Assessing DC's bold reboot

In late May, DC Comics, the publisher of the “Batman,” “Green Lantern” and “Superman” series, announced a complete reboot of its universe starting Aug. 31.
The company is relaunching 52 series with all-new first issues. The entirety of the DC universe is affected by this, with countless characters having reworked origins and some entirely new characters finding themselves in starring roles in self-titled comics.

DC also announced that from now on, every title is going to be published for e-comic readers, such as ComiXology, the same day it hits stores. While this should hypothetically be a huge gain for DC on the e-comics scene since rival Marvel still releases digital versions of titles weeks or sometimes months after release dates, it won’t be.

DC’s current plan is to price the digital versions the same as the paper copies on the release date and then reduce the digital price after one month. 

Comic shops are the heart and soul of the business, so I can understand pricing the digital at the same price as the physical as a means of getting people into stores, but they simply don’t have to. Digital comics as a medium are like music-downloading services. If new fans read and enjoy the music or comics that they preview digitally (and cheaply), they are more likely to go to a comic or record shop to enjoy the real thing. Pricing e-comics the same as the regular books could just lead people to wait the one month for the price to drop.

One of the main concerns I have with this reboot is it could easily further complicate continuity instead of simplifying it. DC is introducing a new timeline in which all of the heroes seemingly first emerged five years ago in an effort to make all the comics a good jumping-on point for new readers.

The problem is that a whole bunch of comics are taking place at different points in the timeline. For instance, one Superman title is taking place at the start of the five years and other Superman titles take place in the “current” timeline. It could be a confusing mess for new readers.

To add on to that problem, DC editors are insisting that many events, such as Batman training three different Robins, still happened despite the five-year time frame. Fans of the characters could have to ruffle through issues to figure out which events are still part of the continuity and which are not.

Of course, these aears might quickly be alleviated when the first comics are released and we see what the actual world DC is creating is like. These impressions are being made without a single one of the 52 new runs being read, after all. There are still some very cool things about this whole reboot. There will be 52 entirely new creative directions for characters I love, and it is always refreshing to see different takes on characters so ingrained in comic culture.

One comic in the reboot has me excited more than any other.

“Stormwatch” will star characters from “The Authority,” a Justice League-like superhero team that operates in the shadows as the heroes battle against the moon. That kind of off-the-wall insanity is the reason I love comics.