Infinity Inc. #6

DC pulls a bit of a bait and switch in this issue. Don't let the cover fool you, the "Guest Stars" of Superman and Batman really appear on one page to provide some explanation (or exposition). Writer Peter Milligan is taking his time in setting up the world for this team. Milligan has assembled quite the cast of broken heroes for this team. The first five issues didn't do a lot for me but when I heard that Pete Woods would be coming on as the artist and, after catching some of the sneaks of his first art, it looked like a direction that I would find interesting. This issue begins to set up the true reason for these kids to hang together. I like the way Milligan is using John Irons and hope that he remains the "father figure" for the team.

If you've missed the first five issues, this might be a good jumping on point to test your like for this book. However, I think Woods' debut in issue #8 would probably be the best starting issue for new readers.

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.

Infinity Inc. #5

I was all set to drop "Infinity Inc." after a four issue tryout because of the snail's pace plotting and poor use of Steel. I did not (and still don't at this point) like the direction of the book. As a fan of the original "Infinity, Inc." team I thought this book was just plain boring. However, while perusing NEWSRAMA I discovered that Pete Woods is coming on as the monthly artist. After looking at his new designs, I thought that maybe writer Peter Milligan would be taking the book in a different direction after the opening arc is complete.

This issue seems to tie up the first story arc and I can't say that it was very satisfying. I like that fact that Steel is back in his armor and that the kids are actually working together. I still don't care for the villain of the story or really understand his and his companions motivations. Now that Steel is operating again and the kids look to be forming a team, I look forward to moving towards Woods' team uniform design and the direction that takes this book.

I believe you could skip this first five issues of this book and pickup when Woods comes on for issue #8 and not really miss much.

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.

Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman-Prime

I have been a big fan of "The Sinestro Corps War" crossover event in "Green Lantern" and "Green Lantern Corps". This crossover really caught DC flat footed as they didn't advertise it well, didn't have a marketing plan to speak of, and didn't understand the quality of the story at all. Playing catchup, DC put out a series of one-shots that have had some range of success in story telling. In this one shot focusing on the Superboy (yes I said Superboy) of the now gone Earth-Prime, Geoff Johns tackles all his inner demons as a geek fanboy using this comic to poke fun at all of the DC editorial decisions of the last few years. Johns lets Superman-Prime be the fanboy's voice on such matters as Firestorm, Aquaman, Bart Allen, Hal Jordan, etc. Many of the one liners regarding these characters could have come from any of the comic chat rooms on the net. The art by Pete Woods and Jerry Ordway is excellent bringing energy to the action sequences and emotion to the flashbacks. A highly recommended read!