StarDestroyer.Net BBS

A fully revamped DC Universe for a "more modern and diverse 21st century", over 50 new #1 issues, a Geoff Johns-Jim Lee Justice League, and the first of the major comic book publishers to fully embrace "same-day" digital distribution...

That is the breaking news DC Entertainment Tuesday afternoon, finally and officially breaking their silence about their post-Flashpoint plans for their flagship line of comic book titles.

The center of intense rumor and speculation for months now, DC confirmed today that the fictional shared universe of Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lanterm and more will undergo a revamp of their oft-rewritten 76 year-plus history of shared continuity.

Geoff Johns promised USA Today "a focus on the interpersonal relationships within DC's trademark superteam." "What's the human aspect behind all these costumes?" he tells the publication. "That's what I wanted to explore."

The revamp will reportedly involve "introducing readers to stories that are grounded in each character's specific legend but also reflect today's real-world themes and events."

Jim Lee reportedly "spearheaded" the redesign of more than 50 costumes to make characters "more identifiable and accessible to comic fans new and old."

"We looked at what was going on in the marketplace and felt we really want to inject new life in our characters and line," added co-publisher Dan DiDio. "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."

Along with the revamp, and sure to cause uproar among those who buy comic books as collectibles, all DC Universe titles will also be renumbered with new #1 issues, including the industry's two longest-running titles - Action Comics, the birthplace of Superman - and Detective Comics, the home of Batman and namesake of the publisher - the former of which recently published its 900th issue, with the latter in the 880s.

The first officially announced title and creative team of the new era was revealed as well. DC Entertainment co-publisher Jim Lee and Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns will be teaming as artist and writer, respectively, on Justice League #1, launching August 31st and starring Batman, Superman,Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman.

Finally, DC also announced they plan to make all of their titles available for sale in digital format on the same day as their publlished counterparts, starting with Justice League #1. While the decision could probably be described as inevitable, the announcement will still likely be poorly received among some segments of "Direct Market" comic book retailers, whose stores account for the current backbone of monthly comic book sales.

DC has previously taken steps to ease the eventual move to fully same-day digital distribution, announcng in March a partnership with digital distributor comiXology allowing individual retailers to sell digital editions of DC comics through their websites, for a share of the online retail price.

The publisher also sent a letter directly to direct market retailers addressing their announcement. In it, SVP, Sales, DC Entertainment Bob Wayne told retailers, "DC Comics will support this initiative with an innovative mix of publicity, promotional efforts and retailer incentives designed to maximize your opportunity to increase your DC sales. We will discuss additional details of these incentives when we get closer to solicitation later in June."

"We're allowing people who have never bought a comic book in their lives to download them on portable media devices and take a look," Lee said. "Having the ability to give people access to these comics with one button click means we're going to get a lot of new readers."

Lee told USA Today what makes this plan so ambitious is that it's not just about changes in characters or costumes but setting the stage for how comic books will be consumed in the future.

"We're trying to set the table for the DC Universe's future success and health."

More information, including other creative teams, titles, and character changes, is expected with September 2011 solicitations, which should be released Monday June 13, 2011.

Reached for any immediate reaction to DC's new digital publication policy, Marvel Comics declined to comment Tuesday afternoon.

I'm of two minds on this, especially the renumbering. On the one hand, throwing away decades of background and history is going to alienate a lot of fans and feels like a cheap marketing ploy. Not to mention the fact that you're junking all the ongoing arcs and stories that writers have been telling.

On the other hand, a lot of comic fans are whiny morons who take this stuff way too seriously, and a fresh start is a way to bring in new readers. Not to mention a reboot can be used to junk lots of old continuity that is just embarrassing to have around (I'm sure Marvel would love to reboot Spidey to get rid of the Clone Saga, for instance). Now a new writer no longer has to worry about accidentally contradicting stuff written 20 years ago lest he incur the wrath of continuity-minded editors or the epically-unpleaseable fanbase this genre has.

In the end, this sounds like DC admitting it can't just do what Marvel did and run a separate continuity alongside the long-established one, so it's taking the big step of hitting the big reset button and hoping it doesn't blow up in their faces. Marvel's still in the lead on them, IIRC, so DC's trying to get back in the game. Time will tell if this stunt works as planned or if it's going to send them even further into the hole.

When it comes down to it, my big issue with the genre is, well. the comic book medium. The art can be awesome, and so can the stories, but the way the medium is published, and developed, makes it into a soap opera too much, and there's simply no guarantee that "world-shattering" events won't be retconned or ignored by future writers.... as, heh, is about to happen on an epic scale.

This might actually be a good out for me If they are going to reboot the continuity then I can just stop reading and pretend the stories are over.

Okay, out of all the post-Flashpoint stories I’m running, this is the one on the least firm foundations. But, if true, will have the biggest multi-media implications.

I’m told that Superman and Wonder Woman will be getting together.

In a very media friendly fashion, indeed.

Or at least it will be a plot point. A possibility. And why?

Because this may be as a result of DC Universe/Flashpoint merged continuity, with a non-married Superman and a non-married Lois Lane. Without a messy divorce, without a deal with the devil and without some kind of memory bomb. That aspect is on more firmer footing.

I’m not sure how it fits what I’ve seen of a rejuvenated Superman. But hey, would a Superman that young expect to be tied down? To Lois or to Wonder Woman? Not counting use of a Golden Lassoo…

Okay that’s it. That’s really it. By the time you read this I’ll be in bed.

Tomorrow, Post-Flashpost.

They're retconning supe's marriage?

What kind of brainless moron looks at the train wreck that was OMD, the fan backlash to it, and says "yeah, that's a great idea, we need something just like that?"

Just a rumor and one I hope to God isn't true.

Also, it's confirmed that Johns will remain on GL and that the saga will remain ongoing. So, yay.

I swear to God, if Didio pulls a OMD with Superman and Lois' marriage, I'm never picking up another Superman comic again.

Least there's a ray of sunlight.

Anytime you begin with concern your characters aren't "hip" enough ends poorly.

I like the current Superman, I like the fact that Johns and many of the recent authors (other than JMS, who just had to go out and write his own origin story) have added depth to his character - he had to destroy the last remnants of his origin and his people (The Army of New Krypton) to save his home (Earth).

Yeah -- not to mention finally giving Zod some depth and making Brainiac scary as hell.

What's OMD?

The scene in Adventure where he cures his sister, only to take it away (in an effort to manipulate Connor) was excellent foreshadowing of the bit with the spheres in Action where he could be the most powerful being in the universe, only to not be able to use it when he can't help but try and destroy Supes.

A Spider-Man story from 2007 -- one that needlessly nullified and retconned the marriage and rebooted the Spidey line because Joey Quesada thought young men couldn't relate to a married Peter Parker.

over 50 new #1 issues,

I just want an ACTUAL clean slate if they are going to do this because you can't have Superman be who he is if he just got here. He can't be KC Superman that inspires all the heroes. (P.S. The U.S. government isn't going to miss a meteor the size of Kal-El's ship landing in the middle of the country in 1987) And Batman can't be The Goddamned Batman. Wonder Woman can still be a misogynistic asshole if they want her to be, because her island is magic. Aquaman is gonna be super PISSED THE FUCK OFF at the world for fucking up his ocean for the last hundred years. Green Lantern can be the same retard, along with the Flash and Martian Manhunter.

Wonder Woman can still be a misogynistic asshole if they want her to be,

I will stick to the GL storylines because I want to see what happens between the various lantern corps. I will also stick to Legion of Superheroes since they kind of already got rebooted - back to the classic silver age version no doubt, but getting two characters from the post zero hour reboot version to stay.

Warner Bros. and DC Comics have lost a little more control over the Man of Steel.

In an ongoing Federal court battle over Superman, Judge Stephen Larson ruled Wednesday that the family of the superhero's co-creator, Jerry Siegel, has "successfully recaptured" rights to additional works, including the first two weeks of the daily Superman newspaper comic-strips, as well as portions of early Action Comics and Superman comic-books.

The ruling is based on the court's finding that these were not "works-made-for-hire" under the Copyright Act.

This means the Siegels -- repped by Marc Toberoff of Toberoff & Associates -- now control depictions of Superman's origins from the planet Krypton, his parents Jor-El and Lora, Superman as the infant Kal-El, the launching of the infant Superman into space by his parents as Krypton explodes and his landing on Earth in a fiery crash.

The first Superman story was published in 1938 in Action Comics No. 1. For $130, Jerry Siegel and co-creator Joel Shuster signed a release in favor of DC's predecessor, Detective Comics, and a 1974 court decision ruled they signed away their copyrights forever.

In 2008, the same court order ruled on summary judgment that the Siegels had successfully recaptured (as of 1999) Siegel's copyright in Action Comics No. 1, giving them rights to the Superman character, including his costume, his alter-ego as reporter Clark Kent, the feisty reporter Lois Lane, their jobs at the Daily Planet newspaper working for a gruff editor, and the love triangle among Clark/Superman and Lois.

While ownership of the Man of Steel is one point of all this legal activity, the real issue is money and how much Warner Bros. and DC owe the Siegels from profits they collected from Superman since 1999, when the heirs' recapture of Siegel's copyright became effective.

DC owns other elements like Superman's ability to fly, the term kryptonite, the Lex Luthor and Jimmy Olsen characters, Superman's powers and expanded origins.

In a statement, Warner Bros. and DC said, "Warner and DC Comics are pleased that the court has affirmed that the vast majority of key elements associated with the Superman character that were developed after Action Comics No. 1 are not part of the copyrights that the plaintiffs have recaptured and therefore remain solely owned by DC Comics."

The Shuster estate originally did not participate with the Siegels' case because Shuster has no spouse or children. But his estate later won a ruling of a recapture identical to the Siegels, which will be effective in 2013. At that point, the Siegels and Shusters will own the entire copyright to Action Comics No. 1. That will give them the chance to set up Superman pics, TV shows and other projects at another studio.

If they want to get a new "Superman" or even "Justice League" pic featuring the superhero, Warner Bros. and DC will be forced to go into production by 2011.