Each episode Journalist Gita Jackson and DC Historian Alex Jaffe read and explore an issue of 52, a 2006 exploration of the DC universe by a legendary team of talent that shaped everything that came after it.
52, which ran from May 2006 to May 2007, was an almost miraculous feat: a weekly series, written by some of the biggest talents then at DC, that didn’t feature Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman. Instead, it followed the tale of the other heroes of the DC universe, the ones who take care of business when the big names are out of commission. Writers Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Greg Rucka and Grant Morrison, with help from Keith Giffen on layouts, explored the lives of unlikely figures like The Question, Renee Montoya, and Booster Gold as they spent a year as the most important heroes in the universe.
While the concept of a shared universe—an idea that would enter the mainstream with the Marvel Cinematic Universe—is old hat for comics, 52 shows that concept at its most lived in. Without the three most important heroes in the DC Universe around, who would be its defenders, and what kinds of story can be told? When you allow some of the hottest talent working at DC to let loose on a book together, how does that impact the universe they share with other writers and artists? Through reading the entire series and combing its panels, issue by issue, Alex and Gita recount the high highs of this series and provide context for how these creatives got to this point, and how their decisions reverberated through history.
The show is edited by Esper Quinn, with original theme music by Jon Ehrens.
Click below to listen to every episode of 52 Pickup: