DC To Reboot With New #1's In September

The news hit the comic world yesterday like a meteor strike.

DC Comics will reboot the universe in September with all comics being renumbered to #1 ... 52 #1's to be exact. The news is all over the place and pretty easy to find although http://bleedingcool.com/ and http://www.comicbookresources.com/ have been spearheading the coverage.

I won't go into the releases at length but here are a couple of statements that stuck out to meand some quick comments followed by my bigger thoughts at the bottom of the post. As usual, I may ramble, so bear with me.

From the USA Today article that was the opening salvo of news: 

The first book to be released under this new era: Justice League No. 1, out Aug. 31. The series by writer Geoff Johns and artist Jim Lee reunites the famous lineup of Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Wonder Woman and Aquaman.

I feel bad for the Martian Manhunter fans out there. While it was clear the Cyborg was going to be playing a bigger part in the DCU based on Flashpoint, I would think their could be room for Vic and J'Onn.

In September, an additional 51 first issues will make their debut, introducing stories that are grounded in each character's specific legend but also reflect today's real-world themes and events. Lee spearheaded the costumes' redesign to make characters more identifiable and accessible to comic fans new and old.

No red shorts for Superman I see. And Wonder Woman has a sort-of take on her new costume. For some reason the choker stands out as a bad element. 

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

 If the Trinity are younger, do the younger characters become even younger?

From CBR:

A new title starring Superman written by Grant Morrison.

Birds of Prey #1 - This new ongoing series will not feature the work of longtime "BoP" writer Gail Simone. In fact, many tried and true approaches to books will be getting a second look at DC in September.

Teen Titans #1 - The new start for the teen team will be written by "Red Robin" scribe Fabian Nicieza.

Justice Society of America #1 - Only one of a number of current titles that will welcome a creative team shift, the future of the original superhero team will apparently not involve current writer Marc Guggenheim.

Wonder Woman #1 - Don't expect the recent changes from writer J. Michael Straczynski to stick when the Amazing Amazon sees another new #1 hit.

Green Lantern #1 - Even with a new #1, Green Lantern remains in Johns' hands, and readers can expect the effects of major crossovers like "Blackest Night" to stay in place moving forward.

Hawkman #1 - While fans have known a "Hawkman" series by James Robinson has been in the works since the writer mentioned it on a panel at New York Comic Con, Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnston has been reporting the rumor that the book will be drawn by "Batman & Robin" and "Outsiders" artist Philip Tan.

Aquaman #1 - No surprises here. The already announced series featuring the sea king by Johns and Ivan Reis will be part of the relaunch wave.

And Bleeding Cool again has a list of other possible including a an Omac book, Legion Lost book and Adventure Comics starring Deadman.

So sign me up for the Morrison Superman, the Robinson Hawkman, and the JL book. I will have to look at the other creative teams and new books before committing further.

Okay, enough regurgitating news everyone probably knows.

I have to start off by saying that I am not averse to universal reboots. I am a child of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I understood why the Crisis needed to happen and applauded it. The universe that came out of that series was a better universe (outside of the lack of Supergirl). I even loved the 'new' Superman by John Byrne as it reinvigorated the character, made him relevant again. I am not a curmudgeon demanding a return to the Silver Age.

COIE was released in 1985. The next reboot was Zero Hour, released in 1994, 9 years later. And Infinite Crisis rebooted the universe again, 11 years later in 2005. And now we get another reboot  a mere 6 years later.

Is something so broken with these characters that their histories simply cannot last for more than a decade? I don't think so. Instead, there must be something wrong with the stories, something that hasn't grabbed enough readers.

I understand that DC is a business, has been running second to Marvel forever, and might feel like they need to shake things up. But doesn't this have the feel of a 'Hail Mary' pass, a last ditch effort to try to bring people back to the table? I hope it works ... I do. Because I want DC to go back to prominence.

Unfortunately, this also shows just how off DC can sometimes be when it comes to understanding their fans. Let's look at some recent events effected by the reboot.

They just 'listened to the fans' and renumbered Wonder Woman to the 600's. Now they are rebooting to #1.

They listened to the fans and rebooted Birds of Prey with Gail Simone back at the helm. Now they are rebooting with a new #1 without Simone.

They listened to fans and brought back the classic Legion with Paul Levitz at the helm. Now they are rebooting with #1, 15 issues later. (How many Legion reboots have their been??)

They just celebrated Action Comics #900, and then they (supposedly) renumber the granddaddy of all comics.

None of that matters moving forward, I mean it ...

But here is the bottom line for me ...

I want good stories!

It is that simple.

That is all I ask for. If this reboot brings good stories than I am all for it. It is that simple.

I don't want this to simply be a gimmick. I want more than a new number on a cover. I want quality. And lots of it, if I am going to have to learn my 3rd DCU in the last 7 years. I don't want 'superstar teams' that can't meet monthly deadlines. I want heroes to act like heroes. I want Superman in Metropolis, fighting villains, hanging out at the Daily Planet.

And I hope that DC doesn't take a step backwards with some characters. I don't want Dick to be Robin. I don't want Barbara Gordon to be Batgirl. Because Nightwing/Batman and Oracle are great characters that don't need a reboot. I don't want Donna Troy to be Wonder Girl again, she has come too far.

And what of Supergirl? The elephant in the room of this blog.

Well, there goes the chance to see Supergirl #100. We have no news on the status of the title or the new creative team. Does she have a book? Will her history be changed to accomodate a younger Superman? Will she suddenly have to be 15 (rather than 18) if he is now in his mid-20s? What direction will character go? Will the excellent work of Gates and Igle be erased as part of the reboot? Or will the growth her character has gone through recently continue on?

Artistically, will Lee change the costume to make it 'more identifiable'? Does that mean a Matrix style? The variant full blue dress we have seen everywhere? Or is Turner's costume the most accessible costume for Supergirl these days.

Let's face it, we have lived through a bunch of Supergirl reboots, both hard and soft since 1985. I guess I can withstand another ... if ... if ...

THE STORIES ARE GOOD.

Alas, the saddest part of all this is I have to realize I am not the demographic that DC necessarily cares about the most. I am on the upper end of the spectrum of the 25-40 yr old demo. They don't want to cater to my dollars, they want young dollars.

But I have 3 supergirls at home (the oldest is 11)  that are interested in comics, that like superheroes, that watch Young Justice, and hope on Wednesday that I come home with a new comic for them. I hope this reboot also has those readers, the youngest readers, in mind somewhere.

I hope that Didio, Johns, and Lee are up to the challenge of bringing DC back to number one. I promised optimism here. And I don't want to reboot my optimistic viewpoint.