DC’s Massive Relaunch
The news lately in the comic world is all about DC’s plan to reset their universe, starting 50+ comics with issue one later this year. I’m torn on the idea, but I’ll probably take advantage of the reset to try out a couple of comics. You can find out more about ten of the new books at DC’s site; I think I’ll be trying Green Arrow and DC Universe Presents.
Oliver Queen is an orphan who grew up to fight crime as the Green Arrow, a billionaire playboy who uses his fortune to become a superhero – able to fight the most powerful super-villains in the universe with nothing but a bow and arrow. JT Krul will write GREEN ARROW #1 with art by superstar artist Dan Jurgens. The cover to issue #1 is by Brett Booth.
The anthology series gets a new look in DC Universe Presents, a new series that will focus on multi-issue story arcs each featuring a different superhero from the DC Universe’s rich cast of characters, told by some of comics’ most exciting writers and artitsts. DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #1 kicks off the first arc of the series: a Deadman story by Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang. The cover to issue #1 is by Ryan Sook.
I have mixed feelings about this, too. On one hand, DC is erasing a lot of great storylines. On the other hand, comics are drowning in the weight of their continuities. Each character has so many decades of continuity that jumping on board any series is a monumental task for a casual comic book fan.
Couple that with the fact that the timeframe for the continuity becomes nonsensical after a while. Some of these superheroes are 70+ years old, but they can’t possibly have existed for that long in the timeframe of the comics. That’s why Crisis on Infinite Earths happened; it was a way to segment the antiquated and no longer relevant from the current. But now Crisis itself is 25 years old, so DC Superheroes are once again choking on their own continuities.
So I guess I would say that this is a good idea, but whether or not I’m all-in depends on how they handle my favorite superheroes.
Here’s the thing – few DC titles interest me, despite being a bit of a comic geek. A relaunch of the characters, from scratch, with a modern take has actually caught my attention and I am considering picking up a few of these titles. So from that perspective it has worked. But I can understand why DC regulars are angry over this.
The more I think about this, the more I’m okay with it. My initial thought was that it was a horrible idea, but I’ve warmed up to it. The most mainstream comic I follow is Hellboy, and only pick up Superman and Batman books when they are one shot stories, and those typically don’t fit in with the DC continuity anyway.
This might get me interested in the main characters again, particularly Superman. I am a huge fan of Superman, but have always preferred the Golden Age version, including his powers (or I should say limitation on his powers) from that time. I’m curious what a completely fresh take on him will produce.
I’m cool with it, but it’s hard to say at this point if it goes back far enough for this Batfan. Word is there’s a Barbara Gordon Batgirl and Nightwing, so that means we’re at least to a third Robin – Tim – unless they bounce back to Jason Todd, or eliminate him from continuity altogether. I’d prefer Batman’s timeline be pushed back to Grayson as Robin.
And it raises a lot of questions regarding villains – will Bane exist in this new continuity for instance – because if not, with the movie coming, they’ll have to bring him into the comics soon…meaning another Knightfall before next summer?
Still more questions than answers. But if it keeps comics relevant I say do it.
@BubbaShelby – Where’s the Batman info been posted? That sounds to me like it’s not much of a reboot if so much continuity is already established before #1 even starts.
I know what I’d do if I were told “Reset Batman,” and it definitely wouldn’t involve the character already active and with as detailed a backstory as you need to get Batgirl and Nightwing in the picture on day one.
@Nathan – “So I guess I would say that this is a good idea, but whether or not I’m all-in depends on how they handle my favorite superheroes.”
Totally agree. DC has a chance to do a real and true reset and start from scratch, and if they take that route I could see myself getting onboard for a few titles.
Here’s the info I found re: Batgirl and Nightwing: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/06/01/dc-relaunch-batgirl-1-and-nightwing-1/
Until official word, take it with a grain of salt I suppose. But I also read there’ll be a Batwoman #1 http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/06/02/dc-relaunch-batwoman-1/
So they are rebooting Batman’s continuity back about, I don’t know, eight months?
@BubbaShelby – Everything I read in those links makes me think this relaunch is a massive gimmick and complete waste of my time and energy. I hope every rumor is wrong and DC presses a giant “DO OVER” button.