13 on Countdown ... Nah!

First, thanks to everyone who commented or emailed in support of Collected Editions' 13 on 52 series; Spacebooger most recently linked over, but I know there's been more. Writing the thirteen-word summaries fun and interesting and challenging, and I'm glad I undertook it.

The obvious sequel would be "13 on Countdown to Final Crisis" (or possibly "51 Words on Countdown to Final Crisis #51," counting down from there). I thought about it long and hard, and ultimately I've decided not to.

The decision goes back to some of the impetus of creating Collected Editions. In part, I started Collected Editions as a place where I could talk with other fans about trade paperbacks as if they were monthly comics. That is, we wouldn't look at Birds of Prey: Dead of Winter as if it were issues #104 through #108 of Birds of Prey, but rather as the next volume of the Birds of Prey saga -- looking at each trade as an issue, if you will.

This is also something I try to accomplish in my reviews, examining each trade paperback as a whole entity, like a regular novel. Each Stephenie Meyer book may be one in a series, for instance, but each gets reviewed on its own merits; that's how I wanted to look at trade paperbacks as well.

I broke from this for 52 in part because it was such a cool concept, a weekly comic book series that actually corresponded with the months and weeks of the year. There was something magical, I thought, about the original 52 reading experience, reading the Halloween issue on Halloween and the Father's Day issue on Father's Day. The dates didn't quite line up when I went through 52 with "13 on 52" a year later, but it still approximated the 52 experience.

One of the big differences between 52 and Countdown to Final Crisis is that, while 52 was a year without the Big Three, Countdown to Final Crisis is a year inside the DC Universe, literally. 52's linear connection to the outside world is what made it special; Countdown to Final Crisis's connection to the events of the DCU is what makes it special. In that vein, I'm more interested in reading Countdown to Final Crisis in conjunction with other DCU storylines than I am in having the weekly reading experience (hence, to start, my Countdown to Final Crisis trade paperback timeline).

So, what you'll see here not too long from now is a review of Countdown to Final Crisis Volume 1, followed later by reviews of the second, third, and fourth volumes. My aim will be to review each book as if it were a book, on its own self-contained merits, and see how it reads. This is pretty much business as usual at Collected Editions, but it never hurts to restate it. I'll also be taking a close look as I go at how various other DC Comics trade paperbacks cross over and coincide with the Countdown to Final Crisis trade paperbacks.

And as for Wednesdays? The general schedule for Collected Editions has been new reviews on Mondays and Thursdays, and "13 on 52" on Wednesdays. Now? I'm not sure. I take it as something of a challenge to come up with some new and interesting stuff for Wednesdays. I might not have something every week, but I will a lot, and if you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to comment or email me at the email address on the sidebar.

It feels good, going into this next era. Collected Editions has been on a little over three years, and I find myself with renewed excited for the upcoming comics, trade paperbacks, and storylines coming up, mostly Countdown to Final Crisis leading in to Final Crisis and beyond. Thanks to everyone who's read and supported this blog; I appreciate every one of you.

That's it. A new review coming tomorrow. Take care of yourselves.