There are a number of factors contributing to Final Crisis just… not really working as a big “event” book yet. It’s fairly typical Morrison storytelling, in that it’s slow-burning, and allusive, and multi-layered, and in that many of the early pages will only really begin to unfold themselves properly upon a second read once the whole thing is over and done with. Unfortunately, such storytelling isn’t really all that well-suited to a big summer event book, certainly not one with the weight of promotion that DC have afforded it, and which promises to be massively significant to the future direction of its universe (and thus pretty much required reading for anyone with any level of interest in proceedings).

This would certainly account for much of the criticism – or, perhaps more accurately, apathy – that the first couple of issues have received. No-one’s calling it bad comics – it just feels pretty mislabelled at this point. We’re up to issue three, now, and it has to be said that until the closing pages of this issue, not much has been happening – and much of what has occurred has done so off-page. The massively-teased happening of Barry Allen making his comeback has so far proven to consist of little more than fleeting glances and related flashback – indeed, you half wonder if the full story of his return isn’t going to occur instead in a miniseries/special of its own (probably written by Geoff Johns).

That said, when you’re waiting for a story to really kick into gear, there are few tonics better than a “shit hitting the fan in a big way” sequence. And Final Crisis at last (see how I avoided using the word “finally”, there?) begins to live up to the noun part of its name as Darkseid’s plan swings into a higher gear. The whole “an email sent to everyone in the world” thing is perhaps a little daft, but this is Morrison we’re talking about after all – and it creates some superb tension as other elements of the plan click into place all at once. Countering this, meanwhile, is the gathering of the “superhero draft”, another really well-constructed sequence that adds a suitable air of gravitas to the situation.

Despite the storytelling finally kicking up a notch, there’s still a sense that there are just a few too many plot threads jostling for space, many suffering from not being afforded adequate attention and page time. As individual scenes, many of these are great – along with the two mentioned above, Jay Garrick’s pages are excellent (”And we ran. By God we ran. Three generations of the Flash”). But when we alight on the villains it still feels like a hangover from recent DC past and the fascination with rogue-centric stories like Salvation Run (not to mention that Libra, the supposed exciting new villain of the piece, already feels like little more than a lackey to Darkseid); and the same can be said for the opening pages (how many more moodily-lit Renee Montoya scenes can DC see fit to publish? 52 was two years ago!). And that’s without even getting to Shilo Norman and the Super Young Team, or the Earth-bound Monitor, or Hal Jordan’s arrest, or… you get the idea.

Thankfully, after a slightly shaky start to the biggest gig of his career so far, JG Jones is suddenly delivering the goods in spectacular fashion. He doesn’t put a foot wrong here, either in his storytelling or his character portrayals (even if that new Mary Marvel costume – and while we’re at it, can I just say BORED NOW of that particular bit of character “development” – is rotten). There’s a particularly great bit of panel composition in the Question/Frankenstein scene, and there’s a vibrant energy throughout the different types of mood and action that Morrison calls for. It’s indicative, really, of the fact that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the craftsmanship on show here – it’s an extremely well-made comic, and if it had been the first or even the second issue there’d be plenty of cause for optimism. As it is, it feels like it’s taken three issues to even start to get anywhere, and the two-month wait for #4 is hardly welcome either.

It feels like a stuck record to say it, but this is yet another Morrison story that’s almost certainly going to read a lot better as a book. Nevertheless, the omens of the closing pages are positive (by which I mean they’re negative… but in a good, exciting way), and the quality of writing and art at least do enough to push it ahead of Secret Invasion (in which even less has happened so far) in the “big crossover event” stakes. It would just be nice if said quality were applied to something a bit bigger. Threatening the world is all well and good, but let’s hurry up and see the threat, hmm?