Broken Frontier

Jimmy Olsen has weird dreams, Holly Robinson doesn’t take any crap, and Mary Marvel confronts Black Adam. The Rogues and the Monitors are up to something too.

Jeez! Could there by anything else in this comic? Probably, and in further issues I am sure there will be. But for now we see Jimmy Olsen deal with his newly developing connection to something greater than himself, Holly Robinson leave her old life behind, and Mary Marvel get a new one. We also see the Monitors debate over whether or not to rid the Multiverse of Jason Todd (PLEASE), Donna Troy, and Kyle Rayner. Some of you might not like their decision. Additionally, Flash’s rogues party it up while the Trickster and the Piper discuss their re-found villainy.

Yes, again, that is a lot. But Paul Dini and Sean McKeever nevertheless make it work. While at times it feels a bit like an ad for other comics—you might know more about the plights of various characters if you read comics they regularly appear in—the storytelling is solid. Dini is weaving something here, something bigger than its parts. If the readers are patient they should be rewarded in the end. With comments about a "third crisis" looming on the horizon in JSA and JLA, Countdown’s various, seemingly disconnected storylines can only be leading up to something far more profound for the entirety of the DCU. While it may be a bit much to take in one issue, the intrigue, suspense, and yes, even historical information is enough to make you want to keep on the weekly wagon.

Now, I’ve worried about the art before on this book, not because any one artist has been bad, quite the contrary. These are good pencilers and inkers, if not superstars. My concern was that the style would be so different each week that fans would get frustrated with the changing "feel" of the book. So far, it has been an unfounded fear. Tom Derenick, along with his three inkers, did a bang-up job this week capturing the DC artistic feel. It is classic and modern at the same time, owing partly to the iconic look of the major players in the story and partly to the story being told through the art. Derenick’s artwork is subtle yet oddly powerful, which holds up well with a story that may not be flashy, but is however, important.

Countdown tastes different than 52, to be sure. So far, however, Dini and his crew have made it just as intriguing. And since we don’t know what will happen when it is over, it might even be more rewarding.