Countdown #29

One-sentence summary: While, technically, things happened in this issue, nothing of any importance did, which is a bit irritating.

I've probably given Countdown more patience than the average comic book reader. However, between the three Countdown tie-in titles a week (Captain Carrot? Really now?) that serve no purpose (looking at you, Search for Ray Palmer), and issues like this, which I'll rant about more next paragraph, well, they wear a reader out.

This seemed like some sort of bizarro issue, where the main title did nothing but support the tie-in titles' existences, and even then fairly thinly. It reminds me of watching the Turtles (of the Teenage Mutant Ninja kind) as a kid and them having their annual hour-long special which, I would realize later, served no purpose except to introduce characters which had already been made as a action figures, or had molds in process. That seemed to be the logic behind this issue. We had the exhilirating conclusion to the Jokester's plotline in that, well, he died. We introduced Lord Havokk or whatever his name is in order to to sell that 8 issue mini-series starting next month.

However, it's not all bad. I do like how ridiculously evil Mary Marvel has become so instantly. The Amazon storyline still doesn't interest me, which is pretty impressive considering how easily interested I am. The Karate Kid storyline, however, is pretty great, even if they only gave it a page this week. I'm definitely looking forward to see how badly Batman has managed to eff the world up again through Brother Eye. I'm not particularly interested in this DC-wide subplot of metahumans being captured and stored (I guess Marvel has ripped off of DC enough that turnabout's fair play), although I could have my opinions quickly turned if they actually did something with it (as is, the Suicide Squad series is still pretty unfocused).

The art's improved in this issue, I'd say. I'm sure there are some who'd say otherwise, but from my quick read nothing stood out too badly, and that's a good thing for a weekly title.

All in all, not too bad, really, but DC is doing some marketing things that are done tactlessly enough that they're distracting, and that gets to me.

Countdown #38

One-sentence summary: Quite a bit more action in this issue, a little bit of plot development, and (hurray) absolutely nothing about Amazons Attack.

Honestly, this was one of the best issues of Countdown yet. If I were to make a single complaint with it, I'd say that there wasn't a ton of plot to it, just scenes and action, but it still had more plot than the usual issue of Countdown. I really liked this issue; maybe it was just me, but the artwork even seemed to be a bit better.

First off, all the action with Zatanna and Mary Marvel was interesting and definitely was a cool way to show Zatanna how Mary's changed, as well as developing the Apokolips plot some (I had just been reading the Forever People, so seeing an Omega or Alpha bullet, whatever it was called, was cool). While it would be a disappointing end if that's all they did with the Question and Batwoman, the scene with them and Piper/Trickster was absolutely fantastic. The puppets, man, the puppets! The Karate Kid development was, at least for me, a bit surprising. Maybe I should've seen this coming, but I didn't.

Nothing really happened with Jimmy Olsen, despite the fact that he was on the cover of the issue. He got rejected from Titans, that was all. Woo. While I do like the cover, I think a better one probably would've been Trickster doing a puppet show for an irritated Question and Batwoman, but, hey, that's just my two cents.

No Amazons Attack plot! Woo! I hate that plot so much.

Also, however, no Ray Palmer plot. I guess this might be because The All-New Atom #14 had a fair amount of development on this storyline, so they figured people got their Atom fix last week, they can take a break on that. I accept this, particularly since they write Ryan Choi so poorly.

Good issue, all in all. They moved things along at a decent pace, that damnable "History of the Multiverse" section is finally over, and they had a good mix of action and comedy in it. For this, I'm pretty satisfied.

The All-New Atom #14

One-sentence: Finally, a countdown tie-in that keeps the flavor of the original book while advancing a plot.

This was good. The last issue of the Atom was, well, not so good, really, but this one makes up for it. Not only do we have the best Countdown tie-in I've seen, but we have a very good story on its own. Honestly, any book featuring jet pack Hitler, let alone a panel featuring in-battle musings over punching out an evil horse, is automatically a gold-star book in my opinion.

Seriously, jet pack Hitler. Awesome.

The art really worked well for this out-there issue. And I liked that Ryan Choi had some chance to be his own character instead of just standing there occasionally muttering "Ray Palmer is sooo dreamy," ala Countdown. Nope, instead we get his character, the very defensive, logical Choi. I do hope this title sticks around; now with the Dr. 13 mini over, it's my favorite place for crazy antics in the DCU, and it happens to have a pretty good story on top of all that!

Oh, not just jet pack Hitler, but circus peanuts as a motif. Again, awesome.

Action Comics #853

One-sentence summary: What I thought was just a Countdown tie-in has proven to be a pretty decent story starring Jimmy Olsen.

I thought this was pretty good. The fight between Jimmy, who's desperately trying to figure out his powers, and the Kryptonite Man was pretty hilarious, with Jimmy's absolutely terrible bantering and muttering. The end reveal is definitely awesome, so I won't ruin that. I haven't read much with Kryptonite Man, but I'm really liking his attitude.

This was a pretty good Superman story. Really, this was (outside of All-Star) one of the best Superman stories I've read in awhile. Busiek has a real talent for writing Kryptonite Man as an enjoyable villain, and I like the furthering of the mystery of Jimmy's powers. The issue has done a good job in not only giving me a story I enjoyed reading, but also has made me more curious about the Jimmy Olsen storyline which I'll assume will mostly take place in Countdown. In any case, it was a good comic.

Countdown #39

One-sentence summary: Despite a lack of Mary Marvel, not too bad an issue, with Trickster/Piper stealing the show again.

I had the same deal with this issue of countdown I've had with the last; I reach the end and say "Is that all?" One gripe: I think the "History of the Multiverse" segment has gotten out of hand. 4 pages to introduce one tiny plot element and just rehash what's been said two or three times elsewhere in the series? But, a more minor gripe.

Simplified review: Holly and the Amazons? Meh. The Question and Batgirl's reveal? Also meh -- mostly because I never cared about Batgirl, no matter how much they wanted me to. Palmerverse stuff? Nothing really happened, so I guess meh.

Now, Trickster and Piper? That was great. They really are a great pair of characters together, and watching them run from the Suicide Squad while constantly bickering was great. Karate Kid and Oracle? I'm watching that storyline, as it seems to be pretty interesting; it's been good so far. Jimmy Olsen? Entertaining, at least

Overall, pretty fun. Not a ground-breaking comic by any stretch, but it was a fun issue, even if it lacked any follow-up with Zatanna, one of my favorite characters. I'm patient enough I can wait another week for that, hah. Beyond that, there wasn't much in pages given to the storylines I don't care about, which was nice, whereas there was quite a bit for Karate Kid and Trickster/Piper, which was much appreciated. Fun stuff.

Superman #665

One-sentence summary: Just in case you didn't know, Jimmy Olsen sure is Superman's pal!

Is it really necessary to have an origin story for Jimmy Olsen? I mean, I guess it flushes out his character some, but I think Countdown's doing a good enough job on that itself, and if you really needed more, you could've picked up the last Action Comics. This was nice, and it showed us the niche Jimmy fit early in Superman's career, but it really felt rather superfluous. I guess they decided that everyone reading Superman should also know that Jimmy Olsen sure is important in Countdown.

Tie-ins just burn me out. As this is the second Jimmy Olsen tie-in this month, I just stopped caring. I like his story in Countdown, but I really didn't need to hear about him so much. It just makes me reflect on how little sense it makes to me that Jimmy doesn't buzz Superman about his powers in the present day and ask him.

The lesson learned? If you're going to do a tie-in, make it one that's relevant and don't make one that makes your readers question the basic premise of what's going on in the main book.

Countdown #40

One-sentence summary: More storylines barely progress, but, in total, a fair amount of plot occurs.

See, this is what happens every time I read an issue of Countdown: I get to the last page and my brain thinks "Surely this can't be the last page already!" It's not even that there's not enough going on; it's just that every individual storyline only progresses a teeny bit each issue, but the actual progression is decent.

Anywho, this issue. Nothing particularly bugged me in it, and I was glad to see the newcomer to the Rogues story. Also, the fight scene with Donna and Jason was fun, and it was nice to see some solid action in this. Zatanna was a nice surprise -- I like her, so I hope she's around for a couple more issues, hah. Also, it was nice to finally see Apokolips, since it's supposed to be the focal point of all this.

Pretty decent issue, really. Things are starting to fall into place well.

Action Comics #852

One-sentence summary: A decent tie-in with Countdown with nothing particular going for it or against it.

I really liked the sequence with the Kryptonite Man, giving Jimmy that final push to become a hero, but, really, this was just a useless tie-in issue trying to push the sales up of Countdown. That's fine and everything, but it just leaves a meh-filler issue. It's not bad, just not great, either.

Why's the review so short? There's really just not much to say about this one. It's fine.

Countdown #41

One-sentence summary: Countdown continues to be a few interesting plots and a few not-so-interesting plots with decent, if inconsistent, art.

It's tough to do a review of Countdown without separating out the plots, at least at this point. I thought the Jimmy Olsen stuff in this one was pretty amusing; even if it didn't advance the story much, I liked it. It's a weekly title, so they get a "Get out of me complaining about slow plot development free" card (I have several overly specific cards). The Trickster and Piper plot is really growing on me. I began the series not really caring about the characters, but I've already grown to enjoy them -- I probably look forward to their plot as much as any other. I also like Mary Marvel, but she's just barely in this issue, so not much to say about her.

With the good, however, is the bad. The search for Ray Palmer is just, well, boring. Jason's dialogue with the Monitor was good, but I'm sort of sad that Ryan Choi has quickly gone from headlining a potentially great series to headlining a potentially canned series that contains little but adulations for Ray Palmer. I've yet to be interested in a single thing having to do with Amazons Attack, and that includes the Holly/Harley plot in Countdown.

If there are any plots I'm missing, well, I'm sort of sorry, but it also means they're probably boring. I like Countdown, really, and it gives me hope that certain storylines are growing on me; maybe by the end I'll be enjoying this totally. The title is definitely growing on me.