And here we are at week 46. I've made some comments here (see below postings) and at Andrew Hickey's Blog, but I guess this is the real start of my blogging Countdown. So, let's begin...
We're six weeks into the story, and we're finally starting to get a sense of what's going on. The story is unfolding gradually, and we're still in the "What the bleep's goin' on here?" part of the story. 52 started out from the get-go with a lot of densly packed stuff, and that grabbed a lot of readers right away. Countdown is structured in a more traditional manner, with the plot unfolding and building.
If the story follows the "three act paradym", which it so far appears to be, there should be a small climax and a big reveal somewhere within the next six issues.
p1: So just when did Jimmy age? He looks far older here than just about anything in which I've seen him. Could this possibly be the Earth-17 (Jack Kirby's Fourth World) Jimmy? That might also explain some of the recent continuity 'disconnects' we've seen with Jimmy and his supporting cast. That doesn't mean that "Goody" Rickles will be showing up soon, does it?
p2-5 I'm getting the feeling that whule the "SHAZAM!" thunderbolt kept Mary at the same age, the "sorry" thunderbolt has fully aged her into an adult. I don't think, by the way, that this is the Earty-5 Mary. I'm guessing it's either "New Earth" or one of the other worlds. Though nobody's said so specifically, there's been enough hints dropped that I can figure out that Earth-5 is the Jeff Smith Shazamoverse. Then again, as far as "New Earth" goes, I was thinking that the Rock of Eternity had been put back together, and that Captain Marvel's job now was sitting at the center of the rock in order to hold things together. Guess I should be reading The Trials of Shazam! to get a clue about this.
p6-8: Not much to say here. I like the handling of the rogues so far, and seeing what's been hinted in Flash I think they're in for a bumpy ride.
p 9-12: I'm inclined to agree with Olson; "What the hell is going on here?!" Nothing here dissuades me from my Earth-17 theory. I'm wondering if the mystery 'killer' might not be some version of the Black Racer. Or, could be a monitor, I suppose, but at this stage I'm inclined to think not. Whoever it was, Sleez has seen him before.
p 13-14: In the old days I used to wonder whether Johnny Thunder ever realized that the magic word to call out his Thunderbolt was "Cei-U", or whether he just used to say "Say You!" at appropriate times by accident. He never seemed to have a firm grasp on calling forth the Thunderbolt, but then again there were a lot of facets to life that he never seemed to have a firm grasp on. I'm getting the idea that Mary Marvel hasn't yet picked up on the fact that her new magic word is "sorry". And, by the way, what DID just happen to her?
p 15-20: Not much to say here, either. I'm still waiting for more developments. By the way, why does Jason wear a mask under his mask?
p21-26: It's a good recap if the multiverse is going to remain, otherwise why bother? Although, since it's been about 22 years since the first big Crisis, I suppose a "what has gone before" might be helpful to the readers who came in late, though the time for the recap might have been a special between the last issue of 52 and the first issue of Countdown. Oh, and by the way, Dinah's husband was named Larry Lance, not Larry Drake.
So, there's Countdown 46. How'm I doing?
