Countdown 45

Writers: Paul Dini, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray
Pencils: J. Calafiore

I have been very vocal about how cool the concept of ‘Countdown’ is, and so far everything has worked pretty well. It seems though that there might be a little too much going on at this point in the series. Not a lot has changed as far as the format of the book. We are still following the exploits of Jimmy Olsen, Jason Todd, and Holly Robinson (why, I’m still not sure). The Jimmy aspect is becoming confusing since it has become hard to figure out what parts of Jimmy’s past are still canon in the current DCU. But, that’s not the bad part.

I am now thoroughly confused by the Monitors in this story, and am having a hard time trying to figure out what the hell is going happening on their ship. One issue their arguing over the future, the next there’s a consensus on what their plans are and then the next time we see them, a rogue agent of there is messing things up. If the writers are trying to be confusing on purpose they are more effective than they need to be.

With plot threads that could have been explained in shorter time, after reading this issue I just felt like it wasn’t necessary. What really concerns me is that I wonder how many issues will be ‘throw a ways’ like this one? I wouldn’t worry too much, it’s still early in the series and there is still much to be explained. There is one big revelation at the end of the book that you’ll probably be interested in, so to that end, I would still recommend picking up this issue.

I’m not a huge fan of the artwork in this issue (and issue 50 subsequently) but it’s serviceable. It sort of reminds me of Dragon Ball Z and just don’t think it works. But that’s the beauty of art, it’s subjective. Calafiore conveys the ideas and action of the story well, and that’s what is most important. So, this isn’t exactly the strongest issue of the series, but enough to keep us hanging in there.

Dante thinks that next Wednesday had better be friggin’ awesome.

This weeks comics were picked up at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach, Ca