For months, the House of Superman has been teasing something called Rebirth. Now, they’re starting to talk about what it is.
DC Universe: Rebirth #1 is scheduled to come out this May, laying the groundwork for the next evolution of the publisher’s superhero universe. DC creative director Geoff Johns will be writing the kickoff to the event and talked to Comic Book Resources about what the publisher hopes to do:
“There are certain things, like legacy, that are missing. There are other things that I don’t want to totally spoil. But there are a lot of things in there that I think are unique to the DC Universe, and really need to be pushed back to the forefront. The world’s greatest heroes and the world’s greatest villains. The epic stories. The expanding mythology. The obscure and legacy characters getting their due alongside the classics.”
Johns also said that most titles in DC’s line-up will be relaunching with new #1s.
The publisher’s two oldest titles will be going back to their original numbering and will be publishing twice a month, going to print as Action Comics #957 and Detective Comics #934. Johns isn’t offering up very many details about what’s coming but you can read the interviews on Comic Book Resources.
Here’s the list of titles from the press release:
June:
Rebirth Specials:
• AQUAMAN REBIRTH #1
• BATMAN REBIRTH #1
• THE FLASH REBIRTH #1
• GREEN ARROW REBIRTH #1
• GREEN LANTERNS REBIRTH #1
• SUPERMAN REBIRTH #1
• TITANS REBIRTH #1
• WONDER WOMAN REBIRTH #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• AQUAMAN #1
• BATMAN #1
• THE FLASH #1
• GREEN ARROW #1
• GREEN LANTERNS #1
• SUPERMAN #1
• WONDER WOMAN #1
New Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• ACTION COMICS #957
• DETECTIVE COMICS #934
July
Rebirth Specials:
• BATGIRL & THE BIRDS OF PREY REBIRTH #1
• HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS REBIRTH #1
• THE HELLBLAZER REBIRTH #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE REBIRTH #1
• NIGHTWING REBIRTH #1
• RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS REBIRTH #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• HAL JORDAN & THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE #1
• NIGHTWING #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping monthly):
• BATGIRL #1
• BATGIRL & THE BIRDS OF PREY #1
• THE HELLBLAZER #1
• RED HOOD & THE OUTLAWS #1
• THE SUPER-MAN #1
• TITANS #1
Fall
Rebirth Specials:
• BATMAN BEYOND REBIRTH #1
• BLUE BEETLE REBIRTH #1
• CYBORG REBIRTH #1
• DEATHSTROKE REBIRTH #1
• EARTH 2 REBIRTH #1
• SUICIDE SQUAD REBIRTH #1
• SUPERGIRL REBIRTH #1
• TEEN TITANS REBIRTH #1
• TRINITY REBIRTH #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping twice monthly):
• CYBORG #1
• DEATHSTROKE #1
• HARLEY QUINN #1
• JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA #1
• SUICIDE SQUAD #1
New #1 Issues (Shipping monthly):
• BATMAN BEYOND #1
• BLUE BEETLE #1
• EARTH 2 #1
• GOTHAM ACADEMY: NEXT SEMESTER #1
• SUPERGIRL #1
• SUPERWOMAN #1
• SUPER SONS #1
• TEEN TITANS #1
• TRINITY #1
Comments
6 responses to “DC Comics Says Rebirth Won’t Be Just Another Reboot”
Does DC have anything akin to the the Marvel subscription service yet? I’d go for that
Sounds like DC waited to see how Marvel’s Secret Wars event played out and then followed their footsteps. “It’s not a reboot” but it really is a reboot, plus it’s a whole new set of volumes of books.
I wish publishers lately didn’t have to feel like having long ongoing volumes heading into the 100s of issues was a “bad” thing. It’s not. Legacy is not a dirty word. It’s not the readers fault if they don’t know how to write “jumping on” points in their series anymore.
Give me the bygone days of self contained story arcs instead of these “epic/world changing cross overs”
Geebus man… the western comic industry whines about how “complicated” their universes are w/ all the history and backstory built in and yet reboots just make this further worse by changing everything *again*
And yet I managed to get right into the X-men back in the 90’s because all it took was one good self contained story arc to get me interested in the characters and worrying about “back-story” comes later!
I hear that…i used to love how everything in dc and marvel was connected but in reality its just a huge headache that leads to bloated crossovers and mostly average stories. I mean could you imagine how great itd be if their books just went fully self contained, using whatever versions of other characters in the book to serve only the story?
Obviously this couldnt be applied wholesale, but when u look at the best and most acclaimed stories in dc and marvel, they either use their own internal logic and continuity ( the dark knight returns, superman for all seasons, brave new world, old man logan, the early ultimate universe) or they change the rules in a way and hit high notes that arent reached again ( uncanny x force by remender, rebirthing apoc as a kid who has just gone on to idle in the marvel u, waids run on daredevil, his excellent character growth now all but erased ).
Sure, stuff like aarons work on thor has been quality and has fit into the universe at large, and some crossovers weave cool stories like forever evil and children of the atom, but i find the best runs within the continuity of their respective universes are the ones that largely ignore whats going on around them and feature a minimum of cameos.
Look at the ultimate universe, is it a surprise its collapsed in on itself by now? Not really, the freshness and unique voice it had slowly drowned from the weight and its all but dead and finished. The new 52 lasted all of what, 50 issues?
Sorry for the rant, and yes its just the nature of comics having to acknowledge the world around them while trying to tell good stories, and reinvention has always been part of that nature, but man is it getting tiring.
Meanwhile, image and vertigo continue to tell solid, focussed, self contained stories, that are an absolute joy to read, and are as easy to follow as reading a single book. Of course , superheroes in a conventional sense are not a huge part of their line up, and i understand if iconic characters are what comics are about for u then image may not be all that palatable, and also its unbelievably hard to create compelling and visually pleasing superheroes these days. Invincible by kirkman really nailed it though.
Ironically, im bitching like this and the comic industry is in the best state ive ever seen it!
I just feel like the endless reboots are like trying to put a band aid over a bullet wound…if done a little differently, we really could have the best of both worlds – great iconic characters in genuinely captivating stories.
Urgh I wishing was a reboot I detest new 52. Hope Rebirth is better.
They already promised that before as well. It was called Convergence.