Countdown continues, and this week we get a history lesson as well as a new character or two, and the beginnings of the “Challengers of the Beyond” team.

Jimmy Olsen catches those of us who didn’t read Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Saga in the 1970s up with the origins of the New Gods and Jimmy’s long forgotten (by most readers anyway) connection to them.

Meanwhile Jason Todd and Donna Troy are fighting for their lives against the Monitor’s Forerunner, Holly Robinson hangs out with hobos, and Karate Kid and Co. try to convince Dr. Midnite to let them out of the JLA Watchtower….Oh…and there is a “surprise” return at the end of the books, and fans of Armageddon 2000 and “Hawk and Dove” will remember…or is it Captain Atom…or someone else completely….I don’t know…

New readers won’t have a clue who he is….google some of the things I mentioned above for more info on the character’s long history in the DCU.

This book continues to be a solid read, and there is A LOT going on in these 22 pages. This issue really moves things along, and continues to push the story forward, which is very important in a weekly series, I think.

If you’re not into “Countdown” yet, you need to get on board before it’s too late and the price of admission becomes too much ot get started. We’re 7 issues in now, and it feels like we’re just getting warmed up…and I love it.

Grade: A