I had a glimpse of this world when I'd read Old Man Logan last year. It felt like a strange world, with the series diving deep within and showing Wolverine's struggle to fit in. I was awed by the different barons, especially the Hulk dominion.

Having read Secret Wars, I must say this was a great idea executed quite well. Although Doom is the antagonist in the story, he doesn't really feel like one. He did what he thought was best, though his being Doom is his ultimate downfall. This was very much a Mr. Fantastic vs. Doom storyline, but it never felt overbearing at any point.

I loved how they made use of the characters, especially Thanos, Spider-Men, and Dr. Strange. They work really well, pinging off each other with grace. I loved the cameos by certain characters ("I am Groot!") and how they fit into the story.

It was, overall, a great read with an interesting ending. I can't wait to see where they take it in the future. ( )

Maybe because I'm a few years late in reading this Graphic Novel, then when it first came out, but I enjoyed Secret Wars. It was way better than Time Runs Out and some stuff leading up to this event.

There were many Secret Wars tie-ins and I have about 10 of them and some were just okay. I got/read some of them because I thought they would have some significance on what was going on in Secret Wars, but they don't. They are just mostly what if story's or show what's going on in this new world that Doom created.

Some were great and others were bad. You don't need to read them at all, just this book. The tie-in books that I liked, and I didn't read a lot of them, were "Amazing Spider-man: Renew your Vows," "A-Force," and "Old Man Logan." I read some of the other X-men tie-ins but they were just okay.

I am pleased with the outcome of this run. Not all events end with a way I like. ( )

I should preface this by saying that my comic knowledge is admittedly limited. I grew up watching superhero movies, and have learned various tidbits about characters over the years, but I was always hesitant to get into comics (other than manga, which I've read since I was a kid) because...where do you start?! I can be a bit of a completionist, and it took me until a few years ago to get over the idea that I needed to start at the beginning and read everything ever.

That being said, a friend handed this to me and said, "Read this." So I did.

I really enjoyed it, despite not being familiar with quite a few characters. I actually missed all of the Fantastic Four movies as they came out and haven't gotten around to watching them, so I only know a little about those characters. I don't know a whole lot about Doom, other than that I've always thought he looked hella cool. And the ride at Universal IoA... I am, of course, familiar with the Spideys, T'Challa, Thor, etc. I didn't know Sinister, but I'm a fan now.

This really only made me pay closer attention, because not knowing who a lot of these characters were before Secret Wars takes away some of the impact of them being "different." The story could be a little hard to follow despite that, because it jumped around with no warning in a few places. When we first see Doom, I thought it was just another branching story, not that it was the continuation of the main one.

I loved the art, and I enjoyed the plot for what it was. I think I enjoyed it more than the longtime fans because they have more knowledge of these characters overall and could find fault with more. Can't blame them for that. ( )

Hickman gets epic, cosmic, universe altering storylines in a way that just stuns me. He has been building this storyline since his run on Fantastic Four, slowing shaping the events that brought us to the most epic mash-up / crossover event in the Marvel Universe; one that brings every multiverse into play in one massive 'Battleworld' setting. All hail Hickman and God King Doom. ( )

Pretty pictures can't make up for the fact that this is a fractured story impossible to understand unless you've been following Hickman's long-gestating epic through Fantastic Four and Avengers for the last several years and are willing to read dozens of crossover and tie-in titles released in conjunction with this series. It's everything that was wrong and wonderful about Crisis on Infinite Earths thirty years ago. But in the '80s I was a teenage DC fanboy who bought everything and relished all the obscure references. Today I'm a Marvel dabbler who wonders why the hell I should care about any of these characters, especially when so many major developments happen off-screen in comics I haven't and will not read. I'm just left on the outside looking in and the best thing I can think about this work is that I hope the Marvel fanboys of today are at least getting a little of the payoff I enjoyed thirty years ago. ( )