Holy crap, you mean Eclipso has been manipulating Mary Marvel all this time? It's like some kind of Seduction of the Innocent!Short, late entry on this one, as not a whole lot happens. Mary and Eclipso finally meet up. The Challengers finally end up in one of the few iterations of the multiverse I'm some what familar with: the crime-ridden Earth-3. Jimmy ends up in the hands of the Cadmus project and the Rogues once again narrowly escape from certain homosexual tension.
A note on the strip-club scene. First off, Piper's exit line of "Hey didja seem all them strippers?" is pretty ridiculous, especially since only one dancer ever makes it into the shot. In fact, the club is almost entirely full of scantily-clad ladies. Don't you imagine if you're Big Barda you might relish a chance to leave that helmet at home for a night? The whole thing makes Barbara and Lois look a little dowdy by comparison. Or, I dunno, sane?
The secret identity thing is in question again here. How many party attendees know Barbara Gordon is Oracle? What's Lois doing there anyway? These issues could be resolved in all of two panels, but Countdown has never had any interest in checking itself for loose ends and frayed edges.
I didn't pick up a copy of the Green Arrow/Black Canary wedding, so there's yet another blank spot in the DCU for me. Does Ollie get offed (again)? I did just see a solicit for GA/BC with Connor on the cover, which makes me a little concerned for ol' Curly Beard. (Update: Yup, Ollie's dead. Again.)
The insta-tension between Kyle and Jason seems a little off as well. Kyle in particular should perhaps have a little more perspective after a couple months of being possessed by the embodiment of fear. I know my time possessed by the embodiment of fear was followed by a period of zen-like calm, rather than adolescent jealousy. But that's just me.
You know what the best thing is about Project Cadmus? Its dark counterpart is called the Evil Factory. A place that manufactures Evil. A whole industry of evil, Evil Wholesalers with Evil Warehouses and Evil Invoices. I know we all love Jack Kirby, but that one just feels phoned in. Cadmus has been disbanded more times than...well, actually I can't think of a DCU team that hasn't gone through a bunch of dramatic disbandings, so let's just say it's been disbanded more often than a generic DCU team. Last time out, they were controlled by the Evil Factory, which was controlled by the Agenda, which was controlled by Lex Luthor's wife. Got that? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this time, they're tied to Darkseid. I'm assuming everything's tied to Darkseid, down to the pomegranate margaritas. Dubbilex was one of those characters that made the Superman books all but unreadable for me in the 90s, and I wasn't real psyched to see him back. My fears regarding the return of a crew-cut, flag waving Guardian remain with me. Serling asks a good question of Jimmy, who gives a fairly bland answer, but it hardly forgives the time Countdown wasted with the Mr. Action storyline. Come to think of it, why the hell was Jimmy trying to join the Titans or the JLA before he knew anything about his powers? His current path of inquiry seems much more natural and rational, but then there were pages to fill before Kyle Rayner could show up months before the end of his current arc. A delicate balance of timing.
Another note, motiveless mummies make horribly uninteresting antagonists. And this series could use some antagonism. The reason any minor appearance by Darkseid (or even Eclipso) seems like such a shot in the arm for this series is the sense that they're the only characters on the board with any type of plan. All of our heroes are bopping from point to point aimlessly and the only hope of redemption is the idea that someone (Dini, Darkseid, Didio) has some idea of what's going on.
The art is passable, with no glaring inconsistencies. Bedard mercifully drops the transitional phrases that marked the last couple issues, but unfortunately the issue as a whole comes off as comic relief, even though there's nothing to be relieved from just yet.
Bedard has said that by issue 30, things are really going to blow up. Thing is, Countdown has this amazing ability to constantly give the impression of something about to happen. One major plot development could tip the whole mess towards interesting. For now, reminding myself that this is not even the halfway point should be in some way encouraging, but the thought of reading 31 more issues feels like when you're at the laundromat and realize how many more times you'll have to do laundry before you die. This week's release of the third 52 trade didn't help. It's hurtful how much Countdown suffers in comparison.
6 comments:
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The above, of course, is what we like to call a "spam comment". But don't worry. I actually read and think about your blog. :)
Again, I have to admire your ability to stick with the series, given the way it seems to be so blatantly treading water. I stopped reading at 45 or so, and from your description, I honestly think I could pick up 31 and not have missed anything of significance.
That's kind of what I want. I imagine/hope that at some point, this series will actually be critical reading for people wanting to follow the DCU. Ideally, they could shuffle around between this blog, Funnybook Babylon's Downcounting feature (which is far more negative than this) and Kim Em's Countdown blog (which is far more positive) and pick up any minor points they've missed.
Well, yes, that too...but as sincere as I am in flattering your blog as a source of information on 'Countdown', what I actually meant was that from your description of issue #32, it seems like nothing of significance has happened between about #45 and #32, and I could go back in, pick up the series, and not miss a beat.
"Bedard has said that by issue 30, things are really going to blow..."!
Out of context quote or subconscious cry for help? you be the judge.
I stopped reading Countdown after the first 10 I think.
I buy four buzz worthy books instead.
I catch-up on Countdown here.
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