DC Comics seems intent on destroying Keith Giffen’s version of the Justice League. First, we have Identity Crisis, which killed Sue Dibny and turned the Elongated Man into a grim and gritty guy. Or whatever. I made it through an issue or so of it before ignoring it.
And now we have Countdown to Infinite Crisis (bad title), written by Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka and Judd Winick, with art by all sorts of artists. It’s like a comic book written by committee, drawn by committee, edited by committee, with a title that cribs from better comics. And it manages to shit on Keith Giffen’s Justice League and Jack Kirby’s O.M.A.C (One Man Army Corps) all in one issue.
In this crossover that apparently leads to other crossovers, Blue Beetle is investigating the loss of his fortune, bouncing all over the DC Universe. But you can tell just how stupid the writing is when Oracle informs Blue Beetle that someone is using his ATM card: it’s Booster Gold, who’s using it to get $300 so he can catch a flight to Miami. Booster Gold needs money to fly to Miami. Booster Gold HAS A FRICKING FLIGHT RING. Ahem. Anyhow, Booster and Beetle begin an investigation that’s actually pretty interesting: I mean, interesting in that they actually investigate, rather than do what every other hero in the DC Universe does and call Oracle and have her magically come up with all the answers (Batman hasn’t used his detective skills for years, since lazy writers would rather get to the butt-kicking).
And it pains me, because there’s so much right with this comic in terms of pacing, the mystery to be solved, the characterization, etc. You really get the feeling that Beetle is in over his head. And then you get to the last page.
Sigh. I know it’s always been the hallmark of crossovers: let’s kill some hero so as to amplify the supposed danger. In this case, we have Blue Beetle shot in the head (and they even have the lack of decency to graphically show it) by Maxwell Lord. Yep, in one page, they manage to once again stick it to Giffen’s JLA. As if Identity Crisis wasn’t bad enough, they basically do the same thing in this comic. It’s comics as snuff film.
Now, they’ve left enough hooks in to bring him back, of course: there’s the whole magic scarab that the previous Blue Beetle used, the O.M.A.C. project, etc. But that’s not really the point: without the death, the comic works perfectly fine. It’s nothing but marketing gimmick, a ploy, and it’s shameful. And tiring. Can there ever be a crossover event that doesn’t include deaths, rapes, dismemberments?
At least there’s still Keith Giffen’s JLA run to read, where Sue and Ralph live happily, Blue Beetle and Booster still joke around, and Max Lord is just a rich doofus. Fire and Mary Marvel better run far, far away: they’ll surely be victims in the next crossover.
P.S. for the DC marketing department: the whole O.M.A.C. thing is supposed to be a mystery to solve: you probably shouldn’t blow part of the secret in an ad.
Addendum: Just found a completely hilarious stream of consciousness review of Countdown #1 that’s just too funny to ignore.
Addendum 2: Comic Book Resources has an interview with Keith Giffen up, concerning this series. Very interesting read: I especially like the point that without Giffen, folks probably wouldn’t even care about these characters getting killed, changed, etc. That’s probably right.
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