By now, everyone and their pet salamanders has heard that the DC Universe will be rebooting come September. This will be the first company-wide mass retcon since 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths. Of course, Zero Hour of 1994 and Infinite Crisis of 2005 also shook things up, but nowhere near this scale.
Accompanying this new DC Universe is a new release model. Digital comics are going to be released the same day as their print counterparts.
It's a lot to take in, yes. Lets try to break it down to smaller, digestible pieces.
Is a reboot necessary?
I definitely applaud DC trying to reach a wider audience with the digital model. Comic books are a niche industry enjoyed by a very small but loyal audience. There are many people not yet part of that audience who would like to be. All they need is to feel that these comics are accessible to them, which is difficult when they are only sold at comic specialty shops and are reliant on a fair amount of history and back story.
However, I do not feel that a reboot is required to make comic books more accessible. Rather, it alienates loyal fans and could possible put off new ones as well. I am a lot younger and newer to comic books than most of my fellow comic book fans. When I started my journey into sequential art and its shared universes, I did it because I wanted to see these characters as they are naturally. Creating a new version of a character puts off new readers, because you are getting rid of the very thing they came to see and replacing it with something else that they may feel does not quite represent the true essence of the character.
I started reading Wonder Woman collected editions shortly before JMS changed her status quo with a time-altering story. I immediately wanted to steer clear of the "new" Wonder Woman, because I came to Wonder Woman comics precisely because I wanted to see the Amazon princess who was given gifts by the Green Pantheon in order to aid the outside world. That is what I knew about her. That is what I wanted to read. Anything else, to me at least, just wasn't Wonder Woman.
People often think that it's the sentimental long-time reader who doesn't want iconic elements to be changed. This isn't always true. Many of the complaints come from people who are new to the comic or maybe wish to "get into" it but haven't gotten the chance yet.
The very allure of comic books is their rich histories of intertwined stories. Damaging that damages their main attraction.
A better way to gain new readers and keep comic books accessible does not require reboots or retcons. It lies simply in making periodic "jump-on points", in which new story arcs begin with enough internal clues to fill in new readers on what they need to know. For example, someone who has never put a Green Lantern comic to his or her face could easily pick up Sinestro Corps War, because the story restates the history of its characters along the way, eliminating the need for the reader to go back and read years of Green Lantern material. The story tells us that Hal Jordan was the first Green Lantern of Earth, that he was once possessed by the Parallax, and that Sinestro was a Green Lantern who turned evil and became and enemy of the Corps. In fact, the Green Lantern series picked up loads of new readers with this storyline. All without rebooting anything.
It seems to be the oddest time to decide to reboot. I was sure that DC was already on its way to a new status quo what with the reformation of the Justice League International, the return of Bruce Wayne as Batman, the new creative directions on both of Superman's titles, the end of the War of the Green Lanterns, and the conclusion of Brightest Day. It looked to me like this was all part of some plan for the development of the DC Universe. Rather, that DC Universe is getting axed right away in favor of the new one.
Are negative reactions to the "Reboot" just readers who are afraid of change?
It's not that I don't want characters to change; I do. The change is just more meaningful when done as character development due to situations that make characters look at the world differently then when it is done by a writer hitting an "undo" or "redo" button.
Change is good. Grant Morrison has shown that by re-invigorating the Batman franchise. Batman now has a completely new method of fighting crime, and long time readers as well as new ones are on board with this. But he did this with believable storytelling, not magic timeline alterations.
DC is definitely sending mixed messages about whether they are embracing change or trying to bring the DC Universe back to its most recognizable form. They kill off characters and replace them with new legacy characters, telling us all to "let go" of things while simultaneously bringing back Barry Allen, who had been dead for 20 years, so that they can return their Flash stories to the Silver Age model. Rumor's also going around that come the September reboot, Barbara Gordon will be back under the cowl of Batgirl. If she is indeed taking the mantle back after years, these are just more mixed messages.
Finally-- Jim Lee's costume redesigns.
While we still lack info on just how much will be retconned and revamped for the reboot, we have do know this: everybody's got a new costume.
I don't mind Aquaman's or Batman's new costumes, especially because I wasn't a fan of David Finch's Batsuit redesign. Hal Jordan also looks fine, except for the fact that he is curiously missing his ring.
Now Wonder Woman's and Superman's costumes... are another story.
When Jim Lee redesigned Wonder Woman's costume for JMS's Odyssey storyline, I naturally assumed that it was a temporary deal and that Wonder Woman would go back to normal shortly after. Wonder Woman's costume is changing, but it will change to a worse version of the Odyssey costume. The Odyssey costume wasn't bad at all, once that cheesy jacket was gotten rid of. Not as aesthetically pleasing as the classic duds, but it was okay. They new costume has eliminated the redeeming qualities of the Odyssey costume, leaving it pretty tough to look at.
As for Superman's costume, the high collar doesn't work with the cape latches at all. And the lack of red briefs makes the costume look incomplete.
The problem with Lee's redesigns is the lines. So much ribbing, details, seams and stitches. These kinds of lines look fine under artists who are inclined to use them, like Jim Lee, Lee Bermejo and David Finch. Making the lines part of the official character design, though, forces those details on other artists who wouldn't otherwise draw them in. It is much easier on everyone to leave the costumes plain, and allow the artists who do like all the lines the artistic license to draw them in, and those who don't like them the freedom to keep it simple.
Personally, I find that Lee's designs invoke Rob Liefelds pouch-soaked designs and the general aesthetic of Image comics rather than something I'd expect from DC. Might as well put a scar over everyone's left eye as well and have them all carry really big guns.
The problem with a company-wide redesign is that it gives a few of DC Comics' employees a monopoly on the new direction of every single character in the DC Universe. As much as I love Geoff Johns, he has shown that he is more proficient at writing some characters rather than others. Johns' Green Lantern? Great! But, I'm not sure that I want to see a Wonder Woman or Green Arrow that is recreated in Johns' and Lee's vision.
That's my impression of the move so far. It's subject to change, but so far, I have mixed feelings. Now all that remains is to see exactly what details of the world's greatest superheroes are going to change. Green Lantern and Batman are probably safe, being in the hands of fan-favorites Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison. Everyone else is vulnerable to massive change.
Accompanying this new DC Universe is a new release model. Digital comics are going to be released the same day as their print counterparts.
It's a lot to take in, yes. Lets try to break it down to smaller, digestible pieces.
Is a reboot necessary?
I definitely applaud DC trying to reach a wider audience with the digital model. Comic books are a niche industry enjoyed by a very small but loyal audience. There are many people not yet part of that audience who would like to be. All they need is to feel that these comics are accessible to them, which is difficult when they are only sold at comic specialty shops and are reliant on a fair amount of history and back story.
However, I do not feel that a reboot is required to make comic books more accessible. Rather, it alienates loyal fans and could possible put off new ones as well. I am a lot younger and newer to comic books than most of my fellow comic book fans. When I started my journey into sequential art and its shared universes, I did it because I wanted to see these characters as they are naturally. Creating a new version of a character puts off new readers, because you are getting rid of the very thing they came to see and replacing it with something else that they may feel does not quite represent the true essence of the character.
I started reading Wonder Woman collected editions shortly before JMS changed her status quo with a time-altering story. I immediately wanted to steer clear of the "new" Wonder Woman, because I came to Wonder Woman comics precisely because I wanted to see the Amazon princess who was given gifts by the Green Pantheon in order to aid the outside world. That is what I knew about her. That is what I wanted to read. Anything else, to me at least, just wasn't Wonder Woman.
People often think that it's the sentimental long-time reader who doesn't want iconic elements to be changed. This isn't always true. Many of the complaints come from people who are new to the comic or maybe wish to "get into" it but haven't gotten the chance yet.
The very allure of comic books is their rich histories of intertwined stories. Damaging that damages their main attraction.
A better way to gain new readers and keep comic books accessible does not require reboots or retcons. It lies simply in making periodic "jump-on points", in which new story arcs begin with enough internal clues to fill in new readers on what they need to know. For example, someone who has never put a Green Lantern comic to his or her face could easily pick up Sinestro Corps War, because the story restates the history of its characters along the way, eliminating the need for the reader to go back and read years of Green Lantern material. The story tells us that Hal Jordan was the first Green Lantern of Earth, that he was once possessed by the Parallax, and that Sinestro was a Green Lantern who turned evil and became and enemy of the Corps. In fact, the Green Lantern series picked up loads of new readers with this storyline. All without rebooting anything.
It seems to be the oddest time to decide to reboot. I was sure that DC was already on its way to a new status quo what with the reformation of the Justice League International, the return of Bruce Wayne as Batman, the new creative directions on both of Superman's titles, the end of the War of the Green Lanterns, and the conclusion of Brightest Day. It looked to me like this was all part of some plan for the development of the DC Universe. Rather, that DC Universe is getting axed right away in favor of the new one.
Are negative reactions to the "Reboot" just readers who are afraid of change?
It's not that I don't want characters to change; I do. The change is just more meaningful when done as character development due to situations that make characters look at the world differently then when it is done by a writer hitting an "undo" or "redo" button.
Change is good. Grant Morrison has shown that by re-invigorating the Batman franchise. Batman now has a completely new method of fighting crime, and long time readers as well as new ones are on board with this. But he did this with believable storytelling, not magic timeline alterations.
DC is definitely sending mixed messages about whether they are embracing change or trying to bring the DC Universe back to its most recognizable form. They kill off characters and replace them with new legacy characters, telling us all to "let go" of things while simultaneously bringing back Barry Allen, who had been dead for 20 years, so that they can return their Flash stories to the Silver Age model. Rumor's also going around that come the September reboot, Barbara Gordon will be back under the cowl of Batgirl. If she is indeed taking the mantle back after years, these are just more mixed messages.
Finally-- Jim Lee's costume redesigns.
While we still lack info on just how much will be retconned and revamped for the reboot, we have do know this: everybody's got a new costume.
I don't mind Aquaman's or Batman's new costumes, especially because I wasn't a fan of David Finch's Batsuit redesign. Hal Jordan also looks fine, except for the fact that he is curiously missing his ring.
Now Wonder Woman's and Superman's costumes... are another story.
When Jim Lee redesigned Wonder Woman's costume for JMS's Odyssey storyline, I naturally assumed that it was a temporary deal and that Wonder Woman would go back to normal shortly after. Wonder Woman's costume is changing, but it will change to a worse version of the Odyssey costume. The Odyssey costume wasn't bad at all, once that cheesy jacket was gotten rid of. Not as aesthetically pleasing as the classic duds, but it was okay. They new costume has eliminated the redeeming qualities of the Odyssey costume, leaving it pretty tough to look at.
As for Superman's costume, the high collar doesn't work with the cape latches at all. And the lack of red briefs makes the costume look incomplete.
The problem with Lee's redesigns is the lines. So much ribbing, details, seams and stitches. These kinds of lines look fine under artists who are inclined to use them, like Jim Lee, Lee Bermejo and David Finch. Making the lines part of the official character design, though, forces those details on other artists who wouldn't otherwise draw them in. It is much easier on everyone to leave the costumes plain, and allow the artists who do like all the lines the artistic license to draw them in, and those who don't like them the freedom to keep it simple.
Personally, I find that Lee's designs invoke Rob Liefelds pouch-soaked designs and the general aesthetic of Image comics rather than something I'd expect from DC. Might as well put a scar over everyone's left eye as well and have them all carry really big guns.
The problem with a company-wide redesign is that it gives a few of DC Comics' employees a monopoly on the new direction of every single character in the DC Universe. As much as I love Geoff Johns, he has shown that he is more proficient at writing some characters rather than others. Johns' Green Lantern? Great! But, I'm not sure that I want to see a Wonder Woman or Green Arrow that is recreated in Johns' and Lee's vision.
That's my impression of the move so far. It's subject to change, but so far, I have mixed feelings. Now all that remains is to see exactly what details of the world's greatest superheroes are going to change. Green Lantern and Batman are probably safe, being in the hands of fan-favorites Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison. Everyone else is vulnerable to massive change.
Great post, man. Keep it up!
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