DC Comics faces total reboot- 75 years of history to be scrapped

[MrShears]

I am... so angry about this.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/DC-U...nt-110531.html

I had a sinking feeling when I heard that the final issue of Flashpoint would be the only single-issue title released in the last week of august.

I'm used to these crossover events; I've come to expect 'bold new directions' for the major characters, costume make-over's, loudly trumpeted creative teams and being expected to purchase 20 or 30 tie-in books, lest I miss vital chunks of the story (yeah, right). And, like any DC or Marvel fan, I'm no stranger to Crisis-style plots designed to give the (supposedly) stagnant fictional universe a clean slate. This, though, is different.

Crisis on Infinite Earths was constructed with the aim of streamlining the DC mythology, crammed as it was with parallel universes, alternate timelines, multiple versions of every major character, and plenty of regrettable kitch. Readers of the 1980's, reasoned the Powers That Be, might just be put off by continuity references dating back to the war, and certainly wouldn't be as impressed by the likes of Beppo the Super-Monkey as their parents were, as kids. A scorched earth policy would eliminate these issues; one timeline, one universe, one Earth, with modernised versions of all the iconic heroes and villains, keeping what worked, binning what didn't.

The trouble was of course that the DC U was just too damn vast. The A-, B- and C-list heroes alone comprised dozens upon dozens of superheroes, each with their own backstory, supporting cast, villains, sidekicks and so on. Not every one of them had their own comic book, but the majority made regular appearances, often in several titles per month. When you factor in characters from other, defunct comics companies acquired by DC (the Charlton Comics heroes, the Captain Marvel family, et al), the volume of new ones being introduced every year, plus minor figures still being used here and there- for the sake of maintaining the ownership rights, for instance- and you're obviously facing the same problem. The universe was never going to stop expanding.

Since that time, we've had two further Crises, cake-and-eat-it plot mechanics such as Hypertime, or the revival of the multiverse (now restricted to 52 parallel worlds), and smaller event stories designed to untangle new continuity problems, as in Zero Hour, or generally give the DC catalogue a healthy shaking-up (Identity Crisis, and so on). In each case, the classic DC heritage seemed to win out, one way or the other. Fragments of deleted histories found their way back into the panels, often via revivals from high profile writers, like with Grant Morrison's brilliant take on a unified Batman mythology.

While all this was going on, Marvel came up with the Ultimates. While the regular Marvel books carried on as usual, this flashy new line showcased Spider-Man, the X-Men, et al as if brand new, with ruthlessly retooled origins and artwork. People who knew nothing about the characters could embrace these boiled-down versions, and they were a huge success from the outset. DC should have capitalised on this, and seemed to have made a half-assed attempt with the All-Star Batman and Robin/ All-Star Superman series', also very big sellers, but a long way from something like Ultimate Avengers.
In the past year, the Twilight-influenced Superman: Earth One was released, promising to be the first of several all new, youthful, continuity-free graphic novels, clearly in the Ultimate vein.

Now DC and its parent company want to be the first to step into same day digital publishing, and they want as many new people drawn to the books as possible. The upshot of which is closing the book on DC's 75 year history, all titles cancelled and relaunched at issue #1. Instead of building their own Ultimate line, DC is simply becoming Ultimate DC. It is a shameful move, one motivated entirely by greed. Stories and character building that have unfolded over years, decades, are to be swept away. Genuine icons are being broken down and rebuilt, to accomodate new audiences expected, it seems, to hold them in contempt. I notice from the Jim Lee promotional art that Wonder Woman's most recent and much-loathed costume is now the 'official' look. And oh yes, Superman's red trunks have been done away with. Because they looked so dumb, right?

How utterly pathetic. How is it the people who actually own these heroes can have so little respect for them, such lack of apreciation of the very fundamentals of this mythology?

I love DC Comics. I love the universe, the characters, the heritage. I love that when you read Superman or Batman, you're reading popular fiction that has been in continuous publication since the end of the Depression, weathering every storm, every war, surviving every shift in politics and fashion, and always remaining relevent, popular and able to ignite the imagination. Superhero mythology is like nothing else, and DC is its ancestral home. I am one of countless individuals whose lives have been touched by it in some way, and am among legions of passionate, devoted followers who look forward to new stories every month, year after year.
As of September 2011, all those feelings and memories we have invested in these stories are effectively null and void. I am a fanboy, and this breaks my heart.