Keith Giffen

When Annihilus led his Annihilation Wave out of the Negative Zone, the Marvel cosmic universe was never the same. Keith Giffen orchestrated a sprawling, brutal war story that swept away decades of status quo and repositioned characters like Nova, Silver Surfer, and Drax as serious cosmic powerhouses. This omnibus collects the complete Annihilation saga — the prologue one-shots, the Silver Surfer, Super-Skrull, Nova, and Ronan tie-in miniseries, and the main six-issue Annihilation event series.

52 Omnibus is DC's weekly experiment after Infinite Crisis, a year without Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman at the centre. Booster Gold, Renee Montoya, Black Adam, The Question, Steel and Ralph Dibny carry the universe while Johns, Morrison, Rucka and Waid make the absence of the Trinity feel like a narrative engine. It belongs in Events, not under Batman.