DC Countdown, commonly referred to as Countdown to Infinite Crisis, is a one-shot publication and the official start of the "Infinite Crisis" storyline. It was released 30 March 2005, sold out, and quickly went to a second printing. When this comic was first published, the cover showed Batman holding a shadowed corpse, so as not to ruin the surprise of who dies. For the second printing, the shadows were removed to reveal the identity of the corpse. During initial solicitations the comic was entitled DC Countdown to postpone revelation of an upcoming crisis. Countdown was a special 80 page comic originally priced at $1, much lower than would normally be the case for an 80-page comic, although the second printing was priced at $2. The script was co-written by Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, and Judd Winick, while the art chores were divided up, generally on a chapter by chapter basis, between the penciller-inker teams of Rags Morales & Michael Bair, Jesus Saiz & Jimmy Palmiotti, Ivan Reis & Marc Campos, and Phil Jimenez & Andy Lanning. Artist Ed Benes pencilled and inked his chapter. Source: Wikipedia (en)