This week's books (as yet unread)

The thing about the Sinestro Corps war is that it’s in a holding pattern now, just killing time. It was supposed to have been over by now, but DC saw the initial success it had and prevailed upon Johns to stretch it out over a few more months than was originally intended. So, the story remains the same, but we get such wasteful issues as last month’s Green Lantern Corps which featured an issue-long fight between Ion Mark II and Emoboy Prime. And not even a resolution. And we get scattered GLC vs SC battles in nowheresville America before suddenly relocating to New York City. You just KNOW that these elements got no more than a page or two in the original script, but now they’ve been blown out of proportion and the event has begun suffering because of it.

Simon Dark is certainly interesting, but it’s not that good. For one thing, it’s set in a Gotham city unlike any that we’ve ever seen before. What’s the point of setting this book in a shared universe if you’re not even going to take advantage of said universe’s preexisting elements? I’ll read it, because I’m mildly curious, but I’m not excited about it or anything, nor would I strongly recommend it to anyone as anything more than a curiosity.

Astounding Wolf-Man has been moving v e r y s l o w l y. So slowly that I can’t really recommend it to anyone looking to pick up a new book. I love the K-Man, don’t get me wrong, and am therefore reading this book. But it’s more out of loyalty and anticipation than anything else. I’m really just waiting for K-Man to bring the AWM into his shared Invincible Universe. As an agent of The Pentagon (parking in rear).

As for the resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul, there’s one huge problem that keeps coming back to me, and that’s that the ONLY functioning Lazarus pit in THE ENTIRE DCU is SUPPOSED to be IN THE BATCAVE! Recall a few years ago (Ra’s Al Ghul: Year One) when Bats destroyed every single one, only to be confronted with the reanimation of the dead and the refusal of the dying to actually die? And he realized that by destroying all the pits he had disrupted the universal balance? At that point, he figured that the safest place to create a new pit would be in the Batcave, so that’s what he did. Yet, others apparently have sprung into existence since that time, with absolutely no explanation! Continuity IS important, regardless of what others may say, otherwise, each story must need to stand alone in its own microcosm.

Booster Gold is GREAT FUN, but it's not for everyone.

Battlestar Galctica: Origins has nowhere to go. The show is so tightly plotted, with such a tight continuity, that no matter what happens in the series, there’s no possibility of jeopardy, surprise, or, therefore, fun.

Salvation Run has MAJOR PLOT HOLES THAT YOU COULD DRIVE A TRUCK THROUGH. Primarily, if the point was to exile criminals to another planet, WHY send them there in their COSTUMES WITH THEIR WEAPONS??? Makes no sense. Might be fun, but ultimately isn’t worth the read.

Gen13 #14 was AWFUL, so bad that it was tough to read through. Gail ripped the heart out of the series in her last issue, and #14 had the characters acting completely against their previous 13 issues of characterization. I’m NOT going to be continuing to read this series.

The rest of the Wildstorm Armageddon books have been really, really BAD, and I see no reason to believe that the Stormwatch book will be any different.

Captain Carrot has just NOT BEEN FUN.

The problem with Ultimate Iron Man II is that the original series was supposed to tell a complete story, but Orson Scott Card just couldn’t stick to his monthly deadlines and it ended up getting cancelled after FIVE issues! I see no reason to expect any differently THIS time around. This reader is STILL waiting for the long promised conclusion to the Alvin Maker series. Long delays like this make me start to worry that a writer will actually DIE before finishing the story. The Crystal City was published in 2003!!! And no word from Alvin Maker since.

My ongoing problem with New Avengers is that Bendis has been writing The Hood COMPLETELY DIFFERENTLY than he was originally envisioned by BKV. I’d have preferred that he just create a new character, as opposed to butchering the characterization of an already extant one.

Top Cow managed to alienate me completely with its last Marvel crossover issue. That was teh SUCK, and following it I have absolutely NO INTEREST in reading any of their established properties AGAIN.

And is anybody STILL reading Countdown? Why torture yourself? A couple of times since dropping the series I’ve come back for an issue because of somebody else’s online review, and every time, without fail, I’ve found myself hearkening back to the “good old days” of Bruce Jones on Nightwing. That’s how bad it is.

Countdown #29

Countdown #29
Apparently, DC still hasn't gotten the message that this series sucks and that therefore, nobody's reading it, let alone buying it. And so, it continues to be published while Manhunter still drifts in limbo and Gail Simone waits in the wings for Wonder Woman. And Richard Donner writes CRAP on Action Comics, not to mention neglects to finish his first story arc until lord knows when. And every month, DC continues to expand their superhero line with title after title after title, some of which may be quite good, or passably so, but you'd never know it when they get buried by the unending deluge of dreck.

Since I know you were wondering, no, I didn't actually buy this issue. Remember, there are many ways to read the books without buying them. This, one would think, would be a huge motivator to the company to make sure that all their published material is of the very highest quality......but, apparently it is not.

I only read this book because of a comment that Scipio made at the Absorbascon: "The Jokester's final bow. Truly, a class act."
Since I first encountered the Jokester in the Search for Ray Palmer issue on which I commented below, but felt that he was a promising character, I needed to see this for myself. Because, really, what point is there to introducing a promising character if you're just going to off them one week later? Yet, that is exactly what DC has done here. I have no idea why. It's a complete waste.
If the concept until now had been that the "Challengers from Beyond" (what a stupid name) had been hopping to alternate Earths and picking up stragglers from each dimension as they moved on, disposing of such a character might be, at least, a bit easier to understand. But since the Jokester is the only such character, to dispose of him now is nothing but a waste. It makes even less sense given the fact that last week's Search for Ray Palmer was narrated and told from his perspective, and was a history and origin of his character no less! It's as if Dini and Beechen are slapping McKeever straight in the face and saying, "Yeah, thanks, but no thanks. We know you spent a lot of time working out the story for this one-shot. But we just don't care." What's especially distressing is that due to the narrative nature of the one-shot, The Jokester was the only positive aspect of this so-called Earth-3. And now he's gone.

And the rest of this issue is even worse.

The main plot involves Lord Havok and The Extremists of Earth-8 capturing the Challengers when they hop over to search for Ray Palmer. But he's not there. Though how they can tell without an exhaustive search, I've got absolutely no idea. And I likewise don't understand how they got dispatched by the Extremists in such a brutally efficient manner - as if none of them had any powers or experience...ever. It's also annoying to me, and it must likewise be annoying to Keith Giffen, who is apparently doing the breakdowns for this issue, that this group of Extremists look almost nothing like those that were featured in Giffen's JL/JLA/JLI/JLE. Why? I have no idea. Suffice it to say, it's a pretty dumb plot.

Then we've got a half naked Jimmy Olsen, although thankfully only the top half, crawling through the sewers beneath Metropolis and running into the Newsboy Legion. Apparently he escaped from Cadmus or something? And apparently he's in danger because of his connection to the New Gods? Whatever. Since I haven't been reading this book for quite some time, I can't say that any of it really makes sense to me.

And speaking of not making sense, apparently all of the women of the Metropolis Athenian women's shelter have been dumped into the sea off of Themiscyra by Athena, who, if I understand correctly, is probably actually a Female Fury from Apokolips...or something. [Checking further, she's actually Granny Goodness. As if that makes any more sense.] And I guess the idea is that they've got to fight these sea monsters to prove their worthiness to repopulate the island. Now, maybe it's just me, but if I were a woman who had run away from an abusive relationship and had been forced to seek refuge in a women's shelter, I would definitely not follow the vindictive whims of a supposed Goddess who would rather put me in a life-threatening situation than aid me. And sure enough, several women do die here. No, if it were me, I'd run back to my abusive husband before allowing myself to be put in such a situation. I mean, seriously! Who comes up with this CRAP?

Also not making sense is the Black Mary story. So, apparently, Mary has turned into some sort of vindictive BITCH. For no reason. And she has a ton of new powers. See, apparently, some middle eastern farmers who'd been afflicted by a drought came to her with their supplications for rain. So she heeded them. But then, rather than giving them sufficient rain to save their crops and livestock, she decided to flood them out of house and home instead. Because she's a BITCH. Apparently. Being that she is a super-powered being, I don't see what these peasants could have possibly done to her. And I think that this character development is entirely contrived and has no relation whatsoever to anything this character has ever done. What a BITCH.

Is it just me, or doesn't it seem obvious that if you're a super-villain on the run from law enforcement, human and meta alike, that the smart thing to do would be to ditch your costume at the very first chance you get? Well, Trickster and Piper are still wearing their costumes. And they're explaining them away to civillians with lame excuses such as "oh, we're singing telegram guys". Sure, I'd buy that. Uh, huh. Riiiight.

And I didn't even bother trying to make sense of the Karate Kid storyline.

All in all, there's been zero improvement to this series since I stopped reading it many months ago. And I think it's safe to say that I won't be reading it for quite some time.

As Abhay would say, ASS CRAP.

Countdown: The Search for Ray Palmer - Crime Society #1

Countdown: The Search for Ray Palmer - Crime Society #1
Well, um, not exactly sure what to make of this. It certainly explains where Duela Dent came from, and it introduces an intriguing new character - a heroic Joker. The problem is...it's not a very good story. Sure, it shows promise, but it doesn't have anything to do with the actual search for Ray Palmer, our multiverse hopping cadre of protagonists hardly figure into it, and, well, like I said, it's not written very well. Although, honestly, other than merely making this an Elseworlds tale, I really can't figure how it could have been done better.
Like I said, the concept of this specific book is definitely intriguing, but the execution is ultimately EH.

Supergirl #21

Supergirl #21
Even saddled with a crossover from a book that sucks ASS, this issue still manages to be GOOD in and of itself, and to put the lie to the claim that Countdown is required reading, as it certainly seems that nothing relevant has really happened in that series that isn't explained herein. Likewise with Amazons Attack!. (I feel silly and slightly dirty every time I write that.) Supergirl suffers from some reality something: Why didn't she remember the Legionnaires? Why don't they remember her? Are these Legionnaires the same ones? Are they earlier iterations? Are they from earlier in the timeline than SLOSH? Have their minds been wiped? These internal questions overwhelm Kara, and she collapses. Which actually seems like a much more sensible course of action than trying to figure out the answers to these questions by reading MORE DC comics. Because either the writers don't know the answers to these questions either, or they've decided to leave the questions dangling for as long as possible without any resolutions. Excellent characterizations by Tony Bedard and excellent artwork by Renato Guedes with an assist from Jose Wilson Magalhaes on inks.

Countdown to Adventure #1

Countdown to Adventure #1
I didn't expect to enjoy this at all. What with the fact that it's basically a spinoff of the CRAPtacular Countdown, which is a spinoff of 52 which is a spinoff of Infinite Crisis which is a spinoff of DC Countdown which is a spinoff of Identity Crisis which occurs following Zero Hour which is essentially the parent story for Infinite Crisis and a spinoff of Crisis on Infinite Earths which is a spinoff of all the old JLA/JSA teamups, well, I wasn't expecting good things. Is it just me, or does it seem that most of the current crop of DC books are mired in stupid crossovers lately?
That said, this is actually really GOOD.

The main story by Adam Beechen is essentially two smaller stories, one for each of the active principles in 52's outer space adventure. Firestar spends most of the issue sleeping it off in Buddy's house, so she doesn't really have much story yet, but it's actually looking pretty good. Ellen Baker is upset because Buddy has his beautiful, exotic, superpowered alien princess coworker sleeping in their spare bedroom, and seems to be extremely good friends with her when she finally wakes up. Buddy is currently making a living as a stuntman, his son is going through puberty, his wife is anxious because she basically hadn't seen her husband for a year - and then he returned home with a hot alien chick in tow, who prefers to sleep in the nude. Sure, it's not like it's immediately relatable, but what married coouple hasn't experienced some tension when a spouse's friends of the opposite sex seem to be getting to close for comfort?
Actually, upon consideration of the Animal Man and Koriand'r plot, and talking it over with my wife, I'm convinced that this story is actually VERY GOOD.

Then there's an interesting backup story by Justin Gray which essentially details the origin of the Forerunners. It's not particularly interesting, but it's extremely well-told, which I believe makes all the difference between eh and OKAY, which is what I'm ranking it at. What's really sad is that one backup strip did more for Forerunner's character than all her appearances in Countdown combined. In fact, you could, like I have, completely ignore any of her appearances in Countdown, and still understand this story. It's a credit to Justin Gray, and simultaneously shows just how bad the writing on Countdown is - that it couldn't even provide a decent backstory for a character it introduced, and instead has had her wandering around doing, um, something.
I'm not too keen on Captain Atom as Monarch, since really, that's the story that never happened, but as long as he remains on the side of angels, I can deal with it. It'd have been better if they could've come up with a different name and costume as opposed to recycling an old one, but no matter, he's an entirely different character. Until, that is, some new writer makes the mistake of not being able to differentiate between the two Monarchs. And then I'll get very pissed. But for now, I can deal with it.

It occurs to me that I'm skipping any discussion of the Adam Strange story, so here it is in brief: on Rann, Adam Strange has always been a hero who stood out of the crowd. It's obvious to him though, and to those who know and love him, that on Earth he would be just another hero. So imagine his chagrin when he discovers that his father-in-law has recruited a brash young man as a replacement for him in the role of Rann's protector. Imagine even more, when it becomes clear to him that this young man is all about brawn, with no brains whatsoever. See, if you've read any of the old DC Archives Adam Strange books, you'll note that what set his adventures apart from those of other heroes was the way that many of the problems he solved were done so through use of his intellect, as opposed to the use of brute force. So you can see the about face being done here.
Even worse, the Rannians strip Adam of his uniform and jetpack so ungraciously and humiliatingly. What is a man to do?
It sucks. And you can identify with this story as well. Many people have gone through the trial of being replaced by a younger model, and Adam Strange acts as a representative of all those people who have suffered similar indignities. His story is VERY GOOD as well.

Action Comics #854

Action Comics #854
More EXCELLENT reading by Busiek. And seriously, the editors suck. Seriously. This is their note on the first page: "Oooops!! Hope you read Countdown #37 before opening this book! If you didn't...well, uh, we didn't really have much chance to warn you before page 1! Sorry!" Yeah, so I flipped through the issue of Countdown and discovered a scene where nearly nothing happens that isn't explained in this book. I'm not trusting the DC editors again until Countdown is over. Because, seriously, they keep pushing Countdown on us - like they realize it sucks but are completely unable to admit it. I mean, is anybody really reading it anymore? Thank you Kurt Busiek for making it largely irrelevant. I appreciate it a lot. You've made it so that I can read about Jimmy Olsen/Mr. Action without having to read crap.
This issue features the showdown between Jimmy and the Kryptonite Man, part 2, where Jimmy once again manifests his Werewolf and Elastic Lad powers, but also becomes a solar radiator. Then later, Jimmy faces off with Titano (!!!) and grows to ginormous proportions! And then just calms the super-ape down. Krypto moves in with Jimmy and helps him get the girl, too. And even if you know what happens, it's still a pleasure to read. So go out and buy yourself a copy right now!
The art is a bit shaky at first, especially when it comes to close-ups on Clark's face, but nowhere near the level of BAD that it is in Countdown, so that's fine.
All in all, an EXCELLENT issue.
Next: Aw, come on, Mom! Do we have to have Donner back? Seriously? Nuts!

Booster Gold #1

B∞ster Gold #1
Booster Gold is teh awesome! I was poised to give this book merely a rating of VERY GOOD, but then Geoff Johns went and got clever on me. Rip hunter saying that Superboy Prime's punching tantrums changing history makes no sense. Writing on his blackboard that we shouldn't worry about Countdown. Asking why 2008 should hold another crisis when there was just one in 2006, following the one in 1985 and the creation of the DCU in 1939. Asking why Superman is/was no longer a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes. These are all EXCELLENT observations about stupidities within the DCU.

And then, of course, there's Skeets informing Booster that he is teh awesome.

Excellent characterization of a creation who was, at one point, one of my favorite comic book personalities. And a hilarious spoof of Johns' own coming storylines feature from the first issue of Justice Society. It is a spoof, right? I mean, it has to be, riiiight?

Could the "Red Lanterns" referred to by Rip be those from Korugar? Where they have red skin? So, that would be Sinestro, Katma Tui, and Soranik Natu.

I'm looking forward to Booster saving Ted and bringing him back to life. But what about Goldstar? She matters too, doesn't she?

Why can't Booster be his own ancestor? Screw continuity. Screw paradoxes. I want to see Michael make it with the hot grandma, and forget about his supposed loser gramps.

I like that Rip Hunter is no longer hindered by the limitation of only being able to use any given time travel method once. Post-COIE, that was the most limiting aspect of his character, and was most probably the reason that he wasn't used too much. In this title, it appears that he will not only be a supporting character (as he was in volume 1), but will, in fact, drive the plot development. Niiiice.

Booster gives Bats the brush off. After commenting that if Geo-Force can be in the League, why shouldn't he be! EXCELLENT stuff.

I also like the new logo. Instead of Boo$ter Gold, given that this time around Michael won't be focusing on making money or becoming popular, the title's spelling has been changed to B∞ster Gold highlighting the infinite nature of his crosstime adventures. It's a very nice touch.

Jurgens' work is also back to form. It's nice to see him back on his own creation. That's how you know that this book won't be teh suck.

Black Adam: The Dark Age #1

Black Adam: The Dark Age #1
Being that I hate Countdown, and thought that World War III was the most ludicrous piece of trash published by DC in the past decade or so, I almost didn't read this. I almost cheated myself out of a GOOD read. And it is GOOD. Even though the outcome is not in doubt - a shame that DC couldn't get their acts together and release this before the start of Countdown, eh? - it's the journey that matters. I was listening to NPR today, and they had a segment on all the successful biopics about pop stars from Cole Porter to Johnny Case, to Sid Vicious and Ritchie Valens. Even though we know all about these people, the movies about their lives are big hits. Why? Because of the fact that seeing people that we're familiar with overcome adversity is uplifting for us. Even when they don't overcome their travails, it's still enlightening. And thus, even though we know where Adam ends up, it's the journey that counts. In some way, each of us realizes that he's never truly been a villain. He's merely been misunderstood for using whatever means necessary to protect his people. Kind of like Doctor Doom, but without the megalomaniacal impulse to conquer the world and make the heroes pay for imagined slights.

There are only two problems with this book.
One) Isn't Teth-Adam supposed to appear significantly different from Black Adam? Apart from the physique, aren't their faces supposed to be different?
Two) Didn't Batman destroy all the world's Lazarus pits, except for the one he created in the Batcave?

Other than that, it's a GOOD book, and I find myself, against all odds, looking forward to the next issue.

Countdown #38

Countdown #38
Why did I even bother to skim through this issue? Only because, due to Busiek's great work on the character, I wanted to see Jimmy Olsen try out for the Teen Titans. A couple of problems rear their heads here. First, how does Robin know who Mister Action is? And why did Jimmy think it would be a good idea to tell him? And isn't Jimmy much older? Like, in his upper twenties? At least, he's not a teen.
Whatever.

It all boils down to Calculator's avatar's ASS on Oracle's computer screen. And I think that one image sums up this entire series.

All-New Atom #14

All-New Atom #14
This is a great book. I love the characters, especially the Giant Head, and even the portrayals of such poorly written characters such as Jason Todd, Donna Troy and Bob the Monitor are very well written. To the extent that this book reaffirms my belief that I do not have to be reading Countdown. VERY GOOD work, Ms. Simone. Please hurry over and save Wonder Woman soon.

Action Comics #853

Action Comics #853
This book is just so good! After months of wondering why Jimmy Olsen apparently knew who Jason Todd was, it's this comic that answers the question: knowing things is one of his powers. As is:
Turtle Boy! Flame Breath! Geiger Counter? Even with all these powers, Jimmy remains the everyman character, wondering about the dynamics of superheroing, such as how they get around, how they prevent cowl cap, where they keep their clothes, etc.
All this and the triumphant return of Krypto!!!
Plus a cameo of sorts for Scipio Garling of the Absorbascon (and Devon Sanders too)! (See the articles on page 4.)
Pure brilliance. Pure EXCELLENCE.

Oh, and guess what? The editors have finally admitted that they weren't fooling anyone last time when they told us that we had to read Countdown to keep abreast of this story. Sure, there's an editor's note saying that this issue occurs on the heels of Countdown #39, but in small print they tell us that they'll fill us in if we missed it. So now, even the stories that were originally central to Countdown are merely scenes from other books. How about that? Could Countdown suck any harder? In fact, the editors mention to us that we should read issue #37, but NOT issue #38! See? It's become, for the most part, irrelevant. I really wonder how it'll finish out the year with the quality just being so bad, and sales dropping off so sharply.

Eventually, I can see this being the book DC publishes that nobody reads. It's just there to provide an avenue for them to get from point A to point B in their Universe, but nobody actually cares. I believe that even Manhunter at its lowest sold better than Countdown is. So why did we as fans constantly have to save that series from the chopping block, and are currently being forced to go without? Why is Catwoman in danger of cancellation? Tell DC to chop away the dead weight. Migrate the Jimmy Olsen story entirely to Action, the Atom story to All-New Atom, the Holly Robinson story to Catwoman or Wonder Woman, the Trickster and Pied Piper story to Flash, the Karate Kid story to JSA, the Mary Marvel story to an ongoing Shazam! title (if Winick can ever get around to finishing Trials), the New Gods story to Superman and/or their own series. Do that and DC can increase the readership of those titles while simultaneously allowing each story to function as its own entity. It's a good idea. So I can't be the only person who's thought of it, can I?

Superman #665

Superman #665
Once again! Busiek is the man! He knows how to write a comic that doesn't suck. And lest you be fooled by the promotional blurbs, or even the cover, this issue has nothing to do with Countdown. Not a single, solitary, blessed thing, NOTHING! In some ways, it's not as bad as Marvel's bannering every single issue of their comics that aren't World War Hulk tie-ins as Initiative crossovers, yet in some ways it's worse, because Marvel has a reputation for doing that kind of shit, whereas DC doesn't. Except when it comes to Countdown. The series is doing so poorly that apparently DC Editorial has decided to promote it like mad, including having more crossovers with it and labelling other unrelated issues as Countdown tie-ins. At least the writers haven't gone along with it yet. Busiek and Simone have remained at their usual high standards of quality with their books, as has Rogers on Blue Beetle. Even though these issues are bannered and touted as Countdown crossovers, you can skip that series entirely and still get a complete story from these professionals. And this story is a prime example. It's an EXCELLENT retelling of the "origin" of Jimmy Olsen, and actually explains in realistic terms exactly how he became Superman's "pal". Great stuff. I'd like to see Busiek on both Superman titles every month.

Action Comics #852

Action Comics #852
Is Kurt Busiek a great writer or what? An EXCELLENT issue that accomplishes in a few panels what it took three months to do to Jimmy Olsen in Countdown. And regardless of the four times in this issue that the editors pop up, reminding us to read Countdown, and telling us that it's absolutely necessary, I really think they're lying. I'm not going to bother reading Countdown to find out. I'll just come back to Action Comics in two weeks and see if I feel as if I'm missing anything. If so, I'll scan the back issues of Countdown. But I sure as hell am not going to buy that trash. What a waste of trees.

You know, if they got a writer who wasn't afraid to have some fun with the concept as opposed to angsting and killing, maiming and raping, and otherwise mistreating "Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen (volume 2)", I'd totally buy that book. Maybe Busiek wants to write it?

Supergirl #19

Supergirl #19
This title has been soooooo unbelievably bad since Joe Kelley took over, so I'm very glad that he's leaving it. That said...

...nope, it's still bad. In fact, this book gets a well-deserved rating of ASS from me.

Seriously!

What the hell's up with that stupid headband that makes Kara look like she's wearing a dead animal on her head? And come on, folks! She's not really 16, she just looks like she is. In actuality, she's older than Superman! So what's with all of this "jailbait" business? And since when does United States law apply in such a fashion to aliens? Whose psychology and physiology is markedly different from that of humans? That's just stupid. And sure, this issue tries to hang a lantern on it, but it doesn't go far enough: what's with all the pseudo-metaphysical technobabble elitism? Just shut up and write dialogue that makes some fucking sense! Not just gobbledygook designed to fill space! This issue also tries to tie together every single storyline since the beginning of the series, which is problematic, because in real time, many of those stories occurred more than a year ago, and even if we did remember them, they were so bad that why would we actually care? Most of what I really remember from the Kandor storyline is Kara getting skeevy with someone who looked just like Clark. Yuck! And are people really stupid enough to think that they can punch Kara without hurting her?

Tony Bedard comes on next issue, thankfully. Unfortunately, next issue is an Amazons Attack crossover, a storyline so stupid in concept and execution that I can't believe that it's being written by Will Pfeifer. It seriously reads like a Dan Didiogasm. And then the following issue is a Countdown crossover which tries to sell the idea that Karate Kid would ever be a worthy opponent for Supergirl. Puhleeze! One punch and he's down! No question! He's got zero powers! Who's coming up with these stupid ideas? And I'm pretty much done with reading the stupidity that is Countdown. I really can't stand it. So, I probably won't read the next two issues. But at least the preview images of Renato Guedes' vision of Supergirl make her look like a real person!

I still can't believe that this tripe isn't yet on the chopping block, yet Manhunter was constantly being threatened with cancellation, as are Atom and Blue Beetle. What the hell is wrong with people that they'll be more consistent in buying crap than the good stuff?

You wanna know what absolutely pisses me off the MOST about this issue? Take a look at the solicitation:

"Superstar writer Joe Kelly concludes his SUPERGIRL run with a grueling fight between Supergirl and Superman! Is the only way to save the universe to kill the Man of Steel?"

Are they talking about the same issue here? Superman doesn't even appear in this issue until the last three pages, nor in costume until the final splash page, and they HUG on the penultimate page! WHAT THE FUCK? Even the title is captioned: "The Death of Superman Again!" What the hell?!? It has Kara straddling the "corpse" of Superman! Double what the hell?!?

ASS.

Countdown #46

Countdown #46
No matter how much time is supposedly progressing within this series, the actual plot shows little, if any, forward momentum. I really don't care for this book. I may read it for a while longer, but it's the kind of book wherein you must turn your brain off before reading it, and then just READ it. There's no enjoyment here (save for Jurgens' back-up strips - who would have figured, right?), and there's absolutely no emotion felt by the readers for the characters as written. They're flat, two-dimensional. In fact, most of the characters could probably be substituted with others and nobody would notice. This entire exercise is failing. EH.

Countdown #47

Countdown #47
I love Mary Marvel, the hottest freakin' chick in the whole DCU!
Otherwise, this book was pretty lame.
I'd like see some editor's notes telling me when the referenced events in History of the Multiverse occurred, but that's still not bad. Except for the dubious placement of the word balloons, which makes it extremely difficult to follow the narration.
Also, the new storyline involving Holly Robinson makes no sense whatsoever. Was Calculator unable to remove her data from the police databases? And if so, why didn't we see anything of that in Catwoman? And why on Earth would Holly move to Metropolis, of all places, instead of Nowheresville, USA? And not take Karon with her? Besides being completely out of character for her, it's both unbelievably stupid and stupidly unbelievable.
EH.

Countdown #48

Countdown #48
Man, is that art UGLY! First of all, I thought the meteors seemed to be going upwards, rather than down. Were cars falling from the sky? Since when does Superman look like THAT? And is Jimmy Olsen supposed to be the new Flash?
If Black Adam doesn't have his powers back, then why does he have elf ears, huge muscles, a six foot frame, and his Black Adam costume on? Not to mention the apparent ability to rip intruders in half? And what's with calling this abandoned building the consulate of Kahndaq? And if Mary BATSON no longer has her powers, then why is she referred to constantly as Mary MARVEL? And why do some panels portray her as a little girl, whereas others show her to be a young woman? Exactly how old is she supposed to BE?
Still no actual forward momentum, as the series crawls along at a virtual standstill. AWFUL.

Surprisingly, though, whereas Jurgens' History of the DCU was one of the worst parts of 52, his History of the Multiverse is actually quite GOOD. I'd rather just read an entire issue like that, rather than the mindless drivel which fills the beginning of the book.

Books arriving 5/31

Blue Beetle #15 - I thought that this title would flop after Giffen left the book. It hasn't. In fact, it's gotten even better.

Countdown #48 - If you read my last posting on this title, you'll realize just how much I am already disliking it. I may glance at it, but only so that I don't get left behind.

Dark Xena #2 - Last issue was actually OKAY, beginning immediately following the series finale and tying in the legend of Xena with Lovecraftian gods in a way that didn't immediately turn me off, so I'm looking forward to where it goes from here.

Fallen Angel #16 - Will this be the issue? The one where we find out that Lee's predecessor was, indeed, Supergirl? Probably not, since PAD didn't actually own that character. But he'll come as close as he can to saying so without actually saying so.

Green Lantern #20 - Yeah, this is gonna suck. Except for the backup feature. That should be worthwhile.

Hawkgirl #64 - Not reading this. Really not interested.

Hellboy: Darkness Calls #2 - Wait for the trade.

Justice Society of America #6 - Do you think Scipio's right about where this story is heading? I think he just might be.
The JSA portions of this story are turning out to be ten times better than the JLA portions. So this book will probably be a good read, and will hopefully give us some answers regarding the status of the classic Legionnaires with regard to current continuity.

New Avengers: Illuminati #3 - I read the rerelease of the first two books, and it wasn't quite as bad as I had feared. Merely EH, though, as I still couldn't care less. Retcon shmetcon.

Shaolin Cowboy#7 - An actual issue of this? Wow!

Silver Surfer: Requiem #1 - Hmmmm. Obviously intended to tie in to the upcoming film, but bearing in mind that the most recent Surfer material hasn't sucked (I'm obviously not talking about the ongoing series from a few years ago) it might be worth a look.

Spider-Man: Fairy Tales #1 - ??? Really? After the colossal stupidity that was X-Men fairy tales, Marvel's going to saddle us with more of this CRAP? No, thank you.

Teen Titans #47 - Back to basics, I hope. And future issues have Blue Beetle joining! Though how they're going to pull that off after he rejected Oracle's invitation to join the Birds of Prey is something I haven't yet been quite able to puzzle out.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #42 - What does it say about this title that I actually enjoyed Millar's run on it more? That I wish he were back on this title? Especially since I hate his guts? Ugh.

Wolverine #54 - Uh, yeah, not interested, sorry. Last issue was just such a colossal mess (which was actually the only reason I read it, heh) that this storyline can't be forgotten quickly enough.

X-23: Target X #6 - This wonderful miniseries comes to a close. Beautiful art coupled with great storytelling. I just hope that the series truly has an end. Not merely a finish. If you know what I mean.

Countdown #49

Countdown #49
I decided to give this book another chance after last week's debacle. And I'm very disappointed. Apparently, none of the changes from 52 seem to be sticking: Ralph Dibny possesses Jimmy Olsen? [Edit: Damn, I'm an idiot. I just remembered the fact that, in my alter ego as Rick Tyler, I referred to Jimmy's long-ago ability to be affected by Gingold in the same manner as Dibny (in the comments sections of the dibnydiary). Elastic Lad is BACK! But how does that fit into continuity? Others are asking similar things.] Black Adam has his powers back? What? Why? Also, I'm still confused as to why James Jesse is a bad guy. Didn't he used to work with the FBI? Didn't he outwit Neron? And why the hell is Mary Marvel in Gotham again? Why couldn't she just call Freddie? And apparently, Jimmy still knows who Jason Todd is. So wouldn't it make sense that he knows who Batman is too? And everyone else? Why? How? What? That makes no sense! (The Chewbacca defense.)

This series is providing very little in the way of actual explanation, which makes it seem like even the writers don't know where they're going. A major problem with this book is that to newbies it'd be completely impenetrable, and even to those of us familiar with the DCU, it doesn't seem to be sticking to any of the rules or status quos which were previously established. It's basically saying "everything you know is WRONG!" without replacing it with something even possibly RIGHT. I feel that it's just a matter of time before this series implodes under its own dead weight. Will DC continue to publish it when it's selling fewer copies than Firestorm? Probably, merely because their editorial department seems unwilling to admit to their mistakes nowadays.

And what's this I hear about a new Crisis being in the works? Seriously, if the status quo just goes ahead and changes every single year, then what really becomes of continuity? It gets completely lost. Sure, continuity was wonky before the COIE. But after that it got even more messed up. And then there was Zero Hour, which accomplished nothing. And then Infinite Crisis - which, really, was quite stupid. And then 52? Also stupid. And now? Is it even possible anymore for DC to repair the mess they've made of things over the past twenty-something years?
If I thought that such repair were possible, I might be inclined to rate this book as okay. However, DC editorial is so caught up with patting themselves on the back, tooting their own horns, living in their own fantasy world, (insert your own metaphor here,) that I have no confidence in that whatsoever. It's not gonna happen. DC needs to stop being so insular and start listening to its fans. Because if this current mentality of eliminating letters pages in order to congratulate themselves about things that none of US care about continues, DC will eventually lose its fan base. We've become very jaded over the past few years. And Didio's attitude is a large part of that. Utterly EH.

Countdown #51

Countdown #51
OKAY. A solid beginning for this series.

Several points irk me about this issue though. 1) Wasn't Joker's Daughter fighting alongside the Teen Titans just last week? 2) Since when has Jason Todd/Red Hood II cared about anything other than himself? So tell me again why he'd be pursuing Duela unless it was in his best interests? 3) Since when has Duela Dent been from an alternate universe? Sure, her backstory has more convolutions than - I got nothing...something with a lot of convolutions? Hawkman? - but it's never been implied that she was from an alternate Earth! 4) Since when can the source wall talk? Or does it only do so for the Monitors?
However, things that I did like about this issue: 1) Darkseid and Desaad play Heroclix! 2) Monitors taking an active role in repairing continuity glitches that drive all of us long time fans crazy. 3) The admission that bringing Jason Todd back from the dead was a mistake. 4) Paul Dini making fun of himself in reference to Harley Quinn.

What could Ray Palmer possibly have to do with the multiverse? Well, it's always been an old Atom standby that when shrunk down, there are often microscopic civilizations which he encounters. Could these possibly be doorways to alternate universes, if not the alternate universes themselves?
The Monitors look to be these authors' version of the Marvel Universe's Watchers, albeit ones that don't always pledge non-interference. It seems that there's some tension on that point, though.

This series actually does have some solid authors on it, none of whom have been known to let their egos get in the way of a good story. I'm actually looking forward to this series much more than I ever looked forward to 52.