DC Countdown

I will post more about how I feel about that character at a later date so my post wont spoil the issue.

--Did someone say the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man is rampaging in Atlas Park? OMW and I'm bringing the Fire to toast 'im!

I picked it up today.

--Did someone say the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man is rampaging in Atlas Park? OMW and I'm bringing the Fire to toast 'im!

As the title here states, DC Countdown has hit the shelves today. Before I go into the book itself, I feel compelled to get out my soapbox.

::Reaches into his pocket, a surprisingly large pocket at that, and sets a wooden crate on the ground and then stands on top of it::

I have always loved comic books; even from the first time I remember reading one, I have always loved them. The idea of hearing stories of superpowered beings, or aliens, or monsters, or anything else that is wonderful, bizarre, and fantastic has always set my mind to soaring, my heart to racing, and my thoughts to saying.."if only...."

To me it was always about the story. If the story sucked, the art could almost never reach me. But an average story, or a fantastic story, could make even rudimentary art leap off the pages and enhance the story it illustrates.

The first comic I ever read that made a powerful and lasting effect on me wasn't a superhero comic, but a horror comic by either Marvel or DC (If anyone remembers this story and knows what book it is from, please drop me a message) and contained a story called The Spawn of Satan about the evil of the devil's child, and quite frankly it scared the living shit out of me. I remember it being of average art and nothing spectacular about it, but it was powerful enough that even today thinking about it gives me the willies.

My point in all of this rant is that comic books, now about 60+ years old and filled with volumes of history, has so much source material that every book should be literally keeping us enthralled and racing at the events and activities inside by building on the past and showing us how everyone in these little universes live, love, feel, and at times even die.

I really don't want to sound cynical or overly optimistic in a fanboy style, but I really want people to read this book because in my opinion it touched on both aspects (cynicism & fanboy optimism) of this genre.

Now, I am trying to write this without any spoilers, so if a point or argument I make sounds weak, consider that angle first. Without further delay, let me get into the events of the book, and I then my further feelings of it.

The cover is misleading. Batman does not walk out of somewhere with a fallen comrade in his arms to present to a shocked gathering of the DCU. But someone does die and I wasn't expecting it (however in defense of the suspense of reading ANY book, I try not to predict much in advance so that I can truly enjoy the story for what it is).

Countdown isn't a sequel to Identity Crisis in my opinion, although the events of the latter do effect the character's actions/motivations in this giant book. In actuality this book really looks to be the first leak in the ensuing flood of this summer.

Basically a 2nd tier character uncovers something suspicious and isn't sure what's going on. Many of DC's big guns have quick cameos as this character tries to enlist some immediate help with what feels like a serious and pressing threat. This second tier character is really dismissed and from my take, ridiculed and cruelly tolerated by the more prominient icons. Without their help, the 2nd tier character continues the investigation and uncovers the threat, the mastermind, and its own death. The book ends with the character alone in a foreign country and lying on its back in a pool of its own blood.

Now, that little summary isn't enough to give anything away and at the same time it isn't enough to show how the book touches both the cynicism and fanboy optimism of today. Let me try a crack at explaining it.

Cynically, the book pisses me off on more than a few occassions. First, It's a stand alone, which really means it will not answer any questions, instead it will "muddy the field" with more questions.

Second, there are many ads inside about upcoming 6-part mini-series that are starting within the next month and those same series are eluded to in countdown to try and explain why the big icons can't help the 2nd tier character; which makes me wonder "Did I just spend $1 for a frickin advertisment?"

Third, DC just spent 80 pages humanizing and making a 2nd tier character interesting, compelling, and potentially profitable as a series in order to kill the character off. Why didn't they devote this much love and attention to the character during the last few years and create a compelling book instead of some of the failed crap that they have put out recently (Anyone remember Heaven???)

Optimistically, I have saved for last because overall I have a positive outlook for this book.

First, I love the fact that we got to see this character dealt with in a serious fashion, although its life span has run its course by the end of the book. There aren't many better ways to make a death more appealing than by personalizing its life in ways that are familar to everyone, especially to those of us who have grown up reading comics.

Second, With all the history and lore that DC has, its nice to see that they are using it to tell new stories. Innovation doesn't just have to come from new ideas, it can come from a new perspective or outlook on something familar. Simply emphasizing the human nature of a character, or increasing the power of a previously less powerful character can create countless antagonisms that are engaging and worthy of telling. IMHO, this book has shown that DC gets this idea and is really embracing the fact that comic books are vehicles for Stories! and not just a collection of artwork that is linked together with a series of events.

Third, this story is actually making changes to the current universe and I must say that I really enjoy this trend. This is a complaint that many fans have about this genre in general and I sum it up by saying, "Let the dead stay dead!" If you're going to take the time to kill off a character, then make it final and deal with the consequences. The death of Barry Allen helps make Wally West a fascinating character; bringing him back lessens his importance and destroys Barry's original sacrifice (See also Hal Jordan/Kyle Rainer). It is my hope that the events of this summer's DC miniseries continue to haunt/influence all the books for years to come.

Lastly, because they have chosen to use 2nd tier characters to tell this story and introduce major future events, the story became more personal to me. As a result I don't mind saying that I feel loss over the end of this character because it made me realize how much I did enjoy its stories.

Well, I know this is almost belligerently long but I think this is an important book and exciting things are happening over at DC. Did I enjoy the book? Obviously! Was I surprised by any of it? Not really, enough hints have been dropped, intentionally and unintentionally for the last few months and even years, that while I didn't predict anything nothing came as a surprise.

I admit I am a bit of a fanboy, or maybe I just like to be more forgiving than critical, but I enjoyed this book as much, and maybe more, than I enjoyed Identity Crisis. Do yourself a favor and read the book. I don't think it's Watchmen or The Dark Knight Returns, but it's definitely better than the average comic that is put out there.

And if you can't get this, drop me a line with your name and address and I will get a copy to you!!

Frosty
_____________________________________________________________________
Herodotus Frost-- Magic/Blaster; Electric/Cold
Creon-- Natural/Scrapper; Darkness/Super Reflexes
Slee Stacked-- Mutant/Defender; Force Field/Energy

Where do you pick you comics up, by the way?

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Apollyon - Scrapper Katana/Invuln/Leap
Phayde - Defender Empathy/Mental/Teleport
Salamando - Tanker Stone/Mace/Flight
Hadoth - Controller Illusion/Kinetics/Speed

That's the cover I was talking about, although the font on the title is different. As far as the ship date, I am only going by what my comic book store guy said, and if you have ever heard me talk about that store, you will understand why I wouldn't be surprised that he was wrong.

Frosty
_____________________________________________________________________
Herodotus Frost-- Magic/Blaster; Electric/Cold
Creon-- Natural/Scrapper; Darkness/Super Reflexes
Slee Stacked-- Mutant/Defender; Force Field/Energy

Actually, I don't think it's due out until next Wednesday (3/30), and in case you haven't heard, the title has changed slightly:

Click here for a potential spoiler

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<span style="color:green"><b>The Green Funk</b></span>: Rad/Rad Defender
<b>Medium Rare</b>: Invul/Battle Axe Tanker
<b>Dairy Queen</b>: Ice/Empathy Controller

Poppycock!

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Apollyon - Scrapper Katana/Invuln/Leap
Phayde - Defender Empathy/Mental/Teleport
Salamando - Tanker Stone/Mace/Flight
Hadoth - Controller Illusion/Kinetics/Speed

I won't know until I have read it whether or not it is good, but I will let you know. Of course, you work less than 4 miles from a comic book shop, so you could theoretically pick one up tomorrow after work.

Frosty
_____________________________________________________________________
Herodotus Frost-- Magic/Blaster; Electric/Cold
Creon-- Natural/Scrapper; Darkness/Super Reflexes
Slee Stacked-- Mutant/Defender; Force Field/Energy

If it's to be a good book, I'm interested.

-----------------------------------
Apollyon - Scrapper Katana/Invuln/Leap
Phayde - Defender Empathy/Mental/Teleport
Salamando - Tanker Stone/Mace/Flight
Hadoth - Controller Illusion/Kinetics/Speed