Comics: DC Comics' The New 52: One Year Later

Perhaps the single biggest thing to happen to the world of comics since 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC Comics completely rebooted its entire line, nearly one year ago. August 31, 2011, saw the launch of Justice League #1 as the first of the line of 52 new titles. The New 52 not only restarted the shared DC Universe, updated the design and history of many beloved characters such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, absorbed the characters from the Wildstorm imprint into the main universe, but also changed the way comics are sold. Previously, comics were sold in print format on news stands and comic shops, then later in digital format for viewing on a computer, tablet or smartphone. DC Comics now publishes all titles for same-day release in both physical and digital formats. Not only that, but DC wanted the new numbering format to attract new readers, who may have been too timid to jump into a pre-existing title.

A Little History Lesson...

If you're not terribly familiar with the world of DC Comics (shame on you!), then here's a bit of history of the DC Universe leading up to the New 52. Even the uninitiated know that Superman first showed up in Action Comics #1 back in 1938 and Batman has been around since his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 nearly a year later. Many characters came and went over the years, and many more (52, actually) parallel universes (known as the Multiverse) had come about. So, in 1985, DC Comics ran a universe-wide crossover in the 12 issue maxi-series, Crisis on Infinite Earths, in order to realign and make sense of all the characters and bloated story lines. The status quo that emerged "Post-Crisis" remained mainly the same for many years until the Infinite Crisis (2005) event, followed a few years later to Final Crisis (2008) which saw the "death" of Batman, each sparking universe-wide changes. The following year, 2009, gave us the Blackest Night crossover which brought the character Green Lantern to the forefront of the universe, and also brought many previously "dead" characters back from the grave. Next up was the biweekly series Brightest Day which is another Lantern-centric universe-wide crossover following the newly resurrected characters; a great series, but sort of falls apart at the end. But if you're looking for a specific story line to lead you into the New 52, the you'd be looking for 2011's Flashpoint and War of the Green Lanterns, both of which have a direct impact to the newly rebooted universe. Ultimately, none of these are required reads to get yourself into the New 52, but as a comics fan, I would highly recommend any and all of these.

The Dawn of a New Age, Growing Pains

DC Comics hyped up the New 52 for months leading up to last August, and there was much debate as to whether or not which titles were actually going to be affected by this company-wide relaunch. Most specifically, there was much debate as to whether Action Comics and Detective Comics were going to be affected, both titles had retained their original numbering since the 1930s. It's been an industry wide feeling that you do not touch those titles. They're the ones that essentially started the comic book industry as we've known it for the last nearly 80 years. Well, even those were relaunched with a brand new #1 issue. And at first, there was some confusion in the overall shared universe: some titles picked up directly where they left off pre-relaunch (Green Lantern), others (Justice League, Superman, Flash) that take place much earlier, and others ignore much of the canon from the last 20 years.

Many critics complained about how some characters - more specifically female characters - were either dropped, downgraded or oversexualized. It took the editorial teams some time to realign the timeline to be more cohesive, and to reintroduce other characters that were overlooked with the first wave of titles.

One Year Later

It was always understood by the heads of DC that not every title was going to make it through the first year, so some titles were cancelled withing a few issues to make room for others. As it stands now, there have been two waves of new titles, with a third coming in September. Six have already been canceled, and four more will be dropped to make room for the new titles coming with wave three. The plan has always been to maintain a title count of 52.

Now, I can't personally comment on every title that's come and gone over the last year, as I never really planned to read them all. I didn't read every title prior to the reboot, and I probably won't be picking up all of the newest wave. Not every character or team clicks with me, as it won't for most. I also didn't buy every #1 issue from the initial launch. I'm sure most comic fans who remember the early '90s know that a #1 issue doesn't have the same value as it used to in days gone by.

But, from the titles that I have read, and continue to read, I've been pleased by the stories the relaunch provided. I also feel that the relaunch was widely unnecessary, but I come from the school of thought that I don't need an issue #1 to jump into an existing title. It's been said that every comic book is someone's first comic book. There have been some really great stories since the relaunch, but was it really needed? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below.

Comics: DC to Relaunch Their ENTIRE Line!

(JUSTICE LEAGUE #1;
Art by Jim Lee and Scott Williams;
Colors by Alex Sinclair;
Copyright: DC Comics)

Coming to a Newstand/Smartphone near you, this September... DC Comics has announced plans to relaunch their ENTIRE line, spanning across the entire DC Universe, giving us 52 issue #1s and will feature "younger" and cosmetically redesigned versions of the heroes of the DC Universe.

Written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Jim Lee, Justice League will be the first of the more than 50 titles to debut in September, each of which will go on sale with same day digital releases via DC's various mobile applications and Web store. The initiative is designed explicitly to make the DC Universe more palatable for new readers and, in the words of DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio, "today's audience."

Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Wonder Woman and Aquaman are among the DC Comics characters who will be "injected with new life," according to Dan DiDio, who spoke with USA Today.

In September, more than 50 more first issues will debut, introducing readers to stories that are grounded in each character's specific legend but also reflect today's real-world themes and events. [Jim] Lee spearheaded the redesign of more than 50 costumes to make characters more identifiable and accessible to comic fans new and old.

"We looked at what was going on in the marketplace and felt we really want to inject new life in our characters and line," says Dan DiDio, who co-publishes DC with Lee. "This was a chance to start, not at the beginning, but at a point where our characters are younger and the stories are being told for today's audience."

DiDio's remarks would seem to indicate that existing DC readers are going to see major changes in the status quo and continuities of their favorite characters and titles. while not entirely throwing out the existing histories of these iconic characters.

There's no conceivable reason to mess with high-selling moneymakers like Batman Incorporated, Green Lantern, Batman: The Dark Knight and, well, other Batman titles, and to do so would be a huge mistake, especially since Grant Morrison's major Leviathan uber-arc is, alongside Geoff Johns's Green Lantern, the only major DC title with ongoing stories continuing past August. The Superman and Wonder Woman franchises, on the other hand, are in desperate need of a shake-up. J. Michael Straczynski absolutely murdered any narrative momentum those books may have had before.

Unfortunately, while DC is unquestionably making a bold risk, it could blow up in their face just as easily as it could drag comics publishing kicking, screaming and tantruming into the twenty-first century. DC isn't launching a manageable line of high-class titles that they can slowly expand; they are flooding the market with fifty-two new series. Fifty-two. I'm not sure there are fifty-two exemplary creative teams in all of comics. Inevitably, a large number of these books are going to be a complete bust, and the new casual digital fan they're courting with this initiative won't have any idea which those will be. This has the potential to cause a big problem in the comics world, akin the the crash in the early 90s, when similar relaunches occurred.

Make no mistake, this entire endeavor is focused on the digital market. DC isn't dumb. They know print is dying. They know they have no chance at beating Marvel in the print market, as years and years of examples have proven. Rejuvenating the characters (literally) and providing a fresh start all across the line isn't about a quick sales bump in the direct market. In fact, it isn't about the direct market at all. It's all so that people logging into comiXology can check out these digital DC comics they've heard about don't see an issue number in the 900s after Action Comics and throw up their hands. This being said, there has been no statement about whether Action Comics, or Detective Comics - two of the longest running titles in comics ever - will get a new set of issue numbers, or if they will remain untouched.

A thing of the past?

And what about those struggling retailers that, as Brian Michael Bendis so bluntly put it, are getting "fucked in the ass" by this decision? If your shop is a small-town glorified UPS depot that makes its living off of pull lists, you're probably not going to make it. If you've built a loyal clientele, are savvy enough to get to know your customers' tastes and hand-sell them titles, and maintain a consistent backlist of high-selling, high-quality trade paperbacks and hardcovers, then chances are you have nothing to worry about.

But what if it goes wrong? DC is burning a lot of bridges in the interest of building this new one, and if both the direct market and digital consumers don't come to this in sufficient enough droves, this is going to be an incredibly difficult, if not impossible, car to turn around. They're risking losing the support of both their existing retail partners and their hardcore fanbase in the interest of drawing an entirely new readership. While this is exactly the sort of drastic action digital comics proponents have been praying for for years, make no mistake, if this blows up, DC is completely screwed.

Entertainment: The Man Of Steel Flies Again!

So, we all know by now that Zack Snyder is taking the helm of Warner Bros. new Superman film (will likely be titled The Man Of Steel, but it's too early to have that nailed down). But Snyder will not be repeating Bryan Singer's mistakes on Superman Returns. Sure, Returns was a pretty decent flick, but it drew too much from the first batch of Richard Donner/Christopher Reeves movies, instead of looking to the future.

Don’t expect that approach from Zack Snyder, who on Wednesday shared his guiding principle: "Respect the canon but don’t be a slave to the movies." Scheduled to hit theaters December, 2012 (just in time for the end of the world!), Snyder's vision will star Henry Cavill of Tudors fame, with Viggo Mortenson rumoured to play General Zod, Diane Keaton and Kevin Costner to as Martha and Jonathan Kent.

"Literally, the one thing that everyone can start to think about is that we’re making a movie that finally goes with the approach that there’s been no other Superman movies. If you look at  ‘Batman Begins,’ there’s that structure: there’s the canon that we know about and respect, but on other hand there’s this approach that pre-supposes that there haven’t been any other movies.  In every aspect of design and of story, the whole thing is very much from that perspective of ‘Respect the canon but don’t be a slave to the movies.’”

With Singer's movie still so fresh in our minds, and Donner's vision the cemented definition of Superman on film, Snyder has his work cut out for him.

"Superman is the one constant in the universe," Snyder said. "You know that if you do Superman right - or at least if you do him with respect - you know you end up with something great. … [but] in some ways [beyond] that is virgin territory. No one knows what that is. In some ways Superman is the most recognizable superhero on the planet but also the most unknown. Just what he can be? People have preconceived ideas about him but probably all of them are wrong.”