Previously, I wrote about comics being a constant force of change and this weekend has been no different. DC Comics has announced all of their titles for DC Rebirth which starts in May. Rebirth has been described as a return to basics and a revitalization of the stories for DC. The very word, Rebirth, has a great meaning for DC fans; When Geoff Johns created the brilliant stories of Green Lantern : Rebirth and Flash : Rebirth they weren’t just rehashing old stories, instead they built upon the characters history and made something great for old and new fans alike. My sincere hope is that DC : Rebirth manages to the exact same thing only with the entire line. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed roughly 75% of what DC has published since the New 52 reboot in 2011 but my hope is that this becomes a full 100% with the new books. The Bi-Weekly shipping on certain books does make me a little nervous about quality and growing cost for people who get multiple books but the $2.99 an issue does help out a bit.
If Johns, DiDio and Lee can pull off everything they’re saying then I believe that this will be a great time for DC Fans.
Now I’m not going to go into every title that they’ve announced but if you would like that list then you should check out ComicsAlliance. Currently they have the best coverage on the event so far.
I will mainly just be talking about the ones that I’m most excited for over the summer. But I am going to go ahead and say that returning Action Comics and Detective Comics to their original numbering was a great idea and shows a reverence for the stories which is what rebirth is all about.
DC Rebirth #1 by Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Ivan Reis and Others.
This is it, the official end of the New 52. From what I can gather from the event this new universe will now be the mix of all great things from the history of DC. I’m excited about this because there are some great things from the entire history of DC and there are some terrible things too. I believe that these new stories will make DC something great that it’s been missing in the last year or so. Apparently this issue is supposed to have a bunch of really crazy moments including a character death and the biggest secret of the DC universe being revealed.
Nightwing By Tim Seeley and Javier Fernandez.
The first one is obviously the one I’m most excited for. Dick Grayson is one of my favorite comic characters and I think that Seeley is going to make this book entertaining and incredibly interesting especially due to the ever-present owl mask behind Nightwing’s shoulder.
Batman by Tom King and David Finch.
Tom King was one of the surprise stars for me over the last few years. He’s crafted an exceptional narrative with Tim Seeley on Grayson and he has talked about wanting to make his run on Batmana very personal story for him which will lead to some great stories since he formerly worked with the C.I.A.
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey by Julie and Shawna Benson and Claire Roe.
This is the one that intrigues me the most, The Benson sisters are the writers of The 100 and although I’ve never watched it, I’ve heard great things and one of the key parts of the show is it’s great usage of female characters. I like the idea of them going after an Oracle poser and I’m hoping they can break the streak of television writers being bad comic book writers.
Detective Comics by James Tynion IV and Eddy Barrows.
Tybion described this as a team book that is basically “Batman Bootcamp” I think that sounds fantastic and I can’t wait to see what they do with it. Getting Tim Drake back as Robin is a definite good sign of things to come and the new interpretations of Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown will make for interesting dynamics. Batman and Batwoman will be co-leading this team and I love that Batwoman is her own character in this. She’s not just another sidekick and I think that will show in this new title. The one big question, What is Clayface doing on this team?
Action Comics by Dan Jurgens, Patrick Zircher, Tyler Kirkham and Stephen Segovia.
This one just sounds flat out insane but I think I’m willing to give it a shot. The basic premise seems to be that Lex Luthor has become the New Superman of Metropolis and the Superman from the Pre-New 52 world comes in and doesn’t trust Luthor at all. Meanwhile apparently there’s a new version of Doomsday and another mysterious man named “Clark Kent” but it’s not who we think. Like I said, it sounds insane but it sounds pretty interesting to me.
Trinity by Francis Manapul and Clay Mann.
Manapul has consistently been one of those creators where I can’t wait to see what he does next. His work on The Flash was amazing and I’m excited to see what he can do with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka, Liam Sharp and Nicola Scott.
If you talked to me over the last few months then you’d know that I’ve become a huge Greg Rucka fan. I’m not entirely sure when was the exact moment that I fell in love with his work but he’s done so many fantastic storylines and It’s going to be such chance to get Diana back on track and I can’t wait to read this Year One story that he and Nicola Scott have been waiting to do for so long.
The Flash by Josh Williamson.
Josh Williamson is known for the comic “Nailbiter” it’s incredibly dark but it’s also incredibly written. I think he’ll bring an interesting take to Barry and the rest of the crew and I really like the idea of a new group of Speedsters.
Justice League by Bryan Hitch and Tony Daniel.
Now, I wasn’t overly impressed with the first few issues of JLA by Bryan Hitch, I know that I’m of the minority on that subject but I just didn’t see it as the end-all, be-all comic that most of the other critics did. It did have its moments and I think he and Daniel definitely have the ability to bring a great story to the DC mythos.
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps by Robert Venditti and Ethan Van Sciver.
This is one that I am incredibly excited for because having met Venditti right after he started his run on Green Lantern I truly believe that he will tell a great story and Johns has already personally endorsed his new book and particularly his take on Sinestro.
Green Lanterns by Sam Humphries and Robson Rocha.
Humphries is an interesting choice for this book because it’s his first DC project. Writing more about Jessics Cruz and Simon Baz is something that I’ve wanted the company to do for a while. Can’t wait to see a great new(er) writer take on two great new(er) characters.
Aquaman by Dan Abnett and Brad Walker.
Abnett has a knack for taking strange(er) characters and putting them in new amazing adventures. He reminds me a lot of Johns on that standpoint and interestingly enough, he and Johns will be working together on an upcoming Aquaman story titled “Rise of the Seven Seas.” He gets to come on this book with Brad Walker, who is one of his former Guardians Of The Galaxy artists. I can’t wait for these great creators to start on this book, his opening story arc sounds really interesting and of course I’m excited to see more Black Manta.
Titans by Dan Abnett and Brett Booth.
Titans is a direct continuation of Titans Hunt. It’s one of the few I haven’t kept up on so I’m not entirely sure of the exact storyline but I know that Abnett is a phenomenal writer and that it features the original 4 Teen Titans starting a new team. I’m excited to jump in on this new title as soon as it starts.
Teen Titans by Ben Percy and Jonboy Meyers.
Teen Titans has a great, yet simple premise where Damien Wayne has decided to take over the Teen Titans…only the rest of the Titans aren’t huge fans of him being in charge. It sounds like a whole lot of fun and I can’t wait to see if it’s as good as it sounds.
And last but not least…
All-Star Batman by Scott Snyder, John Romita JR., Jock, Sean Murphy and others.
This is one that everyone should be excited for. Titans of the industry coming together to make a great Batman Anthology. Seeing Snyder and Romita work together will be great and I already love the idea for their opening story-arc of Batman and Two-Face on the run across the country.
These are the ones that I’m excited for. If DC can stick the landing then this is going to be an incredibly exciting year for comics as a whole.
