Four Color Quickie!

I am going to try to give brief comments on the books I picked up on Sunday at Nuclear Comics. If something really catches my eye I'll do something a bit longer.

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In COUNTDOWN Presents Lord Havok & the Extremists #3, we get to see the origin of Tracer. I don't recall much about the character but here he is an Army deserter caught and then experimented on by the government. He gets one of those Weapon Alpha/Wolverine make-overs with claws, healing factor, etc. On one mission he is about to be 'deacativated' by the government, when a mysterious someone in armor (Lord Havok?) saves him and removes an implanted device which would have ended his life. In the final few pages he is ambushed by members of Monarch's super-hero/villain task force and apparently killed. Who knows?

Apparently this is Monarch teaching a lesson to anyone who will not join or bow to him. I expect Lord Havok not to be too happy about all this. The origin of Tracer is said in a footnote to have taken place between COUNTDOWN #29 & 28, but I'm not sure at what point this final scene occurs. To be honest the story is a bit disjointed, probably the poorest issue of this spin off series. Writer Frank Tieri seems to have rushed through this, more intent on giving artist Mark Robinson violent things to draw rather than tell a decent story.

To be honest, I'm only half way through COUNTDOWN TO MYSTERY #4. An online review tells me that it ties into COUNTDOWN #17, which I haven't read yet. Of course, I didn't know that before I began reading the story.

The opening splash has the female Eclipso using her power to grow Double Ds. I mean I don't recall her being like that in other appearances. We kind of see down her blouse, but that's nothing compared to the 'up the skirt' shot (Who knew that Dark Mary Marvel wore a thong?) in panel one of page 2. It also seems that DMM has used the same bra-straining superpower and we also find out that it really is pretty cold in space, if you know what I mean (and I think you do).

I may have more to say about the story by Matthew Sturges later, but the fan-service stuff by artist Stephen Jorges Segovia so called attention to itself that I had to say something.

Are there any women at DC editorial? Does this offend anybody else? Hell, I'm a guy and it bothers me!!!

More as time permits later this week.