COUNTDOWN TO INFINITE CRISIS REVIEW [PART TWO]

[ACT II - Evil Does Not Sleep]

• Batman #639 - Family Reunion, Part I : "The Word on the Street" = Nice kickoff to the next act of this storyline, but I never would have expected to get a stealth Identity Crisis follow-up inserted into this! If it wasn't more evident from the final pages of IC #7 or AoS #636, this should only cement the fact that the Bat found out! Savage put-downs for Zee and Ollie, super tragic but then again they do deserve it. Introducing Onyx as a new player is cool, and I'm eager to learn more about her character and what role she'll end up playing. I can praise Mahnke's art until the end of time, but Winick's dialogue is so freaking great.
• Batman #640 - Family Reunion, Part II : "While the Cat's Away" = Man what a quick read. Literally nothing happened in this issue besides a nice convo between Bats and Supes and some good action sequences. Paul Lee was a surprisingly nice fill in for Mahnke, an Winick's dialogue continues to keep you turning the page.
• Batman #641 - Family Reunion, Part III : "Face to Face" = Fuuuuuuuuck! Wonderful issue, wonderful standoff, and a gut punch for an ending that leaves you with a jaw hitting the floor! Onyx's role in this seems pretty useless, and it's unfortunate she was reduced to essentially a McGuffin to lure Batman in and catch the narrative up to the opening sequence from #635. In my opinion, this story should have been the end all be all for these "Batman doesn't kill" argument/debate comic-essays that everybody loves to bring up in regards to the caped crusader. Excited to move forward with this subsection of Countdown nonetheless!
• Villains United #1 - "And the Empires In Their Purpose" = 
  Holy both perspectives of this book are so engaging. I was hooked to see the Society at work, but using the book as a sleeper secret six vessel was brilliant on Gail Simone's part. The concept of Mockingbird is awesome and his incentive system is hilarious given the eventual reveal. Why was the lozenge they planted in the Amazon? How did they get access to the House of Secrets? What's in the letter sent to Green Arrow?
• Villains United #2 - "A Fire In The Steppes" = 
  How did they smuggle a bug onto the Secret Six plane? Who is Scandal's significant other? What leverage does Mockingbird have over the other five members of the team (besides Cheshire)? What happened to Catman to turn him into a total badass? What is Cheshire planning?
• Villains United #3 - "Privileged To Spill Her Blood" = 
  Wonderful issue. The highlights were Catman's escape and the Society gaslighting Black Adam into staying with them. We get the answer to the Lozenge, though I wonder if the one near Kahndaq was actually put there by Mockingbird or if it was just Luthor's manipulation. I definitely want to own the Metropolopoly game they were playing.

COUNTDOWN TO INFINITE CRISIS REVIEW [PART ONE]

 

[ACT I - Things Fall Apart]

• Countdown To Infinite Crisis - "The Life & Death of Ted Kord" = This might be one of the finest single issues I've ever read, and the fact that it's a prelude to an event comic is pretty goddamn unbelievable. Geoff, Judd, and Greg crafted something truly beautiful and heartbreaking, all centered around the pride and joy of c-list comics characters: Blue Beetle. In the span of 5 sub chapters, we fall in love with Ted Kord as we watch him looked down upon and rejected by his peers, his life crumbling before his eyes. But it's this bug that sets off the powder keg, the domino train that gives the heroes of the DCU an edge against enemies closing in at all sides. Rags, Benes, Saiz, and Jimenez are at their A-Game in this, every page is immaculate. God this is so good. As for the loose ends: If Batman created Brother Mark I, then how did Checkmate + Max Lord gain control? What happened to Skeets? What is this OMAC Project? I would be confused about the kryptonite, but Winick just dealt with that in the Under The Hood arc. Did Max and Checkmate siphon funds from Kord Industries and blow up the Bug? Did he hire the Madmen to plant the tracker on Blue Beetle? Or was that Lex and the Society? Why did Luthor appear in the scarab's hologram? Who was talking to the Wizard Shazam? Many questions that I hope are answered, but for now let the Countdown begin!
• The OMAC Project #1 - "The Eye In The Sky" = 
  Greg Rucka is the man! Love the new cast, love the spy thriller vibe, and I love Sasha Bordeaux! For some strange reason I thought the kid with the red and yellow shirt who smack talked Booster was Billy Batson, but I don't think Billy's Fawcett design had that yellow stripe on the center of the shirt. Did not expect to love Jesus Saiz's art as much as I did, and Rucka's prose is so unique from what I'm used to in AoS and WW. Heartbreaking to see the aftermath of the Countdown special, but it only gets more heartbreaking from here! Is Ted's data inside the parcel sent by Sasha? Or is it his goggles?
• Superman #217 - "The Journey" = If the extent of these OMAC tie ins is that one centurion shows up, then you have lost my interest completely. I have zero cares to give about Verheiden trying to clean up Azzarello's lame "For Tomorrow" crap.
• Day of Vengeance #1 - "One Last Drink At the End Of Time" = So begins the Death of Magic! Unfortunate that such a huge event is reduced to only being 25% of the whole Countdown storyline instead of having its own spotlight and resulting status quo, but it functions well as a prime mover for this wonderful journey so I can't be mad at all given what we have down the road. Bill Willingham has some great prose, but it's no doubt bogged down by plot sluggishness paired with some of his comedic idiosyncrasies. Justiniano's art is awesome and does a great job at elevating the script. Why has Spectre declared death to magic? We just saw him separate from Hal Jordan during Green Lantern: Rebirth, could his lack of a host body leave him susceptible to seduction? What did the Heart of Darkness tell Jean Loring? How did the Spectre turn Phantom Stranger into a mouse?
• JSA #73 - Black Vengeance, Part I : "The Verdict" = Crimson Avenger returns! Loved tying in Day of Vengeance to the JSA series. We finally get an answer to who Shazam was talking to during the Countdown special, none other than Mordru! Last time we saw him was when Fate imprisoned him within the Rock of Eternity during JSA #51; will he make a return before Infinite Crisis? How did Eclipso manage to trick the Spectre? Did both of them attack Kahndaq? Will Billy fumble Courtney? And what was the verdict on Atom-Smasher's membership!?!
• JSA #74 - Black Vengeance, Part II : "The People's Heroes" = The wrath of God falls on Kahndaq! We get a nice expo dump to frame Day of Vengeance better, with Captain Marvel explaining that the hostless Spectre is vulnerable to Eclipso's manipulation, hence the magical genocide that has ensued. I personally would consider this essential reading for that event (and it's just damn good comics!). We get more retcons for Jean Loring through Carter's dialogue, character revitalization or assassination, that's for you to decide. Are Hector and Lyta trapped within the Helm of Fate? Did Spectre deflect the Thunderbolt's spell and instead send Jakeem and Johnny to the 5th Dimension? Does Power Girl truly have Kryptonian heritage?
• JSA #75 - Black Vengeance, Part III : "Sunset Over Kahndaq" = Holy mess that was beautiful. A wonderful piece on Atom-Smasher, and I'm so happy Johns got all three main artists across this run to come and do an awesome retrospective. I love Kramer and Kirk, but Sadowski was on god-mode during his sequence. His depictions of Black Adam go up there with Gary Frank and Jerry Ordway. Spectre and Eclipso get away of course, but who is Eclipso referring to when she says "Then he'll let me rest"? Is it Jean talking about Eclipso, or is it Eclipso talking about some other unknown power?

Superman: Lightning Strikes Twice Review

Come one, come all to the Countdown before Countdown! We are post Identity Crisis, the powder keg paving the way for the event to end all events. I will stand here and say that this era of the DCU might be the most unified and exciting it has ever been (though a close second would have to be 2016-2017 Rebirth era). I would even dare call Countdown itself an event with how much impact it has line wide. With Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, Gail Simone, and Judd Winick at the helm maneuvering all the power players into the places they need to be, there's not much that can go wrong!

  [Lightning Strikes Twice] ~ {Written by Judd Winick}

• Action Comics #826 - Lightning Strikes Twice, Part I : "Hate" = Opener was interesting enough. I enjoyed the framing device with all three suicides, while I'm interested to see how Eclipso and this Lex-Tech convergence contribute to the building narrative of Countdown. We get a great mention of Black Reign as well as an appearance from the boys Shazam and Captain Marvel, and Ian Churchill does a fine job on art.
• Adventures Of Superman #639 - Lightning Strikes Twice, Part II : "Rage Is His Door" = My god, Ian Churchill had Clay Mann levels of horniness in this issue. I swear all the women were packing heat in every panel, and they never missed an opportunity to have them scantily clad. These have been reading very quickly, and most of the issue was the fight. 
• Superman #216 - Lightning Strikes Twice, Part III : "Scales of Power" = Quick lore dump, brutal brawl across the globe, and a succinct segue into Day of Vengeance! I enjoyed Winick's edgy grimdark dialogue for Eclipso-Superman, although I'm hyped to see Willingham tackle the upcoming "Death of Magic".

Green Lantern Rebirth Review

Come one, come all to the Countdown before Countdown! We are post Identity Crisis, the powder keg paving the way for the event to end all events. I will stand here and say that this era of the DCU might be the most unified and exciting it has ever been (though a close second would have to be 2016-2017 Rebirth era). I would even dare call Countdown itself an event with how much impact it has line wide. With Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, Gail Simone, and Judd Winick at the helm maneuvering all the power players into the places they need to be, there's not much that can go wrong!

 

[Green Lantern Rebirth]

• Green Lantern Secret Files & Origins 2005 - "The Day Before" = Something I never noticed before this reread were the snowflakes around Kyle's ring that look exactly like the other Corps symbols. Crazy foreshadowing by Johns. From the Spectre sequence, we get a nice summation of Hal's arc since Day of Judgement, as well as the developments we got during the JSA arc Redemption Lost. We see that Parallax persona is still swimming in Hal's soul, and the Spectre is somehow containing or controlling it.
• Green Lantern: Rebirth #1 - "Blackest Night" = Pieces are set in motion for a storm to come, but who will make the first move? Who are the knights and who are the pawns!?! Johns does an excellent job of getting you up to speed on the GL status quo, and the tension building with each passing sequence is a feat to behold! So many mystery boxes planted in every panel: Why did Kyle crash with a coffin? What did he learn about the true meaning of fear? Why did Guy's Vuldarian Warrior powers go crazy? How did Coast City return? Why did Spectre-Hal maim Black Hand? What's the deal with Hector Hammond? Finally, is Hal Jordan responsible for all of these questions!?!
• Green Lantern: Rebirth #2 - "Enemies Within" = It hits the fan! We learn what's inside the coffin: the preserved corpse of Hal Jordan! This definitely makes sense since the opening scene from last issue had Kyle's ship emerging from the sun, which I'm sure is where the body had been since the events of Final Night. Hal claims that he only brought back the airfield for Carol, but I can't help wondering if he is unknowingly causing all of these mini-crisies with his reality warping Spectre powers. Not sure if it's Ganthet or Kilowog that emerged from Oa in the opening, but it doesn't really matter since both end up finding Kyle and standing off for an epic showdown next issue. The mysteries fester and multiply: How is Parallax coming? Why is Kyle refusing to use the ring? What does Kyle need to show them? What is poisoning Hal Jordan's soul? Why is Alan Scott under the weather? What has possessed John Stewart? Why did Arrow's ring duplicate itself? And why did Guy attack the heroes?
• Green Lantern: Rebirth #3 - "Yellow" = ENTER SINESTRO! Crazy dense loredump that redefines the entire Green Lantern mythos forever? Check! And we get so many answers, even to some questions nobody even asked for! The burden Kyle has been carrying emerged from his adventure at the edge of the universe, fear has a name: Parallax lives! Parallax is the reason why Guy and John and Kilowog have gone bananas, but Ganthet explains that Kyle maintains immunity due to knowing the secret giving him some ability to overcome it. Parallax proclaims that he's responsible for the random occurrences since the start of this book, though some of the stuff like Guy losing the Warrior powers and Coast City returning might have been Hal's subconscious. As for Korugar's #1 jerkoff, it's implied that he's the reason that Jordan was selected as the host for Parallax along with waking the big bug up from hibernation. Was Sinestro the reason Kyle crashed on Earth? Or was it the possessed Kilowog? Or did he just lose control because of Parallax's influence on the rings? Some interesting mysteries surrounding the Guardian's mindwipe of the Parallax secret; was it a lie or did they really purge the memory to prevent any chance of his escape? 
• Green Lantern: Rebirth #4 - "Force of Will" = GAHD THIS IS SO GOOD! Hal's final monologue before his reborn reveal was brilliant: this is undoubtedly Geoff Johns at his apex. I loved Ganthet guiding Hal's soul away from the afterlife and back into his preserved body as the backup ring Ollie used becomes his own. Sinestro was awesome in this issue, though we do get some Reverse Flash "IT WAS ME BARRY" with the reveal that he was a key factor behind Hal's fall from grace during "Emerald Twilight". Sinestro explains how Parallax woke up due to him acquiring the Qwardian Power Ring from the Weaponeers, with the ring unknowingly tapping into the sentient fear of the electromagnetic spectrum. During Parallax's confrontation with Ganthet, it is implied that the Guardians actually mindwiped themselves of the truth behind the yellow impurity, and I hope we get to explore that in Johns' upcoming run. Alan Scott's malaise is revealed as Parallax's failed attempt to possess him as well.
• Green Lantern: Rebirth #5 - "Rings" = An entire issue of Hal and Sinestro fighting across space? Count me the heck in! I always appreciate when good writers tackle fight sequences since it's so easy to make it boring while putting all the pressure on the artist to sell the scene. Morrison and Moore have done it dozens of times and Priest did it recently in his Black Adam run. Hal and Sinestro clashing maintains so much weight and gravitas due to their history and the recent revelations regarding the cause of Hal's descent. The final page is pretty funny to me since it's something you would never see in a comic today. With the amount of bat-wank that has permeated across most of DC's titles in the last decade, something like this would never fly (but then again, it was a different time, and Johns had been setting this confrontation up in both JSA and Flash).
• Green Lantern: Rebirth #6 - "Brightest Day" = Freaking awesome. This is what happens when you put the biggest fanboy on a collision course with his favorite character. Geoff Johns loves Hal Jordan and the GLC so much that every word and every panel in this issue actively infects me with that love. The descriptions of how each Lantern manipulates and manifests their willpower constructs is one of the coolest things ever done with the GL's, and I fail to understand why this isn't used more often. Best line of the book has to be Hal's response to Parallax-Ganthet: "I don't know how." Hal-Bats stuff was hilarious, Guardians foreshadowing, Hector Hammond foreshadowing, and a Hard Traveling Heroes moment to cap it off. Phenomenal book, phenomenal ending, and easily one of the best DC Comics ever, and in my opinion THE best Green Lantern story ever.