Four, three...TWO

And resuming the cover countdown, here's #2 featuring three fighting mad Green Lanterns.

There was an advance review of ARENA #1 posted on Newsarama this morning, here's the link:

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=138290

The reviewer had a couple of issues with it and, while it's probably a waste of time, I want to take a second to rebutt a couple of points he made.

REVIEWER'S THOUGHT: "While it’s ably rendered by McDaniel and company, and while Champagne manages to capture distinct bits of characterization from a vast cast that’s drawn from dozens of specials and mini-series from the past couple of decades, it represents in many ways a certain cynical approach (a spin-off mini of a 52-part weekly that you need to read in order to understand parts of the initial 52 parter that won’t actually finish until another mini next year) that’s the worst by-product of plot-first event comics."

KEITH'S THOUGHT: For better or worse, the business model at both Marvel and DC these days is predicated on 'event' comics. Big stories, editorially driven, maximized with spin off books to capture more of the reader's dollar. ARENA is one of those books but, while it is a spawn of Countdown, it also stands as a self-contained story with a beginning, middle, and a definite ending that then joins back up with the mothership to tell the next chapter. I'd like to see it judged on its own merits: Plot, script, art, colors, if possible, and not slammed because the primary nature of its existence is to make a buck.