Counting (Way) Down
Counting (Way) Down
May 14I think what Countdown is lacking for me right now is both novelty and the mad buzz of creation without a net.
52 was novel, of course, and also had the added excitement of being this large, mostly shapeless thing being created whole cloth by four of the industry’s best writers. I think you could often feel that in the writing–a sense of excitement and anticipation, of talented guys pulling off something that even they may not have thought they could pull off. High-wire creative gymnastics on a big-time stage.
With Countdown, a very experienced showrunner from the world of TV has been brought in to perform those same duties on a comic book. Paul Dini’s a talented guy, but there’s a stench of structure and strategy on Countdown that makes it seem far more conventional.
What can shatter that perception are great ideas, and I hope Countdown will deliver those in spades, since, y’know, Dini’s great. But if not, it’s just gonna shape up as 52’s pedestrian sequel, which would be a wasted opportunity.
