Countdown Presents: Lord Havok & the Extremists #3 of 6

We are at the half way point for this miniseries and I think it just isn't worth my time or money. Given that the outcome of this mini has already been spoiled over in "Countdown to Final Crisis" I'm not sure it is worth reading the second half. The characters are not compelling.

I'm out.

Teen Titans #54

"Teen Titans" #54 brings the conclusion of writer Sean McKeever's "Titans of Tomorrow...Today" story arc. I like McKeever's handling of the time travel aspects of this story. As events change during the present it affects the future participants in the story. This allows McKeever to play with subtle shifts in the character's attitudes during the story and provides some interesting moments in the story. While opening up future story points, I did find that that the epilogue robbed the ending of some of its power. The art by a gaggle of pencillers and inkers was actually quite consistent. The art team lead by penciller Eddy Barrows did a fine job of presenting McKeever's story. The actions scenes were clearly illustrated and the dialogue scenes provided good characterization.

This was an excellent first story arc for Sean McKeever. I'm hoping that DC will line up a long term artist for this title because McKeever's future looks bright.

Teen Titans #53

Eddy Barrows makes this issue. His art is outstanding. I'm a fan of time travel stories done right (love ole' "Booster Gold") and writer Sean McKeever is doing some interesting things in "Teen Titans" with the "Titans of Tomorrow" story. Stuff happening in the present actually changes the adult Titans world. McKeever retreads a bit of the previous issues with more infighting, but we finally get Luthor and his Titans Army where Barrows does an excellent job of depicting each player. I think McKeever has done a fine job with his initial run on "Teen Titans" but this issue felt a little like he was attempting to stretch the story out longer than it needed. However, he does provide some very nice sequences, especially the Miss Martian fight scene.

Next issue is supposed to wrap up this story. I'm interested to see where McKeever will take this and what impact it has on both the Titans members and its membership.

Countdown Presents: Lord Havok and the Extremists #2 of 8

As I said in the previous post, I'm a lazy comics buyer. I didn't like issue #1 of this miniseries as seen here Issue #1 review. I was going to put this one back on the rack but seeing the Challengers from Beyond from "Countdown" I decided I could at least read this Earth's version of those events. Also with Lord Havok showing up over in "Countdown" I figured this would connect the dots a bit.

While this miniseries is not really that good, I found issue #2 to be much better than the first issue. Now, that isn't saying a lot, but it did Frank Tieri did present a better story fleshing out the background of some of the characters and bringing in Monarch to liven things up. Liam Sharp and Rob Hunter's art is pretty good. It doesn't have the rushed look that a lot of the books coming out lately have.

Proving that I'm a true "Countdown" mark, I'll probably keep getting this series to get a full understanding of who's who in the Final Crisis to come.

Countdown Presents: Lord Havok and the Extremists #1 (of 6)

Bleh! That's what I've got to say about this offshoot of Countdown. I didn't ask for this in at my local comics store, the owner pulled it for me based on other comics that I buy. I wasn't looking forward to this, but thought DC has done well with both "Countdown to Adventure" and "Countdown to Mystery" and I thought I'd give it a try. Well, writer Frank Tieri takes a swing at the plate and it is a whiff. The story is a mess. I think DC is supposed to be poking fun at Marvel's "Civil War" but I'm not really sure. The whole "round up the metas/mutants/superpowered beings and put them in a camp" was handled much better in "Kingdom Come". I can't speak for Marvel's "Civil War" as I didn't read that cross over event. If I had to pick one good thing out about this comic, I would point to Liam Sharp and Rob Hunter's art. While not top tier, it is better than some of the other regular series art out there and reminiscent of some 90's comic art - shoulder pads and big guns making a showing. I'm assuming that is what the artist were shooting for here.

If you are looking for good DC miniseries look towards the previously mentioned "Adventure" and "Mystery" offshoots from Countdown. "Lord Havok and the Extremists" is not worth the cover price or your time.