Counting Down...

So we're five weeks closer to another massive Multiverse-shaking event courtesy of DC... but how much closer are we story-wise?

Well, we killed Lightray, one of the New Gods. That's big, right? At least I THINK we killed him, because I'll be durned if he didn't show up the next week in an issue of Superman. Y'know, if we're going to really have Countdown serve as the 'spine' of the DC Universe for the next year or so, you might want to get the timing on issues right. It could confuse someone who isn't saavy enough to explain Cable or Rachel Summer's origins to their girlfriend.

Let me say up front... I love the idea they're shooting for with Countdown. I'm a huge continuity nut, so I love the fact that this huge master-series should tie into most of the major DC books and events for a year. But I think we've got a problem with the format of the book. When you insist on following more than three plot threads in an issue, you run a real risk of having anything actually happen in your title. Heck, 52 had a problem with this, and look at the creative talent on that book?

Look at it this way... I'm a big dork, so I've got a database to help me organize, and actually find my comics. One of the things I've been doing for the past year or so, is writing up a plot synopsis for most of the new comics I add. Just a quick blurb so that I can look at the issue five years from now, and jog my memory as to just what happened in this one.

Well, I'm having a hard time actually writing anything about Countdown. Sure, there's a lot going on in the book, but not enough of any one thing to leave an impression, most of the time. If I can squeeze out two full sentences, I feel like I'm a winner.

A good example with this week's issue... the main focci of the issue were Mary Marvel's thread, and the Monitors having a big pow-wow to decide what to do about all these naughty people who happen to be on the wrong Earths. (Well, primarily on Earth-1 because they happened to have wound up there after the FIRST multiverse-shaking Crisis.) Oh, sure, there's a bit with Jimmy Olsen, and something with a woman I have no clue who she is, and maybe some other junk too... but nowhere near enough of it to leave an impression.

And a last suggestion before leaving:

For the love of all that's super-powered, get rid of the backup story about the history of the Multiverse. We put up with it in 52. Honestly, I put up with it because they knocked $.50 off the price. If I'm paying the full price for a 32-page comic, I pretty much expect 32-pages of the comic, not another lecture on the history of the Multiverse.

What they ought to do, if they're so determined to put a stupid back-up in a weekly book, is put the Monitor's big meeting there, so we don't have to look at it in the regular story. Who wants to watch a bunch of folks have a meeting anyway? Would you want to buy an issue of the Justice League where they all sit up in their Satellite (or wherever the heck they're headquartered now) and do nothing but talk about the global political situation? I thought not.

At least one of the people I know who reads comics has already dropped Countdown. I'm not ready to, because I still really love the idea. But even I can't hang in there forever if the book doesn't improve. Maybe it'll be a badge of honor or shame... how far did you make it in Countdown?

52 #51

Nope, it's not a preview of Countdown, it's my thoughts on the penultimate issue of DC's weekly series.

I want to start off by saying here that overall I've enjoyed 52, and I don't feel that DC has somehow scammed me out of my money without providing a decent book. I'm a fan of 52. But whether it's my own nature, or just the nature of fans in general, I'm probably going to speak a bit more about the things that I wasn't happy with than with what I like about the book.

Having read issue #51 a few hours ago, and having just skimmed over it as I wrote a plot synopsis for collectorz.com's online comic book database, I have to say that the overall impression that I get is one of missed opportunities. This is something my neighbor Chad and I have discussed some. 52 had a lot of plots flying around, but in all honesty the thread that feels the most ignored to me is the one that seems to have been the main plot.

Which story do I mean? Ultimately, I guess I mean Booster Gold and Skeets' story. Why do I think this one was meant to be the main story? Skeets actually seems to have some idea of what '52' means. When 52 first came out, monthly books, taking place One Year Later would occasionally have references to the number 52, including the Guardians of the Universe all saying '52' at the same time, referring to something that Hank Henshaw might know. Red Tornado, one of the heroes who fought in space during the Infinite Crisis spent the missing year with the number stuck in his voice box. DC's even teased us with advertising asking us if we've figured out the mystery yet! Umm... what mystery? That Renee Montoya is the new Question? Yeah, I figured that one out a few weeks ago, thanks.

I like Renee Montoya as much as the next guy, and I know she was always meant to be one of the main characters in the series... but was her story always supposed to be as large as it turned out to be? As near as I can tell, she appeared in 28 issues of 52. That's over half of them. The previous Question, Vic Sage appeared in 20 issues. Now I know Montoya/Sage's story wasn't the feature story in every issue, but that's a large portion of the series.

Some could say that I've just got a case of sour grapes that my favorite storyline in the series didn't get quite as much attention. I'd answer by pointing out that this story was important enough that apparently the book was titled after it, and it was mentioned elsewhere in the DC Universe. That's more editorial attention than World War III got, and we got five books full of World War III in one week.

I just caught myself saying that I wish we'd get four one-shot issues to wrap up the Booster/Skeets story. But after having read World War III, maybe I should be glad we haven't. But then again, maybe we're about to. The first issue of Coutdown is scheduled to hit a week after 52 ends, right?