Countdown: Based on the DC Comics Series

By Greg Cox

Book Overview

The explosive novelization of the events that followed the cataclysm of Infinite Crisis . Cosmic legend has it that when the primordial gods of antiquity perished in some bygone cataclysm, the universe gave birth to a new breed of gods who reigned from two eternally warring worlds, the heavenly New Genesis and the hellish Apokolips. Now, a vast conspiracy of evil is determined to eradicate the New Gods, stealing their souls to wield universal power that can destroy all of reality. At the end of an age in which time, space, and reality may bow before such sinister forces, the fate of the Earth lies in the hands of five unlikely super heroes who have one destiny to fulfill: to save the world at all costs, regardless of the consequences.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0441017185
• ISBN13: 9780441017188
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Length: 321 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 17 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12

Customer Reviews

Based on the DC Comics series

Greg Cox's COUNTDOWN is based on the DC Comics series and provides a cast of comic book figures, from Jimmy Olsen and Mary Marvel to Jason Todd and ex-superheroes forced to retire and rejoin humanity - until all the superheroes are called upon to save the world.

Good Adaptation

While the Countdown comic series was pretty maligned by the fandom, I thought the novelization did a good job with the story. Unfortunately several story lines are cut for length that I would have liked to have seen, but what is there is well done.

for DC fans of the older Crisis on Infinite Earth saga

The New Gods live on two different worlds: the paradise New Genesis and the hell hole Apokolips that makes Dante's description seem mild. The ruler of Apokolips is Darkseid, who intends to destroy the multiverse that consists of fifty-two universes; in the end he plans to rule over a new multiverse. There are opposition forces trying to prevent his cataclysmic scheme from happening, but he is currently maneuvering former super humans as expendable chess pawns furthering his chances of success. Jimmy Olsen suddenly develops super powers that activates when his life is in danger. The Monitor Solomon kidnaps Donna "Wonder Girl" Troy and former Robin, Jason Todd, a bitter young man,. They need to find Ray "Atom" Palmer who vanished due to grief after his wife became mentally insane and became a killer. The Atom holds the key to the survival of all fifty-two multiverses. This follow-up to INFINITE CRISIS and 52 continues the story of the War between the New Gods with the COUNTDOWN to the end of the multiverse as "we" know it. There are several subplots besides those above including one involving Mary Marvel coming out of a coma and Catwoman coming out of enforced retirement (as did Todd and Troy). Fun and exciting especially for DC fans of the older Crisis on Infinite Earth saga and the Jack Kirby's New Gods pantheon will enjoy the latest novelization of the end of the multiverse; newcomers will be as confused as the original baby boomers were back in the post Silver Age. Harriet Klausner