I just read #18 and I have to say it was one of the better continuity-centric DC comics I've read in a while.

McKeever and Kolins delivered a good looking and well-scripted book. I think for anyone who dropped it or was waiting for it to get going again... check this one out.

Let's see, we have...

The just finished up Sinestro Corps War, which was running through the excellent titles of Green Lantern and the Green Lantern Corps.

The recently started Gail Simone run on Wonder Woman, which is proving entertaining so far, what with the Nazis and gorillas.

Booster Gold, which is quite possibly the best new series out of 2007.

The Crime Bible limited series, starring the Question, written by Greg Rucka which is, thus far, excellent.

The All-New Atom and Blue Beetle, both of which are a bit tongue in cheek and almost always entertaining and greatly, greatly underappreciated. Not to mention of much more entertainment than Countdown, yet still not selling anywhere near as well as a series like Countdown that's had months to get off it's fat behind and actually be good. Which is a damn shame, because both books deserve more readers.

Superman and Action Comics, which top writers Kurt Busiek and Geoff Johns are helming and which, even when not the greatest, are still good.

And so many other series - whether DC, Wildstorm, Marvel, or otherwise - that are immensely more worthwhile than Countdown. And deserve the readers that a garbage series like Countdown inexplicably has.

Sigh.

I read almost all of those books and love them.

And I qualified my comment with the "continuity-centric" because I didn't want to imply that it was better than anything you listed. This issue addresses some of the lingering issues started a few years back and does so nicely.

Did you read the issue?

If yes, why all the hate?
If no, why all the stupid hate?

And really... how many people do you think even read Countdown at this point? Is it even showing up on the top 100 books at this point? I can't believe it, if it is.

I'm the first to admit that it hasn't been great, but they have art that's been much better (Ron Lim back again next week!) and the writers (guided by Dini and Giffen) have been putting in some solid script work.

I read a lot of hate for the book and when DC has admitted that things didn't go as hoped and that they have made adjustments to get some quality back in the book, people act like girlfriends who got cheated on and are being asked to come back... except that it isn't like that at all.

the book is getting good and I'm not sure who it hurts to get people checking out a good issue.

WW is my favorite of DC right now, but it only comes out once a month. Countdown has been entertaining me every week lately and so how is that bad?

Top 100? Try top 20.

Diamond sales for November 2007 place Countdown to Final Crisis 25 at number 14.

It's outsold by three other DC books. Batman, All-Star Superman, and All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder.

Oh, and All-Star Batman? Highest selling DC book for November.

So you know something? Countdown doesn't need people defending it. Despite the fact that it's been a hunk of trash for nearly a year now, it's still in the top 20. Despite the fact that All-Star Batman's also trash, it was the highest selling DC book for November.

There's always someone willing to leap to the defense of trash while better books languish or are cancelled.

And you know what? Those books don't need the defense. Countdown's doing fine, despite having been one of the worst books DC's published for the past year.

The DC execs have been defending it since day one, Didio was on newsarama saying people had come up to him and said they liked it, I imagine these people wanted prize swag or were just delusional. The problem with countdown is that we got 52 first, and 52 was great (until the whole giant bug eating continuity thing). If we got the #### load which is countdown first, and then got 52, we'd want weekly series forever. Countdown is slow and bad, but its selling because of us poor DC fans that are hoping against all hope that one day we'll open one up and something worthwhile will happen, all the while wasting 2.99 a week for 52 weeks.

As long as there are very silly people who think "teh suxx0r" counts as literary criticism, those books will always need defenders( hopefully drawn by Kevin Maguire ).

Maybe you could tell us a little bit about why you don't like Count down, other than it's stupid and it's ugly and nobody likes it.

Personally, I'm stunned that a book headlined by such luminaries as Jimmy Olsen, The Pied Piper, and Mary Marvel is lighting up the sales charts the way it is. Considering that it's not leaning on the Wolverines and Batmans of the world to move books, really not working in the style of conventional blockbuster books, and selling well every week, it seems that a large portion of the comic buying public would disagree that it's DC's worst book of the year.

So you did read it. I'm glad.

Okay, so what did you think about


Oh wait... you didn't read it?

To all the Countdown naysayers:

If you don't buy it and you don't like it.....shaddup, your opinion doesn't matter!

If you buy it and don't like it....What a maroon! Stop buying it! But your opinion matters. I guess.

It's kinda like voting if you didn't vote then you can't complain about the current leadership.

If you are reading a friends copy, sure you can chime in, but honestly why is it worth the time and effort to complain when the magazine is in DC's top 20 sellers!? Are you going to change everyone's minds? For those fence sitters, it's way too late to drop in the series, it's practically over, wait till the TPB's come out. I personally like it, but that doesn't mean you should run out and buy it. Certain styles of storytelling, art, and presentation appeal differently to everyone. Opinions are like behinds, everyone has one and they stink.

I will admit, Countdown has improved, I've actually enjoyed the last several issues, but boy they sure took their sweet time getting to the interesting stuff.

And I lol'ed to read that All Star Batman is the stop selling book of last month. I hope and pray there will not be comic book creators giving interviews in 20 years talking about how All Star Batman influenced them to get into the industry and they hope to make their new Batman story in that same vein . . .

the tittle of this thread remember me something....

Weird. And I'm quite positive I didn't once use teh suxx0r or anything of the sort. Nor so much as a grammatical error or a smiley face.

Anyway. Why is Countdown a bad book? Let's see...

Let's go all the way back to the first few issues. We start the storyline off with Superman helping Jimmy Olsen find Jason Todd for an interview. While Jason Todd is in the middle of killing some thugs. You'd think that Superman, instead of just continuing on with his business, would drag Jason Todd in to justice.

Oh, let's also not forget Jason Todd directing Jimmy to speak with the Joker. You know. The guy who killed Todd. And then when Jimmy sees him? Lordy. A rehash of the Silence of the Lambs.

Then we have Mary Marvel acting evil and nasty after gaining Black Adam's power. Before any intervention from Eclipso comes around. Rather, Mary seems to be getting corrupted by Black Adam's power itself. This is wrong on a number of levels.

The first is that Mary Marvel is quite capable of handling that sort of power on her own - she's had it before. Black Adam is only marginally more powerful than Mary was herself.

Second...by making Black Adam's power inherently corrupting, it underscores the character of Black Adam entirely. Suddenly he's not a violent, vicious individual because of inherent character flaws, but instead because of his evil power. All the culpability for his actions is taken away. When Isis dies, telling Black Adam that the world is evil and needs to be punished, it serves no purpose - Adam was already corrupt and vile and barely held in check, anyway. Her words influencing Adam is unlikely. And, ultimately, it makes Osiris' decision to forsake Adam's power seem completely sensible.

So rather than a tragic figure who strived to make himself a better man despite certain flaws in his character, we have magical corruption that forced him to become the evil man he was.

And rather than a slow, seduction of the innocent with Mary, we just have her go from Mary to Evil Thug Dressed Like a Slutbag in the span of an issue or two after gaining Adam's power.

Let's not forget the story format, which often includes snippets of information happening in other books. The death of Bart Allen, why Karate Kid is fighting Batman, all of that? More than a few times, Countdown has required information from other books. It's included snippets that didn't add much to the story. That only made sense if you've been reading a number of other books. That just interrupt the flow of the story.

All Star Batman was the top-selling DC book for November. Just because a large number of people are buying a book doesn't mean it's good. DC's been pimping Countdown to no end. It started off with some good will from 52. A huge number of books, such as Justice League, the Flash, and others are crossing over into it.

Of course it's selling well. DC is doing its damnedest to sell the thing.

But as far as "lighting up the sales charts," folk like Booster Gold, Renee Montoya, and Steel were doing just fine without Batman as well - and made about 20,000 or so more sales on average with 52 than Countdown's been able to pull in.

Oh wait...I read up to around the 13th or so issue, which amounts to a whole year of comics, and found it a pile of dreck?

It has had the equivalent of over two years worth of publishing to get off its feet. Is it possible it's getting better now? Sure.

But the creative team also hasn't changed, last I checked. And even the worst authors can occasionally put out a good book - take a four year run of any book and I'm sure a few good issues can be found out of it. That doesn't mean the book's any good.

And "continuity-centric" doesn't mean a darn thing. A bad story can fit just fine into continuity. Then there are good books like 52 which, for almost the entirety of its run, only had the most basic, minor impact on continuity to avoid giving away too much of what was going on in the storyline. And was leaps and bounds better.

Meanwhile, there are books that have been good for two or more years and don't have anywhere near the readership of Countdown. Books that hit their stride in 6 issues, not 26. That are much more deserving of an audience than Countdown, which has been bad for almost the entirety of its run and still has the same exact creative team that kept writing bad book after bad book for weeks on end.

No, it's not actually. It's like if you voted for George Bush during the first election, but didn't vote for him during the second. Those people have every right to complain. Particlarly when they voted for another candidate (in this case, decided to read other books) but then their candidate lost (due to cancellation or whatever).

Not to mention the idea "You have no right to complain if you're not reading" is bull.

It could just as readily be said "You have no right to compliment the book if you're reading it."

Of course you think it sucks if you're not reading it for reasons other than monetary ones.

And of course you think it's good if you're still reading it.

And anyone who's still reading it and thinks it's terrible should stop.

And anyone who's not reading it but thinks it's great...well, I don't know exactly how that works.

But regardless: If you want to try convincing people to read a book? Do it for a book that didn't take 25+ issues to hit its stride. Particularly when books like Countdown don't need the help.

Wow, you really have a hate on with the idea that there might be fans of the series huh?
I entirely defend jackstar7 in his opinion that the Countdown series and even its multitude of crossover series has been fun and only getting more and more so.

Well, to take this back around to the original point of the post, yes, Countdown #18 was very good, and some other recent issues have been good, too.

I do not think DC has a good handle yet on the best way to do a weekly series (I bailed out of 52 at issue #40).