Update: With new art.
Previously, we were informed that DC would only be releasing one book on the week of August 31, Flashpoint #5, the last issue of the series. That issue would be so monumental that it needed the room. But that's changed a little bit. They'll also be releasing a new Justice League #1, by the dream team of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee.
But that's not all.
After that week, DC will be renumbering all of their DCU titles, 52 of them to be exact, back to #1.
But that's not all.
Justice League #1 will be available digitally on the same day and date, as will all the other titles.
These are bold moves to be sure, and they're the kind of moves we've been expecting to see for some time, to try to turn around the old practices that were losing steam in the comic book market, especially for DC Comics.
As far as the creative team on Justice League, I think it goes without saying that this is exactly where these two heavyweights should be, and that flagship book needs the strongest possible team. I know Johns has been thinking about helming that team for a long while, and now it's finally happening. With their respective executive titles of Chief Creative Officer and Co-Publisher, Johns and Lee certainly have a full plate. Only time will tell if this will be the start of a massive course correction for DC Comics.
We're told more info will be forthcoming, so keep your eyes glued, and we'll bring it to you.
Update: Here are some interesting quotes from DC Entertainment SVP Sales Bob Wayne's open letter to retailers:
"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.) 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.)" – Note this directly contradicts DC's earlier announcement (linked at the top) that Flashpoint #5 would be the only book that would ship that week.
"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."
"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."
Update: CBR has some unconfirmed, anonymous details on some of the new titles, including Superman #1 written by Grant Morrison.
Update: Acocording to another article in USA Today, the Justice League "will ultimately boast 14 members, at its core will be DC's A-list do-gooders: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern and Aquaman."
Make sure to check out our Definitive Guide to the DC Reboot to keep track of all the new titles.
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Some rights reserved.
I, for one, think this will be a good thing. Especially if those digital comics are 99 cents a pop!
big 7 JLA????? is that John Stewart? guess we know one of 3 surviving earth lanterns.
This is really all exciting news, except for the day and digital stuff. Cause:
A) I’ll believe it when I see it.
B) Don’t give two shits about digital
But all of this is exciting because I have never been a regular reading when this happens. Can’t wait to see the possible new talent on each title and see what these ‘younger’ heroes have in store for a new DCU look. It is a bit of a bummer that Scott Snyder’s run on Detective might be over now because of this…
Also, what happens to books like Batman INC or Jonah Hex? Does this mean Vertigo might be involved as well since their being integrated to the DCU? Lots of questions to ponder till DC releases their solicitations for September.
Sounds great! I love the day and date plunge a lot! really bold move. I am very very interested in seeing a Johns/Jim Lee JLA. Hopefully this move breathes new life into the DCU which i’ve thought has been turning very mediocre over the past months.
You know, if you’d stop painting yourself into corners you wouldn’t have to jump out the window. Seriously, as a DC fan, the state of a lot of DC books is such that a reboot would be welcome. Maybe not so for the Batman books but I’ve dropped a few DC books over the last couple of months and a few more were on the bubble. So now I’m going to have 52 #1’s to look at a month ? That sounds like homework, not fun. I think someone needs to be reminded that ‘jumping on’ points also make good ‘jumping off’ points.
Gauntlet thrown
Remember how angry people got when Marvel rebooted Amazing Spider-Man?… congrats DC, you just upped the One More Day rage by 1000%
Wait! 52 new number 1 issues? 52? Is that going to be ONE new #1 each week for a year? Is this their new “52” …Nah.
Spectacular.
ALso in the subtext of what Dan Didio said (read it on another site) about wanting to adapt DC’s offerings to “today’s audience” is very important if they truely mean that. Digital Day and Date is important to lots of people…history and legacy isn’t as important as it once was. Comics need a serious kick in the pants if they want to survive and grow. I’m glad a major publisher is taking some risks.
Day and date = good. Although I do worry about comic shops in that.
Jim Lee redesigned costumes? Can’t help feel that the Wonder Woman revamp should have shown how well this is likely to go down.
Anyhow, we all know this will last 11 issues right and then everything will go back to old numbering, right?
Amazing news. I just hope Detective, Action, Superman, and Batman don’t get renumbered. Especially Detective, because we all know it will just go back to the original numbering for #900 when the time comes.
This will only succeed if:
Johns and Lee can actually maintain a monthly schedule (Jim Lee has shown he can’t), and if the digital offerings are lower price than the print versions (doubt it).
@ed209AF That image isn’t specific to this announcement. No art was provided, so I found a Jim Lee JLA image to use.
I’ll pick up more DC titles just to support the digital numbers. Anything I’m on the fence on, I’ll give it a look.
Hope VERTIGO follows shortly thereafter w/ day+date digital. I’ve got a fine retailer, but it’s really annoying to go there on day one of a comic and not have a copy to buy.
If this art is any indication, I guess this ends the speculation that Superman was getting a total radical reboot and rethink to try to keep the character based solely on the copyright portions that Siegel/Schuster’s heirs have no stake in.
@axlrotten –52 #1’s come out on the same week! hahaha nightmares!
I was a huge DC fan during Identity Crisis and Infinite Crisis but I slowly dropped most titles over the past few years. I stopped buying any DC at the end of Blackest Night because Brightest Day seemed like a good place to stop. But I have to admit, with renumbering and the $2.99 price, I’ll probably try several titles in September as long as they aren’t Flashpoint tie ins.
You can’t fault them for trying to get dis-interested readers back. The ball’s in your court DC. Time to deliver.
JLA needs to be the main book for DC. This is very smart, Geoff Johns is awesome and I believe in Geoff Johns.
Jim Lee as the penciler is a weird one. Doesn’t he need to concentrate on the company’s other ventures? They should just get an awesome full-time penciler. Gary Frank, or Quietly, or someone else.
By the way … what happened to John’s and Frank’s Batman Book?
I’ll be sad to see those high numbered Batman, Superman, Action Comics and Detective Comics go. They were well earned. But a reboot of the DCU with an all star vibe would be welcome! Crossing my fingers that Morrison’s story isn’t derailed by this madness!
Oh, and “same day digital”=WOOHOO!
Completely awesome. Here’s hoping it’s the end of Silver Age silly embarrassments like Matter-Eater Lad and Granny Goodness. It’s the 21st Century, people.
I am pledging right now that if they are $.99 digital I will buy every issue dc comics puts out that month. I am not even joking.
Jim Lee is also redesiging several costumes, including Supes and GL and has taken the opporuntiy to tweak his previous Wonder Woman design. You can see them here: http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/jl.jpg
Dammit DC! Every time I think I’m out, they pull me back in!!
52 DCU titles… is that more or less than what’s on-going right now?
I think it’s more (including announced cancellations, i.e. Doc Savage).
Very exciting news. Is Flashpoint same-day digital? If it isn’t, it should.
I’ve been interested in this since I first heard this rumor. I think Flashpoint makes a nice organic place for a switch.
That said, I’m really of two minds about this. My gut feeling is that I’ve seen DC reboots from 1986 until now. And in recent years, the constant tweaking of continuity has been coming faster than ever. For me, it gives the impression that nothing is lasting, that there’s no real GROWTH in this fictional universe, just artifical changes.
Starting the universe from scratch is GREAT for a new generation, and it’s the PERFECT time to go day-and-date. So I think this is probably a good move for DC. It’s time to realign and relaunch the icons, especially with the films in the works. Synergy, right?
But we do lose elements of growth that we’ve seen. Me, I was a fan of the “Five-year-gap”Legion of Super-heroes. It was a cool outgrowth of the Legion concept. I’m also digging Batman Inc. And Dick Grayson as Batman.
I personally don’t really want to read about Barbara Gordon going from Batgirl to Oracle five years from now, if Babs is rebooted and then eventually a writer wants to make her Oracle. The older reader in me wants to see what happens when these concepts are squeezed and pushed even further.
But… there’s another side of me that understands that you maybe do run out of track with some of these characters. The reboot isn’t for me — it’s for the next generation of readers. (this is also where going digital makes SO much sense.)
Luckily I’ve got PLENTY of comics I love. And, hey, I ONLY read Ultimate Spider-man. That may be a reboot, but it’s NOT a re-hash. So, I do understand that you can reboot and still get plenty of fresh material. I hope DC follows that model if they’re truly going for a hard reboot.
@josh the USAToday article has new art, it seems. With a young looking Superman.
Er, to clarify that last bit — “I only read Ultimate Spider-man… and not the REGULAR Spider-man.” I didn’t mean that that’s the only comic book I read. 😉
Well….there goes X-Men week. 🙂
Superman has a collar. DC is fixed.
I’m also all for the day and date digital announcement and I hope this prods Marvel into following suit as well. Its is something vital for this industry to get behind if it wants to survive. Any retailer who complains aobut it is being short sighted. Heck, I’m good friends with the management at Atomic Comics, one of the larger comic retailer chains in the country, and I know they are all for day and date digital. They know it will simply bring in new readers while for the most part also having little effect on their die hard regulars.
Everything else I’m takin a wait and see approach. Clearly some continutity tweaking is going to be happening. Except that we just played this game with Geoff Johns a few years ago following Ifinite Crisis. I’m not sure we need to play it again, especially with him. As for the renumbering, thats a cheap stunt and we all know it. Does anyone really not expect, for example, to see Action Comics #1000 when the time comes? Heck, we just did ‘the new number #1 then going back to the old numbering’ dance with Wonder Woman last year. It doesn’t annoy me too much but it also does nothing to excite me. Certianly not like the day and digital does.
Really hope this works out. Someone had to step up and make a move like this. Now to see if it’ll actually work.
How heavy is this reboot going to be? Are we talking about Dick-Grayson-as-Robin big?
I believe Aquaman Shrine has a pic.
I need to think about this some more, but i can’t help but feel really disappointed right now.
I’m all for this
“Lee spearheaded the redesign of more than 50 costumes to make characters more identifiable and accessible to comic fans new and old.”
This will be fun to watch.
If they get rid of Barry again I don’t what I’m going to do..
One word: Yessssssssssssss!!
“faster than an oncoming train” sorry. .. A “speeding train” .
It’s an excellent way to drown out the positives of day/date.
I just wonder how books like:
Detective Comics
Action Comics
Batman INC
Thunder Agents
Jonah Hex
Xombi
Superboy
And a few others who either have A) a big prestige for being over 900 issues and B) Only been around for so long are gonna be once September hits? I mean I love Xombi but it doesn’t make sense to reboot it after 6 issues (which it will hit after August). Also, is Jonah Hex going to survive this and be rebooted as well? That’s really the only thing I’m worried about.
@ josh
thanks for clearing up my stupidity
but seriously, mayhap a big 7 jla???
also a few people mentioned creative team changes, but that wasnt listed in the article (other then the JLA switch) are other titles going through changes?
Said this on twitter already but I’d gladly give up three of my favorite DC books due to a relaunch (Thunder Agents, Batman Inc, Detective Comics with Dick Grayson) in order to get day and date digital releases. Thats honestly a SMALL price to pay
Hmm. This should be interesting to watch.
I’m excited and am curious to see if we see any new titles/new creative teams on any other books. Perhaps the new Jusice League International starts soon after?
Does anyone else feel like this has been in process since all the positions changed? I wouldn’t be suprised if they have a good chunk of the popular titles loosely planned out for awhile.
I was just over on the DC boards saying this is pretty gutsy. Sure, Marvel did the Ultimate line, but they kept their main universe intact. And even when they did Heroes Reborn, they had the X-titles in play and the undertsanding that things were temporary.
While this could still be a measured event (say two years or something), this is still huge! I can’t wait to see what it all means! DC, ya gotta bring your A game!
@ ed209AF
Of course purely speculation on my part.
well I would assume maybe the current JLA run may be ending, with this new series starting, and also hints of a new Justice League International
I believe Robinson is supposed to be writing a Hawkman series, so that could potentially come out of this.
I am less enthusiastic about all the new #1s (though I hope it helps to engage new readers), but I am totally psyched about same day and date digital. I am more than ready to make the switch. New iPad here I come!!!
DC making some bold moves-
Doing some things that some people said couldn’t be done right now-
I like this.
But as more and more of these announcement- happen.
Its nice to see those people hedged their bets in the wrong way.
I’ll be interested to see this play out particularly the same day release of the digital books. If the cost is lowered for the titles i’ll definitely be reading more books.
@kaufman1972 -yes i totally see it. They wanted to carve out their own legacy i’m sure. Who wouldn’t?
i’m reading between the lines A LOT but i think they realize that catering to 35 yr old continuity zombies who’s numbers are dwindling off year by year is not good for a long term strategy. Making your books accessible to new, younger readers who mostly know the characters from the movies, games and cartoons is the best way to ensure there is a future for DC Comics. Making the books available outside of a comic shop aka digital is epic and IMHO integral to comics having a real future.
Yeah it’ll be sad to see the high numbers go, BUT our society isn’t really about history and legacy anymore. Its about whats the new hot thing.
Also, what does this say to titles DC’s Earth One books?
More on the new Superman costume: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/05/31/flashpost-the-new-superman/
*sigh*
Can someone, for the love of god, please explain to me American’s obsession with the phrase ‘day and date’?
Basically, you just mean ‘same day’. ‘Day and date’ is just tautological nonsense.
Oh, and I think all of this DC shenanigans can only be a good thing. Wee golf claps all round.
Hmm, interesting… from Bob Wayne’s letter to retailers about this:
“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.”
Hard to tell from that if this is a “hard reboot” or not. Some characters will have new origins, but continuity will be adhered to for others? Definitely curious to see what this brings…
@origamikid but that was about the story not the numbering. i could give two shits what the number on the book says, if the story and art are good who cares besides collectors
I would be exited if I knew this would last. Why in the world would they start renumbering books like Superman and batman when their numbers are already so high? And secondly, don’t get me wrong i love Jim Lee, but I highly doubt he’ll be able to keep up with a monthly schedule. I believe that happened a while back with his Wildcats. Really excited to see how DC plays up the big reboot, but we’ll see how it goes from there.
I just hope the monthly release schedule for this title is not going to be bad as All-Star Batman and Robin.
Im glad this idea is angering so many longtime fans because something that will make them angerg is the only that will work in getting new readers to check out comics. Sorry folks but your not the future 😛
I think the thing I like most about this is that DC seems to really be doubling down on a plan to achieve maybe the most important challenge facing modern comics — attracting new readers.
I really hope this isn’t just a stunt. If no Detective Comics 900 in 2013 is the price to pay to gain an exponentially larger number people reading Detective Comics, what’s the big deal?
Legacy and history are nice, but if history offers us ANY lesson, it’s that NOTHING lasts FOREVER.
I gotta say, I’m pretty excited for this and impressed with DC for giving this the go ahead. I don’t read a huge amount of DC stuff outside of Vertigo but this could help change that depending on the titles and creators. I’d really be in if they would price new digital comics at $1.49 or so. I’m completely ready to go digital after picking up an iPad and trying out some free comics but can’t bring myself to pay $1.99 or higher when I can get everything cheaper through DCBS.
Is Jim Lee going to do more than two issues? I sincerely doubt it. I wouldn’t be disappointed if they conceded that at the start and made way for someone who could hit a deadline.
I’m not sure I believe they will all be day and date, but I certainly hope that’s true. If so, DC will certainly receive more of my money in the future.
@mikegraham6 they may not be the future, but they are DC’s Bread and Butter. it does sting a little that there is a potential for some great titles to not exist anymore.
You guys do realize that contunuityis the bane of the comics industry right 😉
Been calling this one for a while now. DC wrote themselves into a corner by telling the stories you can only tell once… literally telling the story of prophecized GL Ragnarok, Flash taking on every one of his Rogues simultaneously, Batman dying and being succeeded, Superman’s race and planet returning to be wiped out yet again, and so on. I’m not saying that those stories were bad, necessariy, but what you get in climax and effect you lose in sustainability… where do you go after you’ve overcome Armageddon? After you’ve shot and killed a god, died and returned? Etc.
Flash is now the Herald of the Digital Age as it should be… and, on paper, I’m all for it. It’s about time. My only issue is that I honestly don’t trust Johns/Lee to execute. I think their high concept is fine, but like many of their recent creative endeavors, things sound better on paper than in practice.
They need to be iconic- distinctive, marketable, elegant (rather that trivia muddled this early on), rich interactive possibilities playing off each other as characters, power-types, and silhouettes- but they also need to be progressive- pushing forward into the future, not simply rehashing the past, but making the brave and bold moves necessary to define a new Age. Race is one place I’d like them to make that move (rather than return to an all white-skinned JLA for another two decades), but it could also be only the beginning- considering the diversity brought by differing political views, religion, culture, views on force/magic/science, etc. Deconstructing the League has been a powerful creative impetus (ex: Authority; Supreme Power), let’s hope they can deliver something equally enduring.
@origamikid Abosolutely!
@mikegraham6 –i agree with you 1000000000000%. Also here’s a dirty secret…the people who are bitching about continuity will still buy the new rebooted stuff…cause they have to keep up with the stories. =p
I hope they gave Jim Lee a ton of prep time. He was the reason why his last big comic (All-star Batman & Robin) was late. Scripts were done, his work wasn’t.
@josh There was a picture in the USA Today article. Are you guys somehow not allowed to use that?
if they renumber action comics and detective comics, I’m out!
100% day and date digital? I’m down with that. I will be cancelling all my hard copy subscriptions to DC. Johns and Lee on Justice League… maybe. I’ll give it a try. Johns’ beloved SIlver Age aesthetic isn’t always to my taste, but sometimes it rocks. We will see what happens. As to the seeming reboot, that’s fine. Doesn’t bother me one bit. I kind of like it when the big companies refresh themselves en masse every now and then.
Excited for this, lower cost books would also be welcome – but I’m holding out for a subscription based system like the MDCU – then I’m totally on board with the DCU
@edward – then I guess you’re out… But you really shouldn’t be!
Do you think Marvel will issue any sort of reaction to this? How long do you think it will take ?
These are good moves, exciting moves.
I’m pumped for the Johns/Lee JLA. We’ll see how long it lasts with Jim Lee as the artists, but I’m sure the issues we get will be pretty rad. Yes, rad.
On the digital front, I hate to be in a cynical position, because I think “same day” is a good move. But I just don’t think it’s the sort of cure-all many pro-digital people think it is. And you guys still speculating about pie-in-the-sky notions of 99-cent new releases should have really snapped out of it by now. It’s obviously not happening, at least not for more than a few comics here and there maybe.
All “same-day” digital is going to is hurt comic shops. That’s all it’s going to do. It’s not gonna grow the market. If people woudl rather get their new comics digitally, more power to them. I’ve read various comics digitally and have found it more convenient in some situations. So this new initiative is progress in that it addresses some changing desires of the market. But in the big picture, this isn’t such a big deal. It will not meet the REAL challenges the industry faces, because the real challenges have to do with product and demographics, not with digital.
Thinking that digital will bring in hordes of new comics readers because “Digital is what the kids are into” is just as flawed as thinking that kids with iPods would have become bluegrass music fans if only the bluegrass music publishers would have just put out some legal mp3s. It’s flawed thinking. The kids who would want comics are already reading them, digitally or otherwise, legally or illegally, and the fact is that the number is not that sizable. The nostalgia-ridden comics of today simply do not excite new readers.
Basically, as we all know, the readership is slowly dying, and “same-day” digital means nothing to the outside world. If a hypothetical new reader can’t be arsed to give comics a shot when Ultimate Spidey #1, or Johns’ Green Lantern #1, or whatever is on sale digitally for 99 cents–or if comics like that are available for FREE in some instances–then they’re not going to care that they can get Green Lantern #70 (or GL Vol. 4 #1) digitally on the same day that it’s released into comic book shops. Because they didn’t want that comic anyway.
So, I think these moves of DC’s are good, but they’re really only going to effect the readers who are already committed to the products.
All the characters are going to be aged younger. You left that part out.
Love Superman’s new look. I was okay with Wonder Woman’s now I like the revamp. I just hope numbering for Detective stays the same and Batman stays at the quality that it is right now.
I think it says a lot about the state of the comic industry when half the fans are excited about the future that this announcement will bring while the others are complaining about there not being an Action Comics #1000. I can’t wait for some new blood in this industry
And just when I thought I had a grasp on DC continuity…
@wallythegreenmonster @mikegraham6 re: continuity. You’re right that continuity can be a huge problem in comics. But so can constant reboots. Artificial, cosmetic changes can be a real bane the growth of stories over time.
My thing is: yes, I am a reader in my late 30’s, but NO, I don’t always NEED to be an advocate for the next generation. Yes, I want accessible comics for my son, and I champion that. But I personally don’t need 52 new/old “Year One” origins for ME. Ya know? And as a paying customer, that’s really all I need to concern myself with. Where am I gonna spend MY money? 😉
Now, we don’t know if this is a full reboot or not. Details are sketchy. The more I’m reading today, the more it seems like it’s not a hard reboot, but just a level-playing field and entry point for a slate of new readers. And that’s all good.
And a hard reboot may be okay for me, too. I don’t care about “continuity,” but saying “continuity is bad” is throwing out the baby with the bathwater. There are great stories that come from the organic, serialized growth of a fictional universe. That’s a lot of what Grant Morrison’s been playing with in recent years, treating the universe a living organism. That’s also what gets us characters like Oracle. Or gets us to stories like the Dick and Damian Batman and Robin — both of which are really fun outgrowths that you can’t get to if you keep rebooting the universe.
@froggulper –at least they are making a SOLID attempt at offering a digital solution. So far the entire discussion has been in the abstract with half assed attempts here and there. This is a major step, and it will take a while (at least a year or two) to see how it plays out. How do you know its not going to grow the market? No one has tried it yet. The biggest advantage digital has over print is that you can enjoy current comics without the pre-order bullsh#t. You get a product when and where you want it, which is what selling things in the 21st century is about. Its not about ordering site unseen out of a printed catalog 3 months in advance. That’s how my grandparents bought things.
i don’t care about comic shops. I care about good comics that are easy to buy. Personally i believe that giving an option to buy a comic OUTSIDE of a comic shop whether its digital or otherwise is whats going to grow readership.
DC is trying to do new things to reinvigorate their market. The 2.99 experiment, now this. Good for them. I’m glad someone is trying instead of hoping a magical event is going to save all.
I absolutely love that DC is going all day-and-date digital, going to make buying them SO! Much easier.
As this seems to be the result of the corporate restructuring a while back, anybody else thinking we’ll see a mainstream ad campaign and promotional push to go with this?
I know Marvel had a few TV ads for Secret Invasion….but come on, who was really gonna hit up the comic book shop because of a commercial they saw on ESPN?
This is the kind of move that *could* actually get some action among the uninitiated.
@daccampo –yeah i agree, i doubt they are going to say “OK Clark Kent now lives in San Diego and doesn’t need glasses casue he had lazik”.: I’m sure they will respect the history but treadt it like a new title with new storylines.
yes of course continuity has done good things….you’re point is very well stated.
I’m all in on this idea. I wouldn’t mind a full reset of the continuity. I think Allstar Superman showed us that placing talented artist/writers on characters we live without the constraints of years and years of continuity, magic can happen.
Not too sure on peoples’ obsession with high numbered comics. My love and appreciation for comic books is not invested in whether Action Comics #1000 does or does not happen. I mean the #900 milestone was just hit, is your Comic experience any different or more significant before and after that issue? No. A number is arbitrary in the Big Picture. Give me great storytelling and characterization anyday.
On another note, I think the Superman Costume Change has to happen with I think DC has to give up certain parts of Supe’s costume by 2013…or something to that effect.
I have mixed feelings regarding the reboot of the entire DC line-up. I understand that change is envitable, and the big three (Didio, Johns, Lee) seem to genuinely care about the characters and the fans so the changes will be handled (fingers’ crossed) gracefully. However, with the exeception of Superman and Wonder Woman, all of the recent reboots and events have been well received by comic-dom (IMO). So, I can’t see how another revamping of the characters can be a good thing.
I know something has to be done to capture a younger audience, and while the movies help I’m sure people new to comics have a hard time knowing where to start. Same day digital is a great place to, but I think the introduction of an “Ultimates” line would have been a better solution than rebooting the entire line-up. Maybe the trinity wanted to avoid mutliple time lines, but that argument doesn’t really hold up now does it???
Read more and get a sneak peak of the Justice League artwork at USA Today.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/2011-05-31-dc-comics-reinvents_n.htm
GO DC GO. Let’s hope Jim Lee can keep up with JLA and not turn into an embarrasment like Wildcats.
@theronster It sounds way better.
I highly doubt that they are going to majorly reboot the better selling titles, like the Batman family and the Green Lantern family.
This is fantastic. I’m less enthused about the reboot (the idea that high numbering deters new readers doesn’t really hold water for me) than I am about the day-and-date digital. It’s just more convenient.
I am not sure how I feel about this. I really hope a great team is put on Superman and I hope Barry is still in the game
All the retconning and digimarketing and doodaddery and I still don’t get why Superman needs a belt. I just don’t understand. Do Beltpoint already.
i don’t think the renumbering will last long in 23 months when detective is due to hit 900, they’ll change back. i think it’s a good idea while it lasts.
I think the biggest question for me is what will happen to the Batman family. Will Damien still be Robin? Dick still a Batman? I imagine that will be the most shaken up just because of where things were when the reboot occured. While part of me moans over the costume re-designs, Batman has received several over the years and even recently, as well, even Superman has as well, albeit minor changes. My only complaint is that every costume has that chevron collar. Still, this should get DC some attention. I for one am quite excited about the September solicits. I just hope Snyder is writing a Bat book.
aree they aloud to do that? does this not freak anyone else yet?
Sounds good to me. I wonder what the digital price will be? Can they pull what Apple did with the music industry many years ago and make it a flat 99 cents?
@Daccampo you were baiting me with that Morrison comment weren’t you 😉
Seriously though, continuity is really what keeps people from embracing this medium. Its not accessible and the ones that are aren’t marketed to the right audience (non comic readers). These old stories are going nowhere. If you enjoyed the heavy continuity stuff that’s been published for the past 20 years, that’s stuff isn’t disappearing. You can go back and reread it anytime you want! What I’m saying is lets try this new model for a bit and see if it works! If it does then we all benefit (comics will be around to stay) if it doesn’t, well then we can enjoy another 20 or so years of this continuity based storytelling until the majority of the comic reading audience dies
I was really surprised by this news. I’m personally kind of sick of renumbering because it always just ends up going back anway, hopefully there’ll be some really intersting creative teams, I’m already excited for Johns and Lee on Justice League.
I’m bothered by the # thing obviously. I was really hoping to see an Action #1000 or Tec #1000 one day. They are already 90 percent there!! Why give up now? Damn!!
And I’m really gonna miss characters like Damian Wayne, Larfleeze, and Atrocitus! We won’t see them again anytime soon, will we?
Okay this is huge, and really makes Flashpoint a COIE-type event. I’m not hung up on the detective comics numbering, I am sad that Batman Inc, Damian and Dick Grayson stories may get cut short because of this. But alot of story will be told during this summer I guess. I’m pretty excited to see DC being bold and grabbing the front of the digital era too!
I don’t give a shit. Lee has proven he can’t do a monthly, much less actually finish anything he starts, the “teenification” of the characters while intended to bring in new readers will alienate the long standing existing ones. The renumbering is the same, someone said that the numbers are intimidating to new readers, that is bullshit. Most of the redaers here saw a book they liked, jumped in and learned as they went. By Trades or back issues, they did the work needed. These new reader who are being coddled and catered to, if they are too lazy to tarck down past stories to learn about the history of a certain charcter make me sick. This renumbering is aimed right at them, to spoon feed them, and yet based on the announcement, we are now not getting the Detective 900 or Action 1000, why they would choose to ignore their rich hisory for this is beyond me.
I wonder how they would treat the young charters like Superboy, Supergirl, Robin(Damien) and etc, and on and on
Wait so DC Comics is starting all titles over at #1? Seem’s kind of like a bad idea to me. Remember Marvel has done it a couple of times and then just went back to the old numbering anyways. I won’t buy any new ones just because it’s #1.
Also what’s this mean for newer characters like Tim Drake and Damon Wayne? Are they going to try and explain where everyone came from or just reboot everything and Jason, Tim, and Damon don’t exist yet?
Looks like my pull list will shrink alot.
Are retailers going to order 52 DC books at one time??
I’m interested with the renumbering of all the books, a reset of this cause will definetely get me more interested in reading more DC books.
@mikegraham6 Heheh, nah, not playing to your Morrison sensibilities at ALL. Nope, nooo way. 😉
But seriously — I DO get what you’re saying, but I don’t think it’s always the bogeyman it’s sometimes made out to be. There’s a way to make books accessible without starting over from scratch.
That said, I think you CAN start from scratch. See my above comment about Ultimate Spidey. There’s an example of a Spidey that was started from scratch, and is the ONLY Spidey book I actually read every month. But if they’re going to start every DC book with Batman donning the cowl, Clark coming to Metropolis, WW coming to man’s world, the JL forming for the first time… that’d be a little too much rebooting for ME. Might be great for new readers, but I’d likely bow out of most books, unless the writing is just amazingly fresh and good and there’s not a sense that they’re re-hashing old plots — but rather bringing something original to the table. So in that sense, I’m intrigued and curious.
But it’s also sounding a BIT like we’re not getting the hard reboot. And if it’s just a sort of semi-reboot, I’ll be VERY curious to see how longtime fans and new fans each react, how it’s all presented, and whether or not it’s all cohesive.
I’m not down on this move. I’m just cautiously optimistic and more curious than anything. Besides, if nothing else, I’ve still got plenty of books to love, especially some great creator-owned books out there right now. 🙂
As a reader this is pretty exciting. As a fan I hope it works out and helps expand their market.
Re-numbering can be an annoying gimmick but on this scale it feels like a refreshing change so long as they can stick to their guns for a while.
Much more of a marvel fan but this means I will finaly be geting jla again so I’m all for it
Interesting article about Marvel’s attitude toward this whole news and…..well ifanboy is mentioned.
http://paperkeg.com/post/6052211099/the-digital-spotlight-turns-to-marvel-comics
Idk about a reboot, whats the point? It may just end up making a bigger mess of DC continuity. But i will wait and see, maybe im jumping the gun on this one. However that said, what is up with superman’s costume? the v-neck, the weird sharp S, the sleeves, why change it? Jim Lee is a great artist, by why make weird mod’s to costumes? Wonder Womans new outfit looks pretty bad, and now superman? and also he looks a little young. Could Superboy take over the superman mantle? lol
Will it go monthly? At least they’re gonna be releasing a decent JLA book. Or is it?
I’m glad all those rumors were true. I’m going to have to really consider dropping DC print comics completely. That just feels kinda wrong, though. I may buy all 52 #1’s in print, but after that, I’m not so sure. If Marvel went 100% digital, I’d stop buying their print comics easily, but I can’t make the decision that easily with DC. Goddamn future got here too fast, man.
I may have to buy me some JLA for the first time in a long time. It will depend how Morrison writes it. I have come to find that there are two Grant Morrison writers. One wants to write a thought provoking story. The other version tries to cram so much old continuity down your throat that it takes away from the story.
Updated with more quotes from DC.
hello iPad2
“Note this directly contradicts DC’s earlier announcement (linked at the top) that Flashpoint #5 would be the only book that would ship that week.”
DC said that Flashpoint was “currently” the only book being solicited for Aug. 31st, which is consistent with them now soliciting another title, hence, no contradiction.
So, will there be an apocalyptic type event in DC Universe Online? Perhaps a major reboot/update for the game too? Both Jim Lee and Geoff Johns were heavily involved in the game as well so maybe this can happen? One can dream…
I want to be the first to call this one…
DC will go day and date with the #1s and not the second issues. They will try to get people to “taste” the new titles and then send them to an LCS.
I know that that is not a popular idea, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do it.
The Tiki
There is a new bigger picture out there of the same showing more members of the JLA including bats flash and cyborg. You can find It here: http://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com/post/6053431746/jls
Hell yes! Now I need to download the DC comic app.
CBR posted that supposedly a new title with superman is going to be written by Morrison. I truly hope so
WELCOME TO END OF PAPER BOOKS DEAR CHILDREN! SOON TO BE FORGOTTEN RELICS OF A TIME LONG PAST!!
or maybe I’m being over dramtic but this kinda irks me because one of my favourate part of buying comics is being able to do it face to face with another person and yes it does seem like there is sexual ambiguity to that last part
@thefreakytiki –you’re talking about a marketing stunt, which would by utterly pointless and more importantly runs counter to what they seem to be talking about…a long term strategy meant to get new readers by giving new life to 75+ yr old characters. DC seems to be trying to sell comics someplace besides the LCS which i LOVE.
So the DCU will have 52 different books in Sept, can anyone tell me how many are being published monthly right now? Will Sept be a huge increase?
It doesn’t look like anyone has pointed this out yet, but in that image, where is Hal’s ring?
Cool news. I’m on board for the bold approach.
For those that are worried about the renumbering, don’t be. Several years ago, Captain America was numbered in the teens, and Daredevil was barely out of the 40s. Both series are now enjoying issues in the 500s and 600s. They can always bring back the old numbering (like when Action hits issue 1000).
As for Johns and Lee on JLA, I’m excited, but skeptical because of Lee’s past with monthly issues. I’ll still pick it up because it just sounds too good to miss out on.
You can renumber and redress all you want. You can even change origins. Just tell me good stories. They’ve done that with the Batman books without the need to renumber or re-do anything. We’ll see. Could go either way. The day and date thing is a long time coming, though.
@MikefromGotham They publish about 40 super hero titles, so it’s a somewhat significant increase in the number of titles DC publishes.
@MikefromGotham That CBR article has this quote:
“By my count, there were 59 DC Universe titles in the June solicitations, not counting the DC Retroactive titles, ‘DC Universe Online Legends’ or ‘Doc Savage’ and ‘The Spirit.’ Subtracting out titles with more than one issue in June reduces the number by three leaving 56 titles in the DC Universe.”
I usagi said it all “You know, if you’d stop painting yourself into corners you wouldn’t have to jump out the window.”
People keep getting mad at Marvel for renumebring Thor or Captain America when the films come out or doing a minor reboot on Spider-Man but this is a lot worse.
I’m not saying that becasue i’m a slave to continuity or hate renumbering, i’m saying it because it reeks of desperation and is essentially an admission that the entire line was a mess.
The thing is there is nothing about the top levels of Marvel that gives me any con fidence that this will be any different than the mess they mad eof the relaunches after Infinte Crisis
I think Johns has talent as a plotter, his ideas for the various lantern Corps was brilliant but he is not a great scripter and not great with characters. I mean most people who are enjoying GL and Flash would agree that Barry and Hal are boring as hell. Also, isn’t it ironic that they want to reposition the line for the future when Johns is the bigggest Silver Age fetishist.
I can’t believe DiDio has kept his job this long and Harras at Marvel were not good times (admitedly i don’t know the extent of his repsonsibility but he was EiC so at least some of it has to stick).
I’m really not saying this as a hater. i hope I am wrong and the relaunches suck me in. I want to love DC comics, i just don’t.
it will be interesting to see who the creative teams are but again i don’t think that DC has the depth of talent. You have Johns and Morrison and maybe Snyder now. Willingham, robinson and Milligan have their strengths but mainstream superheroes are not among them. Who is left after that?
They have a number of good artists but then they make the mistake of letting them write. Finich? Williams?
Jim Lee has been trying to fuck with Superman’s costume for years (citation needed). But whatever, take the underpants out, it’s got to be better
So all the new books are going to test the waters, and gouge a little at us readers that want to read or collect the entire relaunch. Making a 25% jump in titles published is a large gamble. Maybe we could also see them of those 52 switch over to digital only at lower price?
I used to get a bunch of DC titles. When the cancelled Doom patrol and stopped publishing Flash, I was down to just Batman & Robin. I might use this opportunity to jump on a few books. Or I might use it to drop DC completely. I need to see the solicits first.
I like everything except the renumbering that just smacks of desperation
What i like most about this is how it’s totally over-shadowing Ron’s X-men week on iFanboy.
Cop that, Ron!
@superkal1978 If there was ever a time when renumbering made sense, this is it.
@gobo if it helps long term I am all for it but I don’t see the renumbering sticking around for too long so whats the poing
God, Cyborg looks horrible.
@superkal1978 I don’t understand how the renumbering smacks of desperation. Those titles that are approaching milestone issue numbers sell in the tens of thousands (and of that probably only several thousand really care about milestone issue numbers). This campaign is aiming at the millions of potential comic book readers. I think it would have to fail pretty spectacularly for them to abandon it any time soon.
Everything I’ve read so far tells me that there’s enough backbone going into this that any kind of back pedalling isn’t even being considered. We don’t know for sure, but there are many indications that the plans for this go back more than a year, so it really REALLY doesn’t feel like a stunt.
And that’s why I really feel like this is a double down — if they win, they win big time.
In fact, if they do go back to the original numbering to appease that minute core of fans that cares about such things, THAT will be the situation that smacks of desperation.
I read on CBR that the consequences of Blackest Night are still a factor in the Green Lantern books. I can relax now.
@KenOchalek I gotta say I agree totally with Ken on this!
R.I.P. DC Comics 1934-2011 You will be missed. At least we’ll still have Marvel.
I’m finding the selectively rebooted continuity thing kind of… weird. Seems like it’s just going to make DC continuity an even bigger mess.
Oh yeah!
Very subtle placement of that machine gun turret, Green Lantern Jordan.
Twenty bucks says they still screw up Hawkman.
1. I think it is funny how so many of us post without reading what people posted before us.
2. Still not sure how all of these #1s are going to get new people into comic book stores. . . oh well.
Very interesting. . .
Damn I don’t think I like this move. Am I the only one that thinks it feels too “90s comics”
Show long before jim lee falls behind on the artwork?
@Slockhart
no way man johns will most definately want to do the hawk some justice
Personally I’m incredibly excited for this. I bought an ipad2 and am more than happy to get more use out of it. I love the characters but I’m very interested in seeing something incredibly new. Green lantern is drawn well in the promo pic but why not make his costume more like the movie? Dont get me wrong I think the movie looks horrible, but i do think the skin is a cool original idea. Also how much will an issue cost digitally?
Ok..I’m excited..but can Jim Lee keep a monthly schedule ?
1 – Who gives a crap about renumbering? I don’t.
2 – Day and date is great. But let’s be real about it. It’s not going to suddenly bring in tons of new readers. All it’s going to do is make things easier for current readers, and eventually put LCS’s out of business. If that’s the future, cool. If comics turn into a digital/online only thing, so be it. But acting like there’s all these kids and non-readers out there who would suddenly start buying digital comics and appreciate a medium they’ve ignored and belittled their whole lives is ridiculous.
3 – Also ridiculous is thinking that rebooting characters is going to bring new readers in. It might bring a few new existing comic readers to try out the first couple issues. But that’s it. A couple people on here are acting like there’s hoards of non-comic readers who desperately want to read comics, but are afraid of the continuity. Newsflash. Non-comic readers have no clue of what continuity exists, let alone be afraid of it.
4 – I’m with Accampo. Continuity should’t hinder the stories you’re telling. But it most definitely has merit and value. It is not only a burden. Character growth and history is very important. And it can be so without getting bogged down in minutiae. Continuity is an excuse people use when the real culprit is bad writing. It’s the boogie-man of comics. You can follow a character’s history, stay in relative continuity, and not be a slave to it.
5 – And lastly, my biggest question about this. So are all the superheroes being deaged, or what? It seems to be hinted at, and some fans are talking about it. But I haven’t read anything concrete on it. The new Jim Lee Superman screams to me DC going, “Hey, that Superman: Earth One sold well. Let’s make all our of heroes 20 years old.” Which if is the case, to me is the worst thing to come from all of this. I didn’t read Earth One for the same reason I didn’t watch Smallville. I have zero desire to read “DC Universe: The New Class.” And if this is the what’s happening and Earth One was a catalyst. DC needs to know that sold well because it was an OGN sold in book stores. Doing the same with single issues isn’t going to have the same affect at all. Your single issue market is entirely different from your Barnes & Noble market. If anything, making all the superheroes college-aged is going to turn off your single issue fan base, which is mostly comprised of 40-50 year old men who have read the same books for decades and are not asking for such change.
@j206: I agree that renumbering doesn’t help out all that much but I can attest that for a while I wanted to read comics but I didn’t know how to jump into it. When the Heroic age released some number ones, it created a gateway for me to get into the comic universe. So I do find that it does help but I don’t think it needs to be at a scale this grand.
A couple extra points I forgot to make:
– You guys foolishly dreaming of 0.99 cent digital comics crack me up. Yes, it’s a much more appropriate price. But it’s never going to happen. Heck, $1.99 seems unikely at this point.
– How many times now has “Jim Lee joins reboot of Book X!” been used by comic book companies to try and build hype? And how many times does he need to leave said book about 4 issues in before people stop falling for it?
Wally West stops being the flash for sure!! Maybe they’ll give him something to do.
Do you think out of Cyborg and Black Lightning is Token from South Park’s favourite character?
@Avistann – I agree with what you are saying. The sales numbers prove that it works. It helps boost sales amongst CURRENT comic book readers that already exist. But it’s not bringing in anyone else. That was my point.
But here’s where the whole thing is ultimately a bit hollow. The bump it gives a series, which does exist, is only temporary. Only at the time of the new #1 issues and shortly after does this new, fresh jumping on point exist. It doesn’t take long for a newly rebooted comic to get booged in it’s own continuity and story before non-readers feel on the outside.
Not to sure about all of this. Is this a DC stunt to attract readers? A stunt to take the place of creative and talented writing? I don’t like flushing elements of long standing continuity. Changing orgins and throwing on new costumes doesn’t equal success. I’m really on the fence with this one.
@j206
The point you make about non-comic readers not jumping on is only correct if DC does a poor job at marketing to non-comic readers. Meaning sure the bump in sales will only be current readers if current readers are the only ones who know about what’s going on. The number 1 question you hear one every single comics releated podcast is “I used to read comics and I wanna come back but were do I start?” Now DC has created an answer to that question their problem now is how do we inform the person asking it. The reboot is step one but if step two isn’t getting the word out in a very big way then there’s no point in doing this at all. I think there are plently of non-comic fans and laptist comic fans who would try jumping in if they knew about this that would give DC a long term growth in number assuming the books were well written.
When drawing the line @ 2.99 doesn’t work try a reboot
I realize the markets are entirely different, but can you imagine if a major network did this with their entire current line-up?
“Next season we’re rebooting the Office, Parks and Recreation, Community, 30 Rock, and the rest of our weekly primtime shows. Same set-ups, but we’re updating all the actors, offering a fresh launchpoint, and starting the series over with new pilot episodes.”
(Yes, I know it’s not the same, but I think it’s funny — ONLY comics could do this and possibly grow their readership while maintaining most of the old readership.)
it will be hilarious when this falls apart
@sideshowRaheem – You can inform non-comic book readers all you want. It’s not going to make them suddenly like superheroes and the idea of reading books with pictures. I’m not saying that you can’t gain any new readers with an easier entry point. But I’m fairly sure of myself when I say that most people who would enjoy reading comic books (or admit to) are already doing so.
The comic book industry’s big issue isn’t that their books aren’t available to potential readers. It’s that potential readers scoff at the medium and do not even consider it for a second. I have one friend who also reads comics, and one other who will read something if I give it to her and tell her it’s awesome. The rest of everybody I know, be it friends, family, or co-workers turn their nose down at the idea of reading a silly kids book with pictures. I’m not saying that they aren’t entirely wrong in their thinking and view of the artform. But it’s just the way most of society views the medium. THAT is DC’s problem. THAT is why their sales numbers are down and struggling. And I really don’t see anything that they can do to change such an entrenched cultural stigma. Not even $100 million comic book blockbuster movies have been able to do anything about it. I don’t see how telling people, “Hey folks reading kindles and watching CSI! We know you guys aren’t keen on reading picture books. But we did away with our previous continuity, and you can now buy issues on your ipad for $3 a piece!” is going to change a single thing.
Continuity isn’t even that bad if you have a little patience and access to Wikipedia. I’m familiar enough with the DC Universe without ever having to go overboard picking up back issues and trades.
I have to admit, there are some emerging details that sound very exciting. A Grant Morrison Superman title. A James Robinson Hawkman title. Strange Adventures #1 starring Deadman.
My hope in all of this is that once this big effort is launched, that ENDS the heavy editorial manipulation. Let the creative teams now GROW the characters. If cross-overs happen, let them come to be organically from interaction between creators. But in this era of editorially driven comics, I’m not sure I’ve got a lot of faith that this will happen.
what’s convenient is that the announcement says nothing about a Justice League #2 by Johns and Lee in September.
daccampo said: “Yes, I know it’s not the same, but I think it’s funny — ONLY comics could do this and possibly grow their readership while maintaining most of the old readership.”
Ha! So true. In general I would say that what DC is doing is bad business. Catering and marketing to non-existent potential customers who most likely won’t bite in spite of the current ones who they already have. In anything other business, that would be pure stupidity. But not in superhero comics where the publishers know that the fans they have will keep coming back no matter what they do. It’s the fans themselves that make it so DC can get away with putting the Superman: Earth One OGN Barnes & NOble crowd ahead of them in terms of priority. Ridiculously typical.
Day and date, heck yes. I havn’t bought paper books in almost a year. And lately pretty much scoop up every issue that is on sale for .99 no matter what it is as well as any day and date releases that aren’t archie. To speak with my wallet and assuming they are spread out over a few weeks, I intend to vote with my wallet and show as much support for this initiative as I can.
ok one thing we can all admit is this is bold.if it’s a total reboot i am probably out ,i don’t need or want new origin stories.as for day and date digital comics,i live in a small town my shop is down to being open four days a week so i am afraid this will kill them.DC has made alot off money of the old school fans so before they burn us in exchange for POTENTIAL new readers they had better be sure cause some of us wont be back
@daccampo I agree, I think creators will love this reboot.
@j206 Let’s face it, LCS’s are going out of business no matter what. Its just a matter of time before they become like Tower Records and Borders book stores. Sad but true.
Woah this is definitely the biggest head exploding news Ive heard in a long time. It;s too early to tell but I just hope this doesn’t mean its going to be a line wide One More Day. Though I do think that some characters like Hawkman, Flash, and Green Lantern have so much bad continuity and baggage that it may be better to clean it up or maybe even just wipe the slate clean, on the other hand I feel Superman is a character that is never allowed to grow because they are CONSTANTLY tweaking his origin or his continuity, for gods sake just let Superman be Superman. And Batman is DC;s top selling book, do they really want to gamble with mucking around with that?
Will the Jim Lee redesigns just be the designs he did for DCU Online?
This article that ran on Newsarama actually asks whether stories like “All Star Superman” will matter anymore after Flashpost. Why is this a question?
Why does everyone have v-neck collars? Is that what the kids are wearing these days?
@j206
Your talking as if everyone who ever gonna be into comics is already reading them and that’s just no the case. And if it is the case then the industry is already dead so who cares what DC’s doing.
so when the flashpoint trade comes out, itll techincally be a crisis book
@sideshowRaheem – The industry isn’t dead. It’s dying. It won’t be fully dead until this current reader base dies off, and the next generation (today’s youth) grows up not giving a crap about superhero comics. And yes, it will happen. Society has outgrown comic books. They are a niche artform. Once the niche audience is gone, so it will follow.
On an unrelated note. The only good coming out of this is making JLA a flagship book. It’s ridiculous that it’s been so long without it mattering. JLA needs to be the Avengers of the DCU. At least DC seems to finally get that.
I don’t get the negativity towards day and date. There’s not going to be a mass exodus of comic store patrons. People who go every week enjoy the ritual of it. They like going to the store and picking up their monthlies. Assuming that everyone will just stay at home and download is stupid. What it will do is get new readers in and maybe have current readers try a few new things, which could lead to them picking up the monthlies or trades. I doubt this will happen but I really hope DC’s trade policy gets fixed with this revamp in September.
As for Jim Lee’s designs, now that the full image has been released, I am getting some 90’s flashbacks here, especially with Cyborg. We’ll have to wait and see how these new looks translate into sales. I can’t say I totally agree with the revamp in terms of costumes and age of characters, but then again, I’m sure people were up in arms after Crisis. It’s just the nature of the industry.
The only thing I want to know is: What will happen to Batman Inc.? Does anyone have any news on this?
I am surprised that nobody has asked whether or not this new outfit is what Supes is gonna be wearing in the new movie. I would be excited for that.
@Evangelion11 Haha Well done.
@j206
Well if everyone invoiled in comics had your attitued then you’d certinaly be right but fortunately for the industry most people don’t think that way. Comics are a nich martket but it’s 2011 we live in an era were niche areforms can thrive. Comics will never be as popular as movie or tv but that does not mean they are dying it’s not just one extreme or the other. Not everyone who doesn’t read comics looks down on people that do and the success of comic movie IS and indication that this artform can continue to sustain itself that’s why the industry needs DC and Marvel to make bold moves like the one announced today.
This means what for All Star Batman and Robin?
@sideshowRaheem – This “bold move” doesn’t have any affect on non-comic readers whatsoever. There are already comic books for sale on ipads. Non-readers do not have any clue the difference between the previously released comics and the new ones. Nor do they have any idea when an issue is supposed to come out. The only thing gained is the access point. That already existed. If comics on ipads is going to get new readers, it will happen regardless of which comics are available and when. The only people concerned with day and date are CURRENT comic readers.
Froggulper already stated it quite well in this thread:
“Basically, as we all know, the readership is slowly dying, and “same-day” digital means nothing to the outside world. If a hypothetical new reader can’t be arsed to give comics a shot when Ultimate Spidey #1, or Johns’ Green Lantern #1, or whatever is on sale digitally for 99 cents–or if comics like that are available for FREE in some instances–then they’re not going to care that they can get Green Lantern #70 (or GL Vol. 4 #1) digitally on the same day that it’s released into comic book shops. Because they didn’t want that comic anyway.”
I do not even know what to say…
So this is it. Shit’s finally happening. Actually shocked that DC is leading the way into digital, couldn’t be happier about it though. And finally, Grant Morrison on superman (if that actually happens). Yes, yes this is very good news indeed.
Mark Millar’s probably kinda bummed right now. I mean, not really, but i do kinda sorta wish he was involved in this.
Most people did not buy that $500 to look like dorks, even if they do…
@j206
When I said “bold move” all of these moves happening at once. If the industry is to survive then you need new readers, to get new readers you have to lower the barrier of entry you have to make it simple for newbies to walk in the door. This means a reset of your entire line and making all your new #1’s easily avaible on one of the best selling personal electronic devices avaible. Now Joe Blow consumer who just bought is iPad 2 and decided to download the DC app beceaue, why the fuck not it’s free, now sees all these #1 issues right off the bat. It’s a simple indicator of were the story starts. The whole concept behind iTunes or Netflix succes is if you make something easily available and cheap then you can build an audience. This is exactly what DC is trying to do with all these “bold moves”, as I put it, I’m not saying it’s a guarenteed succes because their are alot of variables but it’s a good first step.
I’ll be honest i haven’t read any of these posts that don’t start with “@edward’
@ABirdseysView To be fair, DC announced JLA #1 is coming out on August 31st. I think we can give a bit of fairness to the two to maybe have #2 come out the first week of October.
@edward I also don’t read posts that don’t start with @edward
@JohnVFerrigno see? it works
A few questions for the more experienced/knowledgable readers: How similar is this to the idea following the original Crisis? As someone who just recently got into comics and only read Crisis within the past couple years I don’t really have a frame of reference, but this sounds similar to what must have happened back then with origins being tweaked and stories being restarted? Is it similar or am I completely off base?
Also, what was the reaction like to the rebooting back then? I’d imagine it wasn’t quite as visceral since there was no internet and immediate feedback but there must have been a fair amount of unhappiness. How long did it take until people accepted the new status quo?
how many times have we read a review on this site, or listened to a podcast can’t miss and thought “man that sounds great…sucks i missed the pre-order window…sucks that my shop ran out, sucks that my shop wouldn’t stock this book cause it wasn’t a top tier book!, sucks that my special order didn’t come in” it happens to me all the time. Day and Date solves that problem. Being able to buy my Wednesday pull list from my couch over morning coffee or from my office is a bad thing? Please explain how making a purchase simple, effortless and convenient is bad for a dying industry? Why can’t I have a digital option?
I haven’t seen a single rational argument for why a dedicated day and date program is a bad thing. Just a lot of fear and “i don’t like change!” style arguments. I honestly believe that anything that gives people an opportunity to buy a comic outside of the direct market/comic shop system is a great thing for the industry and the key to its long term survival and growth.
We travel to a privately owned boutique shops to buy a product out of a printed catalog sight unseen 3 months in advance..that has more in common with a Sears and Roebucks catalog from 1897 than anything being sold today. (“if you want dapper dan i can order it for ya…have it in about two weeks”).
Great things can happen when people have the courage to take a risk and do something new. Lets look at the potential opportunities instead of being afraid of something different. I for one plan on buying all my DC comics digitally. Can’t wait to see the interface and hear more. So excited that the future is here.
Damn those DC marketing wizards! its impossible to comment on the purposely vague and undetailed announcement without engaging in the uninformed hype-building they want. Geniuses i tell you. Sigh and now i’m just another pawn in their sick game.
I wanna add my two cents! This is silly! And please don’t fuck up Batman!
200 comments. good work, kids
WOW! A few points:
1) Digital releases are great and if anything is going to get new readers in I think digital is it.
2) I’ll be most upset to lose Snyder’s Detective run assuming that’s affected. (And do wonder what the impact will be on long runnng stories).
3) I had no idea Flashpoit was this big, surely they could have used this info to sell more copies.
4) 52 new releases in a month is a bit intimidating and might actually have the opposite affect of getting me to try new stuff.
5) I can’t really comment on the impact of the continuity shift until we see more details. As someone whos only been reading for 1.5 years I think continuity is a mixed blessing and a good storyteller can work with it and not exclude new readers.
This is going to be a huge failure. And for digital, its nice for those who like to get eye strain reading on an iphone, but I dont thing the digital thing will kill the LCS.
Must admit I’ve never ‘got’ Jim Lee but the more I thought about this since reading the news the more I wonder if this will be the greatest ‘jumping off’ point in comics history. The costumes show Lee’s porn star and muscle collar sensibilities and seem tonally out of tune with the age group they should be aimed at with the age of comic readers and digital device owners. Still, may be ace. I’ll certainly be buying half a dozen issue ones… I hope some decent artists get to flex their muscles.
@k5blazer You don’t have to read digital comics on your phone. Most don’t. I read a lot of digital comics and I never use my phone.
HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I will buy the JLA…… I have a big decision on the digital side now. Buy digital monthly? Then by the good stories in hardcover for my collection? HHHMMMM…. DC says “here it is, what you got Marvel” ????????
@wallythegreenmonster – I don’t think anybody in this entire thread has said that day & date is a bad thing. Why would they? I don’t see where your reaction is coming from, other than not quite understanding what people are talking about. Nobody told you that you can’t have a day & date option. Let’s not be silly here. There is absolutely nothing comic readers lose with it. That is unless you care about comic shops going the way of the dinosaurs. Which I think we can all agree are on the way out regardless. Day and date is great! Woo hoo! Happy?
All I was saying in my back and forth with Raheem is that day & date is not somehow a breakthrough to non-comic readers. It’s simply a way for us the current comic readership to get our books easier, and for DC to cut out the middle man and make a bigger profit. Still cool and a nice step for those who want their comics on their ipad on Wednesday. But people here are looking at it from the view of a comic book reader. To us, fans who anxiously await Wednesdays, day & date is some huge thing. If you aren’t a rabid comic reader, you don’t know the difference between day and date or the alternative. And you don’t care.
DVD sales are much bigger than tv ratings for most shows now days. Every year live tv ratings go down. DVD and DVR’s have taken over for live broadcast television. The large majority of people are casual viewers and aren’t concerned with getting their fix immediately. Most do not even have a clue when things even originally air. Only the small devoted group of rabid fans of certain shows do. Those people are by far the minority. They basically represent comic book fans in the scenario. Any casual new reader stumbling across a DC app is far more likely to represent the dvd crowd than the small fan-site message board poster who has to watch Fringe the week & minute it airs. The majority of viewers are not concerned with such things. So even if comic books were able to cross over and hit it big with ipad users and reach more mainstream audiences, day & date isn’t going to factor in much at all with those people. Only with us, the super nerds on fan sites. 😉
For the final time. lol. I am not against day & date! It is great!!! Just not a game changer outside our little world. Fun to talk about though. Now, about 20 year old Superman…
one of the guys pointed out that Superman, Aquaman, and Green Lantern’s customes all sport that “chinese collar” look… must be the “in thing” in Jim Lee’s book of design 🙂
i just hope this DC reboot doesn’t affect Grant Morrison’s Multiversity http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21104
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
PS. I love the flash’s new face
@ResurrectionFlan LOL. It really doesn’t.
I pray this is some sort of temporary Flashpoint BS. This stunt will attract a few people at the start then it’ll be back to just us regular readers, thus solving nothing. R.I.P. DC Comics
You know, I knew that something like this was going to happen but…I don’t know. It makes sense for them to try something different than what they’ve been doing but nothing about this inspires me with confidence. The worst thing for me is the Superman with Morrison. I’ve actually grown to be something of a Superman fan in the past few years. I know All-Star Superman is something a lot of people love but I found it a generally well done version of something I dislike (oh and also, Frank Quietly’s art style is hideous). I’m not going to run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off or shout the sky is falling. I’m sure parts of this will be great and parts of it will suck just like anything.
That rambling bit of nonsense out of the way, I do think the digital thing is the right idea.
I have never bought a DC title on a monthly basis in the 28 years I’ve been reading comics. This JLA book may very well change that.
@MadMartigan That’s the truth. Add blockbuster video to that list of huge companies hurt by new technology.
wait….WHAT THE TITS!?! Abnett,Lanning AND Coipel doing A legion book?!? maybe this can work
also
@Slockhart you’re right they have fucked Hawkman already with Phillip tan
but maybe I’m being to much of internet troll to fast
Best news I’ve heard all week!
I’m in. I don’t like the thought of losing all the past in the DCU but at the same time I think this could be good. In Johns we trust right?
@CharlieBlix You don’t lose the past. The past still happened. It is what led to the events that built up to Flashpoint and rebooted everything.
Some of these comments are hilarously funny (some intentionally, some not).
I don’t know if this approach will succeed, but I do know that it will be a very interesting experiment. I’m glad DC is trying to evolve into something that’s more consumer friendly.
I also like that there will be 52 new books. That’s a perfect number. Is this going to lead into Grant Morrison’s Multiverse “event”?
Fuck me! Nobody told me about Abnett, Lanning and Coipel on Legion. Oh fuck yeah!
@muddi900 I hate to burst your bubble because I loved the Abnett, Lanning, and Copiel Legion stuff from ten years ago, but read that Bleeding Cool story a little more carefully (and with a few more grains of salt anyway).
Even though the original Legion Lost (by Abnett, Lanning, and Coipel) just came out in hardcover, there is no indication that any of them are involved in the (alleged) upcoming Legion Lost series. (Coipel might be Marvel exclusive?)
Now that this is confirmed, you know what I’d love to see? Green Lantern’s movie credits start and right before they begin to roll we see: “For more Green Lantern adventures check out Green Lantern #1 coming in September, available at your local comic shop or digitally on your iPhone and iPad.”
Corporate synergy people! There’s no reason that brief line can’t be inserted, Warner Bros. is making the movie and owns DC!
@mikegraham6 Yes! 3 seconds in front of people’s eyeballs. That’s all you need. A little nudge, encouragement. A tiny bit of pressure.
Superman by grant morrison makes it all worth it.
@j206 –the negativity and pre-judgement that it can’t work is what i’m speaking to. Fact is we don’t know, this is uncharted territory that no publisher has tried before. Of course digital isn’t a magic wand, BUT i think if you want to grow comics and make it accessible to new customers, an easier to access universe and an easy to purchase digital product are steps in the right direction. Now i’m sure after the sales numbers are out for the first month, many comics purists will be celebrating and calling it a failure. This is a long term strategy. Getting comics sold outside of the comic shop is key to a long term growth and survival i think.
@sunhero Agreed.
Thas a lot of comments! Me no smart enuf to haf opinon.
Maybe I’ll buy more DC books now! <–Sarcasm
@mikegraham6 –you mean how they do that for movie soundtracks? Yeah that seems like a no brainer. Even one up it with a targeted AD for the comics before the movie starts.
Congratulations DC for finally committing to digital day and date for all your comics. I am going to be buying them digitally as I did for Generation Lost.
This is going to be a perfect jumping on point for people who want to jump on but didn’t want to catch up on current continuity. It’s going to be “forget everything you know” in the DC Universe, because everything starts from square one now.
Does this mean the end of Batman Inc? Does Batman start over now, or are some titles just continuing the current continuity and only renumbering?
Any list of all 52 titles out there? I’ve got to believe there have to be some crappy books in that list that probably shouldn’t be published.
I for one am very interested in where this is going. Its bold and gutsy but man it does open it wide open for some awesome stories. I just hope they dont mess with the bat books right now.
I’ve seen a fair amount of speculation and debate on the price point for the digital, but…
Has anyone heard anything yet on holding the line at $2.99 for the physical comic books come September?
Earlier in the year, in one of my pessimistic moods, I predicted that DC would abandon the $3 price point by September. I hope I’m wrong, but the timing matches up.
I can say this, however…if the $3 price point remains I will try every single new title initially and decide where to go from there. If it doesn’t, that’s probably the death knell for me with the LCS come August.
and when sales drop off because people won’t care for jim lee’s tweaks to the characters DC will use this as proof that people don’t want digitial…
I’m excited for this update to the DCU. But why renumber? What the hell is the point with that? It doesn’t make everything official…..it’s pointless. Well, scratch that, it’ll make every 52 book DC has $3.99
I hope this isn’t just another ‘Crisis’ or ‘Zero Hour’ where they try to fix some continuity and end up undoing it all in another year or so anyways. Interested to see if they stick with it for the long haul.
I’m on board. I’m all about “Superman” by Grant Morrison. That book has needed to hit the reset button for a WHILE.
@KenOchalek Yeah My google-fu has turned up nothing I was only going by a comment here.
BOOOOOOO!
@tschafer, I’d argue that virtually all of numbering is pointless. Comics have been renumbered so many times i really don’t think it’s an issue (no pun intended). Will the renumbering bring in some new readers and get some older readers to re read.
I just have one question:
How does this affect the Justice League International book they promised us?
@RoiVampire I would assume it won’t because it will probably be #1 as well.
Hey Josh!
How soon are you guys gonna cover this story on your video and audio podcasts?
Please excuse this Q if it’s been asked on this thread already.
Wow. I read this when it was first published yesterday and didn’t give it tanother thought. Didn’t know this would cause such a ruckus. After reading all of the above comments I’d figure I’d weigh in.
I don’t think any of us can make any sort of judgement without reading Flashpoint #5. Obviously Geoff Johns has something planned that would warrant the floppy re-boot. What I am a little concerned with is tieing up all of the loose ends and ending stories either because they were scheduled to be finished in August or if they are artificially ended by a red flash in the sky on the last panel. It does seem limiting to just end all of the momentum that some books have been building towards, but I think for books like Superman and Batman (proper not Action and Detective) this makes perfect sense since they have been languishing in below mediocrity.
I think that I am excited for this, I’ll temper my emotions until I read the last issue of Flashpoint. I’m not going to get caught up in the minutia of whether Jonah Hex will get renumbered or if Detective and Action will get new numbers. If I remember correctly the last time that DC rebooted we got some really good books, Man of Steel comes to mind.
What I think that we need to remember is that even the best sports teams have rebuilding years. DC’s just doing it through Free Agency instead of the Draft.
Looking at the Justice League plans I have to wonder how mad James Robinson is. When Robinson gets handed JLA he’s not allowed to use Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, any Green Lantern or the original Batman – no, all second-stringers for you James Robinson. Now Geoff Johns wants to write JL ? Of course he gets all the A-Listers, all the big guns. I predict Robinson’s Hawkman will be bitter and angry. 🙂
I’m going to try and reserve judgement until the books come out and I actually get to read them, but I’m really not excited about this. I’m all about attracting new readers but if you alienate long time readers like myself then you are just back where you started. I just don’t have a good feeling about this.
@boostergold4 if that’s true, then yes this will be a failed experiment. But that’s not at all the goal. DC is banking that while it may lose some long-time readers (perhaps even tens of thousands, although I doubt that), it hopes to gain many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of new readers. This is not about replacing one guy at the store with another. This is trying to make comics into a mainstream form of entertainment, and getting away from having to rely on the whims of a devoted but ever-decreasing direct market fanbase.
Feignt.
OOOOH SAME DAY PRINT AND DIGITAL LETS HOPE THOSE OF US OUTSIDE THE USA CAN GET THESE OPTIONS FOR A REASONABLE PRICE POINT
HECK I WOULD LIKE TO GET THE SAME ITUNES CONTENT AS THE USA HOPEFULLY THAT WILL TRANSFER TO THE COMICS APP
I haven’t seen it actually said by DC in all this that all their main books will be same-day-digital “from now on”. I’m just getting the impression that the #1’s will be same-day, and the issues after that won’t be. Is there some source that is saying that will be the case?
@ActualButt Jim Lee said as much yesterday on Twitter. I suspect we’ll get confirmation of that and much more in the coming days. But this isn’t a gimmick, it’s their new way of doing business.
@Wood That’s what I mean. You say that he said “as much”. Can someone link to the direct quote? It’s just hard to believe that DC is going digital same-day with 52 titles at once.
@vadamowens mainly i’m concerned about the story and how the reboot will impact these characters
The other thing that bothers me is the whole “#1’s bring in new readers” concept. They don’t. They bring in collectors and people who were already reading comics who are just trying a new book. The big two need to figure something out that is going to bring in people who have never picked up a comic before without alienating existing readers. This ain’t it. The biggest thing that brought in new readers in the last 10 years was Deadpool, as sad as that is. It’s all about growing the readership and diversifying it. The Sentry could have been effective if he wasn’t a poster boy for white supremacists.
@ActualButt – Agree this won’t bring in any new comic readers. It will undoubtedly bring over some new readers from the existing comic audience, and that’s probably what DC is expecting.
@ActualButt -i will agree with you that #1s don’t do much for new readership, nor does a reboot. But combined with a digital program and hopefully some sort of advertising and media campaign, thats a good first step and has some great potential. Frankly its a very aggressive move that no one has tried yet on this scale.
@wallythegreenmonster Unfortunately, the only place comics have ever advertised is in comics. They have branched out to websites like this one and others in the information age, but they need to start hitting other audiences.
@ActualButt Maybe they will. Maybe it’ll be some kind of new advertising that we didn’t even know about.
@ActualButt -i agree. however advertising is changing especially in younger demos. DC will get more mileage out of aggressive social media/viral campaigns than they will out of traditional outdoor-print-tv ad campaigns….i think we’ll see them going that rout considering who the target new customer is.
Since this does seem like a Texas hold’em going “all in” strategy… same-day digital, total universe reboot, Grant Morrison on Superman, Johns+Lee on JL…
…the only thing missing from this lineup is Frank Miller writing Batman and/or Detective #1.
Hey, iFancrew, that might make for a good blog post by Conor… his top-5 wishlist for who should write this Dark Knight’s return?
@RoiVampire Ah. Well that I can’t speculate on.
@RoiVampire I hope so. Not likely though. Even putting ads in video game magazines would be a step forward, and it’s a step that could have been taken 15 years ago.
Sounds good. Let’s hope Gail gets to stay on Birds of Prey, she’s rocking the title hard. Just hope this has been planned well in advance, so Jim Lee can put out a solid 6-12 issue run uninterrupted – so the relaunch can be effective and not have a negative effect on the brand.
Also, reckon the redesign of the Superman suit is the one they could use for the upcoming reboot.
DC reboot? YAWN … People still read DC?
@cahubble09 I would take DC over Marvel anyday of the week.
I read a ton of DC…just not DCU! 😉
@thecannibalisticvagrant She’s off the book. And there’s no way Justice League is monthly after 3 issues. It’s the Image founder curse.
@tomstewdevine – I’m with ya!!!
“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.”
I find it funny how DC is touting redesigning 50 some odd character’s costumes. Yet in reality, it’s the characters themselves that are being redesigned and de-aged. Sneaky way of putting it and not causing your readers to revolt.
Epic thread so far. It’s a lot more tame then I expected from you kind folk. No one’s really going bonkers or making the argument that digital is the death of the industry.
I, for one, am excited about day and date digitial. I’ve been reading a ton of comics on my ipad through the comixology IOS app, and it’s awesome. It’s really a great way to store your comics, and have them at your disposal whenever you need them.
What’s probably more interesting, and what’s arguably been overlooked, is that Flashpoint is the catalyst for this, and all those tie-ins that we all complained about, are now that much more interesting. Clearly, the events of Flashpoint are the impetus to the reboot, and I for one, am excited to see how this plays out.
Anyone else get that much more excited for the Flashpoint tie-ins?
One more thought : at the end of JL:Generation Lost I thought I was being promised a new Justice League International series. Now we’re getting a new JL with all the cool kids, which I will absolutely buy, but I still want my JLI! Why in the h*ll wouldn’t you want to have your cake and eat it too ? Cake’s no good if you can’t eat it. 🙂
I don’t know if these #1s will see a sales boost right off the bat. I’m not expecting one anyway. But, as with any app or digital iOs product, these will be a slow burn. As people keep hearning more and more about this, seeing more movies, and (hopefully) more advertising, and this word of mouth grows the base. The #1s will give any new readers that may be inclined to check out these books a great start point for months/years. We existing comic fans are the ones who are clamouring for day and date digital but the more new readership grows over the next year, the more people will start demanding these new issues. This is a longterm strategy people, i can see the numbers rolling out in September and all the naysayers using it as an opportunity to boast they were right, but y’know what? come back and talk to me in 5 years your kids are finally interested in reading that Green Lantern series after seeing the 3rd movie sequel in theatres.
@usagi I’m hoping that we’ll still get that book because no one has said what Winnick is doing in this new reboot.
I’m not sure why everyone is obsessed with #1’s. Sure they boost sales temprorarily but that’s it. Things usually even out in the end. I’m sure lots of us here got into a comic well into the hundreds, be it Detective Comics or Uncanny X-Men. The digital comics will bring in new readers, not having a #1 on the front.
@daccampo Re: TV shows being rebooted. It actually does happen sometimes, although not as drastically. Happy Days comes to mind, where they had an older brother who disappeared. King of Queens was similar, with her having a sister that lived with them. I’m sure there’s other examples I can’t think of.
Has DC posted a list of the writer/artist line-ups and release dates for each of the new books?
@nudebuddha –The transition from the first season of community to its second season was drastic. Went from a run of the mill sitcom that was on the chopping block, to a more post modern pop culture homage; , non linear show. That is the best example i can think of in recent memory.
I’m sure Scott Snyder and jock will continue writing and drawing some Batman.
So is the jla pic above the redesigned costumes? Thought Josh said they weren’t if they are, then kinda lame as they all look the same.
@halik As the first line in the article states, we updated the artwork. The original piece we had in there was not from the new JLA book. This one is.
@tomstewdevine: What gave you the impression I’m a big Marvel fan? As long as DC leaves my Batman books alone, I’ll be happy. Otherwise … YAWN …
And if they frack with Batman, well, I’ll just have have more $$ to spend on books from a different publisher.
God i hope its Dick Grayson batman in the JLA…
@nudebuddha @wally – Those aren’t reboots. Those are tweaks and slight alertations. In Buddha’s examples, retconning characters either out of or into existence. And Wally’s is simple an example of a new tv show finding it’s creative legs. Something that happens all the time. Especially with comedies. BTW, Wally. You couldn’t be more wrong about Community. It was FAR from a run of the mill sitcom it’s first season. FAR FROM.
All of NBC’s current comedies went through creative changes their first couple seasons to find their comedic voices. Compare & contrast the 1st & 2nd seasons of The Office, Parks & Rec, and 30 Rock. It’s hard for writers to know what works best for their new show and characters without feeling their way through it first. That is simply a creative process. Those types of creative changes you find all the times in comic books, and happen without rebooting a book. That was not what daccampo was referring to.
What Dave was joking about would be like if season 3 of Parks & Recreation was suddenly set in New York City and not Indiana. With zero reference to Pawnee or anything that took place there. Andy & April are no longer married. Ann no longer works for the Parks department. And Ron is now a vegetarian and hates meat. THAT is a reboot. Not changing a certain character’s path or a show’s tone.
These young-looking characters look like cartoons. If they’re going for younger readers, this may work.
It doesn’t look like Hal is wearing a ring in that picture.
@citizenmilton Personally I can do without Miller on batman or anything else involved with this.
@s1lentslayer Nice catch on the lack of ring. Perhaps they are turning Hal into somewhat of an Ion-type character. Although I really hope that is not the case and it was just a mistake in the art…
Talked to someone today who has quite a bit more inside info. It was definitely enlightening and intriguing. It sounds like we longtime readers may have to spend a little time with these new series as they re-establish the new/update/tweaked origins, but then they may be able to move forward into new stories pretty quickly.
It also sounds like various creators are being given some level of oversight/control over different corners of the universe, with Johns in charge of the JL portion, Morrison overseeing Superman, and… maybe Snyder in charge of the Batverse? That sounds like exactly what’d I’d want from this, so here’s hoping that’s how it plays out.
The more I think about this, the more excited I become. I am so ready to go digital. I am more of a reader than a collector. It’s the story and characters that matter to me. I am less interested in making sure that I have hard copies of a complete volume of a certain series. In fact, I am thinking about selling off my hard copies of comics from 2004-present, when I returned to reading comics. I doubt I will ever re-read them again, and it will be decades before they have any real gains in value.
I am looking forward to buying my iPad 2.0 – for the primary purpose of reading comics. I have been holding off buying an iPad because comic publishers were not offering digital comics same day and date. Well, now DC is going to do just that. I fully expect to stop my pull list subscriptions to my DC titles beginning in September so that I can download them digitally.
I do feel sorry for my LCS owner and his manager. We talked about this developement today. They are not happy about it – especially about what it portends for the future. But change happens. We adapt. I hated it when vinyl records disappeared, but I am still listening to music – maybe even more than I used to. Same with comics – the hard copy will eventually disappear, but I think that the industry will continue digitally. And I sincerely hope that digital comics will sustain the current market share and even expand it. I hope that DC’s bold initiative will attrack new readers and possibly bring some old readers back.
@conor I’m an idiot, but thank you.
These pretzels are making me thirsty!!!
Not very excited by any of the DC news.
1)Nothing against digital but I’m a comic collector. Nothing will ever replace great art and storytelling in the comic book format.
2)I’m nervous for Dick Grayson, Wally West, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Stephanie Brown, and all the Green Lanterns after Hal Jordan. Got a feeling some of these will become kids/teens again or be eliminated altogether.
3)Yes, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Justice League all need retooling. But those are writer/story problems…has nothing to do with the characters. The cool new kids will still suck if the writing isn’t drastically improved. I don’t care how many #1’s you stick on the cover.
4)After years of faithfully following DC comics through the good times and the “Rise and Falls”, everything is discarded. The continuity, the relationships, and mostly the hard-earned income used to invest in the DC legacy.
I understand how this move makes business sense for DC. Digital in some shape or form is the future. A whole new generation of possible comic lovers will have a jumping-on point with characters that are both new, yet familiar. So I get it.
Just feeling a little disrespected right now…
Had a conversation today that made me think of a new angle on this. If all comics go day and date, and that results in less printed books, it could eventually lead to prices going up on back issues as collectibles again.
What’s gonna happen to Dick & Damian? They’re the best thing going at DC!
Love the digital move, reading comics on the ipad is the best!
Definitely mixed feelings here. Good to see the digital move, though I’m wondering where vertigo is in this.
The radical change in terms of the comics though just saddens me as I’m so very much enjoying what I’m reading. This might be the end of an era for me and DC superhero books.
I think it’s a good move. Exited about it. And thank God for a Geoff Johns/Jim Lee Justice League, it’s a dream come true.
I just want a fucking Batwoman comic already. Also, an in-continuity Shazam title would be good. That’s really I want to buy from DC.
The DC Source blog has a post about some of the new slate of books coming in September. There is A LOT to like!
I am super stoked about Justice Leauge, Wonder Woman(!), Flash, Aquaman, and DC Universe Presents(!). All the other titles look very cool, as well. Right now, based on what I have seen thus far, I am on the fence about picking up all 52 new #1s.
What’s with the Nehru collars on Supes, Aquaman, and GL?
Looks like I’ll start reading DC again…digitally at $1.99 per copy that is, a month after print version.
I truly believe the jla is an out of date concept, but I will give Geoff johns a chance… The question is will the jla survie when johns and lee leave after six-twelve issues? There both busy people
I think this is the most expected title reboot the DC universe, and the most astonishing, too. The best: Jim lee in JLA.
I give Jim Lee 6 issues, at most, on JLA. And of course they will never be on time….
Just a thought – Jim Lee had to redesign all those characters for DC Universe Online, didn’t he? (with assistance I assume). I wonder if he’s going to use those designs again?
It looks to be like they’ll all be bang up to date visually…if it was 1995.
My only question is, how long will Lee stay on? Big question..
@Webs Page 6. But pages 3-4 will be a fill in artist.
I feel bad for Cyborg. He’s (probably) the only Leaguer without his own solo series. Poor lil’ guy!
@josh I’m confused…. you said this image isn’t specific to the anouncement, but it’s the same image everyone is using…?? Was there a diff pic there at one time or something??
@Mart8El Yes, we updated the image when it was released. When I made that comment, a week ago, it was a different image. The very first line in the article says “UPDATE: with new art.”
@k5blazer Man you give him more credit than I do. I say we have a fill in artists by issue 4. Seriouly Jim Lee is the only thing keeping me from being excited about this comic. Maybe he’ll surprise me but I’m not holding my breath.
I like the costumes. On twitter Jim Lee seems genuinely excited about the project, and about being at DC so I would certainly hope he stays on for at least 12 issues. Lee seemed to be very good about his work on the DCUonline, got out Azzerello’s crappy crappy Superman story on time (I think) worked will with Loeb, so I think he has a shot at really wowing us here. He also managed to get the first year of WILDC.A.Ts out on time. So I will give him a chance on this book. The kid’s got talent.
With the Day and Date releases, do we have any idea what time the downloads will become available? Because I know that, personally, I’d be far more inclined to purchase digital comics if they came out at midnight, especially since I work night shifts and sometimes have lengthy waits between having work to do.
I figured out what there doing they realized the comic buyer who actualy goes to the store are older there is hardly any teenagers buying so since they are all online ,put the books on line get the young readers and soon rid the distributers save money.
weed out the comic stores just sell everything from dc site no overhead
1-sell digital same day
2-weed out diamond
3-online store
4-sell all books online from dc
All done from in house no outside source
Everyone supprot your local comic store don’t let them fade away.
This is the plan to run every part of the system.
Warner took over and they will make money save money
no matter what people think remember it’s a coperation not fan based.
we don’t want to hear your opinon system, it’s a make money system.
Jla#1 = pinnacle of comic book existence.
Geoff & lee, greatest team in comics HANDS DOWN.
I just read it, and I really like the direction. This is going to be fun.