Our thanks as always to Marc-Oliver Frisch and The Beat for providing this information.

Marc-Oliver Frisch writes "DC Comics’ big launch in May was, of course, the weekly Countdown. Succeeding the tremendously successful 52 and widely publicized as the “spine of the DC Universe” for the coming twelve months, Countdown seems to be met with high expectations by the publisher: It has to deliver as an event book in its own right; and, unlike 52, it also has to serve as the lynchpin of a large-scale crossover with a plethora of tie-ins and spin-off books coming up, all of which are going to live or die on the popularity of the mother title. Do the first four issues of Countdown live up to those expectations? Well, look below for an answer."

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