countdown question

[Ullar]

i want to read countdown when it ocmes out in the trade but i am wondering if this willb e possible becuase of all the spin offs

[Paul Dee]

That's not a question

But yeah, I think it'll come out in a trade. They might add extra tie-ins in as well although Countdown can be read on its own as a (er..) countdown to Final Crisis. for that reason alone I'd recommend following it on a weekly basis though (if you are intending on reading it that is - I know some people aren't that taken with it), letting the story unfold week-by-week.


I have a feeling that DC will go for biggest way to make money out of the trades though and it'd cost a lot to get them in that format (like the World War III trade which is coming out seperate from the 52 trades even though it features issue 50 of 52).


Dunno if any of this helps.

[Ullar]

it does some. what i meant is if it will be possible to read it in the right order w/ stuff like ray palmer, adventure, mystery, and the monthly tie ins

[Brack360]

Countdown is a series that is designed to be read in the monthly, or rather weekly, format. It is not a series with self-contained story arcs that are ready-made for the TPB format, which seem to dominate the industry these days. Countdown pulls in elements from several other DC Comics being published at the same time, most notably JLA and The Flash so far, and assumes that the reader has knowledge of these concurring events in other books. I don’t think that that it would be impossible to read in TPB format, but it would certainly be awkward and confusing and would require you to know what was going on in other books from a year ago. Countdown will presumably not start coming out in TPB until May 2008, after the entire series is complete.

[Astonishing X-Fan]

DC is pretty damn slow when it comes to putting out trades, too. Half of 52 isn't even out yet.

[botch]

good luck. by the time it's collected in trades, final crisis will be around and you will be given spoilers and the experience won't be as good.

[Captain Jim]

I fully expect it to be collected, but only the actual series, not the tie-in's. However, I also agree with the others that reading it in that format won't be nearly as effective as the weekly format for which it was designed.

[MWGallaher]

The tie-ins, though, will almost certainly be available as individual collections.
I think at least the first volume of Countdown is going to be a painful read. It seems slow and repetitive to lots of us reading in on a weekly basis, and I think that'll be magnified if read in a single sitting. Just imagine: Karate Kid fights Batman. 20 pages later, Karate Kid mopes in jail. 20 pages later, Karate Kid flies off with friends to do something interesting that you don't get to see. 20 pages later, Karate Kid is telling Batman good-bye. 20 pages later, Karate Kid's friends are helping him away from some injury you didn't get to see happening, or have explained to you. 20 pages later, Karate kid is abandoned by his friends. 20 pages later, Karate Kid is seeking help from Oracle for some problem they hadn't mentioned until now.
The compilation will also magnify the botched timeline of the series. From week to week, it's not too difficult to accept that you're reading snippets from independent stories that are moving at their own unique paces. But in one sitting, I think it's going to be far more noticeable that the sequential conventions of the comic book are being violated in every installment: that is, you'll read part of Mary's story, then part of Piper's, then part of Jimmy's, then Mary's picks up several days after you left her, then Jimmy's picks up a week or so after you left him, then Piper's picks up seconds after you left him.

[Sean Walsh]

DC is pretty damn slow when it comes to putting out trades, too. Half of 52 isn't even out yet.

2 volumes are out now, and it's my understanding everything will be collected in 3 or 4 volumes.....

[Ullar]

Thanks for all the replies. This sounds like a headache to read thank God that crisis2crisis is going to cover it.

[Astonishing X-Fan]

2 volumes are out now, and it's my understanding everything will be collected in 3 or 4 volumes.....

4 volumes. Which is why I said only half is out now.

IMHO, the whole thing should be out by now. Why DC takes so much time putting these out in trades I'll never know.

[Brack360]

4 volumes. Which is why I said only half is out now.

IMHO, the whole thing should be out by now. Why DC takes so much time putting these out in trades I'll never know.

52 is a unique situation. DC stated from the beginning that they would not release any trade paperbacks until the entire series was complete. DC has faith in the serialized format. The entire purpose of a weekly series was to get people to go to the comic shop every week, where they would be more likely to buy other books too. This purpose would be defeated by people knowing that the storyline would soon come out in TPB and therefore not bother buying the weekly issues.

[Paul Newell]

4 volumes. Which is why I said only half is out now.

IMHO, the whole thing should be out by now. Why DC takes so much time putting these out in trades I'll never know.
Well with the 52 trades you're not just getting the issues thrown in together. You're getting all the extra's at the end of each "chapter" as well. I'm sure that's taking some time to assemble and get ready before printing.

[Astonishing X-Fan]

52 is a unique situation. DC stated from the beginning that they would not release any trade paperbacks until the entire series was complete. DC has faith in the serialized format. The entire purpose of a weekly series was to get people to go to the comic shop every week, where they would be more likely to buy other books too. This purpose would be defeated by people knowing that the storyline would soon come out in TPB and therefore not bother buying the weekly issues.

I would accept this is most of their trades didn't take too long as it is.

Marvel you often get the trade like a month after the run is finished.

I'm sorry, but anyone who wasn't around during 52 who now wants to read it to catch up with what's going on in the many stories that spinned out of it can not do it with ease. Even if their local store has EVERY issue, that's a hell of a lot of cash to drop at once when there should be a complete trade series out by now.

[botch]

Thanks for all the replies. This sounds like a headache to read thank God that crisis2crisis is going to cover it.

wait a minute, you telling me you're only going to be reading summaries? that's like hearing someone tell you about children of men.

[Scarab]

i want to read countdown when it ocmes out in the trade but i am wondering if this willb e possible becuase of all the spin offs yah wich reminds me does anyone know if ww111 will be in the final tpb of 52.

[Paul Dee]

yah wich reminds me does anyone know if ww111 will be in the final tpb of 52.

It sounds like it's collected seperately, along with 52#50 (although the solicit for the fourth 52 trade also seems to collect issue 50 by the sounds of it - http://dccomics.com/comics/?cm=8178) :


http://dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=8180 = WWIII