Tuesday, May 31, 2011

It's been about 25 years, or so....

Time to start from scratch!

  
So, DC Comics is revamping their entire universe. New number one issues all around, younger versions of the "Iconic" heroes.

That Jim Lee artwork above is all we have, so far. He'll be drawing a new Justice League, with Geoff Johns writing. All I can say about that is, I hope Lee is already 18-20 issues ahead, because the guy's track record, flat out, sucks. I will not abide a line-wide reboot with a flagship book that is eternally late. 

What the hell happened to finishing All-Star Batman and Robin, by the way?

One thing I will say...Why does everyone's costume have the same collar? Even Wonder Woman has that choker thing, and are those the damn PANTS again?!? Plus...for my Buddy Ken...Superman has RED TRUNKS!!

Anyway, I'm not as down on this as you might expect. The fact that it's coupled with same-day digital distribution is also, at the very least interesting. Or, as my buddy Paul, who owns a shop said, "INTERESTING." It reads to me like a full-court press for new readers, and anybody who follows the comic industry (who doesn't have their head in the sand) knows we need new readership, badly. If you're going to pull the new, young, tech-savvy kids, this is the best chance. Not only can you just download (legally) the books, now, but they're not going to be built on 30 years of continuity you haven't read. 

Don't think it doesn't amuse me greatly that this is all stemming from the Flashpoint crossover, tied to the return of Barry Allen as the Flash, and this new start is just the sort of thing that the Barry fans that wanted him back sooooo badly are going to just HATE.

Plus, what an elegant way out of the "problems" that continuity has wrought. Multiple Batmen and Grant Morrison's increasingly whacked-out Batman storylines? *poof* Bruce Wayne is the one-and-only Batman, and I'll lay dollars to donuts Dick Grayson is Robin, and Barbara Gordon is out of that wheelchair, back into her Batgirl costume.

Multiple Flashes, and Wally West saddled with a wife and two kids? *poof* He's back to Kid Flash!

Superman's married to Lois Lane *poof* The Clark/Lois/Superman love triangle is back in play. Hell, DC editorial has been trying to fix that one for YEARS, without resorting to death or d-i-v-o-r-c-e, and this is a damn sight more elegant than having Clark make a deal with the devil. (Yes, Joe Quesada and Marvel, that was a bitch-slap for you)

I've been reading comics for decades now, and frankly, this sort of thing needs to happen from time to time. It does. It does anyway, I mean how old is Batman? Green Arrow celebrated his birthday in real time during his series in the 90's, he'd be retirement age now, if we kept to that. DC has just made it official. 
Which doesn't mean I like the damn costume changes, which aren't really needed.

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