The DC reboot

DC Comics has a new strategy to be No. 1 in comic books: all-new No. 1's.

Starting this summer, the publisher will re-number its entire DC Universe of titles, revamping characters such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and others from its 76-year history for a more modern and diverse 21st century.
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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.

"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." (USA Today)

Years ago when, frankly, I cared about comics a lot more than I do now, I would have been up in arms about this. Not in a send-death-threats-to-the-editor type way (which comic book fans have been known to do), but certainly a grumbling-to-myself-and-maybe-posting-a-brief-rant-on-a-message-board way. Now? It kind of bugs me just on principle. But I think it's probably the right move.

John Byrne is one of the biggest blowhards in history, but back on his old AOL message board, he made what I thought was a really good point: That as originally conceived, comic books weren't meant to be read by the same people for years and years and years. You read them as a kid, you grew up, and you moved on. At some point, comic book readers stopped moving on and just kept reading into their teens, 20s, 30s, and so on. But since no one just wants to read a never ending story where nothing important happens, those readers also demanded comic book characters grow up and change along with them. So DC let Superman and Lois Lane get married, has had Batman go through a series of Robins, killed off numerous characters and replaced them with new versions, and so on.

And for the past 20 or 30 years, it's sort of worked. But every time they attempt to deliver that kind of change, it's been with diminishing returns. How many times can the Justice League break up and reform? How many times can a C-list character be killed for dramatic effect? (Or for that matter, an A-list character be killed for a spike in sales and some mainstream media coverage, only to be resurrected within a year?) Every now and then, DC will pull a new rabbit out of the hat we've never seen before, but those have been getting fewer and far between. And then it's back to business as usual, trying to figure out how to make the millionth story where Batman fights the Joker interesting.

Hence this reboot. Which DC is insisting isn't really a reboot so people like me won't get mad and quit buying comics. But yeah, it's a reboot. And it's hard not to take a bit personally. Essentially, DC is saying, "Hey, guys, we really appreciate you buying our comics over the past however many years, but there just aren't enough of you anymore, so we're going after a new audience. Sorry."

It kind of hurts. Comic book readers have a weird relationship with continuity. It's not an especially healthy one, but it's a necessary evil when it comes to superhero comics. It's almost a social contract between readers and publishers. Readers will buy--or at least, keep up with--comics they might not have otherwise in order to follow the fictional universe their favorite characters inhabit, and publishers will make an effort to keep that entire universe as cohesive as possible in order to reward readers' loyalty. DC is breaking that contract. The entire DC Universe that I've read and loved (to varying degrees) since I was a kid will cease to exist in September.

Now, in the grand scheme of things, does it matter that all those great Batman stories I've read will no longer "count"? No, not really. But it's still a bit disappointing.

But like I said, I think this is probably the right move. This isn't a problem of fixing something that isn't broken. The DC Universe has become a tragic mess, especially over the past decade or so. In the past, DC's been able to temporarily patch up its continuity problems with stories like Crisis on Infinite Earths, Zero Hour and Infinite Crisis, without upsetting the overall flow of the company. I don't think that would work this time. It's gotten that bad. I'm not even sure what audience DC is making comics for these days. They're obviously not designed for casual readers, and increasingly, they don't even seem designed for longtime readers like myself. It's like DC Comics has mainly been producing comics for the enjoyment of the people who work at DC Comics.

So basically, I can't stand the current state of the DC Universe, but nor am I happy that it's being done away with. From the reactions I've seen online, a lot of people appear to feel the same way. So the potential for DC to completely alienate a large portion of its customer base seems likely. If nothing else, you have to give them credit: This plan takes major balls.

Ultimately, it'll come down to how well that plan is executed. From what little we've seen, I'm not encouraged. Some of the story changes seem a bit too radical for my taste, and some of the redesigned costumes are absolutely awful (looking at you, Firestorm). So worst case scenario, I decide the new DC Universe isn't for me and take this opportunity to jump off and do something else with my time and money. John Byrne would probably say it's the right move.