Countdown to Final Crisis #13

The fight between Prime and Monarch continues in issue #13 with the excellent line from Prime of "I'll kill you! I'll kill you to death!" One can only hope that Dini and company were going for a good joke here as it comes across very funny. Prime is really an idiot. Prime also gets to shout out "I am not a boy! I'm a man! Man!" If that were only followed by "Baby". Are the writers poking fun at the Superboy issue here? Probably so and it is funny. We stay on Earth-51 for this issue and by the explosive ending we probably won't be coming back too soon. It looks like Apokolips is the current destination and with that a return to Jimmy Olsen and the Amazon/Granny Goodness connection I would think.

This issue doesn't advance the story much but does provide some good visuals. If you're tired of death in the DCU, then bypass this one. Jason Todd keeps the Red Robin uniform as the traveling four Ray, Kyle, Donna, and Jason head off to the Source. No other story lines are updated here.

Not the best issue of the series but no where near the bottom of the bunch either.

Countdown to Final Crisis #14

"Countdown to Final Crisis" is getting better as we wind down. While a few threads have been left alone - Jimmy Olsen, Holly & Harley, Mary Marvel, and, thankfully, Piper & Trickster, this issue continues to focus on Earth-51 and the battle raging there. This is an action packed issue as all of the players on Earth-51 are involved in one battle or another. The Earth-51 Batman/Jason Todd thread was very interesting providing the best splash page of the series. I don't much care for the Jason Todd character but the costume that he wears on Earth-51 is quite nice. Dini and company keep the pace up and move the Earth-51 story along. However, the Ray Palmer story seems to be petering out. The art is very good here. My only quibble is still the sudden aging of Prime. He looks a bit older than he was just six months ago. I guess maiming and killing will do that to you.

While this story is moving a head at full speed, the other threads of Countdown are hanging in the breeze. It will be interesting to see how Dini ties all this up in just 13 more issues.

Countdown to Final Crisis #15

I believe this marks four weeks in a row where I have actually enjoyed "Countdown to Final Crisis" enough not to be totally disgusted with it. Writer Paul Dini and company stay with the Earth-51 story providing a few answers to some of the questions brought up over the last 36+ issues of this series. We now have Mary Marvel crossing over into the Harley & Holly story, which deals with the ramifications of "Amazon Attacks" and the New Gods. We have Karate Kid intersecting with the New Gods in Bludhaven as well. I liked the interaction between Jason Todd and Earth-51's Batman. Dini and company may be using this as a method of evolving Jason Todd past his Red Hood Punisher-style ways. I'm not sure I like what they've done with the Ray Palmer character as he really comes across as rather spineless. In all my years of reading stories about Ray - spineless really doesn't fit him. The art team does a fine job this issue but it isn't anything spectacular.

Now in reading over at Newsrama that "Final Crisis" scribe Grant Morrision states that "Countdown to Final Crisis" doesn't really play into "Final Crisis", I must say I'm surprised about that. Dan Didio likes to say that the "beats" from this mini are carried into the next. I sure hope this hasn't been a big waist of time and money.

Countdown to Final Crisis #16

Earth-51 takes in in the shorts in this outing of the weekly "Countdown to Final Crisis" series. While the battle rages some issues get explained a little - the Monitors situation, Jimmy Olsen's problems, where the Earth-51 Batman has been, etc. Dini and company keep the pace fast in this issue by providing a lot of action. We basically stick with Earth-51 through the entire issue with a foray over to New Earth's Metropilis to catch up with Jimmy Olsen.

You can see the pace of the "Countdown" books picking up since Ray Palmer was discovered on Earth-51 and it is a welcome change. The art team does a decent job in in this issue as well. All in all, "Countdown to Final Crisis" is starting to show more promise.

Countdown to Final Crisis #19

Continuing on with dredging through the "Countdown" books this week, "Countdown to Final Crisis" #19 actually manages to move a couple of stories along. Too bad I find both the Jimmy Olsen and Holly Robinson stories boring. My son has given up on this series and relies on me for a synopsis each week. This issue bounces between Jimmy, Holly, and Piper stories. Even in death Piper and Trickster continue with the gay banter - not funny. While it is nice to see the new information given in the other two plot lines, it almost comes across as too little too late.

Paul Dini and crew are "cramming" 12 issues worth of story into 52 issues of comics - drawing out every subplot to its breaking point along the way. They need to pick the pace up and fast.

Countdown to Final Crisis #22

The first few pages of issue #22 deal with Mary Marvel and Eclipso. On a whole I like what DC has done with the Eclipso character. I thought we were going to see the rise of a powerful Mary Marvel, but we get a whiney brat instead. I get it she has trust issues, lets move on.

The next plot deals with Jimmy Olsen. How he fits into all of this, I'm not sure. Is he the vessel for the dying New Gods? I don't know. I do know that continuity gaffs hurt this storyline. I've been reading "The Death of the New Gods" and I know that Mister Miracle is in subdued gray mode now. Here he is presented in full circus color mode. Also, at no time in "The Death of the New Gods" did Mister Miracle leave the company of Orion and Superman. When did he get the time to go meet up with Jimmy? I'm still looking for this plot line to add up to something interesting.

After a brief fifth dimension interlude we are treated to more "funny" gay jokes with Piper and Trickster. Both of these guys were great back in "The Flash" but know they are the punchline to "Countdown". The ending had me scratching my head and wondering why DC has spent so much time on these two.

The art isn't half bad but this issue was a step back from the past few weeks.

Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes #36

"Supergirl and teh Legion of Super-Heroes" #36 picks up the action right where #35 left off. From my last review I found the search for Cosmic Boy to be quite tedious, but this issue looks to resolve that issue. Writer Tony Bedard is wrapping up his run to turn over the reigns to returning Legion writer Jim Shooter. To that end, Bedard has a lot happening in this issue. This is the first issue of Legion that I have enjoyed in a long time. While Calero's art hasn't been to my liking, I really dug it here. Both Calero and colorist Nathan Eyring's art is spot on in this issue capturing the both the darkness presented and the hope for the future. I believe Bedard has left the Legion in a good spot for Shooter to start spinning his tales.

With all of the changes in the last few issues to the core group, Tony Bedard has provide an excellent jumping on point for new readers and for Jim Shooter.

Supergirl & the Legion of Super-Heroes

"The Search for Cosmic Boy Grows Tedious!" would be the tag line for this series. I'm not sure I even care where he is now. I certainly don't get the motivations behind many of the players here - Braniac-5 in particular. Of course, he's a fifth level intellect and I wouldn't even consider that I could be made to understand his motivations. The only character that comes across interesting or exciting is Atom Girl. What started out 34 issues ago with great promise has settled into a muddled mess. The outgoing Tony Bedard has one more issue to tie up any loose ends on this "search" before Jim Shooter takes over the writing chores. Shooter has his work cut out for him if he has to take this version of the Legion forward. Dennis Calero's art is decent but the heavy handed inking and shadows highlight the aforementioned "muddled mess" presented here.

Outsiders #50

I haven't read any "Outsiders" comics since the 80s when it was called "Batman and the Outsiders". Seeing that DC was going to release a "Batman and the Outsiders" series, I decided to catch up on the last year's worth of "Outsiders". Luckily my LCS had a special on all back issues for $1. I also put the "Five of a Kind" miniseries on my pull list to get me ready for the new "Batman and the Outsiders". I had fun catching up with the Winnick written "Outsiders" and found he did a good job of wrapping up the various storylines prior to handing the reigns over to Bedard. The "Five of a Kind" miniseries was a mix of good and bad, but overall provided a good introduction to many that would eventually be on the team.

"Outsiders" #50 is all setup. However, it was a fun read. I liked Bedard's inclusion of "Matches Malone" and the interactions between the team members. While I wasn't fully impressed with the miniseries, this issue solidified my decision to put "Batman & the Outsiders" on my pull list.

Supergirl #20

During one of DC's many panels at this year's San Diego Comic Con, Dan Didio explained Supergirl's place in the DC Universe. He was answering a question in regards to bringing new readers to DC. Dan asked the audience, "Who is Supergirl?" He responded with "Superman's cousin." In an attempt to rectify past mistakes with Supergirl, she was reintroduced into the DC Universe in the pages of Superman/Batman.

Here initial introduction in Superman/Batman: Supergirl #8-13, writer Jeff Loeb did a good job of setting up Kara in the post-Crisis (original not Infinite) Earth. Supergirl's new series jumped from her introduction and stumbled almost from the start. While some of the stories have been enjoyable, the inconsistent writing and art have hurt this title. The only book that has done an excellent job presenting an exciting and well thought out Supergirl is Brave and the Bold written by Mark Waid and illustrated by George Perez. In the pages of Brave and the Bold, Supergirl comes across as a powerful young woman getting to know her place in the universe.

Supergirl #20 addresses the aftermath of Supergirl and Wondergirl attempting to negotiate with the President on Air Force One during the Amazon Attacks war. DC has really dropped the ball on Amazon Attacks. What should have been a series spanning cross over event, turned into a continuity mess with poor writing. This issue of Supergirl begins by being hampered by this illogical storyline. Given that, I enjoyed the action that Tony Bedard put in this issue. We get to see Supergirl cut loose and even show that she is vulnerable, like Superman, to magic. Besides the Amazon Attacks tie-in, the big drawback to this issue was the art. Renato Guedes' version of Supergirl looks like a tube with thick hips and legs. I know that America is getting fatter, but does Supergirl have to follow that trend. My son, who is "ho-hum" on Supergirl as it is, picked up the book and immediately put it down based on the shoddy art.

How does DC fix Supergirl?
1) Pick a direction for the character and begin moving that way. The best of the DC heroes don't just go from fight to fight, they have a story arc to develop their character and their place in DC. This character should get young girls excited about reading comics. My daughter, who is just getting into comics, could care less about Supergirl right now.
2) Get a good writer for the long term. It looks like Tony Bedard is on for on three issues, two of which are crossover event tie ins. Therefore, I don't expect much from his run.
3) Get an artist that can draw young. Supergirl is 16 not 25 (or older by Guedes' art). Bring in an artist that can attract young girls (and guys) to the character.

While the answers above can apply to almost any book being published, they highlight what DC has done wrong in the handling of Supergirl. Good Supergirl stories can be published. Just go to Brave and the Bold for the proof.

-Matt