Crisis," and unsure of whether it occurred before or after "Final Crisis."

I would offer plot details, but I've only read Volume One.  I'm not sure how many volumes there are total, either.  I have the feeling there are at least two more.  I guess I could look that up, but I'm lazy.

As far as I can figure, there was some kind of rift in spacetime, and a bunch of superheroes went out to fix it.  A lot of them died, Superman lost his powers, and Batman and Wonder Woman took a vacation.  In the wake of the "big three's" departure, a host of other would-be superheroes rush in to protect the innocent.  The only problem is that many of these wannabes are far from model citizens.

I liked this comic book, but not nearly as much as "Infinite Crisis."  The art is very uneven, probably due to the fact that it was released weekly for a year.  There are some great ideas here, and I would be interested to see how these ideas are developed over the next few volumes.