tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post2368022224953272207..comments2024-03-27T21:12:28.287-05:00Comments on Collected Editions: Review: Countdown to Final Crisis Vol. 4 trade paperback (DC Comics)collectededitionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-71360684001343645062010-09-24T11:09:56.460-05:002010-09-24T11:09:56.460-05:00Agreed the stories don't quite match up, but I...Agreed the stories don't quite match up, but I know there's a page in the middle of Death of the New Gods with Darkseid sitting in the midst of a bunch of screens that shows Countdown going on at the same time. I believe I understood that, because the gods were being hunted in Death of the New Gods, among the ways Darkseid tried to save himself was challenging the Monitor in Countdown. <br /><br />The end of Death of the New Gods, when Darkseid disappears, takes place right before the end of Countdown, when Darkseid reappears and fights the final battle of the series. Then -- here's where it gets tricky -- according to DC Universe #0, Darkseid subsequently goes back in time to where we see him in Seven Soldiers and in the Dark Side Club stories (so, Darkseid and Boss Dark Side are now existing at the same time), up until the Countdown point, after which it's just the Boss Dark Side incarnation that finishes out Final Crisis.<br /><br />If you can see it as the Boss Dark Side business taking place after Countdown from Darkseid's perspective, but simultaneously from our perspective, the whole thing makes a lot more sense.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-25283767854674370502010-08-11T06:28:11.900-05:002010-08-11T06:28:11.900-05:00(I just finished reading this, so I apologize for ...(I just finished reading this, so I apologize for posting to such an old review.)<br /><br />As discussed in your review for Black Adam a while back, that was actually a really good story. Also, my favourite tie-in series to Countdown was Lord Havok & The Extremists. I found it pretty awesome, actually, probably because it had very little to do with the other Countdown characters and storylines, with the exception of them being recruited by Monarch and a few epilogue pages at the end that shows how they escaped the Prime/Monarch explosion on Earth-51. It focused on Earth-8 and the rise and fall of the heroes and villains there. It's definitely worth checking out, even post-Countdown, as again most of the story stands on its own.<br /><br />I will second the notion that Countdown Vol 3 was the best of the bunch; it was the only one I really enjoyed. What got me about Vol 4 was how it didn't seem to line up with The Death of the New Gods mini-series, which I read in between Vols 3 and 4. I thought Death of the New Gods explained pretty well what was going on with the Source and Darkseid et al, but none of that seemed to jive with the Darkseid story told in Countdown. Was Darkseid hanging out on Apokolips or on Earth? In Countdown Brother Eye took over Apokolips briefly and then exploded half the planet when he was forced out; none of this was evident in DotNG. Also, was the Darkseid/Orion fight in Countdown supposed to take place after their fight in DotNG? I could maybe buy that, but at the end of DotNG Darkseid had claimed the power of the New Gods souls and escaped with it; here in Countdown he's trying to extract that power from Jimmy Olsen but is defeated. Just overall, those blatant contradictions ruined things a bit for me.D. Mark Simmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16537028797086907873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-86565257664024572192009-05-17T21:58:00.000-05:002009-05-17T21:58:00.000-05:00I didn't read the Four Horsemen one, but the Black...I didn't read the Four Horsemen one, but the Black Adam book wasn't bad. <br /><br />I like Tomasi's work so far. He's not always great, but usually good.Geoffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-6852461206773246252009-05-17T12:35:00.000-05:002009-05-17T12:35:00.000-05:00I thought the 52 Aftermath Black Adam and Four Hor...I thought the 52 Aftermath Black Adam and Four Horsemen (especially) spin-offs were unnecessary and didn't buy them; now a bevy of comics refer to Black Adam, and Four Horsemen ties into the new Doom Patrol series. I guess if the spin-offs don't matter right away, I appreciate "retroactive usefulness."collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-43905672737314487132009-05-11T17:10:00.000-05:002009-05-11T17:10:00.000-05:00That's the worst part. I wish he looked at in ter...That's the worst part. I wish he looked at in terms of quality, not how many other crappy books can he sell with it.<br /><br />I'm trying to speak with my dollar, I refuse to buy DC's junk spin-offs from now on. I hope others do too.Geoffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-87495574196897367462009-05-11T09:04:00.000-05:002009-05-11T09:04:00.000-05:00I suspect Didio means that in terms of the number ...I suspect Didio means that in terms of the number of spin-offs they could come up with. The only spin-off they could do with 52 was World War 3, which was poorly received. Hopefully Didio's learned a valuable lesson with Countdown.Jeffrey Hardy Quahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00011880432832659089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-80549847462143435812009-05-10T20:50:00.000-05:002009-05-10T20:50:00.000-05:00I read an interview with Mark Waid where he quotes...I read an interview with Mark Waid where he quotes Didio saying "Countdown was 52 done right." I find that realy unsettling.Geoffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10945794.post-36375100793354285942009-05-08T14:01:00.000-05:002009-05-08T14:01:00.000-05:00I loved FC and its tie-ins but so many needlessly ...I loved FC and its tie-ins but so many needlessly dangling plotpoints and characterizations in Countdown (especially near the end) really left me scratching my head. Having just re-read it in TPB's, it seems that one could stop reading the series after Prime/Monarch's destruction of Universe-51 and just jump straight into Final Crisis #1 from there, as that event seemed to have more bearing on the FC/SupesBeyond plot than anything else here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com