The Four Color Media Monitor

The following is a statement made by Greg Rucka on the Newsarama website:

“I want to say, before anything else that we tried very hard to build OMAC so that you weren’t obligated to buy anything else, and we failed,” Rucka said. “We really did. I’ll cop to it – I won’t lie about it. And we did it by playing dirty pool too – if you were buying The OMAC Project, you really need the Superman and Wonder Woman books to know what’s happening in issue #4 of the miniseries. If you don’t read them, it’s possible to understand them, but you don’t get the emotional resonance. That was a little bit of dirty pool, but we didn’t plan it out that way – we weren’t looking to spring this on people, but that’s the way it happened, and again, we’re sorry. So instead of a six issue miniseries, you get a ten issue miniseries, and I won’t fault any reader for not picking it up. I’d still suggest them though, because they’re a good story and worth reading, but I’d suggest, if nothing else, you pick up Wonder Woman #219 at the very least – call it issue OMAC #3.5 if you must, because it sets up the events of OMAC #4.”

Greg, with all due respect, I like your work, I really do, but...no. I'm not saying that Mr. Rucka is at fault here, but I will have to say that DC, if anyone, was being very dishonest with the readers by not telling in advance that, in spite of what may have been said earlier, that the OMAC Project didn't require reading other books in order to understand what's going on in the miniseries itself, it DID. Update: as of today, I'm no longer impressed with Rucka, even if he's not the worst writer per se today.

The failure of this whole buildup to yet another needless crossover is already starting to be felt. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, DC hasn't been publishing those silly "this issue sells out/goes back to press" news releases as much as they did before recently. Whether or not they're selling well, it's apparent that things are beginning to take their toll.

Update: an older item where I may have discovered for starters that Blue Beetle will be a victim of Countdown. And to make matters worse, Newsarama's interview with Greg Rucka does not reveal very promising details about it either:

"Likewise, the throughline of The OMAC Project draws directly upon the aftermath of Identity Crisis. The damage you get from Identity Crisis - the trauma that was inflicted upon the characters, both in terms of present continuity and revised past continuity - it's something that has to be addressed," Rucka said. "The OMAC Project is a story that, in part, is about Batman's reaction to the Dr. Light incident being absolutely corrupted for an evil purpose."

Sounds like a direct spinoff of IC, and frankly, I would rather save money than be gypped of any of my valuble greenbacks for the sake of some arbitrary miniserials that could in the end cost as much as another 4 dollars each.

This is decidedly the time that fans will have to face a real test to see if they can avoid being taken in by one of the big two's further attempts at foisting something upon their loyal buyers that they really have no use for. And me for one, well, I most certainly won't be fooled by a one dollar price tag, no matter what goes on. As Batman's Ten Cent Adventures showed, it's just not worth it.

Update 2: this item on Comics Should be Good talks about the political themes Countdown could have.

Update 3: DC's VP-editorial Dan DiDio is as sugarcoated as he was before when speaking with the ultra-establishment Newsarama about this awful x-over:

Dan Didio told attendees DC and the writers have spent so much time on Countdown, he called the book “seamless”, despite have three writers (Rucka, Judd Winick and Johns) and challenged any reader to figure out who wrote what.

Which I am not interested in doing. I am simply not interested in Countdown despite the price of just one dollar, which could indicate that they know they're in trouble now, following Identity Crisis.

An important note: not mentioned in here from what I can tell is that DiDio wants to use this as a way of "darkening" the DCU, just for the sake of it. Though some creators tried to assure the readers otherwise, and could have a point, it makes no difference; I have no interest in Countdown.

And also, on the knee-jerk Comics Nexus, we've got something truly ridiculous that implies that Batman's story arc in which Jason Todd appears to be returning is "fanboy material":

"Neat new cover. Unlike a lot of people (including some in our very own Roundtable) I have no problem with this one that "gives away" the shock ending. Why? Well, because if you are a "fanboy" you already know the shock ending."

By fanboys, the meaning is apparently those who find the material to be great stuff no matter what, regardless of whether it's good or bad.

Is this really what the industry should be built on though? And again, did we really need this kind of a story?

Labels: bad editors, crossoverloading, dc comics, moonbat writers, Superman, Wonder Woman