Im almost done with vol. 2 of 52 and everything is really solid (minus some continuity gaffes with Shadowpact and the Black Adam/Isis wedding). How come Countdown is doing so poorly? Is it just weekly comic-fatigue?
i’ll give you a hint (this is my oppinion of course), it’s called jimmy olsen is a douche bag. lol.
oh and does anyone actually give a flying fuck about ray palmer?
Maybe the comics-buying people of Earth are douchebags and you should just wait until Countdown is collected so you can judge for yourself.
Also, isn’t Countdown 2.99 whereas 52 was 2.50? Those weekly 49 cents, man… A world of difference.
And as much as I love Paul Dini, he’s just the “headmaster” of sorts, and that isn’t the same as actually writing all of the issues. Not that I believe Grant Morrison actually wrote much in 52, but at least DC did a good job of tricking me into thinking he did.
It has it’s moments here and there but there’s a lot of nothing happening in the comic. I’m not sure DC has hit on the formula for a 52 week comic. There was a lot of stuff 52 was supposed to answer but didn’t and you’d think there would be enough time to answer a lot of questions.
Countdown you have a perfect opportunity to focus on the big 3 and they are still building up minor characters like 52 did, but 52 did have the excuse of them being out of the picture for a while, Countdown doesn’t have that and gives us a lot of Mary Marvel, Jason Todd, runaway Bart murderers and Jimmy Olsen…
I remember when Villains United was being pitched and they were advertising Lex, Deathstroke and Talia team up, and then when you got the comic they focused on Cat Man and his crew - BAIT AND SWITCH! I dunno, what worked well for Villains United, focusing on the minors doesn’t seem to work in a weekly, well there was no bait and switch but still, a book that’s supposed to focus on all of the DCU is really giving a lot of space to the minors…
Still, the book’s not finished yet and we don’t know what’s going to happen. For me it’s always nice to have at least one comic on the racks every week, especially on relatively quiet weeks like this one was for me. But if they do a third weekly I won’t be around especially if they are spending a lot of time on minors again.
I’m a Ray Palmer Fan (Seriously, I have almost EVERY Ray Palmer action figure ever made).
but even I don’t give a flying fuck about him, tbh.
52 isn’t GREAT, but it’s decent, and there were some great character moments.
but I think the reason Countdown failed is simple: Because they’re relying too heavily on the BIG GUNS, so the lesser characters, who you can tell better stories with (because there’s not seventy years of establishment getting in the way) are not getting as much face time.
that said, the Second Stringers will ALWAYS be easier to tell a good story with, because they are fallible.
Steel MIGHT NOT save the day, Superman always will.
Booster Gold MIGHT NOT get there in time, Wonder Woman always will.
Ragman MIGHT DROP that bus full of children, Green Lantern never will.
sure, Wonder Woman might kill the occasional Maxwell Lord, and Batman might do something unpredictable once in a while, but with the second stringers, you just have more flexibility to tell the story YOU want to tell.
and that’s why I never read the A-List.
I bought every last issue of 52, I love it, and am glad to have it.
I have READ Countdown, but I am not buying it, I just don’t have the patience for another year long, weekly endeavor.
Honestly, I think it was a rush job.
They had 52 somewhat planned out with what they wanted to do before IC was over. I am guessing from quality that they only came up with Countdown idea last fall and with the arse load of crossovers they are building into the series the story suffers. 52 was more or less by itself during the OYL titles, Countdown isn’t as fortunate.
So it is fudging up here and there, not to mention somewhat directionless.
Countdown has yet to fail. It’s halfway through and there is still time for a surprise. Just like 52, I’m gonna hold out until it’s over. Naturally, I hated 52 because it didn’t give us the answers we were looking for.
The all point of 52 was the fact that they didnt have to rely on the the big 3 and they could give good stories about other minor characters (booster rocked in this one)
while in Countdown the focus is on the lesser characters and boring ones like Olsen and Mary Marvel and you dont see anything from the big ones execpt an appearnce here or there
altough i have to say that im enjoying Countdown actuly only from Trickster arc and Jason Todd
But something big is still missing like 52 had WW3 but im sure Countdown will have something
52 wasn’t supposed to be about the minor characters entirely. It was supposed to explain what happened within that year and explain why Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman weren’t around for that one year. If anything, it should have focused a lot more on those 3.
WW3 was just as shitty. 52 didn’t really need WW3. All it did was explain why Martian Manhunter got that re-design.