Launch Code

So a quick intro and revealing of biases. We'll make it as short as possible.

This blog is intended to pick up where Andrew Hickey's "I Was 28 When I Heard the Countdown Start" (and, by extension, Doug Wolk's "52 Pickup") left off. I'll admit I'm more intrigued than impressed by DC's "Countdown" at this point, but unfortunately I suffer from an overriding compulsion to know how stories work out, so it looks like I'm in for the long haul. It seems to me that the series bears a critical picking apart, both for the content the work itself and the apparatus around it (including the marketing campaign and the sometimes clumsy cross promotion with other DC events. Yes, I'm talking to you "Amazons Attack"), and that's the plan.

Budgetary concerns make it impossible for me to read all titles involved with "Countdown", so I'm glad Andrew seems inclined to keep discussion going on other DC titles even though his interest in "Countdown" has flagged. Please post comments, as this is meant to be a forum for commentary above the level of "Gee Golly, d'you think Jason Todd is going to turn into Red Robin?"

Later today, I'll be posting a little commentary on the problems facing "Countdown" coming out of the gates and hopefully tomorrow I'll put up a recap on the first five issues. After that, expect posts every Thursday mid-afternoon-ish.