Countdown, DC's second attempt at a weekly, year-long series, is supposedly an attempt at detailing the events leading up to Final Crisis, but like the first collected volume before it, the second volume of Countdown is a boring failure. As this collection picks up, we are once again focused on the developments of Jimmy Olsen, Mary Marvel, Flash rogues Piper and Trickster, and more relatively minor characters besides. Believe it or not, the most interesting story element of Countdown are the developments with Karate Kid. The Legion of Superheroes member destiny appears to become a little more apparent here, but a majority of Countdown just seems woefully paced, and ever-boring. Considering that the usually talented Paul Dini layed out the groundwork of Countdown, there just isn't enough here to hold your interest. Even the adventures of Kyle Rayner, Donna Troy, Jason Todd, and Bon the Monitor as they search for Ray Palmer across the various Earth's come off as lame. Between the boring developments, rushed artwork (which looks worse than anything in the much better 52), and uninteresting characters; Countdown is a supreme disappointment. All in all, if you've been closely following the developments leading to Grant Morrison's Final Crisis, Countdown may be worth looking at, but it can also be easily avoided for practically everyone else.