It's been almost two years to the day since the launch of DC Comics – The New 52, and what a crazy awesome time just this past year has been. We've experienced the return of an old foe—albeit with the world’s worst facelift. We've witnessed war with the hordes of Apokolips—on two different earths! We've seen godly families reunite, and then like all recently reunited families, proceed to squabble, fight and all-out brawl. Heck, we've even opened a gateway for evil alternate reality version of ourselves to invade our Earth. You know, like you do.

And that's just in our regular, day-to-day lives!

Ha. No. Our regular lives are pretty boring. All that awesomeness took place in the fantastic pages of DC Comics – The New 52. Which we—as well as many of you—read in our day-to-day lives. And in fact, have now been reading since September, 2011. We’ve come so far since that momentous month, and we felt it would be cool to pay tribute to these past two years with a little look down memory lane before we dive into the DCU’s dark future. (And we mean dark in the literal sense. You have read FOREVER EVIL #1, right?) So we're calling out some of our favorite titles with a special 5.2 Reasons: DC Comics – The New 52 Anniversary Edition!





1. Justice League (Proper, of America, and Dark)

Ah, Justice League… The book that started it all two years ago on August 31, 2011. From the introduction of new characters to the developing relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman all the way to the events of “Trinity War,” Justice League has been a non-stop thrill ride under the guidance of Geoff Johns. Add the recent Justice League of America and magical Justice League Dark to the mix, and we are living a time of pure League greatness.





2. Batman

Scott Snyder, you mad genius. Batman by Snyder and artist Greg Capullo consistently remains one of the most critically praised series since the launch of The New 52. This year saw the finale of the gruesomely terrifying "Death of the Family" crossover and the beginning of "Batman: Zero Year," which explores the very early days of the Caped Crusader in a noticeably different and very brightly colored Gotham City.





3. Wonder Woman

If you haven't read Wonder Woman #23 yet, please go do so right the heck now. In our opinion, Brian Azzarello's run on Wonder Woman will go down as one of the greatest in the character's history. By embracing the character's mythological roots, he's created a wondrous cast of characters and given the amazing Amazon a unique place in the DC Universe.





4. Earth 2

Part of The New 52's “second wave” of titles, Earth 2 takes place on, well, Earth 2. This year saw the emergence of new Doctor Fate as well as the current war between Earth and Apokolips, the finale of which hits in October and paves the way for incoming writer Tom Taylor. (Who is NOT the character from The Unwritten. We were a little confused at first, too.) Taylor's a pretty awesome dude (he once wrote a love poem to Lois Lane, true story) and we're really looking forward his run on the series.





5. Green Lantern

After nearly a decade with the character, writer Geoff Johns bid farewell to the Green Lantern Corps earlier this year. It was a culmination of years worth of storytelling and as fans know, it was one hell of a journey to experience. The new creative teams for the GL family of titles certainly had some big shoes to fill, but with their first issues alone, they confirmed that the Green Lantern series is still burning bright. Metaphorically speaking, because in literal terms, "Lights Out" is coming soon.





5.1 Batman and Robin #18

Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason's run on this series has been all-around amazing, but this silent issue especially deserves a callout as arguably the best single-issue of the year.





5.2 Forever Evil

From the fallout of "Trinity War," this all-new limited series sets the tone and lays the ground work for not only the rest of this year, but the beginning of next. Year Two is over. Year Three is just beginning.

What have been some of your favorite moments and comics in DC Comics – The New 52? Let us know in the comments!