Well...that wasn't very good.

(Spoilers within)



Nice Adam Kubert cover. I like Adam Kubert's art. Seems kinda weird, though, to have him doing covers for OTHER books when the book he is supposed to be drawing is, like, seven years behind schedule.

In his 52 "exit interview," Grant Morrison had this to say about the multiverse...

The idea behind the Megaverse is to basically create a number of big new franchise possibilities. It's like having several comics companies and universes under one umbrella, so, as I say, there could be one book or a whole line of books spinning out of the new Earth 10...That's how I'd like to see the Megaverse played out as we move forward. And no crossovers! Each of the parallel universes should exist in its own separate stream with no contact from the others - not until we have a story worthy of bringing them together.

So, in Countdown #51 (I'd really prefer to call it #1), we have Jason Todd chasing around "the Joker's Daughter," with such dialogue as "I may be from a neighboring Earth, but I have to maintain my bad girl cred, too."

So, Countdown JUST started...52 JUST ended...and ALREADY we have fifth-rate villains talking about the multiverse like it's no different from being from a different city?

And then the Monitors show up!

Oh lord, do the Monitors show up.

Goodness, do the Monitors show up.

Why do the Monitors show up?

Why?!?

I think Paul Dini is quite cool as a writer, and Jesus Saiz's art is very nice (probably the highlight of the book was Saiz's artwork - good stuff), but damned if very little actually happened in this comic, and the main plot - Jason Todd versus Duela Dent (with Monitors mixed in!) was awfully silly.

The Trickster/Pied Piper plotline might have some future legs, but there's little in this issue to take notice of.

Mary Marvel's story seems odd. I trust/hope/doubt that we will get a good explanation as to why no one bothered to visit Mary in the hospital, but for the moment, it is bizarre - and not good bizarre!! However, her story is still very much in the nascent stages, so I guess I can't say anything yet, except to note that her story APPEARS to be cliched as all hell.

I will give the issue this much - the cliffhanger ending WAS intriguing.

I was not a big fan of 52 #1, but it was a LOT better than this issue, which really came as a surprise to me - I was expecting a lot more from Dini.

I wish I could say more about it, but the story was so slight, what is there really to say? Unless you really dig exposition and/or fights between Jason Todd (who is acting a lot different than when Judd Winick writes him - which is every other month) and "Joker's Daughter", then I do not see how this issue would be for you.

Not Recommended.