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.

Batman Under the Hood (#635-638) 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!

[Batman - Under The Hood] ~ {Written by Judd Winick}

• Batman #635 - Under the Hood, Part I : "New Business" = In Media Res! As much as I find this device interesting in its application to the mystery of the Red Hood, the scene itself grows its own legs to set the tone of this story extremely well: an unbeatable ghost has emerged from the abyss to test the Batman - will Bruce and his soul make it out alive? Alfred's monologue frames the theme so beautifully, and it is fascinating to revisit this period in Batman's history; possibly one of the darkest eras right before the rebirth/revamp that occurs in Morrison's run. The fact that War Games immediately proceeds this is perfect as well, allowing for a seamless continuity into dealing with the major antagonists of this storyline. As for the back half of this issue, we get the best characterization of Black Mask by Winick, an equal parts sadistic and hilarious secondary antagonist whose presence brings a wonderful contrast to Batman at his breaking point. Who bought out stocks in Waynetech and Kord Industries?
• Batman #636 - Under the Hood, Part II : "First Strike" = I have to admire how Winick does such a good job of giving you just the right amount of catch-up and background of what has led up to this story in order to ease the reader into an engaging experience that doesn't require the massive amount of homework to enjoy. Doug Mahnke's art is on a whole other level. I love his pencils and expressions, and the depictions he gives of each character are so perfect. The last page reveal of Amazo brings a quality to the android assassin that we've never seen in his previous incarnations. An OP roided up alpha-bot who only speaks one language: annihilation. We get some hints scattered across the book, planting the seeds for the eventual reveal of who's under the Red Hood which fits extremely well on this reread. Throwing Nightwing in the mix is a brilliant play by Winick; the golden child vs the prodigal son!
• Batman #637 - Under the Hood, Part III : "Overnight Deliveries" = What a brawl! Although Amazo wasn't at full OP capacity, I enjoyed how Winick devised a realistic and engaging way of having Dick and Bats take him down. The narration by Nightwing was the cherry on top, an awesome evaluation of how Batman operates in high pressure scenarios while giving us some wonderful commentary on the use of Robin in the field as a distraction. Great sequence overall, but the wild card villains bumping heads is so much fun! Mister Freeze is the most interesting I've ever seen him, and his presence is enhanced tenfold by the banter between him and Black Mask. Winick feels so at home with some of these scenes, and I wish some of this stuff made it into the animated movie.
• Batman #638 - Under the Hood, Part IV : "Bidding War" = And here it is! Although I'm sure the reveal with Batman will maintain much more weight and consequence once we return to that flashforward, this Joker sequence was nothing short of excellent. Winick has crafted a sublime character aura around the reborn Jason Todd allowing each scene he's in to produce exciting and intriguing dynamics as he is reintegrated into the world of the Batman. The three-way showdown between Freeze, Hood, and the dynamic duo was way too fun, and Mahnke's art + panel economy births a perfect storm for the prime monthly comic. Kryptonite as the MacGuffin entails insidious designs that are to come, and I'm eager to see how this segues into Countdown.

Teen Titans #20-23 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!

[Teen Titans Vol 5 - Light's Out]

• Teen Titans #20 - "Hiding" = Awesome Identity Crisis epilogue. I loved the angle Johns tackled here, picking up the scraps of an interesting leftover sequence from the event's first issue: why was Bolt securing Luthor's Warsuit? Getting into Tim's head as he tries to suppress his emotions after his father's death is compelling as mess, and I loved that final moment where he lets his friends in and accepts their help. Excited for this Lex plot since I have some vague recollections of his story in Villains United + Infinite Crisis. Who is his partner? What does he have in store for Conner? The Green Arrow epilogue is crazy as well, Doctor Rape is unleashed!
• Teen Titans #21 - Light's Out, Part I : "The New Kid" = This was dope! Loved menacing Doctor Light and his sequence with Ollie at the beginning, but Mia and Cyborg were the standouts of this issue. I'm loving that we've gotten through the bulk of the teen angst of this run and now we can focus on the more interesting character development. I've never read anything with Mia Dearden in it, but Johns made me fall in love with her after just a couple pages. I'm assuming what she was going to tell Cyborg was that she has HIV (which I know of due to comic osmosis).  Did enjoy each super-team reaching out to the Titans, as well as the follow up to the reveal of the villain mind wipes from Identity Crisis.
• Teen Titans #22 - Light's Out, Part II : "War & Peace" = I was really enjoying this until the Hawk and Dove stuff came out of absolutely nowhere and through the whole pacing off. We started with some great Raven narration, but it feels like it was abandoned once we hit the midpoint. That Batman scene was very strange, but I think it's supposed to be Deathstroke impersonating him? Not sure who's posing as Cassandra Cain though, but it has to be someone in the Secret Society. Overall great first half, but I hope next issue can make up for the lost momentum.
• Teen Titans #23 - Light's Out, Part III : "Secrets & Lies" = Well dang! Loved the huge brawl, especially Cyborg's combos, but that final sequence between the titans was wonderful: I definitely could tell that it inspired Greg Weisman since it's totally adapted into the first season of Young Justice. As for the Deathstroke/Ravager reveal, I'm hoping I don't force myself to read Judd Winick's Outsiders run to prepare for the upcoming "Insiders" crossover since I didn't enjoy his writing in Graduation Day. Then again, I'm going to read "Under The Hood" anyways, so I guess I better get used to it regardless. But how did they take Bruce & Cassandra's place, where were the actual Batman and Batgirl? And how the heck did they get a batwing?

JSA #68-72 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!

[JSA Vol 11 - Two of A Kind]

• JSA #68 - JSA/JSA, Part I : "Making History" = Great opener; brutal action, time shenanigans, and just the right amount of exposition to have me hooked on the premise. The Red Morgue sequence did a great job of catching me off guard, and Kramer executed that perfectly. Love pitting Rip against Degaton, who seems pretty damn unbeatable now with some crazy infrastructure backing him up. I think it's hilarious how some of the JSA members at the McCarthy hearing don't even wear masks, and the senator sounded dumb as mess after that request. I wonder what Degaton's plan is to discredit the Society, as well as who is watching Courtney in those final panels. The plot of convincing the old JSA members reminds me a bit of the All-Stars mini, with spotlights on each character. Why is the Thunderbolt missing?
• JSA #69 - JSA/JSA, Part II : "Guardian Angels" = A star flew over the cuckoo's nest! Some fascinating set-up, but I can tell this is Johns going ham on his chance to write the classic JSA. Some fun tid-bits here and there, especially Terry Sloane receiving a telegram from some version of Roulette? But wasn't Roulette his grand-daughter or something? I loved the Johnny/Jakeem stuff, and the Sand + Pieter sequences as well, but Courtney getting straitjacketed and thrown in a padded cell right after having to watch her family die is rough to say the least. Who is Al Pratt associated with?
• JSA #70 - JSA/JSA, Part III : "High Societies" = Jesus Christ that last page caught me off guard! Major step up from the last issue, the crock-pot is churning and I'm ready for the boom! The Terry Sloane scenes were wild; the Roulette we see in the present day is actually his Grand-Niece? Jakeem and Johnny engage in fisticuffs with a group of jocks, Pieter and Charles enjoy a fireside chat, and Al finds more in common with his predecessor than he expected. Who is the redhead who saved Courtney? What is this "Secret Society's" proposition to Black Adam? What happened to the Thunderbolt? What is Degaton's true plan? And finally, RIP Walker Gabriel!
• JSA #71 - JSA/JSA, Part IV : "Past Mistakes" = Societies converge! The rush of serotonin I got from turning the page and seeing both JSAs in the Brownstone was immense. Huge reflections of Per Degaton as Johns' proto-Eobard Thawne as he gives Hourman his own "It was me Barry!" scene. Love that Rick has some way of attacking him via fortification from the Hourman Android. The Terry + Michael and Ted + Court scenes were wonderful, and we finally got October 30th plan: JSA vs Manchurian Candidate!
• JSA #72 - JSA/JSA, Part V : "Against The Clock!" = Enjoyable enough, but I have to admit that I was expecting a little bit more from Degaton's plan. I can't really complain since as I write this Johns is writing a JSA vs Per Degaton story, but I would probably be ticked if I read this back in 2005. Art by Kramer has been awesome the fight was great, and the reveal of Patricia Duggan being the future Starwoman was absolutely wonderful. What did Karen see when they went through the time storm? What was the knot in 1985? 

Wonder Woman #206-217 by Greg Rucka 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!

 [Wonder Woman : Eyes of the Gorgon] ~ {Written by Greg Rucka}

• Wonder Woman #206 - Stoned, Part I : "The Cat Came Back" = Plotting and scheming! I am at the point where I've completely gotten used to Rucka's style of storytelling; he is the jack in the box, winding up until BAM! The plot just hits you in the face with the momentum created by competent build-up and character development. The Olympus plot is back which I am super happy about, while Diana and Leslie attempt to save Silver Swan, and Circe sets off the Gorgons to collude with Veronica! My favorite scenes were Diana talking to the panther, and Medusa teleporting away after being overwhelmed by 21st century America. Drew Johnson continues to deliver, and don't think I'm not noticing Athena's owl flying in to watch the Gorgons! What is Circe's family business? Why did Cheetah kill Bastalleros? What scheme will the Goddesses concoct?
• Wonder Woman #207 - Stoned, Part II : "Lover's Leap!" = This book is kind of hilarious: Wonder Woman darting around New York stopping Psycho possessed jumpers spliced with Cale and the Gorgons constantly bickering makes for an entertaining comic book. I guess I shouldn't be surprised Psycho dropped the truth-bomb on Diana since he's has his own agenda leading up to the Countdown, but it is nice to see good use of the enemy of my enemy trope. What I like most about that last page reveal is how much the set-up matters, the little things Rucka plants across the past couple issues: Senator Hale and Veronica's relationship, dinner with President Horne, even the kids finding the petrified robin. The more I read, the more I know for certain that Rucka is one of the greatest comic writers of this generation.
• Wonder Woman #208 - Stoned, Part III : "A Serpent In Olympus" = Steve Trevor is back! Interesting politics, high stakes, enemies on all sides! Man is this getting good. One of the things I was most impressed with had to have been Drew Johnson's fight choreography between Diana and Medousa; you can really tell when a brawl flows well from panel to panel, and I would love to know how much both Rucka and Johnson contributed to mapping it out. How quickly the villains working together falls apart is hilarious, and I love the fact that Athena has been in on the Gorgons' agenda the entire time. I would like to see more of this new President Horne and how he operates in relation to the DC Universe at this point in time (will he be a criticism of the Bush era? Then why not use Bush?). 
• Wonder Woman #209 - Stoned, Part IV : "Birds & Stones" = Jesus Christ! There's something about this book guys, something no other writer has been able to accomplish with this character to this day (except Rucka himself): they made Wonder Woman so cool! The brawl at the embassy was brutal, and the presence of Diana's supporting cast increasing the collateral made for some nail-biting stakes! Even though the climax was telegraphed during Athena's chess game at the cold open, that did nothing to sully the weight of a Martin's death. I don't want to use kids as macguffins, but this is a great way to push this conflict into another gear. The Amazon way of peace is paired with the blade dance, fluency in the language of violence. What is Athena planning, and why was she willing to use the child to propel her agenda?!
• Wonder Woman #210 - Stoned, Part V : "Trial By Combat" = Holy mess that was epic! Rucka and Johnson, by God, this is the dream team! Victory at what cost? I'm super excited to see this blind Diana status quo change, and how Rucka will resolve it before Countdown begins. Great fight, great art, and great stakes from the planned live broadcast of Medousa's stare had she won. The reveal of the blindfold was wonderful, and I knew those damn acid spitting vipers were going to come in handy somehow. very interesting how Rucka and Johnson decided to dedicate some panels to the bystanders witnessing the duel; I definitely enjoyed how that ended up being executed. What will the sisters do next? Will Poseidon continue his campaign against Athena? How will Diana deal with her blindness?

[Counting Coup]

• Wonder Woman #211 - "To The Victor, The Spoils" = Gah damn Athena is cold-hearted! This was a pretty great aftermath issue, even though it doesn't feel like a win for us or Diana. The art by Sean Phillips is excellent, he channels this wondrous Frank Miller/Klaus Janson-esque quality that holds everything together really nicely. Introducing Pegasus was awesome, though I would have liked to see the speared giant Chrysaor emerge alongside it. We got some great subplot check-ins with Cale and Circe joining forces, as Cheetah finally frees Hunter from his cell at Iron Heights. The Diana/Athena convo was wonderful as well, and I do think that Diana understands that 'for the greater good' logic, but as we've seen in Kelly's Golden Perfect, Diana simply can't stand by and watch an innocent have to suffer. Who is Circe's daughter? What did Ares do with the other two Gorgons?  Will Hunter dip on his ex to get with Cheetah?
• Wonder Woman #212 - Counting Coup, Part I : "What We Deserve" = Not a fan of the art, but it's completely eclipsed by the bonkers plot developments. Diana's test against the JLA was wonderful, and I love this angle of respect between her and Bruce, something we don't always see in recent runs. Normally, writers like to pit the two against each other and have Superman as the bridge, the mediator to appeal to both. I blame that interpretation mainly on Frank Miller, Tom Taylor, and Geoff Johns' N52 Justice League run. The Olympus sequence had to be my favorite, with Zeus whipping out an uno-reverse in the form of Briareos, the Hundred Hander! No idea how Circe's (and apparently Ares') daughter ended up in the hands of the Amazons, but interested to see if Cale can pull off this extradition plot, what with her government connections. That final scene at the funeral was heartbreaking, duty is the death of love and innocence, but there is no time to grieve when your patrons require you as their attack dog!
• Wonder Woman #213 - Counting Coup, Part II : "Against All Gods!" = It only took a couple pages before I realized how Diana was going to defeat Briareos; is that a result of the build-up from this past arc, or did the cover just sell the reveal? Regardless, not even funky 2000's art can bog down Rucka's plot (even though I loved how they depicted Zeus' facial expressions during the fight). One of the best scenes in this had to be when Athena offered anything Diana desired, with Diana implying that she knew very well what she wanted even though Athena could not grant it 'yet'. At first I thought it was her sight, but then I remembered this whole arc was about the child petrified by Medousa. Something about how Athena is acting comes off as strange to me, I've just been getting an eerie vibe from her ever since the machinations in Olympus began. I never expected to see a version of Athena so Machiavellian in her planning and execution, but at least we get an interesting set up for the upcoming God-War between the Goddesses and the Olympian Brothers.

[Wonder Woman : Land of the Dead] ~ {Written by Greg Rucka}

• Flash #219 - Truth or Dare, Part I : "Make You Better" = Awesome first chapter, the dynamic between Minerva and Zolomon carried the heck out of this. I was extremely impressed with Justiniano's art, his depictions of Zoom and his speed were fantastic. We get some more Rogue War hinting, as well as mentions of the Secret Society, but the Zoom/Cheetah stuff was just so good that it even overshadowed the Diana/Wally scenes. I'm not too crazy about Wally's perceived animosity towards the League, but it makes sense given the fallout of Identity Crisis paired with him being on edge as a result of Zoom being freed. The conversation about the no-kill stuff was annoying, normally Johns is on point with the morality of superheroes, but my personal bias against them killing gives me little tolerance for these kind of scenes. I get that Diana had to kill Medousa and Briareos for her patron, but I'm sure she wouldn't just execute random villains (that seems to be the N52 Johns seeping in, and I just remembered what happens at the end of Superman: Sacrifice!).
• Wonder Woman #214 - Truth or Dare, Part II : "Hero or Villain?" = Fun ending, great fights, but dang am I more interested in the Olympus subplot! Who must Diana save from Hades? Is this just a ploy by Ares to lure Diana into the Bronze Gates? What does the feather mean? Is it a reference to Zeus' eagle/swan form? What are the Empousai?
• Wonder Woman #215 - The Bronze Doors, Part I : "No Place For The Living" = Rags Morales takes this book by force! Diana, Cassie, and Ferdinand venture into the underworld to rescue Hermes; heck yes I'm on board! Every issue I get excited to see more and more of Rucka's adaptation of Greek mythology to the DC Universe, and every issue I have yet to find disappointment. It's the little things that impress me, like his versions of Kharon as well as the Gates to Hades, the Bronze Doors. I loved the sequence with Ares and the brothers, while the tid-bit about Steve Trevor's mother had me do some digging on fascinating Wonder Woman lore I would have never known otherwise. I think it's safe to say that Diana's request to Athena has to be the resurrection of Martin Garibaldi (not her eyes Cassie). The Jonah check-in might be the least interesting scene, but damn does Morales still make it look good. I'm still super skeptical of Athena's agenda, and I hate the toll it's taken on Diana; her line, "It never ends", hit hard as mess. We finally get a glimpse of the Empousai tormenting Ferd and Cass, but Diana obviously has the advantage since she can't see their illusions.
• Wonder Woman #216 - The Bronze Doors, Part II : "Deceiver" = Epic! Ares stole the mess out of this issue, and his and Cassie's scenes together were so much fun. I'm really glad that Rucka has incorporated this plot-line from John's Teen Titans since that was easily one of the most interesting aspects of that so far. Their banter was wonderful to read; I'm assuming that Cassie's dad will be revealed as Zeus since her lasso has his lightning? So much to love: the Medousa rematch, the Hades reveal, Rags Morales art, and even the touching scene of Garibaldi and his petrified son. Who is the redhead talking to Jonah? She was in last issue playing chess, but I'm getting some sinister vibes from her dialogue. What is active? Is it Brother Mark I? Has the OMAC Project been deployed? Is Jonah a Checkmate mole? IS THAT WHY THEY WERE PLAYING CHESS?!?
• Wonder Woman #217 - The Bronze Doors, Part III : "Greeks Bearing Gifts" = Pretty standard finale; happy endings all around. Fights were great, Rags continued to kill it on art, and the reveals were alright given their predictability. You can definitely tell that Rucka compressed the ending to this Olympus storyline to make way for the storm that is Countdown + Infinite Crisis, but I'm glad he was able to give us a fun arc to sum it all up. Zeus' turn back to the light was lame, and I wish we had more set up for why we really needed to bring back Hermes, but maybe it's just nit-picking. Glad that Martin and Diana's sight are both back, but I was expecting some leftover trauma to push Diana into her radical transition into IC.