DC To Renumber Titles; Revamp Characters For "Today's Audience"

An all-new DC Universe

Major comic book publisher DC Comics has issued a statement via an interview with USA Today about their decision to renumber all their current titles which signal a complete overhaul in their current titles. 

And with most overhauls - major changes has to be done.

Changes will include all new story lines targeted for the modern audience, new  character origins, "younger" character depictions and updated costume designs.

The company has said to release 52 number 1 issues starting August 31, with the  first book to be titled Justice League No.1 - featuring DC's most popular characters like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Aquaman  -  written by Geoff Johns with art by superstar artist Jim Lee.

DC also said that they are targeting the digital comics market, as they will move all of their superhero publishing into digital distribution which will coincide with their "universe reboot."

For the complete interview, click here. 

Couple of thoughts:

This sounds like Marvel's relaunching of their Ultimate Comics line to me in a sense. And to be honest,  it sounds like this would be an entirely new continuity which means the end of the comic book collecting days for a LOT of fans who have tuned in to DC just to follow their favorite character's over the years.

Take note, a lot of DC's heroes have a rich history that spans 70-plus years -  and if this is a complete revamp of the current universe continuity - with no plans of relating or staying with the previous stories - then all of those years spent buying comic books will be all for naught... AGAIN.

There will be TONS of questions concerning this new DC universe that needs to be answered... like:

Will there be another Superman origin story (that has been told a gazillion times already) ? 

What will happen to the current Batman and Flash books now?

Will controversial stories like Identity Crisis and its ramifications will be removed from canon? 

So no more Ted Kord head-shots, Wonder Woman neck-snapping, and Dr. Light mind-wiping?

What will happen to Lois Lane in the new universe? Will Supes finally hook up with Wonder Woman instead?

How about Barbara Gordon? Will the original Batgirl be able to walk again - as if Alan Moore's The Killing Joke never happened? 

Will my personal favorite - the current Power Girl series - be eradicated to ashes? 

and so much more...

On the other hand, I'm pretty excited on what DC has to offer this time. I'm all for universe shattering changes as long as the material published is good, entertaining and entirely fresh. People are sick and tired of rehashes of stories long-told. 

One question looms: will the "younger" audience pick these new books up considering the price? Because at the end of the day, price does matter. Especially for a kid - or somebody that doesn't have a job, or can't afford to spend $2.99 every month for a comic book.

Finally, with DC targeting the digital comics market, I believe they have finally realized that printed comics is slowly dying and  will never cut it any more for them in terms of profit - so they are looking ahead far into the future of the industry, and taking advantage of it as early as they could. Digital comics is spreading like wildfire already - because of its easier accessibility thru computers, iPads, Kindles and the likes - so why wouldn't test that other side of the equation? Sounds sensible to me.

What do you think of this move by DC? Let us know by commenting or voting on the poll.

If you like my post, get free updates via email or RSS.