Yet Another DC Comics Reboot

[sdelmonte]

Yup. After the current Flashpoint miniseries, DC is rebooting. By canceling every book. And launching 52 new titles in September. And altering characters and costumes. Details are here.

Also, they will be offering digital versions of everything the same day it's in the comic shops. This part is, I think, a huge step in the right direction, an acknowledgment of how things have changed and something that will help DC with younger readers.

But as for the reboot...it could be glorious. It could be disastrous. I hope that the good stuff they've been doing with Batman and the JLI and Xombi is not tossed out. I hope that the changes to the DCU are not yet another failed effort to make comics hip or relevant. And I hope the better talents they have now are used properly. But given how many reboots we have seen in the past twenty-five years and how most of the changes never seem to stick, forgive me if I am going to wait and see.

At the same time, there are bound to be at least a few good comics out of 52 new titles. I hope.

Comments

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

I have to wonder--what does this do, if anything, to properties such as the Earth One OGN series? I mean, under the operative rules, obviously, licensed properties (from Young Justice through to the latest slate of movies) are fine. But if DC is trying to take control of and begin anew its comic-book-based properties, that puts the OGNs in a weird state.

And given my fondness for Straczynski's style, of course, I'm curious.

[sdelmonte]

I was thinking about that, too. DC was all "JMS will save us" after the strong sales on the first book, and I doubt they would pull the plug on the next one after moving JMS to that full-time. But if there is one thing DC has shown, it's an ability to be inconsistent.

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

Given that they were also all "JMS will save us" when they handed him the reins to both Superman and Wonder Woman--only for him to hand them back pretty quickly after what I'm told was a less-than-stellar run, especially on the latter...

Though, he's been tweeting and mentioned the book recently without mention of this. Wonder if he even knew?

Which occurs to me--hey, I'll @ him and see if he'll comment!

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

Straczynski reports that the reboot has no effect on "Earth One."

[badninja.livejournal.com]

I'm kind of sitting here going "didn't we just do this a few years ago?" I have a few hopes for this but my big hope is that by linking this with Flashpoint #5, maybe they're making a jump-off point to relaunch the Elseworlds line. (Dream on, me!)

I just can't tell whether these are 52 #1 issues with some series continuing on (kind of like an issue #0 thing) or if they're ALL continuing on.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

I find myself wondering if this isn't going to be used to wipe certain perceived-as-inconvenient yet popularly beloved character developments off the characters' continuity slates.

[the_croupier]

The only glaring problem I have with this is.... 52 titles? Fifty-two? Seriously? Just from DC?

I've thought for some time that both Marvel and DC were putting out far too many books, and suffering serious problems with inconsistent quality as a result. Fewer titles that are better written and illustrated would seem the smarter way to go, at least in terms of building a reliable brand with new, younger readers.

But I have to agree, the main concern is whether DC will really follow through on this, or will they only give it a half-hearted effort and then dump the whole thing and frantically switch to some other strategy before giving this one a real chance. We shall see.

I also have to worry about what this will mean for the remaining direct market comic shops out there. I know comics publishers can't continue to cater to them forever, and they have to go where readers are in the 21st century, which is increasingly digital. But as an older comics reader, I will mourn the passing of the comic shops we've known, even if ultimately, that's what has to happen.

[sdelmonte]

I have zero interest in digital comics. But I also have zero interest in e-books. The future is coming, and we have to accept it. (I think the future for comics is less paper but more graphic novels instead of monthlies. The paper comic, like the paper book and newspaper, will not die that fast. It will change, though.)

As for that many titles, DC has come closer to 52 books a month before. But their talent pool is thin. Look at the long list of lesser lights doing Flashpoint tie-ins. DC will need to either steal some writers from Marvel, or make it more worthwhile for writers from smaller companies to stay at DC. The short time Nick Spencer spent at DC before going to Marvel, and the constant burning of bridges with formerly dedicated writers like Waid and Rucka does not bode well.

[the_croupier]

I don't have much interest in digital comics either...yet. Right now my main interest in having certain things digitally is so I can refer to them for Livejournal RP. Digital comics are incredibly convenient for that.

But reading something off a desktop or laptop screen isn't a very enjoyable experience, so I'm withholding judgment until the day I get a tablet computer. That won't be anytime soon because I don't really need one (a laptop and smartphone fill my daily needs just fine). But tablets are here to stay, so eventually I'll get one, and given how much my mom has fallen in love with her new Kindle, I have every reason to think I'll find a tablet just the thing to make me finally adopt e-books.

If that day is a year or two down the road, that might also give DC and Marvel time to actually begin adapting the comic as we know it. Comics will only become truly 'digital' when they are actually adapted for a tablet platform, and not just scanned images of printed editions.

Then again, I suspect it will take DC and Marvel far more time to realize this than it should.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

My thoughts about the renumbering are the third comment here:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/comic-book-math-dc-to-renumber-series-starting-again-with-no-1/