Back in 2011, DC Comics launched their biggest reboot of the DC universe, most commonly known as The New 52. As an attempt to wipe the slate clean, The New 52 started over by cancelling all their previous titles and began renumbering titles like Detective Comics and Action Comics, which had retained their original numbering since the 1930s. Now, DC Comics will be refreshing their titles with the new creative teams for the publisher’s Rebirth event that was given a great deal of time at WonderCon this Saturday.
Rebirth will begin on May 25with an 80-page one-shot written by Geoff Johns, which will set up storylines for the upcoming titles. The rest of Rebirth will be released throughout the summer starting in July. While the titles of the upcoming Rebirth series were announced back in February, little was known about the creative teams behind the new titles and which superheroes would feature in Rebirth. However, what was for certain was that Johns had confirmed earlier that Rebirth will not be a reboot of The New 52 universe.
At WonderCon in the Los Angeles Convention Center this Saturday morning, DC announced creative teams and the full list of titles that will be released as a part of Rebirth. The price point for the comics will be at $2.99 with Superman, Action Comics, Batman, and Detective Comics shipping twice a month. In addition, DC announced that Action Comics and Detective Comics will return to their original numbering. The titles of Rebirth were also tweeted from the DC Comics account to fans following along online. The panel concluded with a video of the Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice cast and director Zack Snyder, where they expressed their excitement for the new titles and showed off more art from the Rebirth series. In addition, the fans who attended the WonderCon panel also received a signed Jim Lee print:
The #DCRebirth panel ends with everyone getting a signed Jim Lee print! #WonderCon #DCUniverse pic.twitter.com/0r9Gy78YDI— Parks And Cons (@ParksAndCons) March 26, 2016
ACTION COMICS picks up at issue #957 with @thedanjurgens continuing the story of SUPERMAN: LOIS & CLARK #DCRebirth pic.twitter.com/VnJZ8e9cN5— DC Comics (@DCComics) March 26, 2016
ALL STAR BATMAN just announced at #DCRebirth with @Ssnyder1835 and John Romita, Jr. teaming up! pic.twitter.com/nJs1LVyHlB— DC Comics (@DCComics) March 26, 2016
#DCRebirth has announced @hopelarson will be writing BATGIRL, starting 7/13! pic.twitter.com/tmI641SRmr— DC Comics (@DCComics) March 26, 2016
Christopher Priest takes on DEATHSTROKE for #DCRebirth starting 8/10! pic.twitter.com/AUVZspKHav— DC Comics (@DCComics) March 26, 2016
#DCRebirth announced FLASH will be helmed by @Williamson_Josh, and an amazing design team starting 6/8! pic.twitter.com/vPdm81XSPU— DC Comics (@DCComics) March 26, 2016
The Rebirth series will be an attempt to go back and try to understand more about these characters and an attempt to refocus the universe rather than reboot it:
The Rebirth series will also be taking notes from popular DC movies and TV shows, as how the “tone of writer Steve Orlando’s Supergirl book” will reflect the CBS show and the Suicide Squad title will feature Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and Katana. In his interview with USA Today, Lee discusses how DC’s new approach will attempt to reach out to more general audiences:
“You’re really talking about going back and doing some heavy research and identifying the fundamental aspects of each character and franchise, what makes them unique and special, and really refocusing on those elements.”
Since The New 52 alienated a lot of comic book fans, DC will attempt to lure them back with the new Rebirth event. DC is making a big attempt to attract loyal comic book fans and new fans alike, which seems to be a enormous undertaking. However, Rebirth seems to be a reaction of the problems of The New 52 without trying to start over from scratch and build completely new storylines. Not only that, but by bringing in a mix of veteran and new writers to DC Comics, it shows the company is willing to build on old mythology while still bringing in some fresh new ideas. The Rebirth series is an exciting new venture for DC Comics as they are listening to the desires of their fans and directly trying to address those specific issues.
“We do realize we have the opportunity to really reach larger groups of potential readers and a lot of the casual fans who are watching the TV shows and movies. “But at the same time we want the creative teams to chart the destinies of these characters … and to tell the stories that future adaptations will be based on.”
DC Universe: Rebirth one-shot will be released on May 25.
Source: DC Comics, USA Today, Parks and Cons
