Countdown to Final Crisis #6

Umm...no. With the dramatic cover for "Countdown to Final Crisis" #6 and the tagline "The Great Disaster is Upon Us", I thought this might be the beginning issue of the final sprint to the finish. However, Dini & Co. stumble as they round the final turn. The text heavy observations where extremely boring and made for a tedious read. In the end we have the traveling heroes on a different Earth in the multiverse with the virus spreading. So, once again, we are getting a scorched Earth scenario where the stakes really don't matter - who cares if another Earth gets white washed. It didn't add up to much for Earth-51 and it doesn't make me care here either. One of the many Karate Kids is dead - should I care?

I'm only buying now because I've been buying all along. I hope that DC can do something better with "Trinity". "Countdown" has been a waste of time and money and did not live up to the standards of "52".

Countdown to Final Crisis #11

All of the regular players are now on Apokolips and...nothing much happens. After several issues in a row of action and story, this is the second issue in a row to pause and catch the reader up on who's who. Every storyline is present in this issue as all are getting adjusted to their respective situations on Apokolips. The Granny Goodness - Harley/Holly/Mary story has to be the most ridiculous. With the build up of "Amazons Attacks", Granny is taken down by a razor cut and the three amigos continue to bumble through the story. We get a little more Trickster with a mysterious one-handed visitor. Even as Red Robin, Jason Todd continues to be a dick. However, he does have some good observations about how one-dimensional this series has made both Kyle and Donna. Jimmy Olsen continues his wacky 60s & 70s revival meeting more silly characters on Apokolips.

As a wrap up, a whole lot of pages and not much moving forward. Let's get to the final bash and see what the hell is going on and why I'm buying this series.

Metamorpho: Year One #6 of 6

Issue #6 gives the reader a look at Metamorpho's first meeting with the JLA. Here writer Dan Jurgen's reaches into his Silver Age bag of tricks and does a fun job of making the introductions. I remember reading similar stories as a kid in the 70s and totally buying into the actions of the JLA here. As an adult, I can appreciate what Jurgens was shooting for and chuckle at it.

"Metamorph: Year One" was not a ground breaking minseries. It was a bread and butter consolidated retelling of Metamorpho's origin. I believe Jurgens was just looking to tell a good story without making any drastic changes to Metamorpho. He succeeded. However, what is presented here is so in line with canon that you really don't have to read the story. There are no shocking moments where you think, "I didn't know that" or "that was cool". You just get the nuts and bolts here.

Metamorpho Year One #3 of 6

Since I have "Batman and the Outsiders" on my pull list, my local comics shop thought I'd like to read "Metamorpho Year One" and put it in my box. I probably would not have requested this even if I had known it was coming out, but the fist three issues have been an interesting read. Writer Dan Jurgens is going for an action/adventure flavor instead of straight out superhero action. Rex Mason is portrayed as a handsome adventurer with his eye on the bosses daughter. All of the elements of Metamorpho's origin are here with Rex's boss Simon Stagg playing the villian role and Rex' girlfriend, Sapphire Stagg, playing the confused/mixed feeling girlfriend. The action and intrigue really gets rolling in issue #3 with the addition of Stagg's advesary, Maxwell Tremaine. Mike Norton's pencils and Jesse Delperdang's inks provide good visuals. However, I preferred Jurgen's layouts in the first two issues. Metamorpho is drawn a little too skeletal in the face for my liking as well.

Dan Jurgens has been one of my favorite writers over the years and he his having fun with Metamorpho. While the story is connect the dots as Metamorpho's origin is pretty basic, Jurgen's adds enough action, romance, and intrigue to keep it interesting.