Countdown to...Change?

It's the mid-point for the weekly extravaganza Countdown, and apparently -- according to this interview with Newsarama, at any rate -- some changes might be on the horizon...

1. “Let every book be itself.”

The oft-awkward pacing of other DC Comics to fit in with the overarching Countdown storyline had been somewhat of a disaster. Maybe Dan DiDio agrees? He says in the interview:

"Let every book be itself.” Let every story have its own pace. If someone feels, correctly or incorrectly, that their “experience” has been revealed in Countdown or revealed in say, Sinestro Corps War, that’s reflected in another series…I’m willing to make that sacrifice because at the end of the day, I’m confident that Countdown is better because Superman Prime appears at the moment he does, or more importantly, the Superman Prime storyline plays out in the way it does in Sinestro Corps War, and we don’t alter one story or the other."

Will this mean that writers will have more freedom to develop/structure their plots and storylines outside of the iron-clad dictum of Countdown-Countdown-Countdown?

I think that some writers have been alienated by that level of control and capitulation to the needs of the larger event. I don't just mean that the writers have been merely "inconvenienced." I mean, some might have been alienated, disgusted, straitjacketed, frustrated.

And the problem with taking so much independence from said writers is that post-Final Crisis success is going to be measured by how many skilled writers besides Grant Morrison is writing DCU.

2. Adding editorial boxes to clarify continuity and crossover issues.

See, I think the utter pomposity of DC in interviews regarding their refusal to add the editorial boxes in Countdown did a lot to cheese off readers. I mean, obviously there was a problem, there was confusion. But instead of responding to that, DC got defensive. They were like: "you said we made a mistake but we didn't and just to show we didn't we will not change one iota."
But in the inteview DiDio says:

"And this is where we’re going to be adding in editorial boxes that will tell readers what’s up if a character’s appearance or actions don’t reflect their actions or appearance in any other issues at the time, it will say something like, “Read Green Lantern #25.” Again, I don’t want any individual story to suffer just to make things line up perfectly."

This is rule one not only of interacting with comic book readers but with today's consumers in general: get off the high horse. Have a dialogue with them. Respond to their feedback. Adapt.

3. The "bounce" towards the Final Crisis.

C'mon, who wouldn't guess that there would be an effort to make the last issues of Countdown better in an attempt to maximize sales for Final Crisis?

"I believe the series has leveled off, and I’m hoping that we see a little bit of a bounce moving towards the conclusion, because I feel that people will start to respond more to the things that are going on in the series itself in the sense of they’ll feel that things are occurring at a much more rapid pace. I’m also suspecting that we’ll pick up more readers as we get closer to Final Crisis because people are going to want to see what the line is between Countdown and Final Crisis itself. And I think that if anyone is coming to this series curious to see what’s going on, they’re going to be excited by it, because rather than being exhausted at this point, everyone is pushing as hard as they can, and there’s a lot of energy on those pages."

Which is a noble sentiment, I guess, but the proof will be in the execution.

In closing, I'll leave off with Dan's description of why Superman Prime has captured the imagination of readers:

"Sure, he’s the Anti-Superman, but more than that, some of the greatest villains you can face are the ones who are single-minded, and above all, who don’t see that they’re a threat or a villain in any way. No villain wakes up in the morning, spins their moustache, and says, “I’m going to be villainous today.” They have incredible justification for all of their actions, no matter how horrific they are. That’s what makes Superman Prime great – he believes he’s working towards something better. He believes he’s doing the right thing, and he truly believes that the ends justify the means. He is so adamant about his beliefs that he is completely combative with anyone who disagrees with him. He has complete belief in his convictions, and is willing to do whatever it takes to implement them."