The DC relaunch: The new 52!

I grew up with comics.  They were always a large part of my life, of my entertainment.  They weren't just an escape or an impermanent item that I bought weekly... I started to collect them.  I bought expensive ones.  I bought ones I respect.  I bought ones I cherish.  I bought a ton speculatively thinking "they'll be worth something one day" (note: after a recent re-cataloguing, only 1... yep, only 1 comic had a large increase in value).  Eventually I grew up, kinda, well at least I graduated high school, moved out of my parents' house and realized I couldn't afford both rent and comics.  10 years later, my wife bought me a trade paperpack of something that had piqued my attention (JSA's "Return of Hawkman")... and before that summer was done, I was right back into my regular Wednesday pick-up.  I was doing my rounds through all the local shops to see which one best suited my needs, which one had the titles I prefer, and which ones carried a good longbox catalogue so I can track down all the ones I missed.

Through it all I have always been a DC fan.  Marvel was always that splashy jock who got all the girls and was fun for a weekend or two... but would probably end up a drunk abusive father.  DC Comics was that quiet humble and funny grandfather who sat you down and told you fantastic stories of youth, who would fill your mind with imagination, make you laugh, make you angry, even make you cry... and still be able to surprise you when he pulled that quarter from behind your ear.  DC was home.

DC logos through the years

It was also the home of some of the most well-known superheroes in any literature (and now film): Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.  Even home to the lesser heroes: Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Hawkman.  These names were brought together in print as the even lesser known Justice League.  I'm sure that's the reason that when the DC decided to relaunch their entire line, the first publication is Justice League #1... with the "World's Greatest Heroes".

The new Justice League

And so an era has ended.  Every monthly comic released by DC Comics was cancelled.  Over the next month, DC will release 52 new titles.  Everything starts again with a #1 on it... including Action Comics.  All the continuity that had been built up for years with monthly issues spanning decades upon decades is all over.  The slate has been wiped clean.  A fresh start has begun.  Everything is starting over and is new again.  All those stories I read growing up... well, they never happened.  Superman never married Lois.  Superman never died sensationally in the early 90s.  Aquaman never lost his hand.  Martian Manhunter was never side by side with Maxwell Lord & Oberon.  Hawkman was never Katar Hol... or wait, was he never Carter Hall... or was he from Thanagar even?

I just want to say on record that I'm okay with this change.  I'm fine with a new stories and new adventures.  I mean when you get down to it, it's hard to tell a story about Superman in his late 30s when in print I have issues with him talking President Kennedy, President Nixon, President Carter, President Reagan, President Bush (Sr. ... not sure if he met Jr.), even President Obama.  Most people (fictitious or otherwise) who have met all these leaders aren't that young nowadays.  It's also hard to tell stories that haven't beeen told before.  We are now afforded a chance to re-tell them... with a modern twist, I'm sure. 

Continuity and reality can never play together all that well.  All the whiners about this change are crying about the loss of continuity.  That all these old stories don't exist anymore.  That everything they bought and collected have all been in vain.  That the attachement they feel for these characters on paper is so strong that it's hard to bear the loss.  I don't feel it's just the ego of Dan Didio or Geof Johns or Jim Lee or other heads of DC trying to revert the line to the type they remember from the Silver Age (note: Geof Johns is my age).  These guys are creators being creative.  That's all.

Let's not forget, this "all-new DC" has been done before.  I was lucky enough to start buying comics as DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths started in 1986.  I didn't have the mental baggage of the Silver Age, it didn;t comprehend it all at the age... but I was roped into the start of the Modern Age of comics.  I was there was the Justice League started anew.  I was there was Superman was rebooted by John Byrne.  I was there when Wonder Woman was born again.  "Worlds will live.  Worlds will die.  Nothing will ever be the same" was the tagline for this event.

Still the greatest story event I have ever read

And it was true.  Almost everything changed.  It was a bit of a soft reboot for the entire line of DC.  Some things changed, some things stayed the same... others got complicated (*cough* Hawkman *cough*).  Earth-1 versus Earth-2 versus Earth-3 stories never happened.  No more stories featuring 2 different Supermans (er... Supermen?), 2 different Wonder Womans, or 2 different Batmans.  Most of the Golden Age was lost, the bulk of Silver Age fantasy was erased and cleaned up for a modern audience.  We are now witness to it... again.

My only deepest sense of loss is Action Comics #1.  This series brought the superhero genre into graphic print.  It created the superhero comic book genre.  This series was the debut of Superman and capes in the 1930s... and in comics history is the longest running consecutively released series... ever!  Or at least it was the longest running series (have to think in past-tense now).  Action Comics #904 was it.  After an 80 year run, that's as high as anything will go.  I'm curious to see what Grant Morrison will do for the new Action Comics #1.  He has his own wild imagination.  I respect his writing... despite that fact that, like Alan Moore, his work confuses me most of the time.  His writing challenges me... some times I like it, some times not.  I'll miss the fact that DC no longer holds the longest running series currently published... but maybe this is the change John Byrne should've done 25 years ago.

It's too early to tell what changes are going to play out.  Some changes will be interesting.  Some are likley to just be a re-hash of old succesful stories... but with that ol' modern twist.  Some things may not be changed at all.  The fanboy in me is sad to see the stories of my youth altered, but I'm okay with it.  They played their role in my life.  It's time for me to grow up and move on.  The stories still happened and now maybe only my hindsight perspective has chage...a as life and experience does to ervything from our past. 

The fanboy in my is also excited to see what comes out of DC next.  How will Superman & Batman meet?  Why is Cyborg on the Justice League and not with the Titans?  Were there ever Titans?  Who is Hawkman?  Is Wonder Woman going to wear pants?  With a clean slate, these questions are left unanswered and only theories and speculation are running around.  As an audience, we don't know what'll come next.  I love the surprise... I can't wait to see if DC will pull that quarter from behind my ear again.  I think I'm really going to like the new DC... all over again.