Posted on: June 1st, 2011 No Joke: DC To Reboot Entire Universe This September

That ain’t a typo in the headline, you’re reading it right. Yesterday, DC announced – to a collective ‘WTF’ from most of the internet – that beginning August 31, fifty-two of their titles will be completely relaunched from scratch. The baffling move will come hot off the climax of Flashpoint, the current big DC event series.

But what does that mean, exactly? Honestly, I still haven’t  the foggiest, but it seems like the change is as profound as it seems. From what I’ve read here and there online, most current on-goings will come to an “end”, and major characters will be rebooted ala Marvel’s Ultimates style, though in this case I don’t think they’re being treated as alternate entities; there aren’t going to be two different Batman continuities, or two different Supermans… or is there? Fuck, this is confusing.So, each title will relaunch with a new issue #1, and possibly new costumes and origins. The first of the titles to begin anew will be JLA (bringing together the creative team of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, the brains behind this whole thing), and will extend as far as Action Comics and Detective Comics. Still with me? This doesn’t make much sense, but basically DC is doing a universe-wide do-over. At least until Crisis on Infinite Earths II six years from now, when everything will revert to the way it was again.

So just let that all digest for a little while. As fucky a move as it sounds – one that will piss off many fans – you have to give it up to DC for having the balls to do something like this. They’ve been #2 in sales for a long time, and they’ve essentially said fuck it, we’ll do it live to put some ripples back in the stagnant waters. It’s a damn risky move, though. On the other hand, this could bring a ton of new readers to comics. Maybe. That’s the idea anyways. It’s conceivably much easier for a kid to hop on board with Superman or Aquaman if they can get on from the beginning, without seventy years of backstory. And trust me, this universe revamp will be younger and hipper. Again, the risk is high, but so is the potential.

[UPDATE]

The cats over at Comic Book Resources have simplified some of the terms of this ‘reboot’ and spelled it out for us. At least partially. DC will launch 52 titles, all starting with #1, with 13 titles coming out each week. Included in those titles are:

• “A new title starring Superman written by Grant Morrison.
• Birds of Prey #1 – This new ongoing series will not feature the work of longtime “BoP” writer Gail Simone. In fact, many tried and true approaches to books will be getting a second look at DC in September.
• Teen Titans #1 – The new start for the teen team will be written by “Red Robin” scribe Fabian Nicieza.
• Justice Society of America #1 – Only one of a number of current titles that will welcome a creative team shift, the future of the original superhero team will apparently not involve current writer Marc Guggenheim.
• Wonder Woman #1 – Don’t expect the recent changes from writer J. Michael Straczynski to stick when the Amazing Amazon sees another new #1 hit.
• Green Lantern #1 – Even with a new #1, Green Lantern remains in Johns’ hands, and readers can expect the effects of major crossovers like “Blackest Night” to stay in place moving forward.
• Hawkman #1 – While fans have known a “Hawkman” series by James Robinson has been in the works since the writer mentioned it on a panel at New York Comic Con, Bleeding Cool’s Rich Johnston has been reporting the rumor that the book will be drawn by “Batman & Robin” and “Outsiders” artist Philip Tan.
• Aquaman #1 – No surprises here. The already announced series featuring the sea king by Johns and Ivan Reis will be part of the relaunch wave.”

Again, thanks to CBR for that information.

[/UPDATE]

Another bold decision from DC, is to begin day-and-date digital releases for all of these titles beginning in September. No longer will you have to wait months for only select titles to hit your ipad; if you’re a digital reader guy, you can now celebrate comic book Wednesdays at home. The same day the book hits the brick and mortar is the same day your finger can buy it from Comixology. This is great news for many fans, and a smart business move from DC. It’s also awful news to retailers, who are probably already feeling the sting of sales, or lack thereof.

So savor the flavor of your DC comics for a little while, for they ain’t gonna be around for much longer, it seems. Not in the way you know them at least. I suspect, however, that things will remain comfortably familiar… or will they?

The end/beginning of the DCU. Discuss.

Read an official letter, from DC’s Bob Wayne to retailers, below:

To our comics retail partners,

In the time I’ve worked at DC Comics, I’ve witnessed any number of industry defining moments. But today, I bring you what is perhaps the biggest news to date.

Many of you have heard rumors that DC Comics has been working on a big publishing initiative for later this year. This is indeed an historic time for us as, come this September, we are relaunching the entire DC Universe line of comic books with all new first issues. 52 of them to be exact.

In addition, the new #1s will introduce readers to a more modern, diverse DC Universe, with some character variations in appearance, origin and age. All stories will be grounded in each character’s legend – but will relate to real world situations, interactions, tragedy and triumph.

This epic event will kick off on Wednesday, August 31st with the debut of a brand new JUSTICE LEAGUE #1, which pairs Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, together for the first time. (Yes, this is the same week as FLASHPOINT #5.)

We think our current fans will be excited by this evolution, and that it will make jumping into the story extremely accessible to first-time readers – giving them a chance to discover DC’s characters and stories.

We are positioning ourselves to tell the most innovative stories with our characters to allow fans to see them from a new angle. We have taken great care in maintaining continuity where most important, but fans will see a new approach to our storytelling.
Some of the characters will have new origins, while others will undergo minor changes. Our characters are always being updated; however, this is the first time all of our characters will be presented in a new way all at once.

Dan DiDio, Bob Harras and Eddie Berganza have been working diligently to pull together some of the best creative teams in the industry. Over 50 new costumes will debut in September, many updated and designed by artist Jim Lee, ensuring that the updated images appeal to the current generation of readers.

The publication of JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 will also launch digital day-and-date for all ongoing superhero comic book titles – an industry first.

On Wednesday, June 1st, this initiative is expected to be announced in a nationwide feature article, and we’re hopeful the news will be picked up by media outlets around the world. Throughout the month we’ll reveal more details of our plans with articles in both the mainstream and comics press and on June 13th the Diamond catalog solicitations for all of the September titles will be released, followed by the June 29th street date of the print version of Previews.

DC Comics will support this initiative with an innovative mix of publicity, promotional efforts and retailer incentives designed to maximize your opportunity to increase your DC sales. We will discuss additional details of these incentives when we get closer to solicitation later in June.

We’ll be updating you more through email as September nears. But today, I hope your share our enthusiasm for this historic news!

Sincerely,

Bob Wayne
SVP, Sales
DC Entertainment

3 Responses to “No Joke: DC To Reboot Entire Universe This September”

1. Ben Rankel Says:
   June 1st, 2011 at 9:24 am

   One thing is certain, it’ll be interesting to watch it all go down.

2. Ryan Ferrier Says:
   June 1st, 2011 at 9:26 am

   No doubt. I’m actually excited about this. And as a big ipad user, excited about the possibility of being able to stay more current with comics. My bank account however, is nervous.

3. GIANT KILLER SQUID » Blog Archive » DC Announces Major Reboot Titles & Creative Teams Says:
   June 2nd, 2011 at 12:46 pm

   [...] No doubt. I’m actually excited about this. And as a big…Posted by Ryan Ferrier [...]

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